DAMN Riders - No rules, Just ride!

I'm doing some refurbishing to my trusty old 99 KTM 300exc. The expansion chamber/mid pipe whatever you call it, is pretty beat up. I think its time for a new one.

If anybody has an old one, like maybe a stock take off that would fit a 99 KTM 300, let me know what you want for it.

If I do have to go buy one, does anybody have any opinions about them? What I should or shouldn't buy. Then end pipe is the old "hockey stick". Its relatively quiet so Im happy with it.

I really like my FMF Gnarly pipe with Q2 silencer. The Gnarly is supposed to lend itself to give more low end grunt compared to the Fatty but at the expense of some top end; but then I don't really care about top end. Its also built thicker and will take some abuse; to the point where I decided it was cheaper to NOT run a $100 pipe guard and instead just buy a new $200 gnarly say every 5 years because it should easily last that long on its own and then I end up with a new pipe for half price at the end...

Actually, now that I think about it, I still have the SST laying around that was on the YZ when I bought it. It was a little bent and probably would not fit your KTM but you are welcome to try it for giggles if you wanted...

SJ

Is your pipe too beat up to send away to have repaired? I believe Kirk sent a couple pipes away recently and was happy with the results.

I have the FMF Gnarly on my 250, btw.

http://www.piperepair.com

Highly recommended.

I appreciate the reminder about pipe repair. If it was a newer pipe w/ a huge dent in it I think that would be the way to go. However, its a 17 yr old bike. I'll bet the pipe has been on their for at least a decade if not longer. There are no huge dents but its just generally beat to hell all over and almost bent around the frame rails. I really think its time for a new one.
Id happily take someone's take off/stocker thats just collecting dust somewhere. I'll probably just buy a new one sooner or later. I did a little research last night and the Gnarly pipe SkinnyJ mentioned is probably what I'll get if I buy a new one.

I think I still have the stock pipe off of my 2000 300EXC. I think it's in decent shape I'll check it out when I get home and let you know..

What did you find wrong with the shifting issue?

This one little plastic shifter piece finally broke. A friend of mine replaced it with a metal part. Relatively cheap.

Ill double check to make sure a 2000 will fit. That would be way cheaper than $200+ for a new one.

I don't know how it is with the KTMs but I can get cheap parts for my 2000 kx250 all day long on ebay...

I managed to flatten a brand new gnarly the first or second time I used it. There was a big rock (over 2' tall) that was covered in moss and I just didn't see it. I've since had lasik surgery so my "I'm nearly blind" excuse doesn't work so well any more.

I looked at the pipe I have, it came in a spare parts box with the bike. The end that goes to the cyl is cracked and nearly falling off. You're welcome to it but it's pretty thin metal and welding it up may be tricky if you don't have a TIG. It isn't mashed to bad though if you want I can try to weld it for you. If all goes well you can pick it up this weekend. Let me know.
Thom.

ps: I also have the stock silencer.

My personal experience with the KTMs I've owned including the 300 , is the best pipe I've ever run , and I've tried FMF Gnarly , SST , Enduro Enginering , Pro Circuit , is the stock pipe that comes with the bike . Second to that I liked the EE Pipe next , it reminded me of a Honda CR250 stock pipe . I believe that the stock pipe made by FMF for the 2 strokes was/is a proprietary pipe made just for KTM and that the ones you can buy (not from the KTM parts fiche) but the KTM pipe sold for the bike from any parts dealer are not the same . The 300 has enough bottom end grunt to satisfy all but the most aggressive riders , the SST pipe did nothing but light up the back tire . If your looking for durability the Gnarly , but it moves the power down which is ok you can short shift and lug as you well know with that bike , as long as it's in a good state of tune and not in need of repair . Good luck