Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1445637
De-Smogging the KTM 500 EXC De-Smogging the KTM 500 EXC Uncorking the Beast Uncorking the Beast By Kurt Flachbart By Kurt Flachbart 14 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com With the dual sport market on fire right now, we've seen a number of woods riders adding another bike to the fleet. Having a street-legal / plated motorcy- cle to explore back woods roads and trails is a blast. Plated being the key to unlocking literally endless terrain since a street-legal bike does not fall under the ATV regs and, most importantly, restric ons. We learned this first-hand on Moto Vermont's Ver- mont 400 adventure ride last summer. Being plated allowed our group access to seemingly endless Class 3 and Class 4 (unmaintained) roads through- out northern Vermont. This is terrain that's strictly off-limits to dirt bikes and ATVs. A loophole some might say, but it's all good in our book. Last spring we were fortunate to have a new 2021 Husqvarna FE 501s for a long-term test and evalu- a on. Other than proper off-road res and tubes, along with necessary guards, we le the Husky bone stock. Last fall, one of our riding buddies An- drew DeWolf decided to enter the dual sport game with a 2022 KTM 500 EXC Six Days Edi on. Within days the modifica ons began as Andrew delved deeper into the woods. His ini al thought of riding long stretches of pavement with the occasional dirt road were soon dismissed. An- drew dove right back into the soup on our hard enduro loops, and although fine for road use, his chocked-up, emissions-restricted 500 proved to be a handful in the sno y stuff. Face it, flame- outs while in the pegs in rock gardens isn't fun. In fact, it's dangerous. While visi ng Trail Rider adver ser and KTM dealer Motorbikes Plus in New Hampshire, An- drew consulted with co-owner Jeff Staples about his op ons for uncorking and de-smogging his new KTM 500. Having been down this road many mes, Staples went over each component re- quired to handle the job effec vely and painless- ly. Impressive was the fact that Motorbikes Plus had every component in stock and on the shelf for purchase. As the old salesmen have always said, "You can't sell from an empty wagon."