Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1456806
36 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com The harsh reality is many are drawn to big bore 2-strokes but only a select few are man enough to actually start them, let alone ride them on a regular basis. The back story of this bike was it was bought new by a NETRA rider and lightly used un l the mice had infested the airbox weeping their sludge into the cylinder and bo om end. Being a savvy guy, the seller had done a fantas c job in spli ng the cases and totally rebuilding the motor but didn't have the leg required to fire the bike. And there she sat. My ini al unseen offer wasn't far from the ask- ing price and I peeled off a chunk of hundies and handed 'em over. My savvy young friend was aware of the remaining cash in pocket and before I could load up my new purchase he rolled out a less fortunate brother, a 1995 KTM 440 MXC that had my name all over it. Before I knew what was happening I was the proud owner of two mid-90's big bore KTM's. –You can look forward to the res- urrec on of the 440 in an upcoming issue. As for the awakening process of this par cular 550, it was rela vely straigh orward. I like survivor bikes and elected to just refresh what was needed. First order of business was the brakes. I'm quite sure the brake fluid was original and had transformed into a gela n like substance. Hours were spent flushing the master cylinders, brake lines and calipers. In the end, we replaced all seals and rebuilt the masters. As expected, the air filter was disintegrated and a new element was easily sourced. A er a quick carb cleaning the mighty 550 fired to life within a few hearty stabs of the kicker. One of the drawbacks of resurrec ng old liquid cooled bikes is the effects of old an freeze. An freeze doesn't deteriorate or lose its freeze protec on, what happens is old an freeze gets acidic and corrodes metals. Fortunately, the clutch cover/water pump housing wasn't corrod- ed (typical of some brands) but the cylinder head radiator hose barb sprung a leak within minutes of warming up the monster to opera ng temp. Thank- fully this issue reared its ugly head before heading out for race duty.