It’s going to take more than a battery to fix Gunther.
In high hopes of it only being a battery issue, I did pick up a really cool new one to replace the sketchy one that was in there from when I bought the bike. This Speedcell battery is 1.2 lbs! The previous battery was 4 D-Cell batteries soldered to plates and wrapped in heat protectant + foam with a universal connector attached. Technically, I’ve gained 2 ounces… but the peace of mind is worth it.
On to the bad news
Gunther has a broken valve.
The valve isn’t bent, which means that I didn’t do it, but I still feel bad about breaking my bike. And generating a lot more work for tecnicomoto three weeks before we leave for Talladega.
Currently, this is what my cute ‘lil KTM looks like:
And the parts list, after tecnicomoto dug around and discovered that the floating chunk of metal did less damage than we thought:
intake cam
rocker arm
intake valve
gasket set
piston (I have the stock one as a spare, at least.)
valve set
valve guide
gaskets
seals
c-clips
o-rings
valve guide tool
spark plug
…and a ton of labor. Not just the manual labor, but also the labor of research & price comparison for parts.
While we’re in there ripping Gunny’s guts out, tecnicomoto wants to clean up the wiring harness that has been bothering him since I claimed ownership, and take care of the coolant overflow reservoir that sprays coolant on me as I ride.
Total parts cost: about $350
Time spent… lots. And this is just the beginning.
Hopefully the parts will arrive by next week and we can replace everything, then get the bike on a dyno to update the fuel map to accommodate the new, cheaper, less racey parts.