2013 KTM RC8R

[Fencejumper09]

This bike has a fun little story so I will start with that.

In March 2020 PC (Pre-Covid) I had a work trip planned for a few days down around Panama City Beach Florida. The day before I left, one of my buddies posted up he was planning to head down to PCB in the upcoming weeks to purchase a bike. After a couple messages I had offered up the bed of my truck to provide transport for said bike back to Bham.

Before you get all mushy thinking that I did this all out of the goodness of my heart, Shane is a good friend, I did have ulterior motives!!   :-\  Ya see, the KTM RC8R has always been one of my dream bikes and based on Shane's history I figured it would not be long before it was sold.  So the agreement was that when it was on the chopping block, I would be given the option of first dibs.



Now those of you that know Shane, know that the average time of ownership for a motorcycle for him is somewhere between 3 months and one year. I was honestly hoping to get some time to save up some money and prepare space for this worthy stead, this one not the case.

Shortly after Shane purchased the bike it developed a backfire into the rear cylinder's throttle body but this was only while the bike was cold. Then on one fateful trip a rock bounced up, got stuck between the chain and the sprocket and the bike went down. After some minor repairs the bike was running again (with the cold hiccup) but otherwise mechanically sound.

Shane decided he was no longer interested in the RC8R and offered it up for sale in the middle of June so we discussed the deal and one thing led to another. I picked up the bike (hiccup and all) and managed to ride it home with no issues and a huge smile on my face.

A couple of pieces had been broken and bent in the wreck so I instantly proceeded to dismantle the bike to A. figure out the hiccup and B. make any necessary repairs

This thread will quasi be used to document those changes and all the mistakes I make along the way.



And a few minutes later...

[Fencejumper09]

During the initial tear down, I found the rear cylinder velocity stack was no longer attached to the throttle body and was just sitting on top of it in the airbox



There was significant oil build up on the throttle body as the crankcase breather exhausted directly into the throttle body! Emissions crap sucks and will be addressed later on.

A little further investigation uncovered that the boot between the rear cylinder and throttle body was torn. Now at this point I am not sure if this is the cause of the backfire or a result of the pressure generated by it.

https://dmetallo.smugmug.com/Motorcycle/KTM-RC8R/n-77hHSK/i-TZxLRGd/A

[Fencejumper09]

I messaged my main man over at Max Motorsports to order some parts for the beast that included the throttle body boots and and some random fasteners and gaskets.  As always they treat me right and match any price I can find online. A couple item were on back order but I wasn't in much of a hurry since I still had the 990 to ride.

While I waited I began the process of removing all of the SAS components and charcoal filter. I also decided to remove the secondary butterflies from the throttle bodies as it made a significant difference on the throttle response of the 990.



Routed the crankcase breather into the tail section with a filter. We will see if this is high enough. In my experience these LC8 engines puke a lot of oil so my fingers are crossed.



During my wait I inquired within several Facebook RC8 groups and proceeded to gather some useful knowledge from some other owners.  Some of their main suggestions included the following
- Bad ignition coils
- Clogged fuel injectors
- Bad Spark Plugs
- Valve Clearances
- Timing

I began handling these items while I had the fairings and gas tank off as I had time.

Rear cylinder valve check


I switched around the coils as they are all the same part number. The secondary plugs supposedly only fire over 11,000 RPM

Pulled the fuel injectors and took them down to @LawnmowerRG for a nice back flush cleaning!



The throttle bodies were making a terrible clicking sound until I went into tuneecu and turned off the secondary butterflies. Maybe that was throwing some errors into the fueling.

Buttoned everything up and she is now running like a top. Waiting on some mirrors to make her street legal and then we will get her tagged.

She is purty to me!!


https://dmetallo.smugmug.com/Motorcycle/KTM-RC8R/n-77hHSK/i-SRB8JzJ/A

[gulfcoaster]

Nice find!!!  Definitely worth the favor of bringing the bike back for him.  I've always drooled over those, but I don't think I've ever seen one in the wild.

[Fencejumper09]

Nice find!!!  Definitely worth the favor of bringing the bike back for him.  I've always drooled over those, but I don't think I've ever seen one in the wild.

I have wanted one ever since one wheelied by my on my way to an event at Barber's!

There are a few out there and there is a good bit of info in the Facebook groups and online forums.

[Mulley]

That is badass machine. Max let me demo one back in 2012 when I was in the market. I felt like a superstar riding around. Ultimately I decided against a race replica and went for a more upright ergo bike.

[Fencejumper09]

Yeah it is nice, I am waiting on mirrors at this point as my plan to fabricate up a mirror holder did not work out well.

[Fencejumper09]

I took her out to get her tag!

It was an awesome ride and stopped at a couple of sites for photos!

[El Vulch]

I'm a diehard KTM guy myself!

[Fencejumper09]

I'm a diehard KTM guy myself!

Man that is a fantastic fleet!

had a great ride with my dad on the pumpkins over Thanksgiving!

Little River Canyon was a blast even though it was a little wet!