I was so busy trying to rack up the final hours on my long-term KTM 525 MXC that I really hadn't considered how empty my garage would feel when it had gone home to KTM. It was not a good feeling to load it up for the final time. If the bike had felt worn out, I wouldn't be as sorry to see it go, but it still felt fresh and tight to the end. And that was in spite of a 24-hour race, a 24-hour ride, several days in Baja attempting to hang with Malcolm Smith, many motocross outings and dozens of abusive off-road rides. Some of which included mud and snow, and virtually all included some ugly hillclimbing. In all the years I've been at Dirt Rider, I've only had a few bikes that were set up specifically for my tastes and riding, and none have been as personalized to my riding style as this 525. Consequently, I was much less willing to loan out the bike to help the hours add up quickly. The bike felt comfortable, fresh and unbent, and I liked it that way.
In the last 50 hours, and since the last update, I did perform some needed maintenance and repairs. The cam-chain tensioner had used up all the travel (a sign the cam chain is stretched), so I installed a new chain. KTM uses an endless chain, so I had to borrow a special tool and a flywheel puller, but otherwise it was an easy job. For the price of the two tools you could probably have a dealer do the work for you, though, since both tools are priced at a little over $200. Soon after, the rear brake master cylinder went out for the second time. KTM has upgraded the master cylinder, and the new ones aren't supposed to go out. Turns out the replacement came out of the press department's stocks, and it was one of the older units.
The sole new modification was the installation of a $299.99 FMF Ti muffler with a spark arrestor. The stocker had gotten loud, and we could have repacked it, but Jesse Ziegler had one from his KTM 250 SX-F, so I slipped it on.
The Dicks Racing suspension, Factory Effex graphics and even the 909 grips I installed at 50 hours are showing considerable wear but are still going strong. The budget-priced Rocky Mountain ATV Primary Drive brand chain and sprockets (installed at 100 hours) lasted 50 hours, so new ones were put on right after the last update. Rocky Mountain was sold out of aluminum sprockets (no doubt because they are a good buy), so I installed a steel rear for $18! The second set still looks pretty good.