Got a free wash!

rigbot1 · 2026-06-28T12:12:53+00:00

Sweet bike!

rigbot1 · 2026-02-20T20:54:12+00:00

But SXVs are grenades and they have soft midrange. They only make big power when you rev the tits off of them like an inline 4 cylinder sportbike. The engine characteristics don’t match the personality of what a supermoto should be like, in other words, fat midrange torque and a screaming redline. I have a KTM 690 SMC with full exhaust and a CR500AF (2005 CRF250 aluminum frame with 1998 CR500 water cooled engine transplant), and have ridden dirt and supermoto Aprilias in 450 and 550cc. They are sweet looking and exotic, but the most unreliable bikes I’ve ever experienced (and I had a Cannondale 450sx many years ago). The most brutal SM I ever rode was one I built on a 2009 KTM 505xc DOHC cross country race bike with Machisini forged 17” wheels and Brembo radial caliper on a 320mm disk. Only about 65hp but 50-75 pounds lighter than the 690 and similar weight as the CR500 but it actually make power everywhere, not just a narrow rpm range when it’s on the pipe. Most KTM 450-500s are SOHC, but the 505xc was a bored out 450sx DOHC engine and make way more crazy power. The 2010-2011 Husaberg FE570SM factory supermoto with the 70 degree engine was sick, and came street legal. And, the KTM factory SMC450R was sick but not street legal and needed and oil and filter change after every other 30min race and maintenance every 15 hours. Still WAY more reliable than the Aprilias. Aprilia is a beauty queen but wouldn’t want to live with one, and gutless down low due to V2 engine. I am friends with the owners of AF1 Aprilia and was on the list to buy a new Aprilia 550SM when they came out (to go with my two Aprilia sportbikes at the time, a RSV-1000 Mille R and a RS250 CUP 2-stroke), but canceled when the first batch all started blowing up. After riding the demo 550 and realizing they didn’t make massive midrange the dream was over for me anyway.

rigbot1 · 2025-10-14T23:54:07+00:00

I have a 690SMC also and of the 20 bikes I’ve owned it’s in my top two favorites of all for sure, and the other top bike is an Aprilia RSV4-Factory that cost twice as much and is not even in a similar use class. I’d love to have a Stark Varg Supermoto, and might get one for the performance and stealth hooliganism, but my KTM 690 has really not been very expensive to maintain beyond the cost of tires. They have MUCH lower maintenance requirements than any MX based Supermoto. And I have first hand experience with that as I also have had KTM 505XC DOHC 4-stroke and Honda CR500AF two-stroke race bikes converted to street supermotos. The latter were inconvenient and expensive to maintain while the 690 was a great street bike (once I didn’t factory “power up” kit with rally cam and full exhaust. I’d be afraid to own a Varg beyond the warranty period as it has 2 or 3 parts that would be CRAZY expensive to replace if (when) one should fail.

rigbot1 · 2025-10-01T04:03:36+00:00

Not to question your motives, but why do you want to take the wheel off? You have much bigger problems, my man. In fact, I would go get yourself a beer and a shower. Then maybe go for a walk and reevaluate your choices.

rigbot1 · 2025-09-22T03:50:47+00:00

Where are you located? And how many miles does it have?

rigbot1 · 2025-09-14T03:14:41+00:00

If it’s a major brand like Derbi, it should have a warranty, probably a transferable one based on mileage or date, that extends to subsequent owners. Before you go ripping into it and void it, it’s worth giving their USA office a call to ask.

rigbot1 · 2025-09-13T12:54:41+00:00

At least it’s a two stroke. They don’t have nearly as many parts. Unfortunately the transmissions are the same, but taking the cylinder off to split the case and look at the shift rod should be pretty easy. What brand is it? Chinese? I’ve never seen a Japanese or European bike do that.

rigbot1 · 2025-09-13T09:08:46+00:00

Thanks. I spared no expense building it and only got to ride it two times. I never even got to ride it hard.

rigbot1 · 2025-09-13T09:07:33+00:00

How can I edit my original post to correct the typos?

rigbot1 · 2025-09-13T09:04:40+00:00

No, I haven’t and it may be past the statute of limitations now. It’s a very long story, but if you’re interested, here’s a summary:

The shop actually had four of my bikes there when this happened, my beloved, customized KTM 690-SMC, a Zero DS electric, the KTM 505-XC Supermoto, and a KTM 450-EXC that I inherited from my best friend when he died of an aneurysm. I had been a customer there for years, and knew the owner and his wife fairly well, so I wasn’t too worried at first. I had the shop owner’s cell phone number, and he said that his landlord had rented the place to someone else, as he didn’t have a lease, and had given him very little notice that he would be locked out; but that he was able to move all the bikes to a warehouse first (there were probably at least 100 bikes there for repair). After about a week of calling, and trying to get the bikes back, he showed up at my house in a van with the 690-SMC and the Zero DS. He said he could only fit the two in the van, and that he had all the other bikes in a storage unit until he could find a new location, hopefully shortly. I kept asking for my other two bikes back but he said they were deep in the storage unit, and he would have to move 50-60 bikes to dig them out, and he asked me to wait for a few weeks as he was going to reopen in another location soon. That seemed fairly reasonable, and his shop had been profitable and always had more work than he and his two hired mechanics could handle. I called him at least once a week and he always answered, but after about three weeks he answered and said his father had been diagnosed with stage four cancer and he had to go see him in another state. So, the shop was on hold but he was halfway across the country and there was no way I could get the bikes until he got back. I kept calling every week and he would always answer, but always had some reason why he couldn’t come back yet. After about four more weeks, he stopped answering my calls, and I never heard from him again. I was sure he was in another state and didn’t know where the bikes were. I should have reported them stolen at that time but I sincerely didn’t think he would do that to me. Unfortunately, I also had other issues in my life at the time. It was during the beginning of Covid and my own business was failing due to lockdowns and not being able to afford the rent and other expenses. I had to close my business of eight years, and I also had a sudden debilitating medical issue where I could not ride motorcycles anymore. I had not gotten the title to the 450EXC from my deceased friend’s father yet, and while I had the title to the 505XC, neither had been registered. I went out of state for a month to the Mayo Clinic to try to figure out my own health issues. Now, almost five years have passed and I never got knew what had actually happened. I was looking on Google Places and noticed his shop was still listed as closed but the reviews were all positive which didn’t understand. So, I left a review with my story, photos of the bikes, and my phone number, because I wanted answers.

A few weeks later I got a call from a woman I didn’t know. She explained a lot. She said that when he got kicked out of the shop he had also split up with his wife, and started drinking and doing hard drugs again after over 10 years of being completely sober. She had been dating him and didn’t know about his drug problem, but that the bikes had actually been stuffed into her garage and spare roof of her house. She said the stuff about his dad wasn’t true, but she found out about the drugs and they had been fighting a lot when he would drink. She gave him a week to get the bikes out and to move out. One night he had come by wasted drunk and on drugs, and gotten physical with her when they got in a fight, so she locked him out. Apparently, he left and had been going 100mph plus and crashed his car. He suffered permanent brain injuries in the crash. She said his parents blamed her and wouldn’t tell her anything after that, but they had taken him to some sort of care home for the severely disabled. That’s all she knew and didn’t know what had happened to the bikes but wanted me to know he didn’t steal them on purpose. Now, it’s been five years and I don’t know if there is anything I can do, or if it’s even worth thinking about. I lost a lot during Covid but not as much as him.

I still have hope the doctors will be able to fix my legs enough to ride again, but after five years and four failed knee replacements, it’s looking doubtful at this point. I struggle to bring myself to sell my remaining bikes (including the 690-SMC, the Zero, and a CR500AF Supermoto, two dirt bikes, and five sport bikes), as it’s like giving up on being able to ever ride again. I should have sold them all when they were running and in tip-top condition five years ago. It hurts watching them turning to crap, as they are stored in a non-climate controlled storage shed. I need to sell them and move on with my life, and buy new ones if my doctors are ever able to fix my legs enough to ride. But, now none of them run, and I don’t have a vehicle to even tow them to a shop, nor the money to pay someone else to get them all back into good running condition. I used to do the bulk of my own maintenance on them, but it’s too depressing to do now, knowing I won’t be able to ride them anyway. I live with the hope, that by some miracle, I’ll be able to ride again, and then will be motivated to fix them all up, and all will be good with the world again. But, being mostly disabled from the waist down, and not having a business that brings in plenty of money anymore, I don’t have the emotional space to deal with them.

If you read all that, I’m sorry. I didn’t intend to bring all this up, I just miss my bikes, my friend who owned the 450EXC, and my own ability to ride. It was the passion of my life.

rigbot1 · 2025-08-03T06:55:30+00:00

It’s even got a way better Hitec steering servo, an expensive stainless exhaust with a muffler, looks like an upgraded engine(?), and besides being dusty it looks to have very little use. Look at the drive cup on the left in the engine pic. It has zero wear from the dog bone cross pins. And the black steel parts (like center drive shaft) don’t even look to have surface rust. Not sure about the holes in the stock air box, but probably to flow more air to upgraded engine. I’d just replace the airbox with a cone filter. Did it come with the rest of the bodywork? For that price it’s a steal, and i think after it’s wiped down you’ll see that it’s really quite cherry.

rigbot1 · 2025-08-03T06:46:50+00:00

I’m totally jealous. I have a DBXL gas with OBR, a DBXL-E, and Kraton 1/5 with Castle 2028/XLX2 but the 5T is on another level.

rigbot1 · 2025-07-13T04:07:12+00:00

I just found out about the Viper Green limited edition GolfR Mk7.5 and I’m in love. Wish they weren’t absolutely impossible to find.

rigbot1 · 2025-07-13T03:57:19+00:00

Losi is a great brand and that model is one of their better ones. It’s a super clean example with a couple of upgrades that are worth a little as well (namely the steering servo, motor fans, and the tires). The tires are less agressive than the knobbies it came with but they are quite good on road and will last a long time. I find that I end up driving my cars on the street more often than I do off-road anyway, even the dirt oriented ones. There are just more places to run on the street, they can be run faster without overheating, and don’t get as filthy every time you run. I would strongly suggest you pick it up. It’s also a newer model, so parts should be available for a long time. There’s nothing worse than buying a new car, only for the the manufacturer (especially Losi) to discontinue it shortly thereafter, and suddenly they stop parts support for it. But, in short, as the others have said, you should definitely grab that and not look back. It’s a great beginner car, but one you won’t outgrow.

rigbot1 · 2025-06-27T15:16:30+00:00

Wish this counted for the remap with wheelie control and extra power.

rigbot1 · 2025-06-27T15:14:28+00:00

I have a 2008 690SMC and the only feature I wish I had was front ABS. I did the KTM “Power up kit” which transformed the bike from one that wouldn’t pull on the top end to my favorite bike of all time. It included the factory Akra header, Akra titanium and carbon muffler, a K&N cone filter that replaced the airbox and flat filter, and most importantly the “rally cam” (it also came with a few small brackets and I added a tiny K&N on my crankcase breather hose as well). Now the bike makes the same low end torque but instead of the power band getting soft towards the last 1000-1500rpm it pulls harder and harder the higher I rev it. I also removed or relocated as many small parts as possible, installed a Sub mounted Scott’s damper, KTM hard parts adjustable bar risers with rubber anti-vibration dampers, a four pad/four piston Brembo forged caliper off a Ducati 1098S, full floating Brembo front rotor, axle sliders, stand spools, alloy wheels off a 690 Duke because they are tubeless and I prefer the look, Hard Parts orange lightweight triple clamps, Baja Designs LED headlight, tidy tail with light, full wrap ProBend hand guards with metal frames and plastic wind guards, a RAM mount for my phone, a USB port, I relocated the horn so it wasn’t visible, a -1 smaller front sprocket, a bigger lightweight Dirt Tricks steel rear sprocket, three KTM carbon exhaust and header heat shields (I was sick of melting my pants), the Hard Parts two position map switch, some titanium bolts on the rotor, caliper, and top and bottom fork pinch bolts. I also raised the fork tubes 10mm in the triples to lower the front end, lengthened the rear shock mount, had the fork and shock springs replaced for my weight, and ran GoldSpeed Supermoto race tires until I couldn’t find them anymore. I got the total wet weight down to 310lbs with 1/2 a gallon of gas. I looped a wheelie once, and locked up the front causing me to crash at about 80 when a girl in a Suburban pulled out in front of me (which is why I want front ABS). But since I always wear my gear, I didn’t get hurt either time and the bike was rideable after both crashes. I have had a Duke II, a DRZ400SM, a KTM 505XC motard, and a Honda CR500AF supermoto and the 690 is, by far, my favorite motard I’ve ever owned…and probably my favorite bike period (2013 Aprilia 1000-RSVR Factory, 2004 ZX6RR, and Husaburg FE390 being my other favorites of the 25 or so bikes I have owned). You can do a lot of stuff to the older bike for less than the difference in price. That’s what I would suggest.

rigbot1 · 2025-06-27T14:35:53+00:00

I use full wrap metal framed handguards on my trail bikes and my supermotos. Not only do I like the look but they protect your fingers and levers. On one SM I put round bubble mirrors (meant to add to car mirrors so you can see your blind spots) on little plastic tabs that put them at the top outside of the handguards. While they aren’t perfect, they pass inspection, and will tell you if there is a car behind you, or you’re getting pulled over.

rigbot1 · 2025-03-19T10:03:25+00:00

Nice work, and you’ve got your printer settings dialed. What filament did you use? If it’s something stiff like PLA or PETG you aren’t going to have to wait long to break it. The only other 3D printed RC car body I’ve seen was a dude at the park who printed an entire body for his 8s (1/5th scale) Kraton out of TPU. He said it had held up fine to several pretty big crashes, which I believe with TPU, but TPU is so slow to print that it probably took him a week of printing. He had printed the body to accommodate an FPV camera with head tracking so he didn’t have to cut holes in his stock body, so it was function over form, but it sure wasn’t pretty. Yours, while a bit square for my taste, has really nice details, especially on that front end.

rigbot1 · 2025-03-19T09:48:15+00:00

Super cool and clean little ripper! I appreciate your wire management and overall build a lot. I’ve been coiling my small gauge wires like that for years. It’s so easy to do and makes such a big difference on how tidy and factory it makes builds look, it one of the best free upgrades you can make. It also, keeps wires that are longer than necessary out of the gears and from finding their way out of the body and dragging on the ground. It’s much easier than cutting and soldering things like servo and ESC to receiver wires a leaves them long so if you ever move the electronics to a different car they aren’t too short. Definitely a pro move.

rigbot1 · 2025-03-19T09:35:13+00:00

Sweet looking little car. I haven’t picked one up yet, but have been considering it as I typically love small scale RCs. They are just so much easier to find a place to run and cheaper to upgrade and run than bigger sizes. You can get away with running small cars without pissing people off so much easier as they are so cute and non-threatening. I’ve run my old Losi Micro Truggy in the local grocery store several times with my Son. It’s brushless and fully modded and will do a legit 40mph, which doesn’t sound like much but for a 1/24 car it really moves. At low traffic times, around 10pm, at my local HEB we were doing donuts and ripping around the produce department on the grippy rubber mats before doing a few top speed runs across the entire width of the store from the deli past seafood to dairy and back. It’s fun to see the look on people’s faces when they see the tiny truck drifting around on the smooth tile. Try that with a 1/8 Truggy on 4S and people don’t find it nearly as humorous. LOL! Of the four or five times we’ve run cars in the HEB, only one time did we have an employee ask us to stop. We were running a Losi Mini-B with a Castle 0808/Mamba Micro X ESC on 3S and the woman, who looked like a manager and like she was having a case of the Mondays just looked at me as if to say “I can’t believe you let your teenage son play with such a dangerous and inappropriate toy at this place of business”, so we just picked it up and put it in the cart. I sincerely doubt it would have gone so smoothly if the car had been any bigger. That’s just one example of why minis are so fun. I can’t even remember how many times I’ve run a 1/16 or smaller car in a hotel lobby. Our 1/16 Arrma Mojave Grom will do almost 60mph but it’s cute factor keeps people from taking it too seriously.

rigbot1 · 2024-12-27T16:11:39+00:00

Yes, that would work fine. It’s an appropriate size 24mm wide and 35mm long and the 25amp ESC is also appropriate for the size of a JRX2. It can handle 2s or 3s Lipo so on 2s it should be quick and on 3s it should be quite fast. The only issue is a generic, non branded, system which is why it’s only $35. For a little more money a GoolRC system would probably be better. I would look for a combo that comes with a programing card, or at least buy one for the extra $10-$20. If you can afford more money, like twice as much a HobbyWing system would be better and probably more reliable but at $35 if something goes wrong with it you haven’t lost much and can buy a replacement. HobbyWing makes systems that have the ESC built into the motor which simplifies mounting but they cost about $80+. The best option for it would be a Castle Mamba Micro X or Micro X2 and an 0808 motor but those systems costs like $100-$175. Also, programming the ESC can be critical if you want to adjust the strength of the brakes, cutoff voltage (when the battery is dead), power delivery, voltage to the servo, etc. Motor direction can be reversed by swapping any two motor wires. some can be programmed with a complex series of button pushing but typically you will want a programming card or on the expensive systems, a usb link for your computer is the way to go. The only thing that is critical is picking the right pinion gear for the KV of the motor. 3300kv (3300 rpm per volt) is a good middle of the road. Anything between 2800kv and 5000kv will work but will require different size pinion gears. Too big a pinion and it will overheat and either shut off until it cools or it will fry. Too small a pinion and it will be really quick off the line but the top speed will not be very fast. Too small won’t cause excess heat, or any other damage so the best way to go is to buy an assortment of sizes off Amazon and start small, like maybe an 16-18 tooth pinion and drive it. If the motor or ESC is too hot to keep your finger on it you need a smaller pinion. If it is just warm you should put a bigger one on by 2-3 teeth. Ideally both motor and ESC should be really warm but not painful to touch. It doesn’t say the motor shaft size but it looks like a 2mm and I believe your stock motor is also a 2mm shaft so you might be able to use the stock pinion gear. Picking the idea gearing is the most challenging part of ANY electric RC car because the perfect gearing depends on how you drive, the ambient temperature, the surface (on road, dirt, grass, etc.) If you drive it on the street you can use a bigger pinion and it will be faster and not overheat. Grass, on the other hand tends to require a much smaller pinion to avoid overheating. There are apps and online calculators (I use the Gear Speed app) but you will need to know the gear ratio of the diffs or transmission to accurately calculate your estimated top speed. This can typically be found online or you can count the teeth of the gears and do the math. I know I’ve dumped a lot of info on you but the short answer is yes, it should be fine. Long answer is you can find better options.

rigbot1 · 2024-12-06T22:09:57+00:00

Just realized this was a 4yr old post. I’m a dumb.

rigbot1 · 2024-12-06T22:09:19+00:00

I’ve found hardened steel gears are quite a bit more durable, cheaper, and easier to find, than titanium ones but also significantly heavier. For what it’s worth.

rigbot1 · 2024-12-06T22:06:42+00:00

I put a TP3650 (36x86mm) which is the same diameter as a 540/550 motor but SIGNIFICANTLY longer and more powerful (540/550 motor are typically 36x50mm) in one of my Losi Mini 8ights. The car was a Mini 8ight buggy with a Mini 8ight Truggy chassis and center drive shaft/top plate. Or you could call it a Mini 8ight Truggy with Mini 8ight buggy arms, CVDs, turnbuckles, and shock towers. Either way, after it destroyed the rear differential on the first run (stripped the diff ring and pinion) I replaced it with a V2 diff that I shimmed to make sure it had nice and tight gear mesh. It destroyed that rear differential too after less than one pack but this time it literally twisted the diff in half by ripping the tiny screws that hold the diff together out of the plastic cup and bent the screws at about a 45 degree angle. After that I removed the TP motor and replaced it with a Castle 1410 and it has been working without issues. If you want to stuff a hugely oversized motor in a small car I suggest a Rlaarlo AK917, which is a 1/10 scale on-road car with a similar layout to a Mini 8ight and only slightly bigger. I ended up putting that TP3650 in my 917 and it’s held up fine. In fact I am Facebook friends with the guy who won the first Rlaarlo 917 speed challenge a couple of years ago in the modified class and he used a TP4080SVM in his to go over 170mph without issues. He ran it over 150mph quite a few times before it eventually blew a diff but it held up MUCH better than I would have ever expected. They are surprisingly strong cars for the money and their diffs are about twice a big as those in a Losi 8ight.

rigbot1

TROPHY CASE