ASK THE MXPERTS: GETTING THE T-PIECE OUT OF A 2018 KTM FRAME TO POWERCOAT IT?

The one-piece Samco T-piece (left) replaces the stock T-piece (right).

POWDERCOATING A KTM FRAME

Dear MXA,

I stripped down my KTM frame so that I could get it powdercoated orange, but I couldn’t get the T-piece that crosses over through the head tubing out of the frame, and I don’t want to destroy it. Should I just leave it in or force it out? What is the best solution?

If you leave it in, you cannot powdercoat your frame, but you can paint it. Many KTM riders switch to paint to avoid disturbing the fragile cross-over tube that takes water from one radiator to the next; however, if you really want to powdercoat the frame, go ahead and pull the T-piece out—and don’t worry about wrecking it. Why not? Because Samco Sports offers a molded, one-piece, rubber T-piece that will replace the multi-piece stock KTM T-piece. The big plus of the Samco part is that it improves water flow by eliminating the 90-degree bends and metal parts of the stock KTM T-piece. It also comes with a lifetime warranty. The Samco T-piece sells for $101.95, and while you are ordering it, we recommend getting Samco’s $19.95 T-piece removal tool.

The 2019-20 frames have larger diameter T-pieces, so check with Samco first to see if they have tooled up for the 4mm larger hose.

 

You might also like

Comments are closed.