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...
