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Dirt Bike Magazine - Best selling off road motorcycle magazine
What does a guy who built machines that won national motocross championships for Kawasaki and GNCC championships for Suzuki and worked with Geico Honda choose as his personal offroad steed? Whatever he wants! Shane Nalley is a good friend and a weekly companion on our off-road adventures. Several months ago, we did a story on his KTM 350EXC-F dual-sport machine. The bike was finely tuned and massaged by Shane, and at that time he felt it was the only bike he needed in his garage.
That was until Mike Webb bought a Katoom 300 TPI. The bike made Shane envious. Huge hill-climbs are part of our regular loop, and his 350 simply lacked the necessary boost to get him breathing the air up top. He started searching for a KTM 300 and found a used 2020 Erzberg model that was pampered and ridden casually.
Shane hadn’t ridden a two-stroke in years, and it took a few rides to get familiar with the hit, lack of torque and freewheeling once the throttle was chopped. But, in less than a month, he was getting higher on the hills that tormented his 350 dual-sporter. Still, Mike was spanking him on the monster and technical climbs. On the trail, he fell in love with the light feel of the motor, the ability to carry a gear that wouldn’t load the suspension, and going faster in the tight stuff than he’d managed in moons. He was reluctant to lose the smooth bottom power on the stocker but wanted the midrange to conquer the West Coast hill-climbs.
And so, he researched possible modifications, some based on what Mike’s 300 was already fit with. Webb’s 300 had a GET ECU and S3 high-compression head. Shane went down a similar path with one exception. He opted for the GET Race kit, which has the programmable ECU and an injection relocation system. He knew that the higher compression with the S3 head would improve bottom and mid. The ECU was necessary to provide the proper amount of fuel, and Shane thought that taking the injectors out of the transfer ports and putting them in front of the cylinder would improve the air/fuel mixture. Shane believed that because the oil enters at the throttle body and fuel at the transfer ports, the time involved to mix the two had to hurt performance because the oil and fuel meet late. Moving it makes it all come together at the intake.
Shane got immediate gratification out of the GET Race kit. The power was greatly broadened with a substantial improvement in midrange and top-end pull. Now he was able to get over the climbs that haunted him; the big boost in the middle was far meatier than stock and allowed him to carry a taller gear and then pull longer and harder. But, just as important, the controllability in the technical trails that he craved was not lost. In fact, it was enhanced, and now the machine easily carries taller gears, with some meat to pull the gearing and relax his suspension so that trail carnage is less of a hindrance.
He kept the stock expansion chamber and uses an FMF 2.1 Turbine Core when he needs a spark arrestor. For his other forays, he purchased a full titanium Akrapovic muffler. The “Akra” was hugely expensive and not terribly light, but it provided smoother power, better initial throttle response and a nice exhaust note. Shane has a long relationship with Hinson and fit a Hinson clutch onto the 300. This is also an expensive mod, but Shane believes that it improves clutch feel and is more durable and reliable.
Shane added the Samco silicone hoses from Slavens Racing for improved cooling and simplified the routing by eliminating the thermostat. He praised the fact that starting with the Erzberg Edition was a big plus, since it was fit with a bundle of cool KTM Power Parts. They include a fan kit (a must in his words), a rear disc shark fin, a Supersprox sprocket, Selle Dalla Valle seat, Grab straps, slave cylinder guard, machined triple clamps and bar-mounted map switch.
His machine already had a Sicass Racing dual-sport kit added. He went with a P3 carbon pipe guide, Bullet Proof Designs TPS guard, a Slavens exhaust flange guard and idle screw and an Acerbis front disc guard. Shane fit an AXP skid plate (liking the lightweight and thick protection), Raptor titanium pegs, a Bullet Proof Designs chainguide guard, D.I.D ERVT X-ring chain, Polisport’s swingarm protectors, KTM Power Parts extended rear brake tip, and a Renthal Twin Wall handlebar in his favorite Stewart/ Villopoto bend.
Shane kept both ends of the suspension stock, with one step stiffer springs at each end, providing what he calls “a nice plush ride.” Shane prefers to run the fork flush with the top clamp on this bike, saying it feels more planted and still corners wonderfully. Gearing-wise, Shane runs a 13/52 combo (13/50 is standard), feeling that it pulls a third gear perfectly on the trails and the huge climbs he’s faced with out west. In the traction department, he runs Dunlop EN91s, praising their durability and performance. Motorex injection oil and 15/50 transmission oil are Shane’s chosen lubricants.
PARTS & CONTACT INFO Slavens Racing: https://slavensracing.com S3 head: $179.95 Exhaust flange guard: $44.95 Mule GET Race Kit (ECU and injector relocation system): $1149.95 Samco silicone hose kit Akrapovic: https://aomc.mx Titanium muffler: $589.99 FMR Racing: https://fmfracing.com FMF 2.1 Turbine Core spark arrestor: $249.99 Bullet Proof Designs: https://bulletproofdesigns.com/ Swingarm guard: $75 TPS Guard: $49 D.I.D: https://didchain.com/chains/ D.I.D ERVT X-ring chain AXP Racing: https://www.axp-racing.com AXP skid plate Hinson Racing: https://hinsonracing.com Hinson clutch P3 Carbon: https://p3carbon.com/ P3 pipe guard: $169.95 Acerbis: https://www.acerbisusa.com Acerbis front disc guard Polisport: https://www.polisport.com/en/off-road_501.html Polisport Swingarm guards Raptor: https://www.raptortitanium.com Raptor titanium footpegs
A machine with a substantial bottom, mid and top-end power improvement, total rideability in tight terrain, and the boost needed to carve up the serious climbs that are part of his weekend endeavors. Shane calls the Slavens Mule GET race kit and S3 head a game-changer, allowing him to ride the bike in two ways: with the power valve closed, making tremendous meaty juice for the woods and trails, and then with it slammed open and the throttle pinned for the nosebleed climbs. The ECU allows him to customize the mapping from his phone app, and he continually makes improvements for the throttle positions he likes, making this the best two-stroke he’s ever had.
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