Bike Setup & Maintenance

Hard enduro is ridden slowly, over roots, rocks and steps, often standing and often with the rear tyre close to spinning. A setup that works for fast enduro can feel harsh and nervous there. The aim is a bike that follows the ground, grips at walking pace and doesn't wear you out.

Soft setups work here. Graham Jarvis's mechanic, Damien Butler, told Enduro21 in 2018 that Jarvis "runs the softest setting of all riders", with a shock spring "two rates lower than anybody". Enduro21's own Erzberg test bike was lowered "to be comfortably flat footed (with more sag also)". You don't need factory parts to get the benefit. You need the basics done right: the correct spring and sag for your weight, sensible tyre pressure, low gearing, and controls that suit a standing rider.

Sag is how far the rear suspension settles. Static sag is under the bike's own weight. Rider sag (also "race sag") is with you on board in full kit. Use the figure for your own bike. These are the manufacturers' own numbers.

This follows the procedure in KTM's 2027 manual, which Husqvarna and GASGAS repeat word for word. You need a helper, a stand and a tape or sag scale.

Pressure from the manual. For off-road riding, KTM, Husqvarna and GASGAS all specify 1.0 bar front and rear on their 2027 two-strokes. Beta's 2026 RR X-Pro manual also gives 1 bar off-road. Sherco's 2024 SE manual gives 0.9 bar. KTM says to "check the tire pressure when the tires are cold", and warns that "low tire pressure leads to abnormal wear and the tire overheating".

Softer for technical terrain. In our experience, the more technical the terrain (rocks, roots, steps), the softer you can run your tyres, for grip. Never go under the tyre maker's minimum (see the next paragraph). On fast, smooth trails, stay near the manual figure.

Going lower with tubes. Tyre makers publish minimums. Michelin, for example, recommends 1.0 bar (14.5 psi) front and rear for its Enduro Medium tyre, with a minimum of 0.8 bar front and 0.6 bar rear. Below the minimum, a tube is easier to pinch on a rock. Drop pressure in small steps and check it cold.

Mousses. Foam mousses are common in hard enduro because they can't go flat: Wade Young's GasGas EC300 and Enduro21's Erzberg test bike both ran them. Michelin says its Bib Mousse gives a "pressure equivalence" of 0.8–1.0 bar, and Metzeler says its mousses simulate "0.7bar +/-0.1". Both are marked NHS (not for highway service), and Michelin sets a 130 km/h limit. Mousses wear out: Michelin says its mousse "can be used for a maximum of 6 months after fitting", and should not be stored long term above 30°C. Metzeler adds that "particular attention must be then paid to suspension settings when racing with mousses". On his race bike, Chris Birch runs two rim locks in the rear, fitted opposite each other. With a soft mousse, he says, not much is holding the tyre on the rim. The tyre systems comparison weighs mousses against tubes and tubeless systems, and the enduro tyres guide covers tread choice.

Slow riding makes heat. The clutch slips more, the engine works hard at low speed and there's little airflow. KTM's manual covers this directly. For "rides at high temperature or slow speed" it says to adjust the gearing, because "the engine oil quickly gets hot if the clutch has to be operated very often due to an excessively high secondary transmission". It also says to "avoid frequent and lengthy slipping of the clutch".

Lower gearing is the fix. Hard enduro is slow: in our experience, average speeds in technical terrain are often around 10 km/h, so most hard and extreme enduro riders gear down. Graham Jarvis's TE 300i ran 13/50 sprockets, according to his mechanic, and Enduro21's Erzberg bike ran "12-52 for all the low gear riding". Chris Birch geared the KTM 300 he set up for New Zealand's hard enduro championship, races he says are less extreme than the hardest events and quick at times, at 12/48. His reasons: second gear becomes usable on climbs, the ratios sit closer together, and first is low enough for long climbs without overworking the clutch, which keeps engine temperature down. Race gearing also follows the course. Jonny Walker ran 12/49 on his Beta for the TKO race and said he might switch to a 48, because the track wasn't very technical and carrying more speed suited it. A bigger rear sprocket or a smaller front one lets you ride slow sections with the clutch out more. The gearing guide explains the maths. Keep the radiator fins straight and clean. KTM lists "straighten the bent radiator fins carefully" when preparing for hard conditions. Chris Birch and Jonny Walker also protect the coolant hoses on their race bikes. Birch double-wraps his with extra lengths of hose against branches and spikes. Walker fits an extra cover over a hose, because one hard hit that breaks it puts you out of the race.

Set every control while standing in your riding position, not sitting in the garage.

• Bar position. Most enduro bikes let you move the bar forward or back. KTM's 2027 manual says the bar mount "can be mounted in two different positions", with the holes offset 3.5 mm from centre. If you feel cramped when you stand, move the bar forward or try a taller bend. Enduro21 reports Cody Webb runs "a little bit taller bar bend than the standard ODI bars".
• Bar roll. Dirt Action's rule of thumb: with the bike on flat ground, "your grips should be pretty much level". Roll the bars too far forward and the grips point up. Too far back and they slope down.
• Lever angle. Australasian Dirt Bike says to set the levers so "you can draw a straight line from your elbow right through your wrist to your fingers on the levers while you stand in the attack position". Dirt Action warns that levers set too high give "a horrible kink in your wrist" when you stand. It adds that "a slight downward angle works best".
• Lever position and reach. Slide the perch so the lever's dog-leg lines up with your first finger, then set reach so the lever sits "directly under the first knuckle of your first finger" (Australasian Dirt Bike). Leave free play: KTM specifies at least 3 mm at the front brake lever, because with none "pressure builds up in the brake system". Chris Birch sets his own race bike up differently: levers well inboard, so his fingers sit right out at the end, and pretty flat. He says that gives more leverage and front-brake power, and an easier feel at the clutch.
• Rear brake and gear lever. Dirt Action suggests the rear brake "one or two millimetres lower than footpeg" and the gear lever "as level as you can get with the footpeg". KTM specifies 3–5 mm of free travel at the brake pedal. Don't set the pedal high: Dirt Bike Magazine warns, "Too high and you'll tend to ride the brake, which heats things up".
• Crash-friendly controls. Let the perches turn in a fall instead of snapping. Australasian Dirt Bike suggests wrapping tape round the bar under the perch so "when you crash the lever will move on the handlebar instead of snapping". Graham Jarvis's bike uses Teflon perch clamps for the same reason. Never straighten a bent bar: KTM warns that a bent or straightened bar becomes fatigued and "may break".

The Controls 101 lesson has a full standing-position checklist, and the clutch control lesson covers clutch lever reach and free play.

KTM's manual opens its pre-ride section with: "Before every trip, check the condition of the vehicle and ensure that it is safe to operate." This list is built from that section. It takes five minutes.

Every maker prints a service schedule in the owner's manual. The intervals are in engine hours, and they differ a lot between makers. The tables below give each maker's figures, with the manual year in brackets. Use the manual for your own bike. If it differs from this page, your manual wins.

Three things change how you read them:

• Hours or time, whichever comes first. KTM's 2027 manuals say "the relevant mileage or time interval is whichever occurs first". A bike that rides little still needs its coolant and brake fluid changed on time.
• Hard use means sooner. KTM, Husqvarna and GASGAS warn that riding "on sand or on wet, dusty and muddy surfaces, can result in significantly increased wear", and that parts may need attention "before the next scheduled service interval". The 2027 KTM 300 EXC and Husqvarna TE 300 manuals go further for sand. Their dry and wet sand sections (8.5 and 8.6) all say: "Change the piston every 10 operating hours." Sherco's manuals say: "In competition you have to perform the 20 hour maintenance schedule after each race!" Yamaha counts its competition schedule in races of "about 2.5 hours".
• Warranty. KTM's manuals say scheduled work must be "carried out by an authorized contractual partner and confirmed in the electronic proof of service, as otherwise all warranty claims will be void". Beta's say it must be done "exclusively at an authorised Betamotor workshop and must be registered on the Betanet portal". If your bike is under warranty, read that section before you do the work yourself.

KTM, Husqvarna and GASGAS print the same intervals on each shared platform, so each platform gets one row.

"Then every" means the job repeats. Two-strokes have no engine oil filter, so their oil column is the gearbox oil.

These are replacement intervals for the piston and the bottom end, and check intervals for the valves. Sherco gives two schedules: one for competition and one for recreational riding.

KTM, Husqvarna and GASGAS give coolant a time limit only, with no hours figure. Beta's manuals tell you to check coolant and brake fluid levels at every service, but give no change interval.

Makers measure chain wear as the length of a set number of links, pulled tight. KTM's manuals say: "Always replace the front sprocket, rear sprocket, and chain together."

Check this before you fill up. Premix in an oil-injected bike, or straight fuel in a premix bike, are both mistakes.

Every figure in this section comes from the maker's own owner's manual, read on 14 October 2026. Each manual is listed in the sources below with its page numbers. We did not use dealer, forum or magazine figures. Where a manual gives no interval, the table says so.

These are the makers' intervals for the bike as sold, not our own recommendation. Manuals change: KTM's say "individual service intervals and scopes may change in the course of technical developments", and that "different service intervals may apply in your country". Sherco's manuals print no model year, so we used the files sherco.com lists for 2027. Yamaha's hour figures are its own estimates per race.