Nihilo KTM/Husqvarna 85cc Billet Aluminium Head

This year KTM went back to the drawing board and totally redesigned the 2013 KTM 85 SX. Included in the updates were a new cylinder and head, frame, plastics, and ergonomic changes that have made it the most sought after 85 in the industry. The new cylinder has larger water jackets, re-designed porting and a new head with built in head stay that attaches to the frame. The head stay increases rigidity and enhances the handling characteristics of the bike. The larger water jacket improves cooling and the new porting increases power by over 2hp. KTM did not produce a 105cc big wheel for the US market this year however you can turn your 85 into a 105 with the addition of a bolt on kit from KTM Power Parts. Nihilo Concepts has developed a new High Performance billet head kit that will bolt right on to the 2013-17 105cc cylinder and is designed to work with the new 2013-16 frame and head stay. The water inlet is also changed to work with the 2013-16 bike. After months of testing and development, Nihilo Concepts is proud to announce our new line of billet performance cylinder heads for the 2013/2017 KTM 105SX and 85SX’s! Our billet heads include the head stay mounting bracket as well as interchangeable combustion domes cut and shaped to our own race spec. They also include a redesigned and improved cooling jacket. These domes are different from the heads that come stock with the KTM kit both in shape and performance. You can even have a custom dome made to your specific specifications. Call the shop for more information. Available in KTM orange for that factory look. All Nihilo Concepts products are designed engineered and produced in house in the USA in our state of the art race shop/machine shop in Stuart, FL. We test with the fastest riders in the country so you can be sure you are getting the best performance parts in the industry. Same head used by top KTM riders all over the country: Jordan Bailey, Brock Papi, Challen Tennant, Enzo Lopes, Mitchell Falk, Ciaran Naran, Conner Mullenix, and Parker Mashburn. Typically head stays are used to improve handling of the motorcycle and they are not intended to hold the motor in place like motor mounts do. Unfortunately with some of the new bikes the distance between the frame at the swing arm pivot is a little too wide and the motor does not get tightened enough at that point. In past years the old frame would flex a little and allow the swing arm pivot bolt to tighten against the swing arm and motor. The new frame is more rigid and even when torqued to the factory spec does not fit tight enough to hold the motor in place. Now keep in mind we are talking about very small tolerances but at that point on the motorcycle it is critical because there is a lot of flex and stress, remember the swing arm is translating all the force of the back wheel to that pivot point. If the motor is not being squeezed tight at that location and is allowed to move eventually it will wear itself against the swing arm bushings. This causes the motor to become even more loose then the motor starts hanging off the head stays causing much more stress than it was designed to handle. When the motor is being held properly with all the mounting locations, there is almost no stress at the head stays which are only there to manage flex. The way to fix this problem is to first carefully measure the distance between the frame at the point where the swing arm attaches. Next measure the two swing arm bushings and the width of the motor at the point that the swing arm bolt goes through. Now add those numbers up and compare it to the distance between the frame at that point. You will probably find that there is a .030” to .050” difference. It is important to shim that out so the motor and swing arm will fit very tight against each other. One of the big benefits of making this adjustment and fixing this problem is that the bike will handle better and will not vibrate as much as it does now. Please contact us for further information.

Fitment:

• 2013-2016 KTM 85
• 2014-2016 Husqvarna 85
• Actual anodized color may vary from image