690 my new bike?
 

I'm giving serious thought to buying a KTM 690, but have a few questions:

• What's an average mpg you might be getting? My current bike (heavy!) does 60mpg - great for overland travel! If I decide to go for a 690, I'd add an evo 2 fairing and tank (or are there other, better suggestions - not too expensive!). Would these add too much weight with fuel?
• Does the fairing offer great wind protection, or is it a token gesture?
• Depending on the type of trip I might do, I will use either soft pannier bags / hard 31L Metal Mules; in both instances, a roll bag with tent will also be there. I'd like a top box for general, day-to-day living.
• What racks should I look at? Would the weight on the rear be an issue, with there being no subframe?
• What seat should I go for - I want a comfort one, but not a KTM replacement - aftermarket!
• I assume that the WP suspension is good enough for all my travel needs - I don't hoon it around, but I don't want to have to worry about them giving up the ghost!
• Is the bike mechanically simple - my current bike isn't!
• What RON rating could I go down to and still rune the bike?
• The current, 2014 bike is ride by wire - would this stop the bike being looked at in the middle of nowhere (bush mechanic style)?
• Overall, even with the foibles you've encountered, would you go with one again given the option?

I'm sorry for the list! Too many questions http://d26ya5yqg8yyvs.cloudfront.net/icon10.gif I appreciate, in advance, any replies people offer.

690 ktm
 

Endurodude

Not sure about mpg as a Australien but 4 liter per 100 km is what you can work on!
I just spend 8 month and 35000 km on a 690 from Australia to Europe! I put a small windshield on it and I find it was good enough for speed up to 120km and I did not often go much faster.

As for luggage I would recommend the wolfman soft bags they have been excellent?? even thou I have come off 3 or 4 times (slow speed) and I have been on some pretty bad road they have been excellent. Just attaching them to the wolfman rack every day took a little bit more time.
If you do a lot of off road riding I would not use a Top box it is simply to much weight.

Good luck enjoy your bike

Thomas

Any other thoughts? I've read thousands of posts on ADVrider; I'm particularly interested in the max carry capacity of the 690. I only ride, no car, so carrying stuff is a must. Although I don't want to max the load, but knowing where the max is would be useful. I'd also be interested in how low quality fuel would affect th bike.

I'd contact Noah and a few others experienced RTW enduro riders.

Have you traveled abroad on a motorcycle for months at a time? I think the 690 is good for the right rider. If you travel like you're doing the Erzberg Rodeo ... then perfect.

I've ridded the 690 but never went far on one. Wonderful bike. Some have had some issues but if you are mechanical and get it set up properly and take care on maintenance ... should be just fine. Hard bags should be OUT.
Look at what others riding such bikes are packing. Thing LIGHT LIGHT LIGHT!

Maybe buy one and do a month long "shake down" ride down to Morocco and back. If you can get round Morocco without issue then I'd bet you can do just about anything.

Cheers! bier

As MollyDog said.. Some of us have been traveling on the 690 for a long time.


What's an average mpg you might be getting? With the 690, I get between 45 and 50 mpg on average. Sometimes I get as good as 60, but that is when i'm not having any fun. I was never below 40 mpg, even with shit fuel in Uzbekistan.

Does the fairing offer great wind protection, or is it a token gesture?
Offers wind protection. But also blocks sight of the front tire/fender. On the BAM road when crossing shitty old russian bridges, I wished I didn't have the ferring.

Depending on the type of trip I might do, I will use either soft pannier bags / hard 31L Metal Mules; in both instances, a roll bag with tent will also be there. I'd like a top box for general, day-to-day living.
Stick with soft bags. Metal panniers are heavy and are not good offroad. They get damaged easy when you lay the bike down. Plus, soft bags won't break you leg when you plant your foot in the soft stuff.

What racks should I look at? Would the weight on the rear be an issue, with there being no subframe?
Rally raid products UK makes many parts for the 690 including a soft pannier rack.

What seat should I go for - I want a comfort one, but not a KTM replacement - aftermarket!
Renezco racing or seat concepts. I have used both. Both are good.

I assume that the WP suspension is good enough for all my travel needs - I don't hoon it around, but I don't want to have to worry about them giving up the ghost!
I am running stiffer spring in rear. Stock front. My old setup, I had stiffer spring in front also. It was better for pavement because it would not dive when braking. But offroad, it was to harsh. The stock springs/forks eat washboard so nice.

Is the bike mechanically simple - my current bike isn't!
Oil changes and valve checks on the 690 are quite simple. I can do both in under 2 hours. Oil change interval pre 2012 is 7500 km. 2012 on is 10,000 km. I've said it before, if you travel on a bike, you should learn it. When I started my trip, I could not check my own valves. Now I feel I can do anything that might be needed with this bike. The LC4 motor is strong and resilient.

What RON rating could I go down to and still rune the bike?
I was buying fuel from a 14 year old on the side of the road in uzbek. It was maybe 80 octane? We called it "donkey piss". My MSR stove had problems burning it but the 690 ran it ok. There is a map selector switch on the 690 and if you get shit fuel, you can run the "shit fuel map" until you get to good fuel again. Normally I have no problems running the low grade... or whatever is available.

The current, 2014 bike is ride by wire - would this stop the bike being looked at in the middle of nowhere (bush mechanic style)?
Any bike you ride, you should learn yourself. Once you leave USA or Europe, the likely hood of someone knowing your bike is slim to none. That being said, My 690 has never had problems with the EFI over 92,000 km.

Overall, even with the foibles you've encountered, would you go with one again given the option?
IMO, the 690 is the best option for a lightweight, durable, travel bike. It will take you everywhere. Don't kid yourself about the type of travel you want to do. If you want to be comfortable on tarmac, the 690 isn't the best option. If you want to do offroad in siberia or in the morracan desert, the 690 amazing and wont let you down.

Thank you very much, this is very useful!

I have had my 690R now for almost 1,5 years and have done around 10.000km on it. I once had a serious problem that caused a total stop of the trip. After shutting down the engine it didn't start any more. Sounded first like an empty battery, but was in fact a defective bearing in the rocker arm of the exhaust valve, according to the dealer who did the repair.

I am suspecting that the bearing was damaged during winter riding, when I had some cold starts at temperatures as low as -20 degrees C. It was very hard getting the engine running at those temperatures, even that the 10W60 oil is rated down to -20. Maybe some lubrication problem caused the bearing to give up three months later.

Otherwise the bike is now "adventurized" to the maximum with Evo2 tanks, Rallyraid engine guard and radiator guard, Britannia Composites Lynx front fairing, Kahedo seat, a 1" lowering by Koudalink, the KTM/TT back luggage rack and since today a hydraulic preload adjuster for the back damper, plus some other small goodies. Total weight including 22liters of fuel and tools is 174kg!

When it comes to the advantages and field serviceability of EFI this is really excellent reading:

Adv Bike Selection 2 | Sibirsky Extreme

I have done quite a few trips over long weekends, which is of course something completely different than a RTW trip, but I love the lower weight compared to the 990 I had before. This summer I will spend three weeks on the bike in Scandinavia, something I am really looking forward to.

If you want first hand long-time long-distance experience I strongly recommend that you contact Noah, which was mentioned previously.

The exhaust rocker is a known problem. Proper lubrication is a must. I always use 10w60 full synthetic. I also use Scotts reusable stainless steel oil filters. They flow better than paper and I think that is one of the reasons my motor is lasting so long. I try to also always keep my oil above 1/2 full in the sight glass.

Of course all this is hearsay but its working for me :innocent:

I also do my own valve clearance checks with every oil change. So I look at the rocker bearing to see if there is problems.

Just stumbled across this old thread.

So Endurodude ... are you still shopping for a KTM 690?

Any thoughts lately about this? :confused1:

I recently got another test ride on a friends 690. It's always impressive in the power dept! Love it! Love the brakes too. So got to thinking if a properly set up KTM 690 could ever replace my DR650?

The worrying thing is HOW FEW 690's are out there doing the BIG miles as travel bikes: all packed up and crossing continents. So far, not many besides Noah and Colebatch's friend in Mongolia. I'm sure there are a few more ... but I don't see many.

On local dirt/dual sport rides here in San Fran Bay area, you can see dozens of KTM's: 500's, 690's, 530's, you name it. LOTS. But NONE of these guys ever go anywhere on their bikes ... and virtually everyone of them trailered their bike to that event. I rode my DR650 there ... and back. :D

Seems the closer I look at the 690, the more "known issues" crop up.
bier

Hey Mollydog,


Sherri Jo had been riding her 690 for a few years RTW, not without incident, here's her blog:


Sherri Jo's Because I Can World Tour

Im thinking the same as you, if my DR650 needs retiring the 690 is probably the most viable option (unless I buy a new DR) I did take one out for a test ride the other week it did not have as much grunt as I was expecting to be honest, but I'm sure it has lots of emissions crap fitted, with that junked and a better exhaust Im sure it would be much better. The close ratio gearbox, while good for dirt would not be good on long stretches of asphalt or good gravel roads, Its was revving at about 3500 rpm at 80 kmh in 6th gear, if it had a wide ratio 6 speed then it would be better, improved gas mileage and less engine wear, its 2014 and I shouldn't have to swop sprockets on 6 speed boxes to get the correct gearing! Yes the FI/fuel pump etc are a concern for remote travel, but with decent preparation as Noah has demonstrated its a good bike.


Apart from this issue it felt light and nimble with a great front end - Id love to take it for a backroads thrash!

I bet it made you smile when you test rode it :)

There are many many people traveling on 690s now and in the last few years.

Lyndon Poskitt "Races to places". He is on a 690 rally. He is doing races and traveling on the same bike.
Lyndon Poskitt / Adventure Spec

Around the world with Lukas M. In central Asia somwhere. Slow to update.
https://www.facebook.com/aroundtheworldwithlukasm

Overland ride. UK dude going down through Africa solo on a 690.
Overland Ride | Cornwall to Cape Town

Into the world. They did 2up through Africa on a Tenare 660 then did Central asia last summer on a drz400 and a 690 ktm.
Into The World – Motorcycle Adventures in Africa, Europe and Asia

Continental Drift. London to Sydney on 2 690s. they have some sweet videos. and they recently did an un-assisted crossing of the Simpson desert.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Conti...95235653852940

25000 miles with luke and nick through Africa. If you read this, you will not buy a 690. But i'm riding his bike now and it has 109,000 km.
25,000 miles with Luke and Nick - ADVrider

RTW on a KTM 690
RTW KTM 690 Enduro - ADVrider

I know I'm forgetting some.

Known problems are not problems because they can be fixed. Every bike has problems.. the 690 is now well sorted out. And the following is quite passionate because it is such a good bike.

There is lots of info here:
690 Hall of Wisdom - KTM 690 Wiki

Lyndon's riding a rally bike as mentioned, similar in some ways but not the same as the production bikes. Carb and vacuum fuel pump rather than FI and electric fuel pump which helps overcome some of the known issues with the production 690. Plus a host of other detail changes. Also the best suspension I've ever had the pleasure to use. Lyndon's conversions are awesome.

Both myself and Ian my mate recently rode the same rally bikes converetd by Lyndon 17,000 km to Mongolia and in Ian's case 24.000km to Magadan.
Only issues were leaking radiator on mine and leaking fork seals on Ian's. Lyndon's bike is currently is currently somewhere around 40,000+ km on this trip so still well behind Noah. LukasM has also switched to a rally bike now.

Shaun's Blog Archives - Speed Couriers

Having said all that I used to own a production 690 beforehand and loved that as well. Best choice of adventure bike in production at the moment.

I rode 20 000 km last summer in Russia and Mongolia with a friend. It included some fairly serious terrain such as muddy logging roads of Arkhangelsk, the "110" in Siberia and rocky gullies in Mongolia.

We were riding identically built 690 K13's. "The Hobo edition", if you will. The full story on preparing the bike is here.

The bikes performed very well with issues being limited into leaking fork seals, that were easily cured with a Seal Doctor. My exhaust side rocker arm was spent when I got home. It had 30 000 km on it. During the ride I toasted my clutch in sticky mud that prevented the wheels from spinning. So my fault and a nice experience changing it on a muddy track in the middle of nowhere.

Due to the stories I'd read about problems with the 690, we carried a lot of spare parts. The list will be a whole lot slimmer next time around.

The full ride report is here.