990 Adventure
 

Hi Fellow Travellers,

I am considering buying a 2010 990 Adventure, and have come to "the source" (HUBB Forum) for advice.

In addition to the 990 being one of the best adventure bikes, how is the bike as a daily commuter? Any particular reliability and service issues?

I'm located in British Columbia and there is not a huge dealer network in the province.

Thanks in advance for sharing your advice/experiences.

Cheers.

I have one, bought it new 2 years ago. Wonderfull bike, best bike I have ever owned. No problem with comuting with it:funmeteryes:, BUT (IMHO) there are other bikes that shall cost you less to comute with:oops2:.

Thanks for the feedback. Before I bought my F800Gs I read so much stuff about stalling, vibration etc. that it made me think twice about buying it. In the end, I have had no problems with my bike at all.

I guess the same holds true for the KTM. But I love that bike, so will probably bite the bullet and buy one for next season.

Take one for a test ride before you commit, the wind buffeting if you're 6'1 to 6'3 is horrendous and for me at least, no variation of screen size fixes it. A constant battering on the head makes for a very tiring day, not enjoyable at all. Then again, if you live in Qatar and are looking to buy, I have one for sale! :)

I'm waiting for the release of the 30th Anniversary Dakar Edition. Love that blue colour scheme.

The KTM just has so much more character than the other adventure bikes.

Cheers.

Hi Pytheas,

I owned a 990 for 2 years before heading off on our RTW. I'll agree with the above and say it was without the best bike i've ever owned (I came from a sportbike background). It's as quick as you like (maybe even quicker than you want!) when you want to have a bit of fun, and will embarress alot of 'fast' bikes without breaking a sweat, and all whilst you sit in comfort.

It's brilliant for commuting, allowing you great visibilty over cars etc, and with a pair of akros fitted it'll cleat people out of your way.

The only issues i had were fuel consumption was a little high (partly because you tend to give it the beans all the time!) and servicing was expensive, and doubly so when the service intervals are only about 4000 miles.

I sold it for the RTW (too expensive, too heavy, too complicated etc) and bought an XT660R but i do miss the KTM.

Get it, you won't be disappointed!!...

I currently own a 2005 KTM 950 Adventure, I had used it as a daily commuter for the last 2 1/2 years in Buenos Aires as well as for riding long distance in Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and Uruguay.
Great all around bike!!! Gets you ahead of traffic, give you awesome throttle response and on gravel or of road is agile and dependable.
On the other hand has a tendency to overheat when too hot, and does not like rush hour.
Any how what I like the best is the grin on my face every time i ride her.
Cheers

Thanks for the feedback. Can't wait till the Motorcycle Show next weekend to have a look at the bike in real life. The more I think about it, the more I'm sold!

Does anybody know whether the Ergo seat is actually 20mm (advertised) lower than the stock (sculpted) seat?

I'm a bit apprehensive about the seat height, although I have gotten used to riding my F800GS with the low seat and I think that the Adventure with the Ergo seat will be about the same height.

Cheers.

990 A
 

Check out advrider.com

The Orange Crush forum has all the info you need on these bikes.

Max

Picked up the 990 Adventure last weekend. My first KTM. Love it!!!!! :thumbup1:

I just picked up the 2011 990 Adventure dakar two weekends ago. Never having ridden a bike this large (and tall), I opted for the factory Gel seat which is approx. 1/2" lower than the standard seat.

Feels great and the slightly lower seat height works for me.

Btw, the suspension travel on the dakar edition is the same as the standard ABS equipped Adventure. Only real change was the 115 hp.

A friends 2009 fuel pump went for no reason. It was only a couple of months old and he had real problems getting hold of a new one. Something to keep an eye on.

Anticipation of the right screw
 

A friend is waiting on delivery of a replacement screw before he will be able to ride...........I think the screws are made somewhere in Outer Mongolia!

:oops2:

The fuel pump on my 2011 Dakar started to develop a slow leak during a recent trip down the Oregon Coast. Luckily the bike ran fine, and I was able to complete the trip and bring her home.

The dealer claimed that they had never seen a 990 with a leaky fuel pump. Water pumps, yes. But not fuel pumps.

Turns out that the entire pump needs to be replaced as a unit, which is fine with me since the bike is still under warranty.

Bad part is that it has to come from Memphis, TN.

Haven't been able to ride for two weeks now, waiting for the pump.

Scheduled to go in this weekend to have it replaced.

The price of pedigree!!! :taz:

Sure glad it didn't fail on our trip. I would have felt bad having to haul you to a KTM dealer on the back of my BMW. :)

KTM Adventure
 

I´m riding the KTM adventure now for three years, first the 950 and now 990. The bike is awesome and only experienced riders should use it. It´s the only dual purpose bike you really can use offroad and for travelling. Engine and suspension is great, breakes are excellent.

Cons are high fuel consumption and it runs hot pretty quick.

Overall: :clap:

I've had my 04 950 Adventure for six years now.

There are a number of known issues, but easy to get round -

Decent sump guard G-iT / Blackdog / TTech

Clutch Slave Cylinder - Oberon

Fuel Pump - Facet 40171 - excellent

Water Pump

Oil pressure switch

Any other issues look up Orange Crush on Adv - look up Lyndon Poskitt's thread.

HTH

DJ

2013 KTM 990 or F800GS
 

Hello,

This will be my first ADV bike so I am looking for any recommendations or advice. I have been riding sports bike for the past 20 years and its time to transition to different bike with more capabilities. I have some experience with dirt bikes but not a expert. I am thinking between 2013 KTM 990 ADV Baja Limited Edition or F800GS. Looking forward to your feed backs with Pro’s/Con’s

KC

is it for a particular trip?

what kind of use do you want to get from your next bike?

Being the owner of a 2007 990, I can say that you should be versed in mechanical know how. A well serviced and maintained 990 is very reliable and if you do the work yourself you will save thousands over the years.

If you intend to slog through mud and rocks, a lighter bike is recommended. At almost 600 pounds wet with panniers, it can be a massive endeavor to free it from a bad situation by yourself.

However, the fun meter is off the charts, particularly when your on dirt above 5000 RPM.

I have the 990 for long trips on mild rocky two runt to fully graded dirt highways and slab, and I use my XR650L for the more technical stuff in which a lighter bike is needed.

Completely agree. The ADVs have a few well-known "failure modes" and all of those can be addressed a priori. The bike is stupid fun and ridiculously competent off-road. I've lightened mine considerably except for a 6MM bash plate with a Lithium battery, 2-1 exhaust, no crashbars (the tanks are VERY thick), and carry just 20 kgs of gear in soft bags (Enduristan Monsoons). I ride it solo across the steppe and over hill and dale. Fantastic machine. You ride it differently than say a 115kg EXC 530 but . . . it's extremely competent in the rough stuff and actually makes me anticipate the challenges.

The failure modes: water pump, fuel pump on pre-2007s, clutch slave and VRR. Do a search on Pyndon (Lyndon Poskitt) on ADVRider. They are bomb proof.

The only mod I have not completed to make it reliable is the water pump shaft and seal and blowing all the casting dust from the engine. I just don't have the time to do it this year. I did however purchase a Shoria battery and have long ago said goodbye to dead lead acid batteries.