My Metal Mule pannier rails are also triangulated to the passenger pegs to place most of the weight there. Good design.

My favourite helmet is the modular Caberg Hyper X but I don't think it's homologated for use in the USA.



I love the freedom of an open face helmet (but with a massive visor that comes real low) and in the photo above I've taken off the chin bar and am using a neoprene mask against the cold.

I like engines to be unstressed and I did consider raising the gearing but decided against on experience. I have two 690s, one based in London and the other in Spain which I use in Morocco. Normally I am bumbling along at 50-60 mph enjoying the scenery and saving my tyres for the dirt, but on both bikes I've done mega day journeys at motorway speeds.

The UK bike I rode 700 miles from the Island of Harris (where the tweed comes from) in the Outer Hebrides, to London, in one day. On the other bike I rode from Marrakech via Casablanca to Tanger, then crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and rode another five hours to the other side of Granada in Spain, again a total of 700 miles in one day. The 690s feel absolutely fine and unstressed at 80 mph and I've had them both up to 100 mph but then it gets a bit hairy on knobblies and with luggage.

So I'm quite happy with the stock gearing. You can see my fuel consumption figures below, I generally reckon on about 25 km/litre when taking things easy.





The other thing I've done on the Spanish bike is to replace the stock muffler with a Wings. Not for the increased noise or lower weight but because the standard KTM exhaust runs so hot it can melt the contents of the roll bag on the rear rack.

__________________
"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)

Im not sure how the 690 does with spark plugs, but with the DR650 in SAmerica the crappy low octane gas fouled the spark plugs (yes it has 2), so might be worth throwing a couple of extras in. Maybe with the FI the 690 will run a bit better.

Nice looking bike BTW, Ive often said if the DR650 gets axed I would use a 690, have a great trip

__________________
Cheers
Grif

'11 KTM 450 EXC
'09 Suzuki DR650
'00 Discovery Series 2 V8
'95 Defender 90 300 Tdi Overlander
http://gipperstravels.blogspot.ca

I can recommend Iridium type spark plugs. (I like Denso over NGK). Iridium plugs produce a cleaner, hotter spark that resists fouling well. Iridium plugs also last over double the miles/kms. of standard plug.

Better starting, smoother idle, a bit better fuel economy and very long life.
Almost impossible to foul due to oil, poor fuel, too rich mixture from riding at very high altitude. (not a problem with F.I.)

+1 Yep, Ive used Iridium plugs since I bought the DR, they are much better, but they still can foul with a rich mix on a carb, hopefully the FI will reduce any fouling on the Altiplano with the shitty Bolivian fuel, but I would still carry a spare on a 690.

__________________
Cheers
Grif

'11 KTM 450 EXC
'09 Suzuki DR650
'00 Discovery Series 2 V8
'95 Defender 90 300 Tdi Overlander
http://gipperstravels.blogspot.ca