KTM 950 high mileage?

[Steve Pickford]

Any body out there racked up a lot of miles on their 950 yet? If so, how is the reliability & what are the costs for having it dealer serviced?

Thanks

Steve

[amiller]

Hi Steve,I now have some 30,000kms on my LC8!the only problem so far has been a seal go in the slave cylinder on the hydraulic clutch,this is a problem as it is not an easy bike to ride out of London without a clutch !signs were oil comming out near the gearbox sprocket,then of course the clutch not woking.As for running cost rear tyres last about 14,000 kms and fronts last about 20,000 kms.Other running costs are realy no different than any other bike of this size,but beware the engine HAS to run on fully synthetic oil, say KTM.Also chain and sprockets have just been changed at 30,000 kms.

[alpinerider]

Hi there, I am a novice rider preparing for a south america ride. I own a KTM 950, it has low miles. I am a little concerned about the reliability factor on a big trip. I have an opportunity to trade it in on a GS 800. I know this has been done to death over at adventure rider but I am just interested from a travel point of view. I wont be doing any hard riding, rather climbing (the old fashioned way) mountains while I am down there. I would greatly apreciate any help I can get. Thanks

[Jake]

I have now sold my ktm950 but had done somewhere in the region of 50 thousand miles (70 odd thousand kms I think) and have to say overall the bike was very reliable - few issues involved the clutch slave which was replaced with an upgraded aftermarket one which never failed, the back brake a constant problem even when replaced with a recall item, a fuel pump at 30,000 and a few other small items, I had every confidence that the KTM would easily have kept going for another 50 thousand the only thing was the price of parts and the maintaining of the beast which was more complicated than it need have been.

I always kept ontop of thing and replaced them before failure so things like wheel bearings, clutch, head bearings various seals etc were replaced sometimes and maybe too often but I did not want failures of these items when out of europe if possible.

I did however get a bit sick of the high cost of some parts and the short life span of items like the clutch -was onto the third one when I sold it, needed a new clutch basket in the forseeable future (cost over £400), what really stopped me keeping the bike was two things

1) ktm would not sell me a new replacement short engine - this would have meant I could have switched engines at say 100000 miles and the parts cost to rebuild the engine were frankly totally insane. KTM s Rob Brown reckoned an engine rebuild would be in probability be needed between 75000 and 100000.

point 2 -Also I needed something far easier to work, slower and more fuel efficient/comfortable two up/ less attractive to prying eyes when away for longer trips so the old BMW r80gs won the day. Still think the KTM was and is a fantastic machine bit to complicated for constant long overland trips - but hey so are most the big GS and many other bikes.

By the way mine was a 03 model from the first batch released - i really reckon KTM were very careful on quality control and build with this first batch to get them as right as they could - if they failed too much the results for KTMs future would be well shaken, as it seems to me the later models (04-05) had loads more problems and I do know of several 03 models that are still going well now without to many issues.

[alpinerider]

Thanks jake that was helpful

[mollydog]

What year is your 950? As you know from ADV, .... or don't have.

Cheers,

[stickysidedown]

Well I bought Jake's (adventure950) 03 KTM at 40 odd thousand miles, racked up another ten thousand miles before part exchanging it against a new 990s. Jakes wasnt wrong saying the clutch needed work in the forseeable future as the carrier failed on the way back from his house to mine the day i bought the bike!

That said in general terms the bike itself performed brilliantly and ran like a swiss watch, I've dragged it through river crossings, up mountains, done 1000 mile days 2 up, scratched with sportsbikes and offroaded with 250 strokers. at that sort of mileage you can anticipate some faults and these included. the clutch carrier bolt shearing off due to a worn indent on the back of the carrier (£120) the ignition barrel contacts corroding causing headlamps to not always work (cleaned up but replacement was £70 unless you wanted the key to match the fuel caps in which case £280)
A Battery failure (£130ish) A rear caliper that was completely U/S as a result of corrosion £160 and a fuel pump failure (Jake supplied me with a part used spare that did for me so dont know the cost) and to be fair the fuel pump failure had as much to do with my deep water play on salisbury plain as anything else

at the 55,000 mile service the valves were within spec and the cam chains were also within spec. replacing with the 990 was just because I could, not because I should neccesarily and I was sad not to put more miles on her

[gary and loo]

I think I now own your old 950, got it on e-bay from Devon, it has now done 54000 and I think it has gone tits up!
Nasty rattle and low oil pressure with the oil hot or cold.
Any body know if a 990 motor will fit?

Originally Posted by stickysidedown

Well I bought Jake's (adventure950) 03 KTM at 40 odd thousand miles, racked up another ten thousand miles before part exchanging it against a new 990s. Jakes wasnt wrong saying the clutch needed work in the forseeable future as the carrier failed on the way back from his house to mine the day i bought the bike!

That said in general terms the bike itself performed brilliantly and ran like a swiss watch, I've dragged it through river crossings, up mountains, done 1000 mile days 2 up, scratched with sportsbikes and offroaded with 250 strokers. at that sort of mileage you can anticipate some faults and these included. the clutch carrier bolt shearing off due to a worn indent on the back of the carrier (£120) the ignition barrel contacts corroding causing headlamps to not always work (cleaned up but replacement was £70 unless you wanted the key to match the fuel caps in which case £280)
A Battery failure (£130ish) A rear caliper that was completely U/S as a result of corrosion £160 and a fuel pump failure (Jake supplied me with a part used spare that did for me so dont know the cost) and to be fair the fuel pump failure had as much to do with my deep water play on salisbury plain as anything else

at the 55,000 mile service the valves were within spec and the cam chains were also within spec. replacing with the 990 was just because I could, not because I should neccesarily and I was sad not to put more miles on her

[George1]

I sold my 950 and bought the 800gs, great bike but lacks the fun and speed you can approach obsticles on the KTM. Its down to the suspension not being as good. On the road in and around London its great. Keep the 950 and get the BM for the trip, then sell it when you get back.

Originally Posted by alpinerider

Hi there, I am a novice rider preparing for a south america ride. I own a KTM 950, it has low miles. I am a little concerned about the reliability factor on a big trip. I have an opportunity to trade it in on a GS 800. I know this has been done to death over at adventure rider but I am just interested from a travel point of view. I wont be doing any hard riding, rather climbing (the old fashioned way) mountains while I am down there. I would greatly apreciate any help I can get. Thanks

[ErikBrazil]

My one has today 120.000km at the moment i going from Sao Paulo to Alaska for the second time (same bike)
Few things to mention, i HAD NEVER HAD A mecanic problem on this bike
Oil Change every 5000km, oil filter every 10.000km ( I use washable one) and air filter every 20.000km
At the end of this gtrip it will be 150.000km. Sorry it,s not for sale.

[Genghis9021]

Well, there's "miles" and miles.

Mine has 47k KM and has see ALOT of off-road, never out of 3rd gear riding.

They're wonderful. Fun. Capable (always reminding you that the weakest link is the fool holding the handlebar) and great all-rounders.

Like the "OLD" GS they have a few niggles that can be addressed a la @Wantok describes (and I have). I'd add the VRR for remote travel (a problem on MANY bikes !), and a Fumoto oil valve to make oil changes quick and (not) dirty. With each year from 2006 the niggles are more & more addressed at delivery.

Once those are addressed . . . it's pretty much free wheeling fun. The exception is to see the necessity of a valve adjustment after the initial one, though it's a PIA to check.

What other bike's rider is grinning so much on such an ugly bird !

[MilesofSmiles]

I have an 07 with ABS.
In this post I read that the back brake can be a problem even when the TSB was resolved. I have experienced this myself. Because the ABS bikes have the ABS switch, which requires one to think ahead of time, we all make one error time after time. That error is; We forget to turn off the ABS when we hit dirt. Braking on the dirt with ABS, activates the unit. This in turn forces what air bubbles are in the main unit under the seat to travel down the line to the rear caliper. This is the 1st problem.

2nd problem: Dot fluid attracts moisture. The rear reservoir has a piss poor seal and generally will let air in and out at the right hand side Phillip screw head. When you are hot dogging about and heating up the rear brake, you literally boil the moisture in the fluid causing air bubbles in the line. Over a long time this builds up and a bleeding is in order.

Use high temp 700F fluid, squeeze the calipers for your final action before butting up the systems and do not ride in dirt with ABS on. Following these suggestions have made my brake work every time for thousands and thousands of care free miles.

[wilbjr21]

My KTM - admittedly the 990 Adv - has done 53,000 completely trouble free miles. I did fit the Oberon slave cylinder and the BDCW side stand re-locator to try and avoid any problems.

[Uncle Brad]

Food for thought.

The Original: KTM 950 Adventure Bike

The Great Adventure !

[Walkabout]

Originally Posted by Genghis9021

and a Fumoto oil valve to make oil changes quick and (not) dirty.

Does this fit to the sump drain, that pretty inaccessible oil tank drain, or both?
I looked at the Fumoto website and it has just one of their models of valve recommended for this bike - maybe this valve fits both locations on the bike (if the thread is the same dia and pitch)?