Thanks for this great topic. Just as I was concidering selling my trusty 650 Dakar and buying a 2005 640 Adv for my next trip to Africa, I came across this topic and remebered why I didnt buy a KTM in the first place :-)

Performance and cool parts is only of relative interest if it doesent take you all the way home

__________________
Dizzie

Oil leak from starter cover at 1600km on 05 Adventure

Yeh but come on, non of us are stupid (debatably) why do you think we ride bikes that have knowingly less reliability than Japanese bikes.

1. Because the later models are proving to be increasingly reliable (just like the early/late F650 issues), so much so that I doubt there is that much difference from a japanese machine to the average rider using a well run in bike. KTM's are no longer the radical choice they have been used for numerous trips to some of the most remote locations in the world!

2. Utterly unarguably they are the finest handling, most amazingly capable off road large capacity bikes you can buy. They need no modification (Adventure models) and they are relatively cheap (try modding an XR650L to the spec of a KTM for under 4000 pounds).


Come on, give it a try, if you're serious about your off road adventure riding you wont regret it!!!;-)

All the best,

Dave

ps. sorry for hijacking the topic.....

[This message has been edited by davidlomax (edited 24 March 2006).]

Hi,in Cameroun killing time waiting for parts.
getting concerned that I should check my inlet bearing after checking Jeremy's post!

02 adventure
bought for transafrica trip 6 months prior to departure.
Swampy changed my main shaft bearing to 03 spec. Besides that had the KTM front wheel upgrade prior to departure.

On the trip some hassles have ocurred:
-Leaking rocker cover - I resealed this in timbuctou with liq gasket.
-Battery and regulator failure - battery is an Oddysey it is still under garauntee.
The distributer is Tayna electrical.
Tayna are disinterested in honouring the warrantee claiming their supplier needs the battery returned from Africa prior to replacement. the decision took them over a month to come to so leaving me in a compromised situation in Niger.FYI The replacement battery would be brought to SA by a friend to replace the oversize batt I have currently got that required me to raise the seat to accomadate it. I would not take this risk if I were you and travelling remote areas. get a Yuassa,end story.

-Rear shock failure: Happened after a long line of hard bottom outs whilst desert riding with full gear load.Completely my own fault riding the bike like a motocross bike with full panniers, duffle bag and spare desrt tyre on rear.

-Worn carb slide and pin: Important for anyone travelling in dusty conditions get some airfilters for the carb vent hose on the right of the carb. this will definetly save you hassle in the future

-failed ignition Coil/HC coil- not confirmed yet as i'm waiting for replacements from Sommer and will know for sure whether My diagnosis (Swampy and Sommer really) is correct.

That's all there is really. a fair amount for a bike with 18000km's on the clock.

Gents,
good topic, if I read the stories I get drawn back to the trip... I was 42000 km on a 2000 model Adventure (that I bought with 16000 on the clock). Met Jerome and Dave on the trip of this Thread, good to chat... And good luck guys for the future... My failures were only few ones...
1. the front wheel bearing failed at km24000. But they were the originals and in 2000 the OE weren't of high quality. So the new ones are still in today...
2. The Revmeter failed at 25000 km, in the f... desert. Well, I pulled the plug and its still off and I finished the trip.
3. clutch basket made rattling sounds at 30000 km. I exchanged and upgraded to the 2004 solution.
4. Piston failure in Chile after pieces broke off following the Bolivian 70 octane gas at km 50000. At KTM Chile (by the way a super dealer) I got all new parts. And at that time (as the bearings made these funny noises since 5000) I exchanged everything, basically build a reman engine.
5. Rear wheel bearings failed at km 55000 in Patagonia.
Everything survived 100 Rivers (up to the light), 60 degrees, 5300 meters altitude, minus 15 in Bolivia and so on.

Besides the engine (which I do not blame the KTM for) all these little things were for me more or less wear and tear...
And it never let me down...
Super Bike.. Cheers Ras

__________________
Rasmus
www.panamericana.info

So far:
2006 Adventure. 5000km into Africa trip - in Egypt.

Sidestand - aftermarket from KTM Sommer. Broken 2 bloody centre stands (the bolt) with it and now its bent and won't work. Dont bother putting it on, waste of money. You get used to the centre stand with panniers etc.

Leaking a small amount of oil from the sighting window on the RHS of the engine. The seal on the window has gone.

Apart from that, great bike which is doing the job well. Just wish you didnt have to remove the tank to get to the spark plug...

Ok... posted an ironic comment on this thread 19th feb regarding Adventure vs Dakar. Now I have decided to give the KTM 640 ADV a try and bougth one
last week......

Havent started to ride it yet but the history from previous owner is:

2005 mod
5000km
Neutral bulb changed.

__________________
Dizzie

+1 and the footprint is useless off-road. A pencil would be more use.

__________________
http://bigben.to/ London to....? The big bike annual rally.
http://www.mongolbikers.com 125cc London -> Mongolia.

'02 KTM 640a
40K km-blew the headgasket, please see this:

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...-warning-29819

Using a Proiler for chain lubrication,
chain and sprockets are lasting 25K km.

Only other failures were carb float needle plus needle and needle jet and the countershaft sprocket seal.
b.

Good Day

Myself and 2 friends are doing a 8000Km trip through Africa (South Africa – Namibia – Zambia – Malawi and Mozambique)

We got KTM 640 Adventure 09 and 2000 models and bought them from a guy in South Africa
Both of them got around 43 000 Km on them so what I would like to know as I’m not very familiar with KTM (Honda Man) what must we have looked at before the trip and most important what spares would you recommend taking along on our adventure.

Now the bikes did a trip from Germany to South Africa so it got all the long trip conversions done.

Any recommendations will be appreciated

Thanks Peter

I'd start off by reading this thread from the beginning ... it started in 2004!!

Then go over to ADV Rider (Thumpers section) look up the 640 ADV specific threads over there. Some VERY comprehensive ones by guys who have been dedicated to this bike for ages. A TON of knowledge.

Look up a Canadian guy on ADV Rider (Gunnerbuck) He knows the 640's very well. Don't read too much ... or you may never go on your trip. Not ALL news is good news regards this bike!

I love the 640's ... to ride, but not so much to own or to travel on. But if you deal with all the common issues, carry spares and know your ins and outs of the bike ... you should be fine!
Safe Travels!

The only problems I had with my 2004 640 advt. was:
5000km Leaking fork seal after 3500km of badly corrageted gravel roads and station tracks in the Pibarra region of N.W. Wester Australia.
9500km Slight weeping of oil from the cam cover seal - replaced under warranty with no problems they even gave me a loaner bike for the day whilst the seal was changed [ Thanks Motorcycle City.]
I have found this a fantastic bike for gravel road and dirt track touring.
My wife was also on this trip riding here 640 hard enduro fitted with the 18 litre tank and also had only minor problems eg:blown headlight globes x 2 and a minor oil leak and 3 broken front wheel spokes.[ we had spares]
I have found these 640 bikes to be ultra reliable and economical 520 km range from the advt. on gravel and loose dirt mix at speeds averaging 80 to 100kmh.
These bikes have been riden hard and well prepared and maintaned but definatly not pampered.

Not long after my last post my 03 640 Adventure suffered a major failure. From what I could see it started with a broken piston ring and went from there. I completely stripped the engine down to nothing and started replacing the damage. The list of parts is as follows:
complete set of gaskets
new crankshaft
new crank bearings
new crank seals+ keys and end nuts
cylinder replated
new piston kit
cylinder head remachined to remove pugmarks {from piston hits crunching ring debris}
complete valve job {new seals +2 intakes and 2 exhaust guides}

I feel KTM is extracting to much performance out of this engine at the cost of reliability and have done a couple things to change that:
#1 Had the machine shop take a little extra material out of the combustion well to reduce compression a wee bit {could also be done with a thicker base gasket}
#2 I switched the ignition to the low octane setting for a softer hit and will leave it like that.

With these changes I hope to make it past 100,000 KM without to many more problems. This is a mark that seems rare for the LC 4 engine to reach without having some kind of major meltdown sometime before it's reached.

I bought a new 640 Adv ( 06 model ) last year. It was run in properly, had it's first service plus a service at 2,200 miles before leaving for Morocco.
The bike was standard apart from luggage and changed tyres (TKC80,s) and took me to Morocco from the UK with no problems.

Whilst crossing the Atlas mountains I experienced carb icing at 14000 metres with a temperature just above freezing, which later cleared at the same altitude on the descent the other side. The front brake discs warped, the usual oil weep from the sight glass and I had to be recovered from France on the return journey when a tooth on the starter motor sprocket which engages in the gearbox failed. I was not impressed with the reliability or the responce from KTM ( who failed to honor the warranty) and I sold the bike back to the shop at a great loss. Need I say anymore. Just hope the 690 Adventure will be more reliable.