KTM vs Japs
 

I have doubts about KTM parts available worldwide...

Wishing to buy a 400 cc. I guess a Yam or Suzuki has passed the tests.
Users says KTM has more vibration ! ?

I don't know if this KTM LC4 Mil is available in TR ?

:confused1:

Export one
 

Samy,
Just buy one in Germany and ride it home: not too easy with the previous information about the servicing and registration, but an export plate would deal with the latter - all part of the adventure!!

:welcome: I have one ... Papers will be sorted this week. Take it to Iceland in August :mchappy:

Hi, funny you should mention a 640 LS-E/Mil I have one. Actually for sale on Ebay at the moment. Great bike with this engine one of three ordered by the MOD and used by the SAS.

Bump.

Any more insight you can share on the military version now that you had it for a while?

Anyone know what the differences are to the stock LC4 400, other than color and panniers?

It does sound like a sweet ride ready to go and there are plenty available for reasonable prices on mobile.de. Might just be the ticket for me for the summer. Although I do wonder why so many are being sold.


Cheers,
Steff

That's because of military procurement systems and policy: without boring you to death, they contract to buy a certain number on a regular basis. Therefore the "old" ones are sold on, no matter what mileage they have done or how hard a life they have had.

As they´re "detuned for reliability", has anyone noted any probs re this, i would find this very interesting...

It might be helpful to know that your local KTM dealer can check the history (done services, updates) for any KTM in the internal net. All he needs is the vehicel id-no.

You will get some useful information before you you start a trip to check or buy a bike.

Services and repairs for the german army KTMs are also done at KTM dealers, so all bike history should be saved.

In the unlikely case that the KTM guy can`t help you feel free to contact
me.:cool4:

Nope. All the power I need. Just back from a trip in Iceland, and the bike is great. My bum did hurt after the 1200km trek to Danmark though.

I don't think it's detuned for reliabillity. 25kw is a standard for a 'small' license, and its better for the 19 year old recruit's health. I did 6500km in three weeks, and it didn't have a single issue. The oil came out nice and clean.

Absolute pro's are the bikes dropabillity, weight, and peace of mind because it isn't the end of the world if you loose it.

The tankbag is a pain when standing on the pegs. You can't lean forward enough to compensate for a headwind or accelerating up hill, which soon becomes tiring.

And for the rest, it's a fun toy...

Hi Robbert
 

do you have any Pics of you and your machine in Iceland

thanks

philgunn

Pics...
 

So do you want pics of me? or the KTM? or me on the KTM?

I was traveling alone, so too many pics of mysels.

Pics of the trip are here:
2008.08 Iceland - a set on Flickr

I haven't added any text yet

pictures
 

I am in South America on my KTM at the moment, if you'd like to see some pics from there, check Meine Homepage - MySouthAmericaLoop
I can give some comments about the bike on terrible roads in Bolivia and altitude, but not now as the battery will die in a few minutes.
Peer

altitude and mirrors
 

Some info on the KTM Military at altitude:
So far I have travelled from Buenos Aires to Sucre (Bolivia) and I have been a little bit above 4000 m without doing any sort of carb rejetting.
On the Salar de Uyuni (around 3700 m I believe) I could still do 110 km/h (without luggage) and I think I could have gone a bit faster, but I felt sorry for the struggling engine and I was short on fuel. Going uphill with luggage at around 4000 m was a different story. Sometimes I was limited to 30-40 km/h, once it was vey steep and I could only do 20 km/h which made me feel a bit pathetic. At the same altitude (not going uphill) I never went faster than 80 or 90, but I didn't try to either (the engine was working hard though). Apart from one time (the 20 km/h uphill) I have never been limited by the power of the bike, but the road conditions. You don't want to go much faster than 30 km/h around tight corners uphill on Bolivian roads, so in my opinion the bike was performing satisfactorily, although it could be better. You have to keep in mind that Bolivian fuel isn't the best and that I changed the fuel mapping so I think the bike will be more powerful with decent fuel at high altitudes.
Furthermore, at 3500-4000 m the fuel consumption went up from 4.2-4.7 l/100 km to 6-6.5 l/100 km (which is also due to bad fuel and fuel mapping).

Another thing I shoud mention about this bike is the mirrors. After about 250 km of really heavily corrugated roads in Bolivia both mirrors broke off at the base (the first after 200 km/h). Maybe I should have taken them off or folded them in, but I expected them to hold. You might want to do that (or replace them with sturdier ones) if you encounter long stretches of terrible roads.

Hope this helps.

Peer

Ktm
 

I've just finished a RTW with a KTM Military (including the Stans, Mongolia, Alaska, Canada).

It performed well but had some problems.

1. Regarding the mirrors (mines also broke but this was due to crushes). I've put a light aluminium bar between them and connected the thing with tape and they were quite sturdy afterwards.

2. Fuel switch to low octane - when using it I could see the engine heating faster and overheating a couple of times even at lower RPM. I'm not sure what the cause of that was.

3. Fuel consumption varied between 6.5l with 2up and full luggage on highway to 3.5l 1up and a bit lighter luggage at 90km/h asphalt. In Mongolia it ate about 4-4.5l/100km. I've noticed that the quality of the fuel has a lot to say on consumption. On 80 octane it was eating 1-1.5l more/100km than 91 octane in similar conditions.

4. Engine is not vibrating more than a 650DR or a 650KLR. In Canada I had an average of 1000km/day and I felt ok (of course that could also be me). The seat is also very confortable.

5. Reliability wise... hmm.... suspension / frame.. excellent. The only thing might be the engine. I STRONGLY recommend changing the oil every 5000km if synthetic and every 2000km if mineral. I had a failure (a broken bearing on the admission rocker that affected the cam as well). In Europe you can get all parts. In Alaska I got the rocker in 48hrs but should have waited 2 weeks for the cam-shaft. But if you are thorough (I wasn't) with the engine mantainance.. you should be fine.

6. The bike "handles" very well the crushes/drops. It is very sturdy. Might also be because of the light weight. Out of my "crushing" experience, that's an excellent point. Crush it and it'll take it.

Some more words and photos on: Dan Honciuc photography