I have the Pirelli Scorpions MT 90 A/T's on and they're a great street tyre. Way better mileage (double?) than the TKC's and better grip on wet tar.

Not as much an off road tyre as the TKC though.

I found the TKC wear very fast on motorways. They last better when the going is slower.

This thread definitely needs more photos pleeze!!!

I'm thinking of going to Germany to buy one of these bikes for a trip later this year. Has anyone bought one and brought it back to the UK yet please? I'd like a bit of advice, customs and duty etc.
Also... If I get a van to get one... should I buy 2 or 3 and sell the others here with the number plates & MOT sorted? Is anyone interseted in that idea?

I'm thinking of going at about Easter time. Am going to ask a German friend near Hamburg to go to the shop to check the paperwork and so on...

Cheers
Col

There shouldn't be any duty or customs fee, since both Germany and the UK (whether you like it or not) are in the EU. I registered an English bike in Germany a few years ago and it was no problem. Best to ask the DVLA what kind of paperwork you need to register it (probably only the German papers) and a garage doing MOTs whether you have to do any modifications (I needed a new headlight for registering my English bike in Germany because of the beam direction, the speedo was fine because it was in km/h and mph).

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...-400-mil-56240

KTM LC4 400 MIL - Te koop op 2dehands.be

just in case anyone is interested, we just completed our trip & I am selling my beloved KTM Mil :-(

It has all the goodies that would be expected with one. Currently under 31,000kms.

I will put a proper add in the TRAVEL Bikes for Sale / Wanted threads.

Sirakor ... thanks for your informative posts.

I recently bought a 4th hand LC4 military, and some parts need to be replaced. What civilian models are best for replacement parts?

Specifically, the bracket holding the instrument cluster is cracked and being held on by tie downs and wishful thinking. Also, I want to replace the headlamp ... any advice on how to go about this?

Regards,

sithone

Hi,

first of all congrats on your new bike. The Military is a fantastic travel bike, and I'm sure you'll have lots of fun with it.

Sorry for the delay, I only saw your message just now. Somehow the parts catalogue on KTM World does not have the KTM Mil anymore, but check your private messages on the HUBB, I have some more info for you.

I'd recommend to read the posts on maintenance though before you set off on a large trip - the rocker arm rollers are a definite weak spot that needs to be checked. Also depending on the mileage, I might consider a preventive rebuild of the water pump -> there is a good tutorial on ADV-rider, and the parts needed are something like 20 EUR only.

Also, if you are coming to the Germany HU meeting next week, I will probably be there too, so we can have a chat if you like.

Have fun!


Edit: I just found two new websites that have the Military parts catalogue. Try this: http://www.partspitstop.com/pages/oemparts# or http://www.ktmpartfinder.com/ and select 400cc, year 2004, 400 LS-E/Mil chassis or engine as required.

I know it’s a reopening an old post but has anyone persisted with one of these.

38

No, but only because mine was stolen back in 2010. Haven't bought another one mainly because I didn't find one in good condition for the right price (prices are higher not than they were 10 years ago, for the same 2004 model). I bought a 690 instead, which is more fun and better offroad, but not as good as a travel bike (needs a lot of mods). For a long trip I would definitely consider getting another military. They are rare these days though.

As far as I know Sirakor (see post above) still has his, you might want to message him.

Yes I do :-) I’ve done two big trips with it so far, and currently she is sitting in the garage possibly waiting for another one. I went Germany-Nepal in 2009, incl the Stans, Karakoram highway, total about 25,000km. In 2013, I went from Germany to South Africa, incl Turkana, total about 30,000km.

I’ve been very happy with the bike. It does need a fair bit of maintenance, and will need a major overhaul (esp rocker arms, water pump seals, etc) every 25k or so. But the parts are cheap, good documentation online, so you can do it yourself.

Currently I am thinking if I would take her on a third trip. She now has some 70,000km on the clock, which is a lot for a single, esp if you think about another 30,000km trip. So I’ve been entertaining the idea of getting a KTM 690, and am anxious to see how the KTM 790 will turn out. However, both of these will cost >10-12k EUR. So if I were to find a low mileage Military for 3k, or just a low mileage engine for it for say 1k, I would probably take the deal and spend the delta on traveling. 8k EUR is more than 6months of travel ...

Don't know what other riders think about 690 but i don't find it as a long tourer at all. It is fantastic bike to ride on single tracks, logging roads and so but on bigger roads older lc4 is far more relaxed.

And I wouldn't be that happy to get my hands on its fuel pump at remoted places or hassle with fuel injection. Or having problems with subframe wich is tank.

I was happy with mine but just don't find it as a long tourer.

__________________
640 Six Days, 990Adv, 660Rally, R80g/s,
R75/5 "Toaster". South Finland.

I still don't get it: what's so bad about fuel injection? It has basically three components: the fuel pump, the injector/solenoid and the electronics. If you get problems it will most likely be because of bad quality fuel. So the injector will suffer and that one is easy to replace and hardly takes any place in luggage. The fuel pump is of course another story. But I'd rather replace a fuel pump than disasseble a carburator with it's hundret tiny parts. And how many FI control units have you heard of dying on the road, compared to carburator problems?

And does bad fuel not affect carburators?

Then there is the big advantage of fuel injections is the automatic altitude compensation.

Now admitted, I have not been riding in really remote areas of the world were they are selling bad quality fuel, but in the 11 years of my mc license I have had eight FI bikes and had quite a few seasons over 20.000km and NEVER had a single problem with FI!

I would carry a replacement fuel pump, not because of any pump issues on teh bike but because of bad fuel. Fit a Gugletech filter system as well.

I am yet to see a fuel injection failure due to the system itself

Hi all!

Not sure if this thread still has active members but hey, let's see.

Last year I came across this awesome bike in an auction from the Dutch government. The Dutch army also had these bikes and given the age, I guess they needed to be replaced. After a few tries I managed to get the highest bid and got to pick it up.

It is definitely not in new shape, obviously. The plastics are scratched and faded and the engine also has some scratches. But after replacing all fluids and a new battery it fired up!

I also replaced the brake pads, chain and got some new tyres as those bikes from the auction seem to have been stationed outside for a long while. There was a lot of old rust on the old chain and on some bolts and screws.

The bike currently starts up immediately and runs fine.

Recently my employer has given me the chance to work remotely. As I want to (slow) travel the world with having an income, plus having this bike, I'd really like to do it in this motorcycle. But before I take off later this year I want to make sure the bike is suited. I will call a KTM dealer and ask if there is any information about this specific bike. Even though this thread has answered a lot of my questions, I still have some questions i'd like to ask you as you probably have more experience on this bike.

1. Rocker arm and bearing
The bike currently runs fine but I will do a valve clearance check soon anyway. I saw in a prevous post of Sirakor that the rocker arm and bearing are the weakspot of this bike. My bike has run 11.000km now but it is 20 years old.
What are the chances the rocker arm and bearing are worn out?
I read that a sign of them being worn out would be a big valve clearance in a short amount of time. As it currently runs fine I am doubting the clearance is way off. However, like Sokaro wrote, it's better to just check the rocker arms before going on a long trip I guess.

Also, should I bring a spare bearing to be sure?

2. Hepco and Becker panniers
I managed to get the bike with the original Hepco and Becker panniers. I've seen online that soft luggage is safer than hard panniers and I am thinking of buying soft luggage bags and remove the metal rack for weight reduction. But I am still contemplating this. I really like that you can lock the panniers. Any advice?

How have your panniers been holding up?

3. What replacement parts should I bring?
This is my current list:
- Tubes
- JB weld
- Carb revise set
- Fork seals
- Air filter
- Oil filters
- Engine oil
- Magura blood 100ml

4. Are there any other things I should check before I take off?

Hopefully this thread is not abandoned yet


Some pictures if anybody is interested.