reliable KTM

[travelHK]

A good friend of mine is insisting in buying a KTM for travelling 2 up , since he is not speaking a great English I am posting for him . I had the 990 and 450 and loved them but couldn't say they were trouble free bike and I do not know the new model,...

[mollydog]

Coming out of a dark beginning, KTM have made big strides in reliability from the 90's and early 2000's. Especially true of big twins. Early 950's/990's had some problems but more recent ones (1190, 1050, 1290) seem to be going well and mostly trouble free.

We have a lot of KTM twin riders around here...very few do long term travel, but many are ridden unusually hard. I would not buy 2004 to around 2007. Buy a newer KTM for more reliability. Lots of fixes and upgrades have been made in just the last 3 or 4 years.

The singles (640 and 690) had more frequent and more serious problems. If you go WAY back, (mid 90's) the 640's had lots of repeating problems. This model is discontinued but many still on the road. Once a few things are fixed/replaced and sorted the 640 seems OK, but you have to have "The Knowledge" to keep them healthy if on the road for extended periods and far from a dealer.

Early 690's had problems also, from around '07 to '09 or so. More recent 690's seem more trouble free, fewer top end and fuel pump related failures. But like ALL KTM's, they require a knowledgable and careful owner. Keep up on maintenance, do all fixes upgrades pro actively, carry spares for common failures and it should all be good.

Not many KTM's have made RTW trips without at least a few interruptions for
"service".

It's an expensive machine, but relatively lightweight and very fun to ride.
For Europe or USA I would not hesitate to travel on a KTM. But for more remote regions I'd make another simpler, less expensive choice.

[Island Hopper]

It helps to have the knowledge to keep any bike going on the road, whether Japanese or Euro bike... Like I mentioned in the other thread the KTMs on my back country expeditions have been among the most reliable amongst the group suffering the least amounts of breakdowns.. Mention any model and make of bike and it will have known issues that have repeated failures... The sad part is after yrs and yrs some manufactures turn a blind eye to known issues... The doohicky on the KLR, weak rear sprocket/hub/bearing on the DR 650 along with a weak exploding gearbox in a small percentage... KTM at least tries to cure reliability problems in there lineup from yr to yr by making changes... The early 640s had a weak main shaft bearing, in 03 they swapped in a roller bearing that was the cure, the later models also added a second oil jet to spray under the piston for better cooling...

The later model 990s do seem to be more sorted as the year to year updates have often been more than just cosmetic on that bike too...

[Walkabout]

Originally Posted by HendiKaf

A good friend of mine is insisting in buying a KTM for travelling 2 up

That's fair enough.
So, the smaller KTMs are out of the reckoning I would surmise - no one would want to ride pillion (+ luggage) on, say, a 690.

Buying new perhaps?

Originally Posted by HendiKaf

I had the 990 and 450 and loved them but couldn't say they were trouble free bike and I do not know the new model,...

If not new, then ---

I also had a 990 Adv (2008 year) for about 18 months - it was not totally trouble free either; the main reservation I had was when the rear brake faded after "heavy use" riding for some hours on Alpine passes.
I could get about 57 MPG (UK gallon, not that teeny weeny US version of the gallon), going easy on the throttle.
But the tank is quite small really for the size of the bike and it's V twin engine = I never got more than 190 miles between fills of the tanks.

The new big KTMs:-
I don't know. I thought about test riding them but haven't quite got around to it.
Nor is there much in the HUBB about these newer models - that may be a good sign?

[Lucky Explorer]

Had a 640 rallye, no issues. A 950s with 4 water pump seal failures...fixed by KTM. Have a 2014 1190 std with 14,000 miles (22,000KM) and no issues. Now some have had odd issues but I do think KTM tries to fix. And solve the problems on future years. Love the bike. Best of luck on your decision.
Allen.

[cejnys]

I bought brand new 2012 990 Adventure and clocked around 75,000 km on it. If I understand correctly this was the last evolution of this bike. Most of the kilometers was two up with pretty heavy luggage on our ride around south america. More kilometers I put on the bike more I like it. It has really good off-road capabilities even with two up and not too bad on a road either. Except of normal wear & tear there were not any problems with the bike.

If you planning to travel in remote areas I would recommend to take a kick stand switch replacement with you and maybe fuel pump filter replacement kit (I had to change it after 72,000 km).

Good luck with you decision

Radim


around-south-america

affirm it, visualize it, believe it, aim for it, and RIDE

[JustMe]

1190 Adventure it is. For taller folks the 1190R. Well-made bike, great ride with two up, very reliable.

Cheers
Chris

[mollydog]

Originally Posted by Keks

1190 Adventure it is. For taller folks the 1190R. Well-made bike, great ride with two up, very reliable.

Cheers
Chris

I'm a bit surprised a die hard Africa Twin fan would jump ship for the fussy KTM. Can you tell us how many Euro your KTM cost you? Do you believe your KTM will match your Africa Twin in reliability and ease of maintenance over the LONG TERM? (say over next 100,000 km)

For me, I can't afford a $20,000 USD KTM. Even used they are around $15k to $17K USD here in USA for late model KTM twin. I've not ridden the 1190 but have ridden the Super Duke and earlier 990 and 950's. Fun bikes!

But honestly, I'm just as happy with my former Vstrom 1000 and with my current Suzuki DR650 single. Neither of these bikes ever break down and cost next to nothing to maintain. So cheap to run.

The KTM's are big fun until you have to pay for maintenance, repairs or parts. If you can do everything yourself, all the better! But not many riders are good mechanics ... especially hard to do when on the road in Mongolia or S. America, away from a shop, parts and proper tools.

I'm hoping KTM will come back to earth and release an ADV travel version of the India made 390. More in my size and price range. They should hurry as BMW already plan a GS version of their new India made 310.

[mollydog]

Originally Posted by Walkabout

The new big KTMs:-
I don't know. I thought about test riding them but haven't quite got around to it.
Nor is there much in the HUBB about these newer models - that may be a good sign?

It's true, we don't see many of the big KTM's going RTW. Hardly ever mentioned here, a few on ADV Rider. I'm sure there are some out there, but not so many.

Even fewer 640's nowadays. The 690 motor is super smooth so if you could fit a wide seat on there ... it might work 2 up. Great motor ... but top ends fail on regular basis. If they fix that, I might buy one.

For the real truth, take a year and follow the bike specific forums. Now you'll learn about all the real problems ... and the fixes too! The good news is as said, KTM are not standing still like some elements in the Japanese OEM's. They move forward. But they're engineers aren't as good as the Japanese and they're still 10 years behind in certain areas.

KTM's Motto: Ready To Race!

(but remember, to finish FIRST, you must first FINISH!)

[Island Hopper]

Originally Posted by mollydog

The 690 motor is super smooth so if you could fit a wide seat on there ... it might work 2 up. Great motor ... but top ends fail on regular basis. If they fix that, I might buy one.

For the real truth, take a year and follow the bike specific forums. Now you'll learn about all the real problems ... and the fixes too! The good news is as said, KTM are not standing still like some elements in the Japanese OEM's. They move forward. But they're engineers aren't as good as the Japanese and they're still 10 years behind in certain areas.

I didn't find the 690 motor to be super smooth when I rode it back to back with one of my project 640s, in fact the project 640 was a very smooth example of the LC 4 and it actually felt less buzzy than the 690... The one I rode was the 654 CC example, perhaps the later models with the true 690 displacement are smoother than the earlier models..

While you don't see so many KTMs chosen for around the world trips you do see a lot chosen for expedition type riding over rough terrain... Places like Africa and Australia come to mind... If you look at the DR 650 3rd gear failure stats the biggest percentage come from Australia... BMWs are a favorite of RTWers but they also suffer when the terrain gets rough, look no further than long way round and long way down... Those bikes did fine on the journeys until the terrain got rough, then things started to fail... So bike choice really depends on the type of riding you plan to do... Groomed easy roads and tracks some of the favorite choices will be fine, but when you take them off the beaten path don't expect the same reliability with those bikes...

[Ternus]

I rode a 2014 KTM 1190 Adventure R from Boston to Ushuaia, 20,000+ miles going 2-up for half that distance. Did most regular servicing myself and had work done in shops in Houston, Colombia, and Chile. There are more KTM dealerships than you'd think, even in South America.

I had no serious problems. Wouldn't worry too much about its reliability. I'd take it over a 1200GS any day.

That said, like a 1200GS (or a V-Strom, for that matter) it's a HEAVY bike, especially loaded up. Great for two-up fun, but for my next trip I'm taking a 690.

Summary:

[mollydog]

First 690 I rode was '07 or '08, (first year model). I only rode it off road, so not sure about smoothness. But next one was a '12 or '13 model. At high revs it did vibe a bit (nothing close to 640E or SM) but cruising at round 60 to 65mph, I found it quite smooth for a single. (for comparison, I came off a Tiger 1050, which is smooth as glass)

It's true, about 80% of DR650 3rd gear failures are from Oz riders. They ride the DR650 as a full enduro race bike there. The DR650 clearly not suited for race duty, even though a guy rode the Baja 1000 on one!

Overall the DR's hold up well to abuse and don't require much service at all. With only a couple hundred known 3rd gear failures out of about 100,000 units sold worldwide since 1996. (Suzuki have over 2000 dealers in USA alone) It's true Suzuki have not corrected or improved the bike much at all, not much changed in 20 years of production ... good thing they got it close to perfect back in '96!

True again, BMW are the most popular bike here on HUBB and many are out doing RTW. But also true, when going gets tough, they seem to break far too frequently for something claimed to be 'The Ultimate Riding Machine".

My hope is that KTM will continue to evolve the 690, making it more comfortable and long term reliable. Also be interesting to see the rumored lighter, smaller twin that KTM supposedly have in R&D. KTM have the ADV market by the tail at the moment. I hope they make the best of this unique opportunity.

[BDG]

I had a 2004 KTM 950 Adventure which I did quite a few off road trails on when touring around. I sold it at around 20,000 miles to a mate who has now covered nearly 90,000 miles including riding as far as Turkey, Georgia and Azerbajan. It was faultless whilst I had it and my mate has only had a few electrical problems due to broken wiring later on in it's life.

It's had a hard life and he's still pleased with it.

As for 690's, I've ridden mine half way round the world to Mongolia via as much rough terrain as possible deliberately taking the more scenic routes. I suffered from a hole in the radiator in Kyrgyzstan which could have happened to any bike.

Another friend who was with me also on a 690 carried on from Mongolia to Magadan totalling about 15,000 miles then another 8,000 miles round New Zealand. In between both 690's have done off road trips in the UK and Europe as well, racking up in excess of 45,000 miles between both 690's and they've been great.

So speaking from actual experience rather than hearsay I'd say there's nothing wrong with KTM's for any serious trip particularly if the going gets rough away from tarmac.

There are a few issues with them but you'll find pretty much the same with most bikes especially if they are used hard. Preventative and regular maintenance helps with any machine.

However if I was going to make a sweeping generalisation I'd put Honda at the top of the list for reliability and even they're not perfect.

[Paul15]

I have a 1190 Ktm done 23000 miles so far and really pleased with it ridden it in a variety of conditions in many countries
Safe riding
Paul