Talk me out of a new(ish) KTM 690
 

Hello,
I've planed a trip through the Balkans. The Idea is to go to Romania, do the Enduromania there, then head east to Ukraine and take the ferry to Istanbul. From there on I'll basically be going west towards the Adria, through Bulgaria and maybe Greece. Then it's northwards through Albania, (quick peek into Kosovo), Croatia and then back home to Germany. All together I recon it's about 8 to 10.000km (just guessing here).

The only problem is: My designated travel bike (TT600R) is falling apart on me. I'm not gonna dive into the specific problem here, but after having fixed it, I rather not use it for traveling any more as some major breakdown would mean the end of my trip and I have a bad feeling that exactly this will happen.

I want to do as much as possibly of my Trip on the smaller (unpaved) backroads, but I also need to be able to do a quick day on the highway, ride around Istanbul with my girl on the back (comes flying in, we'll not be going two-up), and be gone fast after insulting english football fans in the local pub. :)

Also this Trip (I call it Project Balkan :innocent:) will be my last long trip for the foreseeable future. After that I might get away here and there for a couple of days, maybe two weeks, but not months at a time and not much farther then say Morocco or Romania.

With that in mind: What I'm looking for is a bike to blow around Frankfurt (my hometown), take trips with, go off road in Romania, Morocco, France, Italy or god knows where and just have fun with.

What I'm not looking for is a Bike that can go round the world without any maintenance, can run 200km/h all day, is heavy like the GS or nimble like a 125.

In comes the new KTM 690. Lightweight, high powered, cute, lovable, 180kgs of max load and with the optional Touratech Boxes able to transport all my crap around. It seems just the perfect bike for me.:wub:

It's hard to reasonable when you're in love, but I'll try:

Good:

• Oil Change every 5.000km, Valves every 10.000. Looks like KTM thinks this engine might be relativly solid.
• Lightweight (about 150kg ready to go)
• Fast! :mchappy:
• Beautifull!
• Extended Warranty cover's everywhere I'll be going for the next two years (except Albania).
• Good for cruising on-road.

Bad:

• Expensive
• Engine is unproven so far (except for the Dakar :))
• Seemingly needs some kind of exotic oil (0W-60?).

I'll be heading to Romania at the End of July so I need to make a decision soon, start searching and buy the bike and all the stuff (basically a bashplate and a set of panniers).

So why not go to the KTM Dealer right now and just buy the thing?

Thanks!:thumbup1:

same thoughts
 

The 690E takes 10w-60 for sure although I remember seeing a page of the latest manual which says 10w-50 as well.

I am in the same boat on this. The 690E is one of the few bikes that really ticks my boxes. I tried out the 690smc (same engine different wheels) and I was blown away. I tried it back to back with my XT660R and they felt like they were different forms of transport. The motor is just superb. I’ve also looked at BMW XChallenges but they have stopped production (you can still get the softer street version). In many ways it’s not so much that the KTM doesn’t have some potentially serious weaknesses for what I want to do (Russia/Asia) rather the other new bikes just aren’t going in the same design direction to really interest me.

It appears that the KTM just has an oil capacity of about 2,6 liters. To me that would mean just to take about 3 liters of oil with me and do the change somewhere on the road.

Also 3 Liters of Oil would come up to about 3,5kg (or so). At least in Eastern Europe shipping should no pose to many problems...

I have a test ride scheduled for tomorrow :scooter:

If anybody has any things I should ask the dealer, now would be the time. Personally I'm very interested in how the extended warranty actually works. As I unterstand it I could get the bike serviced in Greece and be good for the rest of the trip...

Cheers,

the KTM 690 is certainly a good bike for such trips. However, if you'll visit the german HU meeting, you may see me talking about doing all these things with the bigger KTM 990 Adventure.

Stephan

By the sound of things you're planning a lot of Km on paved roads for touring and possibly with a pillion.

A thumper even a KTM will vibrate and eventually tire you out. I have ridden a 650 thumper for many years and although still very much in love with it I am looking for something smoother with proven offroad ability (not extreme).

Take a look at the GS800 before you spend your cash.

I do think the 690 is hot and if your heart is set on it then there's no amount of reasoning that'll change your mind!

Cheers!

yup i agree ktm do make a nice bike. i am however unsure of their low maintainence. yeah service schedules might be good but how long do they hold together. not sure. so my solution. xr650r with softluggage. its one hell of a travel bike considering its a big thumper and honda reliable. do a thread search and you will see the abuse it will take. and as for a ktm, well i bought a superduke for my road riding and it is bloody fantastic (if you forget the engine rebuild underwarranty and the leaking clocks)
do consider the xr, it may be old but it still is a fantastic bike

Thanks for the advice so far, keep 'em coming! :thumbup1:

Actually I'll be trying to avoid the big roads and take the smaller and ideally unpaved roads as much as I can. In my experience the thumper vibrations get really tiresome if you're doing motorways and such where you maintain the same speed for an extended period of time in the twisties it might be another story.

I test rode an old LC4 once and I'm certain that I must have lost some fillings in the process, just because of the vibrations. The newer design is supposed to vibrate a lot less. How much is 'a lot less'? Well I'll know tomorrow.

As for the XR650R: They are almost impossible to find here in Germany, at any given time there's never more than a handfull of them in used condition, not sure if they were ever officially sold here at all. It's probably possible to get one and order spare parts for it at the local Honda Dealership.

In theory I would be able to do routine maintenance myself but for the KTM there's a couple of dealers nearby, a lot of farkles floating round the net and more of a comunity (at least in Germany, Austria and the rest of Europe).

The bigger bikes (KTM 990, GS 800) are much better at eating up long distances - I agree - and seem to be the natural choice for such a trip. But they are bigger and heavier. I don't doubt that a better rider can take one of those beasts to places I would not get to on my own feed.

However for me a thumper just does it more. For one I'll be traveling alone for the most part and I need to be able to pick up my bike without relying on help, even with a hangover or while suffering from other tropic diseases.

Also after this trip I want to do some more dirt riding, maybe the Enduromania next year, maybe some trips in the Alps, maybe even morocco for two weeks. Not necessarily traveling maybe just having a basecamp somewhere and go from there...

So it just seems that more dirt and less street makes sense in choosing a bike (also I do have another road bike).

Cheers
buebo

vibes
 

The 690 lump does vibrate less. I thought my xT660r was supposed to be pretty smooth, in a budget kind of way, but the 690 is better. I found the vibration less annoying everywhere and especially at 70mph on the motorway. My hands were blue at 85 and white at 95mph. On the 690 they were still perfectly pink at 95 (or so they felt) but by 110mph I was more worried about maintaining the link between my arms and my shoulder joints.

I've had mine for a few weeks now although it has only done 600km. I want to keep it good for road use but improve it a little for off road. so far I've fitted rox risers, a metal bashplate, MT21 tyres and I've ordered a Wings silencer to try to cut the weight a little. The gearing seems to be the best compromise for road and off road but the biggest issue for road riding is the seat - I can't imagine what KTM were thinking but for me the seat is painfully uncomfortable after about 10km. I have and have had various enduro bikes that are ten times more comfortable. Once I've sorted the seat I will fit a small screen and a rack so I can use it for some weekend trips.

Warranty and service intervals were a major reason for moving away from EXCs as well as the improved road manners and I have to say I'm generally happy with it but a little disappointed that I'm spending more on aftermarket stuff to make it work for me than I would on an enduro bike.

So far I'm annoyed with all of you. I just had a simple and reasonable request.


Let's see how that test ride tomorrow goes. Hopefully I can have the bike for some hours. I will report after that.

well...
 

Get yourself over to advrider (KTM 690 Adv/Rally/Enduro/Duke/SM (merged) threadfest... - Page 516 - ADVrider) just reading the thread alone with take years from your life and you can take comfort from some of the poor 'inmates', as they like to be called, whose 690s have unceremoniously 'grenaded' and left them stranded in the middle of nowhere. Broken gearboxes that lay the blame on material defects, clocks that develop salt smears at 3,000km, airfilters that let dust through, fuel tank bushes that work loose, fuel fillercaps that capture mud and are fiddly to fill.

There, that should help redress the balance.

....ok then, here's one for you
Many KTM owners undergo a complete metamorphosis, acquire blurred vision and lose all sense of reason. Suddenly everything in their life looses meaning unless it comes in a shade of orange and this includes clothing, reading material, conversation and girlfriends.....with dire consequences.
I recently read about someone calling their KTM the Austrian Hooker. Apparently the reasoning behind this was that the bike was obsessively exciting and fun but always held “her” hand out for cash and attention i.e. maintenance.
You are risking the above.
:yes:
Think carefully!

690 E
 

Hi there,

I own it 1 year already! The bike is amazing...faster than any other compered to(even XR650R),perfect handling even for deep offroad,I'm sure not bother you.
I don't think you need to carry 10W60,there is a dealer in Bucharest and by your way back to Bulgaria you can find the Bulgarian KTM importer at A1 close to Plovdiv.If you need I can post GPS coordinates.

Enjoy!

Cheers,

Simon

12 litre tank, are you sure there are enough gas stations on the "smaller unpaved roads" you plan to take? If you have to carry substantially more fuel in a can, how much original 'fun' of the bike you would have lost?

Thanks for all the replies so far. I actually managed to get the bike for two days. Tomorrow is a national Holiday here in Germany. A fact both the Dealer and me realized after I took the bike and rode away with it. There simply was no way to return it this afternoon, so I have also have all of tomorrow to play with it.


A couple of impressions so far:

• A lot of people seem to complain about the stock seat. For me it works fine. Granted, it's almost as hard as a wooden bench or life itself, but this is an upside for me. I'm a heavy guy (about 95kg) and most stock seats are way too soft for me, I just end up sitting on the seat mold which gets way uncomftable after a while.
• The Enduro (without R) is no bike for posers. The suspension looks way too short for a serious offroad bike. "Looks like a 125", was the first comment of one of my mates. He looked quite stunned when I outgunned him (Kawa ZXR 600, 98HP) at the next traffic light.
• The engine might be the finest piece of Austrian work since Elizabeth of Bavaria. When accelerating fun begins to start between 3k and 3.5k rpm and goes straight up even beyond the red line (not that I would do something like this to a rental bike).
• Lifiting the front in first, second and third gear (!) is easy, almost too easy, especially at a traffic light with some idiots in a pimped up crap ride next to you (didn't do that either).
• Comftable cruising speed seems to be around 120kph (just below 5500rpm). Over 5500rpm the bike begins to develop quite massive vibrations, which do get anoying and tyring quite fast. Why KTM didn't lay out the sixth gear longer is beyond me...
• However you can take it up to 170kph, except for the massive vibrations at these rpms it feels suprisingly stable for such a lightweight bike. :scooter:
• I took it on a couple of bumpy, unpaved roads. It worked well (as expected). There's no legal offroading here in Germany (except for your local Motocross Club, which we don't have around where I live) so I can't really comment on how it will perform in the serious dirt.
• Ergonomics is traditionally a strong point of KTM (or so I have been told) and this bike seems to be no exception. Everything is where it belongs and riding feels very natural.
• I'm no engineer but build quality seems good, with these exceptions:
  • The fuel cap is just crap. I'm not sure if this is a general problem with the 690 Enduro but on my bike you need to push the key so hard, I'm afraid to break it when filling up.
  • The Odometer rots away, even on my rental bike. The German KTM forums suggest this to be some kind of chemical reaction. It looks like mould. :oops2:
  • On the upside KTM seems to be handing out new Odometers without any crap, which then begin to rot and get replaced just like the first ones. In a couple of years there'll be a lot of 690s around with significantly lower Odometer counts then what they have actually run...:stupid:
• Fuel consumption seems to be between 4 and 5 liters. Which gives you a range of about 250km. With two liters carried in case of emergency I recon this to be enough for Europe. Africa might be a different story though.
• Handling is like I would imagine a rocket powered bicycle. For the little weight there seems way too much power, I constantly find myself riding way too fast, too ruthless and having way too much fun. The weight also seems to be distributed very well. My TT600R weights about the same on paper but feels way heavier.

Buebo
It looks like a very nice bike. How does it stop under hard braking from higher speeds? Any issues with it being light? Does it feel stable and maintain traction?

Stephan

http://www.rvaqualine.com.au/sitefil...t/File24_1.JPG

Safari Fuel Tanks
KTM 690 Enduro / 690 Enduro R

Litres: 14
Colours: Orange, Black or Translucent White
Fits: KTM 690 Enduro / 690 Enduro R
Bolts straight on with stock seat
Includes: fuel cap, taps, mounting kit, fuel lines and fuel transfer plate
This tank will let you use your 690 as a true adventure bike, giving a combined fuel capacity of 26 litres. The tank fits on as an addition to the original under seat tank. It is straight forward to install and easy to remove and replace for servicing. There are taps to isolate the fuel in both tanks so servicing can be done without the need to drain fuel (fuel must be drained for initial instillation). This capacity over doubles the range (original tank 12L) and has been molded to retain the original KTM styling and look, and gives you a unique, comfortable knee position on the tank.

The front break feels quite soft and needs a bit more travel on the lever than I'm used to but if you want to you can pull stopies with two fingers on the break.

Haven't tried this on the Autobahn, but emergency breaks at up to 100kph (or so) do pose no problems. At least I don'r sense any nervousnes in the chassis. Of course the mounted tyres have a huge influence on this as well. My wike has Metzler Enduro 3, which do give good traction on the road...

The rear break also works fine (contrary to some reviews I read online).

It sounds like you are running out of reasons for NOT getting the bike. So tomorrow the shop is open, right? Color choice? :)

The one I test rode wheelied much better than my own :thumbup1:

After a quick blast to the HUMM here in Germany I can report that top speed is 174kph.

I will talk to the dealer later (when I return the bike) and see what the street price is and if there's room for bargaining. From the looks of it I also like the R version. Just not sure if I ever could use the additional spring travel. It also might be too high for me.

:mchappy:

Dealer Price was too high for my taste (about 1000€ more than I would have payed online (other KTM Dealer).

I do like the bike and do consider buying it, just need to check out the R-Version and sleep about it for a night or too. Did draw some looks at the German HUMM as well. :thumbup1:

Tenere
 

Tenere...........Tenere...............Tenere...... .......Tenere...........!:eek3::eek3::eek3:

..you'll have to try harder than that :oops2:

Heavy, Heavy, Heavy, Heavy, Ugly, Heavy :innocent:

Seriously, for overlanding the Tenere might even be better (at least I think the oil change interval is longer - I could be mistaken though), but then again at the moment I'm not in the market for a serious overlanding bike.

I doubt I'll be doing RTW anytime soon, so what I'm looking for is a bike to blast around the local mountain roads, ferry to morocco and ride dunes, to the old military roads in the alps, take to the local dirt-track or (and that's what I'll be doing August and September) tour eastern Europe with.

In other words: Having a blast is more important then not having the bike blast and even that should not pose too much of a problem, since KTM offers two years of guarantee, which can be extended up to four years...

Anyhow, I was thinking about the Enduro without R against the Enduro with R, the insanity of buying a bike new that's sure to end up with scars and scratches (also known as character :clap:), and what all the necessary stuff would cost me, when a nice deal came along.

Practically new R with Powerparts Panniers (relabeled Zega boxes), Tankbag, new slip-on exhaust and some more nice stuff with less than 2000km on the clock.

So here it is, my new bike:

http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/3156/img3202a.jpg

What made this sweet for me was that the bike is ready to go, I just need to install the GPS, pack my stuff and get going...

Only downside is that it's not mine yet, but that will change tomorrow or the day after! :D

Aqualine Safari Fuel Tanks / Aqualine KTM 690 Enduro 14 litre Tank
 

guess you are looking for a xmas gift........ :)


Fits: 690 Enduro / 690 Enduro R - 14Lt.

Includes: fuel cap, taps, mounting kit, fuel lines and fuel transfer plate

This tank will let you use your 690 as a true adventure bike, giving a combined fuel capacity of 26 litres. The tank fits on as an addition to the original under seat tank. It is straight forward to install and easy to remove and replace for servicing. There are taps to isolate the fuel in both tanks so servicing can be done without the need to drain fuel (fuel must be drained for initial instillation). This capacity over doubles the range (original tank 12L) and has been molded to retain the original KTM styling and look, and gives you a unique, comfortable knee position on the tank.

Product Code: AQ-KTM690E-14

Price: £550.00 Inc Vat (£478.26 Exc VAT )

http://www.adventure-spec.com/shop/a.../prod_165.html

ps.
change the few orange parts to some black and you are set... with the bike on that picture.... :)
by the way... nice to have meet you on the HUMM 2009 in Germany... :)

spooky

Nice one!
 

Fantastic bike. I'll be watching your posts eagerly to see how you get on :thumbup1:

I've postet a somewhat more extensive review of the bike on my blog (in german): Fahrbericht KTM 690 Enduro | buebo.de

Before starting on the BIG TRIP (capital letters intended) I'll probably do something smaller, like a couple of days in france and test out if everything's allright and if I get on with the bike as it is.

Until then it's just comuting and running errands now and then :rolleyes2:

Anyhow feel free to ask anything that comes to mind :thumbup1:

So they didn't do a great job of talking you out of it, did they?

Or was it a lost cause from the off?

Looks great (although that seat looks "agressive"!!) Enjoy.

If you tour Germany and France in August and see a Ural with two peeps and a dog, give us a wave as you blast past!!

I rode all round europe and russia on a ktm 950sm (completely different bike I know), reliability was excellent, engine insane, back tyre life not so great.
Only problem I had sometimes was finding dealers in some of the eastern countries for servicing. oh also it seems ktm's are quite a popular bike as mine was knicked in prague.
Thinking about an xr600 or drz400 as my next bike

Sayin that though take the ktm for a spin, you will fall in love

Just a little update...
 

Hello,
I'm just back from a short shakedown trip to Belgium and France with spooky. The idea was to pack the bike for my six weeks trip to eastern Europe and see how it all goes and what the problems might be.

We did about 1200km some of that on rural gravel roads (shortest route on the Zumo :D) and some of that on the Highway, blasting through Belgium and back home on the last day.

The bike pretty much did everything perfect, only downside is that after a 400 to 500km day you are truly and totally knackered. Most of it owing to the hard and thin stock seat. I'm considering an Airhawk or Sheep-Skin to help with that. Bicyclist pants (the padded ones) do also help.

After the first long and fast blast through Belgium the oil was a little low, but since I didn't check it before departure I can't tell if it was because of the fast going. I filled it up and now it's fine, even after more Autobahn abuse.

For luggage I use the Touratech-Setup I mentioned earlier. The Boxes are pretty big but I still couldn't fit in my sleeping bag (three seasons and just a big bugger) so I used a Kriega US-20 on top of one box (which fitted like it was made for the job) and strapped my tent on top of the other.

http://www.buebo.de/wp-content/uploa...7/IMG_3222.jpg

I ended up carrying about 13kg on each side as well as the tankbag (KTM Powerparts) for my camera with and additional lense.

You do notice the weight and the bike get's a bit wobbly at over 120km/h probably owing to horrible aerodynamics and curable through fumbling with the suspension setup.

It's still fine to ride though and great fun in the twisties and the whole loaded up bike weights less then many BMWs or bigger KTMs without luggage! :scooter:

Spooky rode most of the gravel tracks behind me and told me that the panniers looked perfectly stable and weren't wobbly at all. I also had a minor spill where my front wheel slipped on some gravel (near standstill speed) and that left some scratches on the panniers and the handguards but that was it. You could say they were positivly crash tested :thumbup1:

While fuel consumption is normally around 4,5l/100km with all my crap in tow it rose up to about 5,5l/km on the Autobahn (that's 52.27mpg down to 42.77mpg in US Gallons for a you metrically challenged people out there, still can't believe you do actually have two different kind of gallons...). With slow going and relaxed overland cruising I would expect it to be somewhere around 5 liters. Then again the bike just invites you to ride it hard. :innocent:

At some point in France I was a little afraid to run out of fuel since the distance between villages was bigger than I anticipated and fuel consumption a bit higher than I thought. I'll probably end up taking a 5 liter jerry can on the big trip.

So far, so good, in two weeks it's off to the Balkans! :Beach:

P.S.: Some more about that on my German language blog. Links in my signature.

Thanks for the updates, always good to read about peoples experiences with new bikes. With reference to the gallons (U.S. and Imperial). They are both based on pints, a gallon being 8 of them, it's just that in the U.K. a pint is 20 fluid ounces as our beer is served, U.S. is 16.
It seems entirely obvious to me which one must be right!

Somebody should have explained that to me earlier. That fuel consumption is actually based on the beer the driver had to drink makes the whole system a lot more logical!

:innocent:

And now back on topic please :blushing:

from touratech you cn get a 14 liter extra tank. soyour range increases 2 times.

How is the 690 E doing so far?
Have you posted any more stuff on it?

Buebo's Blog ends in around July of '09, about 8 months ago. No updates after that. I don't read German so no idea how things went. There were Pics on his Blog in E. Europe so I'm guessing he did OK? :confused1:

Maybe he has an English ride report somewhere?

I loved KTM's ... owned a few (640 Duke ll, 640 SM, 300 EXC) but would not be my first choice for a long range touring bike. I just did a 3 day ride with about 50 bikes ... about 75% KTM. Few other bikes tossed in. The KTM's were fast as Hell, mostly 30 something guys all out to race each other. Some really good riders in the mix. The young guys were exhausted at the end of the day, lots of sore butt stories. I was fine. Could have ridden 3 more hours easily on my archaic DR650 Suzuki. We rode about 250 to 300 miles a day, mostly dirt roads, about 50 miles of deep mud and lots of knarly twisty roads.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_pXs6Z_85Tj8/TB..._4003.JPG.jpeg
Mud Bogs! the KTM's rocked through these. Mostly 525/530/450's. Only one 690 that I noticed. A few Husky 450/510's. Three Huskies broke down,
as well as a couple KTM's. No idea of the problems.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_pXs6Z_85Tj8/TB..._2733.JPG.jpeg
KTM's kicked butt in this rocky canyon. The DR650 was work ... barely made it through. (no luggage)
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_pXs6Z_85Tj8/TB..._3722.JPG.jpeg
How deep was the mud? This Hippy was 6'2". His girl friend in the Merc was livid. They turned around and got the Hell out of there.
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_pXs6Z_85Tj8/TB...0/P1010564.JPG
This KTM expired ... not sure why.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_pXs6Z_85Tj8/TB...0/P1010579.JPG
The KTM's could out run my DR650 on these dirt roads but on pavement my 37 HP monster kept pace with the KTM's easy. 32,000 miles of hard use, no issues. Heavy? Yep, compared the the KTM 690 my DR is about 30 lbs. heavier than the KTM, and down quite a bit on HP ... yet I keep up fine
and can ride at 75 MPH all day, day after day on highway. No vibes.
Can any KTM single do that?

What I'd like to hear from Buebo would be how the big Alu boxes did on his 690R and how the sub frame held up over time?

staying in contact with Buebo and we doing a further trip next month, after attending the German HUMM in a few weeks time... so he and his bike are well... :clap:
actually Buebo now is in proses of getting a Safari-tank fitted to his beloved 690... :clap:

regarding his Blog... well Buebo is very busy for the moment, actually after finishing his solo trip around the Balkan last year... so don't worry.

spooky

Hi,
My bike is ready to travel and do some pistes.
grts
Peter Penson

Hello Guys,
sorry no english ride report as of yet, I still have my trip journal but I'm too busy with other crap and didn't really got round to putting it all down...

The Bike is still going strong with about 15.000km on the clock now. However, it has developed a strange, ticking noise. At the moment it's beeing checked out by the dealer and we'll see what's up. I hope KTM will stand by their guarentee otherwise it might be time for a personal hands on experience :-)

I did change my luggage though. In the end I did not get on with the touratech boxes too well. They are just to big and cumbersome, I needet to find something that I could just throw over my shoulder and walk with.

I flirted with the idea of the Andy Strapz for a bit, they do absoloutely look the part but where too expensive considering shipping. Got the Giant Loop instead. Fits the bike much better but haven't really tried it yet.