Viewing 11 posts - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
  • KTM 990 Adventure, any owners
  • Daisy_Duke
    Free Member

    Going back onto two wheels after a good few years. Looking at a s’hand adventure. I’ll be running it through winter so wondered how the finish lasts. Any horror mechanical stories I should know about? Got a budget of £5k. Got an hours commute each way with a mixture of A-roads, dual caridgeways and rural muddy minor roads.
    other alternative would be a Honda VFR 800 tec abs, but doesn’t really do much for me…

    weeksy
    Full Member

    I’ve had 7 KTMs’ from the 950Supermoto x 3, to 4 Superdukes.

    I assume you’re looking at a 990 ?

    Fuelling on Fuel injected KTM’s are ‘Hmmmmm’ you either love it or hate it, personally i’ve either been a little lucky or they’re not as bad as some make out.. .they’re quirky…

    KTM horror stories don’t really exist in all honesty. They run and run and run.

    They’re a bit more expensive running cost wise than their Japanese counterparts, but they are great.

    Finish wise, KTM’s are superb… i had a 50,000 mile Superduke (same engine, LC8) and it looked 10,000 miles tops.

    surfer
    Free Member

    Hi Daisy. Tim has just bought a KTM, think its the 990 I’ll find out. its the one with the carbs, 2008 I think.
    Carbon wheels, sports exhaust and bigger tank (so he tells me!) and I have done more miles on my new 29’er than the previous owner had done!!!
    All for under your budget (you probably dont want to hear that) 🙁

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    weeksy
    Full Member

    Carbs = 950
    Injection = 990

    Daisy_Duke
    Free Member

    ok, cheers guys. Really want a GS1200 but not sure they’re worth the extra £k’s

    hot_fiat
    Full Member

    Have had a 950SM, which is essentially the same thing mechanically, for 27000 glorious miles. They’re really reliable but there are a couple of things to watch out for:

    Water pump oil seals die with alarming regularity, check for emulsion in the oil tank and lack of coolant in the expansion tank. Get a dealer to do the fix as its a real PITA (o/h didn’t appreciate the engine casing being baked in the oven for an hour either)

    Magura clutch slaver cylinders are disgracefully under-engineered and get killed by heat from the engine. Some good after-market alternatives. Master cylinders are almost as cr@p. Take stupid fluid.

    Carb-fed 950s (so not the 990 you’re looking at) have junk fuel pumps. Again loads of cheap after-market fixes, but if you stick to the 990 you’ll be ok.

    There was talk of the generator control boxes being prone to heat death. Not had this on mine.

    Brakes on the adventure are a bit underwhelming. Rear brake will squeal like an old leyland bus. This is normal. There is no real fix.

    Other than that have you had a look on 950 Info?

    I adore my 950sm, one of the best purchases I’ve ever made. Big friendly pussycat. Think I’ll go outside and give it a hug.

    MarkLG
    Free Member

    I’ve had the 950 and 990 Adventures – great bikes. Probably did about 30k miles on them in total. The only issue I had was a failed seal on the clutch cylinder on the 950.
    They’re very easy to maintain and generally bomb proof. The water pump seals were a weak point on earlier 950’s, along with fuel pumps (due to water ingress). Neither should be an issue on a 990.
    I took the 950 to Morocco for 2 weeks of desert riding and did a couple of weeks trail riding in Portugal on the 990, plus a couple of European road tours.
    They’re pretty well indestructible – the only weak point is the front rim which dents a bit too easily on rocky tracks.
    Try and get a bike with crash bars fitted, otherwise fit them yourself. Luggage is worth having.
    If you service it yourself use decent oil – I used Silkolene fully synthetic in mine. The clutch and gearbox can get a bit clunky otherwise.

    ktmblag
    Free Member

    i had a 990 and a 640 adventure both great bikes. however i now have a f800gs and wouldn’t swap back. did 43k on my 990 with no real problems.water pump seal and rectifier…rusty spokes are common

    lobby_dosser
    Free Member

    i’ve had a few KTMs and currently have a 990 adv. Brilliant bike but it took me a while to ‘get it’. KTM throttle response is a bit of a marmite for some riders but a throttle cam takes a way the twitchiness.

    There’s very few issues with KTMs and there as tough as old boots.

    I would say that KTM and the BMW are the only proper big ‘adventure’ bikes out there. BMW is better for long road stuff, KTM for fun and rough stuff.

    KTMforum.uk is a good source of information.

    I’m thinking of selling mine, fully loaded with crash bars, luggage, renazco seat, heated grips,akro pipes, gps, plenty of tourtech/adventure spec extras. mail me if you’re interested.

    pjm84
    Free Member

    Not listening, not listening,

    I want one……heart says KTM, head say stick with the Dorso in the garage.

    charliemort
    Full Member

    50,000 mile 950 and 27,000 mile 990 here with no major problems

    slave cylinder seems to be sorted on 990 – still on original, had about 3 on 950

    shim service is expensive, but they don’t seem to move so I tend to leave these to every other major service (ie 20,000 miles or so). Do the oil changes myself – fiddly and takes a while but doable

    throttle cam (as mentioned above) smoothes out the throttle on the efi ones, but still not as smooth as the carb’ed 950

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