KTM 950 or 990 Longevity, dependability, reliability?

So, I have a KLR in my stable....Does yours have carbon fibre parts??

oser


I have an '02 GS...........I wouldn't hesitate to take it cross country on paved or mild dirt roads tomorrow...........



I just bought an '04 950 Adv.........very well sorted imho......this summer........... and within a week had taken it +1000 miles over dirt roads, double and single track that I wouldn't consider taking my GS over...........no problems whatsoever....................

It had 21K on the odo when I bought it...........I don't plan to give it to anyone else for another 30K at least.........

I think that when you ride a dirt bike hard, you better expect to sort it out occasionally...........just a matter of fact........and you should appreciate where it can take you ...................

Hello folks,

I am also an ex-GS rider and nowadays I am seriously looking for a '06 990 EFI which is 40k kms on the clock.

I think I know all the general issues, comparisons and some chronics points but

I'd like to hear, what points on the bike should I take care when I go to see the bike?

I mean, if this is going to be a new GS I think I can check many different points as I am kinda experienced on it.

But when it is a 990 I really need some good recommendations.

Thanks a lot in advance.

I have 34,000 miles on my 5.5 950 and that being said...expect to have to replace one water pump shaft and seal and after that, once the cooling system has been completely flushed once you should not ever have to replace the shaft and bearings in the water pump again as long as the water pump bearing fits are not buggered up after the first rebuild. I don't expect to have to do any more than just replace the seal every 20,000 miles of so from now on..Seal cost $8...Newer Adventures have had most all of the other known bugs like real brake master cylinder, fuel pump and clutch slave cylinder failures worked out...

I bought a third hand late 2004 950 ADV, it now has almost 30K miles. When I got it the fuel pump failed, easy inexpensive fix, then I did the water pump as a precaution.

I ride regularly with my friend who has a GS, we trade off once and a while. When I get back on mine I understand why I love it so much. Its an offroad racing machine where the BMW is a offroad-ish cruiser.

It's the best bike I've ever owned, and I've owned a few.
<o></o>

What the . . . . Huh?
<o></o>

Some. Pyndon is way up there. I've heard of 150K without major issues. I've seen posts in the forum celebrating 50K and 75K on 2004 machines. I have a measly 26K without any issues.
<o></o>

Pyndon tore his engine down at . . . dunno, 90K or so to fix an oil leak. Generally, it didn't have any appreciable wear (other than the leak).
<o></o>

Something you do about every 16K or so to be safe.
<o></o>

I ride mine every day. I've been working on jetting, which requires a lot of teardown. Otherwise, I've not done anything to the bike but ride it and farkle it.
<o></o>

Many do. Mine hasn't.
<o></o>

Better than pretty much any other bike, IMHO. A couple of guys just rode their Adventures the length of Africa. You can find their postings on the Crush.
<o></o>

I run about 150-160 to the first sign of the light, but my bike is heavily jetted right now, and I live in cold-arse Iowa.
<o></o>

Seating position is great. Some complain about the seat. Some complain about wind buffeting off of the screen. I'm stock on both, and I don't have a problem. I have the old Corbin seat, which I don't like, so I stick with stock. I also ride with a Shoei RF-1100, which is about the best in terms of being slippery in the air.
<o></o>

<o></o>'Round what? I'm like you -- I ride to work every day I can (every day that ain't icy, here). It's a solid bike in that regard -- although not that fun to paddle backwards into the parking spot if it's uphill! That's nice, but then, load up the panniers and go camping or fly fishing on the weekends. While you're there, drop off the bags and tear up a trail or so. Ride it home. Repeat.

Great thread - deserves ressurection... Looking at an 04 so really ... Top ends at 60k are not unreasonable to expect? The one I am looking at has been ridin just as it aught to be I think put best by sstewart:

I plan on doing the same thing - on the weekends. Weekdays it will get me to work, 220 days (ish) out of the year. I don't mind high mileage bikes - I have an 08 530 with 14k ish on it (not original build but I never expected it to be). I do need this one to be fairly reliable though. I can afford to rebuild it about every three years of operation. I do not want to be rebuilding it less than every two years.

Oh and what gives on fuel mileage ... Yall are reporting anything from ~25mpg to 47mpg... Really? Next adv. search "KTM 950 Mileage Thread"

Well over 55,000 miles on my '05. Huge amount of serious US/Mexico offroading involved - no major issues.

Other than expected wear items (brake pads, chain/sprockets, water pump, etc...) I've replaced the rear wheel & sprocket carrier bearings ... that's about it.

Just decided to replace the clutch plates due to milage ... everything is still well within spec in spite of the use. Pretty impressive...

The only way that can happen is when descending from mount Everest...more like 160 miles per gas tank...very lightly on throttle too...my bike is very reliable at 45k miles...I might need to replace clutch plates as they seem to "drag" a bit lately...otherwise a couple of mc failures and that's about it....

I'll second that... to a point. I've hit reserve at ~130 miles before, and have also got over 190 miles out of a tank. With the 950, seems to really depend on your riding style. More dirt = less miles, more slab = better economy. I've never pushed the bike much past 200 miles with the reserve light blinking so 260 seems nutty, but the fuel here on the west coast is crap which very well might account for that. Fuel economy improves drastically when I'm in Mexico.

P.S., re: your clutch plates, see above... you might be surprised :)

I got a 2005, yes I put in a water pump @ around 17,000, A clutch (my fault cause I lost a piece changing levers and it burnt up), Torque limiter, starter cause it's always been a bitch to start (mostly cause of SAS at new- fixed shortly after) and other misc. maintenance issues. My daily driver cause I can't stand riding in a cage. Stuff breaks and I get it fixed(or do it myself) replaced the neutral sensor(change the contact & spring in shifter barrel if you do). Still getting around 43-44mpg regularly, only in the high 30's if running knobbies Just replaced the water pump again (CJ's right proper stuff). And it's tickling the 63,000 mark. I've had 7 so far, no KTM till this one, Can't see myself having anything else.....

Your 950 tanks take about 1 liter more fuel than mine...but R map (even with 17/42 on long trips) gives back at best 6 liters/100 km which is at 60-70mph cruising speed (very boring - not doable in my book). Even with these preasumptions the range would be around 300km-320km (with 19.5 liters tank) which translates to roughly 185miles. Less than 5l/100 is something unheard of for the 9xx adventures...this is what a GS800 would give back...so you guys must be doing something wrong calculating your consumption...

My '05 950 has over 40,000 miles and the only "failures" I have had are rear brake master cylinder which was fixed by the factory upgrade and I had a bad radiator cap and have replaced two water pump seals. The chain and sprockets seem to last only about 15,000 miles and changing the oil is a pain in the ass but other than that..no issues. Best all-round bike I have ever owned..this is the only one I have kept this long..Just finished checking the valve clearances for the third time and for the third time I never had to change a shim.

RJK

http://www.cycleworld.com/2013/03/28/ktm-950-adventure-bike-the-original/

I got to ride with Jimmy & Casey McCoy on a DV run when Jimmy L was running that KTM. I was on my 2005 950 & it was awesome to see a much earlier model, ridden much harder than mine, still performing better than any other bike in its class could.

On my way to look at an '04 with 42k on the odo, if all looks good I'm taking home. If things go bad I am gonna blame yall for being dishonest FF'ers haha.

Whish me luck!

This is where mine and others cracked at the frame. If you find it cracked you better avoid all the hassle of getting the frame replaced under warranty. You will probably get it but why bother?
http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=82334

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45366

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=171986

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=650046

Cheers

Hey all,starting to plan for a RTW trip in two years ,im back and forth on which bike,the 990 being one the potential bikes i would buy.Can anyone with newer 990's chime in on their reliability?

Checked I am good. Almost wanna take the centerstand off with the amount of punishment I am planning on offroad... Especually if there is a position switch on it to kill the motor. I have the side stand relocator in a box gonna mount that up soon... But got some TLC to do to make her sea worthy first.

Planning on picking up an 04 with 41k on the clock. Apparently the bike was recently serviced and checked out at Scuderia San Francisco. Still has the original water pump and it is still operating without issues.

Miguel