990 Adventure forks...

Does Factory Connection work on 990 suspension? Might be a good excuse to ride to NH. No dear, I'm getting work done on the suspension, really! The New England Classic and Laconia bike week are coming up soon. Oh, wait...Whitehorse press is right there too......

Hi Guys 990 forks question there is a rumour mill going about that these are closed cartridge forks Adv ABS : 14.18.7E.24, Adv R : 14.18.7K.25 I don't think so but does anyone with real intimate knowledge know whether they are open or closed cartridge forks

My manual shows only open chamber for 950/990 adventure bikes. 4860 MXMA, from 05/2002 per KTM factory DVD manual.

Yep that is what I thought but there are peeps saying they were closed chamber and from what I have seen so far they are all open they only bike I can think of was the 950 Super Enduro R but even those Fiche's indicate open

I'm looking at a set of them at the moment.

Any idea would you expect to pay for them with manufacturing date of 2007, and claimed to come from bike registered for the first time in 2009?

Does the manual give axle diameter?

Here are some pics I have of them...

KTM 990 and 950 has a 30mm axle

Thanks George.

They also use a 300mm disc, yes? So it shouldn't be too hard to get a 990 front wheel and a 990 caliper hanger, then use my current caliper. Seems like a pretty neat solution - if it works.

(Just to explain to others - I'm working on a fork swap on my 650GS)

Yep that is the one they are exactly the same Caliper just the hanger is different now all you need is someone to machine the steering stem to match with the GS's and you should be good to go

No problem getting the steering stem machined - so all cool there.

I can see an issue with those triples though - how to mount the ignition on that top clamp??

Also wondering if they represent good value - I've never bought new forks for a bike, so is the price high, low, or about right - they are looking for about 560 Euro / USD$630 for the whole lot.

The WP's are fully rebuildable and customizable. Parts are easy to find as well. At least here in the states.

Showa crf450 forks are also really good forks to if you can mate them to a triple tree. I recall seeing a racing 950 with a set

I did the same on an Africa Twin and found all the bits for less than that - but it took about a year of looking! Those forks look good and you even get the mudguard bolts.
Late-model 640 adv wheels also fit and have 2 brake mounts. Early models are single caliper but for a 650 GS you might be happy with single caliper? 950/990 mudguards are expensive but high mudguards+fork guards (Acerbis etc) are cheap option.
It's worth the hassle!

I ahree here if time is a factor then you are A for away took me 4 years to Find 950 R suspension that ticked all the boxes
During that period I found someone auctioning off a complete Mat Black set of 990 R body kit lets just say it was a steel

Hello, thank you for all of the replies.

I would almost definitely be having them revalved and shimmed to set them up for my application. My concern is that if I wanted to up-spec them to have the same travel as the R version, that's going to take about another $1100 (https://superplushsuspension.com/adventure-raising-or-lowering/) I guess I will just need to ride them for a while as they come, then figure out what to do with respect to lengthening the travel.

I guess my problem is that I don't have the experience to know if I will be wanting the 250mm travel (R) as opposed to the 210mm on the S version. I guess that within reason, more travel is preferable to less.

Another issue will be trying to match up the shock with the new suspension. I have a Wilbers at the moment, and can increase the travel to 210mm without raising the rear too much. I am thinking that will be a good match for the 990 forks as they come. However, if I then want to increase the travel to S specs (250mm), I would then need to look at the shock again. I know that there are some lovely +25mm raising links made my Aquatic which could be used as a solution - keep the shock travel at 210mm, raise the rear by 25mm with links, or a combination of the links + an 18" rear wheel (instead of my 17").

@Frostguiding thanks for the heads up on the 640 Adventure. Had a look at those, and they came stock with 300mm travel I believe. That's a huge amount more than I currently have, but it could be shortened if required.

I hadn't put much thought to the lower mudguard for price or application yet. I know it will help keep crap out of my radiator, but I also worry about it getting clogged with mud or having a rock jam up in there, resulting in unwanted consequences.

Apologies for rambling on about this - trying to get my options straight in my head before I start laying out money. (More money in the pocket = more travel days on the road)

Cheers, Nicholas

How long are the standard forks on the GS? Measure axle to top cap? I think you want to look for something similar length as well as thinking about fork travel. You can compensate a bit by sliding yokes down, but if you put a much longer (or shorter) fork on you'll mess up geometry. If you raise the front a lot you'll have to do the same to the rear.
I meant that 640 front wheels bolt straight onto a 950/990 fork so that increases the available wheels (you'll need a 9** axle too)
9** forks are soft as standard so might not need new springs for the GS?
Adventure forks are 210, 245 or 265 depending on model or year.

I have a spare 990 fork, 640 wheel, discs, axle and brakes in my shed...but they're in Switzerland. I'd happily sell if anyone wants to come and collect!

You could also go to a suspension builder and get a custom rear shock made allows for 250mm of travel anything more and you will be pushing it, there is a very very rare Alloy rear swing arm TobyG runs a 280mm travel rear shock
If you go down the 990 R spec route it is just slightly taller than the stock Dakar/Sertao shock and you can correct the geometry my replacing the rear hoop with a 18 inch rear

Hi @Frostguiding - I just sent you a PM.

George, you are an amazing source of information - thank you! It seems that TobyG has an eye for the exotic!

From the WP site, I see they have a closed chamber kit for the 9X0 OEM forks.
MXMA 4800 Cone Valve Kit
https://www.wp-group.com/us/suspension/tuning-kits-forks/mxma-4800-cone-valve-kit/
Looks to be available from my local KTM dealer. But, also look to be hovering around $5,000. I'll not be doing that.

"But, also look to be hovering around $5,000"

Spicey!