KTM 690 SMC comments and links please

[Albie]

Originally Posted by IndyChizzle

That's fair. Most of my miles are on paved roads going 45-80 mph. If I was cruising country / dirt roads at 50 mph, I would have found the bike more enjoyable.

Heh, in motard set up I rarely slow down to 80 except in the 35 MPH and slower curves.

[Migs]

Thanks guys for the heads up and info on the 690. What I really liked about the idea is that it is 170 lbs lighter than the F800GS. But the cost seems to be in the vibration and oil. I still don't get the oil part. Do you have to premix it with the fuel like a two stroke?

[Albie]

Originally Posted by Migs

Thanks guys for the heads up and info on the 690. What I really liked about the idea is that it is 170 lbs lighter than the F800GS. But the cost seems to be in the vibration and oil. I still don't get the oil part. Do you have to premix it with the fuel like a two stroke?

Oil????? It's a 4 stroke, there's no pre-mixing. KTM SUGGESTS using Motorex 10W60 oil, but plenty of folks use other stuff. Hell Bob uses diesel truck oil.

[The Letter J]

Originally Posted by Albie

KTM SUGGESTS using Motorex 10W60 oil, but plenty of folks use other stuff. Hell Bob uses diesel truck oil.

He's not alone! But at $12 a gallon it is pretty expensive and must be factored into the purchase price

[Migs]

I just thought that all the fuss about oil meant some special use for the oil. I'm quite sure any oil in the appropriate range works. Thanks for the clarification though. -Migs

[RoteEddie]

I don't see the problem with oil. 10W60 and 10000 km intervals on the 12'. Mine uses next to nothing,

[Albie]

Originally Posted by The Letter J

He's not alone! But at $12 a gallon it is pretty expensive and must be factored into the purchase price

Well hell, let's not even get into the price of air and oil filters, tires, chains and sprockets, talk about stupid expensive!!!

[IndyChizzle]

Originally Posted by wsmc831

I've seen oil analysis of the motorex, and have researched why ktm says to buy it. It goes into both mine, while the other bikes get generic mobile one.

Not sure what's funny about that....

Here is the survey of what KTM owners are using in their bikes that I put together on Supermoto Junkie:

http://www.supermotojunkie.com/showt...e-on-your-bike

About 1/2 of the people were using Motorex 10w50 (which I was only able to find on Amazon.com around Indy). While there is a lot of talk about folks using cheaper Rotella, my survey only showed a few people actually doing so.

[IndyChizzle]

Originally Posted by Albie

Heh, in motard set up I rarely slow down to 80 except in the 35 MPH and slower curves.

So you can handle the vibration? Maybe it's just how I'm built, but after 90 minutes, my wrists hurt, and my nether regions would get tingly (sleepy tingly, not the good kind). It reminded me of riding on a hard road bicycle seat. I tried the factory seat and the SeatConcepts conversion; neither were acceptable to me. I heard the gel seat was better, but have never tried it.

[IndyChizzle]

I would also try to find a newer 690 so that you avoid the problems that were had with the old style speedometer. Again, I created a poll (both on SupermotoJunkie and on AdvRider). The SupermotoJunkie poll showed a 73% failure rate on the old dashes out of 40 voters! To me this was symptomatic of a speedometer that wasn't built to handle the big time vibrations that the 690 thumper was putting out. I believe they got it fixed on the newer versions, but it was a real headache on the older ones.

http://www.supermotojunkie.com/showt...did-you-fix-it

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=770815

[RoteEddie]

The 2012 Owner's Manual states you can use either 10W/60 or 10W/50 JASO T903 MA oil. They recommend Motorex KTM Cross Power 4T and Power Synt 4T.So no requirement to stick to Motorex.

[Albie]

Originally Posted by IndyChizzle

So you can handle the vibration? Maybe it's just how I'm built, but after 90 minutes, my wrists hurt, and my nether regions would get tingly (sleepy tingly, not the good kind). It reminded me of riding on a hard road bicycle seat. I tried the factory seat and the SeatConcepts conversion; neither were acceptable to me. I heard the gel seat was better, but have never tried it.

No problem at all with the vibes. I've got a Renazco seat. The only bike I've ever had an issue with like what you're describing is with an original Duke.

[Albie]

Originally Posted by IndyChizzle

I would also try to find a newer 690 so that you avoid the problems that were had with the old style speedometer. Again, I created a poll (both on SupermotoJunkie and on AdvRider). The SupermotoJunkie poll showed a 73% failure rate on the old dashes out of 40 voters! To me this was symptomatic of a speedometer that wasn't built to handle the big time vibrations that the 690 thumper was putting out. I believe they got it fixed on the newer versions, but it was a real headache on the older ones.

http://www.supermotojunkie.com/showt...did-you-fix-it

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=770815

I had 2 replaced, and the last one's been working fine for over 15K miles so I think they finally fixed the issue.

[Albie]

BTW, Cycle Gear sells Motorex products so you can always get them to order the 10W 60 if you want it. Watch for their oil sales when they drop the prices 25%. I bought 3 cases of Castrol full synth the last time they had one of those sales.