I have recently acquired a 2004 950 Adventure with a little over 25,000 miles, she has recently had a full KTM service including the valves, prior to this she was not used for about a year. Sometimes when I start her from cold I can hear a loud clacking noise from the right hand side of the engine, this does not go away until she has been ridden for a while, sometimes when starting from cold there is no clacking noise? Any ideas? The other issue I have come across is that when I am trying to hold a steady speed of say 60, 70 or 80mph I can feel a very slight lurching back and forward? Thanks for your help.
I would say that the most obvious reason is the oil pressure. 950 has camchain tensioner that works by oil pressure. If the pressure is low it will make clacking noise. Reasons for a low oil pressure can be different, but the most usual is small amount of cooling liquid that has passed to oil trough the water pumps sealing. That will partially block the paper oilfilter and oil circulation. There are other reasons too but that´s the most common. And relatively easy to fix. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=699703 check also http://ktm950.info/ Check also that You have Your idle rpm right. Should be around 1400 - 1500. If too low it doesnt produce enough oil pressure. regards, sami
Read through the Faq because a low mileage 04 probably has had little done to it and it could use a few upgrades. Go ahead and do the water pump, if stock, you have the worst version. Chain tensioners go bad and are easy to replace, do both at the same time. Find out if they cleaned your clutch oil jet during the service, particularly after sitting a year. Change your clutch fluid, i bet it is black, get aftermarket clutch slave if you never want to have problems. You can elminate the common problems and just go enjoy the bike.
Totally normal. my '04 was a noisy motor, always was even with a lot of the so-called upgrades listed above done to it. My current '05 is amazingly quiet. It's just the nature of the beast.
Lurching would be from jetting or from your drive chain being too loose. The latter is very common. Due to KTM's chain slider setup, excess chain slop isn't always immediately noticeable.
I have a 2004 with about 40k miles. I bought it used with 18k. I thought it was coming apart every time I started it up. They just have a lot of engine noise.As far as the lurching, check the TPS (throttle positioning sensor)to make sure it is within specs.Sometimes that can cause it. http://ktm950.info/how/wotf/wotf.html#TheThrottlePositionSensor
The noise can be just old oil. I also find full synth oil makes the motor noisier. I use Castrol 4t and the oil stays in the cam chain tensioners longer. Quieter on start up. As for the lurching, you may have to sort the carbs out. Do you know what jets are in it? I would recomend getting a set of jets from one of the recomended sources around here, be carfull installing them, check the float level (precise) and check the carb vent hoses are venting in the right area. I also fitted a air damper (shield) around the front of the carbs (Rottwieler air filter) cause I had a bit of hunting at 100 kph. I think the air needs to be more still around the air filter area. Good luck.
Thanks for all the advice, the bike had a full Ktm service including a new battery and headstock bearings just before I got it at a cost of £856! It does have a Oberon clutch unit fitted and looks like it was loved at some point in its life! Not sure if the water pump or anything else has been done. With regards to the noise it seems strange that it only makes the noise when cold, I have just been running the bike outside and once it gets up to about 4 bars the noise disappears, at no point does the oil light come on. It's almost as though it is taking time to build up the cam chain pressure?
If the oil light is not coming on (not even when the engine is shut off) -> the oil pressure sender has failed or got disconnected from the harness The cam chain noise should not exist any longer than a couple of seconds, so it has to go away way before getting it up to 4 bars on the temp gauge.
Sorry, I meant the oil light does not come on when the engine is running, it comes on when the ignition is turned on and goes off when the engine is started. And yes, noise does not go away until engine is warm, I.e. 4 bars..
It can also be a little worn clutch pack, booster, or old style basket.. I don't know, but if it runs fine, and everything looks fine instead of some strange noises, I'd use it as is until she fells apart. I know - I know preventative maintenance.. but it just takes out the joy of the ride (the constant worries) and sometimes going in front of the problems won't make it cheaper.. Just my $0.02, but I'd ride it until some more serious symptoms. But if you are on the paranoid side, and enjoy wrenching more than riding, then you can always strip down the engine, change some gaskets, retorque some bolts, etc.. just to find out everything was alright
My 2004 "S" sounds like a tin can full of big rocks. Just turned over 55,000 miles yesterday. Sounded like shit since about 5,000 miles Still running the ORIGINAL water pump. Go figure. CW
Yes, the best description I have heard so far is that it "sounds like a Dalek trying to have a wank in a dustbin!"
Yes and Yes. My 04' with just over 42k miles sounds like crap upon starting ,,,, sometimes. Sometimes it take a riding a few hundred yards to quite down and other times it's quiet upon startup. Oil new, old or different weights has no effect. I've also done all the "upgrades" with very little difference. Has been this way since I owned it with around 5000 miles.
