25,000 miles with Luke and Nick

[Fuat Domanic]

Originally Posted by Fishfund

[COLOR="DarkOrange"]The good news is, I got a contact here in Istanbul who can fix it. His name is Dominic. I found out where he hangs out and it happens to be 1 block from where we are staying? In a city of 18 million people what are the odds?

A. is the shop. X is where we are staying.

http://www.atamoto.com/Atamoto.html



Dominic is not a KTM employee. He is a 690 owner who was frustrated how the bikes ran and took the time to figure them out. He's had multipule 690's and is regarded as one of the best 690 tuners in the world.

Dominic working the computer.



The shop owner working the throttle as part of the reset.



The owner was really cool. He saw that I needed a new front tire and dug through the bone yard. He pulled out a beautiful front with hardly any ware on it. He said it was from a customer that swaps out front and rears at 5,000 K no matter how bad or good they look. He tosses it my way and says it's free.

Well, thanks Luke but I'm NOT a tuner at all! ; )

I'm just a persistent victim of ktm's meta-bad product quality and worldwide uber-lack of service training. I would get rid of my 690 in a milisecond ---IF--- I could find a substitute, but in the alarmingly growing world of two wheeled trucks no such luck so far.

What I did was a standart map install and ---standart--- tps adjustment procedure which I HAD to learn to solve my problems. I'm glad that it worked, at least for a while... I heard that you had the same problem in Romania, hope that there is someone who can help you.

Bon voyage ; )

[brianstanfill]

Originally Posted by Fishfund

We went to a Turkish bath in Istanbul. I think the guy was messing with us. I'm not sure if this is family safe

Now that's what I'm talkin' about! Good show!

[yellowknife]

Originally Posted by Fuat Domanic

Well, thanks Luke but I'm NOT a tuner at all! ; )

I'm just a persistent victim of ktm's meta-bad product quality and worldwide uber-lack of service training. I would get rid of my 690 in a milisecond ---IF--- I could find a substitute, but in the alarmingly growing world of two wheeled trucks no such luck so far.

What I did was a standart map install and ---standart--- tps adjustment procedure which I HAD to learn to solve my problems. I'm glad that it worked, at least for a while... I heard that you had the same problem in Romania, hope that there is someone who can help you.

Bon voyage ; )

Great signature - in a world where the average person has trouble setting the clock on a dvd player, folks like FD really stand out. I want to thank FD for helping FF get back on the road. Every day is a new adventure with these two.

[soph9]

I think now we all know why KTM bailed on the Long Way Round...no offense but it seems clear that KTM may have not had faith in their bike to make such a long trip...just like you guys....if the KTM is such the ADV bike what's up with all your issues? I am glad you eventually get them worked out but question...do you still have faith in the brand?

[Gadget_65]

Originally Posted by soph9

I think now we all know why KTM bailed on the Long Way Round...no offense but it seems clear that KTM may have not had faith in their bike to make such a long trip...just like you guys....if the KTM is such the ADV bike what's up with all your issues? I am glad you eventually get them worked out but question...do you still have faith in the brand?

Funny my brother-in-law said this exact same thing to me last weekend when I was telling him about your RR. He used to have a KTM. He said he thought KTM didn't want the bad publicity that would have been generated when the bikes broke down on the Long Way Round.

I know I've said it before, but there's a lot to be said for reliable, Japanese bikes. Half the price of a BMW, Half the hassles of a KTM. I once had had a minor oil leak from a drive shaft on a Japanese bike (Shock, horror!). Fixed under warranty and off I went. Though I had to stop teasing my Harley friends there for a while. Did you know 90% of Harley's ever made are still on the road? The rest made it home. I can see a KTM joke in the making.

Great RR boys. Keep up the great work and best of luck. Now you are back in civilisation things should go a bit easier for you, I hope. But, are you sure you have to go back to work? What are we all going to do for entertainment when this RR comes to an end? Even my wife is asking me each day "How are the boys doing today?"

[Fuat Domanic]

Originally Posted by soph9

I think now we all know why KTM bailed on the Long Way Round...no offense but it seems clear that KTM may have not had faith in their bike to make such a long trip...just like you guys....if the KTM is such the ADV bike what's up with all your issues? I am glad you eventually get them worked out but question...do you still have faith in the brand?

After 4 different ktm injection disasters of mine which were:

RC8= Probably one of the most amazing designs and handling with the WORST injection management ever!
Superduke 990=Great ergonomics and handling, somewhat the least horrible injection among the 4
690 SM and Enduro(my actual suffering)

most probably I will try to avoid KTM at all costs!

BUT that doesn't make bmw or any other 'Adventure' bike available now a viable option for me;

They are all heavy and getting heavier, I do not want to imagine a bmw adv or a new tenere collapsed in a muddy hill...

They are all getting more complicated and vulnerable: My friend who has a brand new 1200 gs got stranded 3 times because of electronic failures
1-the alarm anten broken
2-fuel pump ecu broken-the service told us to carry a spare one!!!!!!!!!
3-The second and new fuel pump ecu is broken again....
Not to mention numerous cases of broken shaft drives and subframes and other electronic gremlins...

I'd rather have my adventures on land, not on a broken two wheeled truck which requires a russian army heavy duty chopper to be rescued and a beverly hills beauty center look-a-like service -plaza- to be serviced ; )

[dcwn.45]

Great RR you guys, I really love the videos!

And for the rest of you FF's, let the boys have their report and skip the comments on "brand xyz sucks, they are too whatever and not reliable"
Go do your bitching elsewhere!


Luke and Nick,

[2rock]

Wow!! what a trip, just read all 54 pages in one go, screens looking a little blurry now! Can't wait for the rest!

[scotty69]

Awesome adventure. I just got caught up. Took me awhile.

[Scribe]

Originally Posted by Gadget_65

Funny my brother-in-law said this exact same thing to me last weekend when I was telling him about your RR. He used to have a KTM. He said he thought KTM didn't want the bad publicity that would have been generated when the bikes broke down on the Long Way Round.

KTM:
Keep Two Motors.
Kant Till Monday.
Damn I'm funny.

[Fishfund]

Originally Posted by soph9

I think now we all know why KTM bailed on the Long Way Round... ...do you still have faith in the brand?

Faith in the Brand I have. Just not in the 690. I don't think KTM has the fuel injection figured out on this bike yet.

That being said, I think all this was meant to happen for some reason. There are many good running 690's out there with the same milage and they are having no problems.

Why was I the one to get a bad bike? I have no idea.

[motoreiter]

Originally Posted by Fuat Domanic

most probably I will try to avoid KTM at all costs!

BUT that doesn't make bmw or any other 'Adventure' bike available now a viable option for me;

They are all heavy and getting heavier, I do not want to imagine a bmw adv or a new tenere collapsed in a muddy hill...

Take a look at a used BMW G650XChallenge. Properly set up, they seem like great bikes.

[trackhead]

Any bike can have problems, and clearly these guys have the nuts to figure it out and deal with it with a grace. That's the story here, not "KTM's suck".

Looking forward to more riding stories!

[soph9]

Originally Posted by trackhead

Any bike can have problems, and clearly these guys have the nuts to figure it out and deal with it with a grace. That's the story here, not "KTM's suck".

Looking forward to more riding stories!

never said KTM sucks but it is quite interesting to be able to do a side by side comparison and see what bike has had more issues with the same riding environments.... find it interesting that one bike is having more serious issues than the other that's all.

[ian408]

Originally Posted by Fishfund

I think all this was meant to happen for some reason.

Just think, you might not have met the Turkish Bath dude That was a funny video.

As I get older, I've come to realize that when shit happens, it's better to take it in stride and make it part of the journey. Otherwise, when you get home, you'll just complain about what a crappy trip it was and nobody wants to have a crappy trip.