990 Adventure Maintenance and other stuff

[JadeRider]

G'day

Been riding adventure bikes for a while. Had a couple of Strom 1000s and now ride a 2002 R1150GS. The 990 Adventure has been tickling me for a while, and I am strongly considering it as my next bike. Every summer I typically take a 5,000 mile trip. Mostly paved, but, since I avoid the interstate like the plague, I often find myself, unexpectedly, in the middle of a dirt/gravel road.. The latter kinda roads also seem to come along in National and State parks, when I want to get to the really cool spots.

Seems like the Crush is calling louder. Downloaded the manual yesterday, and have been reading quite a number of reviews. One of the reviewers states that service intervals in the 990 Adventure happen more often than in most bikes, including valve adjustments. Is this true? Bike seems to be praised for its simplicity, which is one thing that makes it attractive.

[Qwik]

My valves were good till 40K miles. Maintenance on em is a breeze

[TheMuffinMan]

They aren't hard bikes to work on, it just takes a bit more time since you have to remove the gas tanks for almost any sort of maintenance. I check my valves every 10k miles, but the 990's have a 15 or 20k interval.

[Zuber]

You only have to remove the tanks for valve checks.

The valve checks are every 9k miles for the new 990's. The first one is very important, after that I'd say you can go from 9-13k miles, they don't change much after 20k miles. Much easier than most bikes, say a v-strom.

Oil changes are not bad, maybe 20 minutes every 3k miles.

Very, very high quality bike and components.

[Head2Wind]

I tend to see little movement in the vavle clearances of all the bikes that I regularily maintain for customers. If I was riding a long trip, say 10k total, I wouldn't bother with checking/adjusting valves until back home. Oil changes are involved if you remove all of the screens and filter, are technically possible to perform without removing the left fuel cell.

For my bikes, total time between oil changes depends on terrain, riding style, temperature. When on a long trip, I have stretched out my change interval to 5k miles.

[two trackin fool]

OK this is my first EURO bike . Every JAP bike that I have had I have torn down to find minimal grease in the suspension bearings .

Is KTM any better here or should I pull it apart this winter ??

Thanks for your time

[Qwik]

Not a bad idea to check em.

[JTucker]

Originally Posted by two trackin fool

OK this is my first EURO bike . Every JAP bike that I have had I have torn down to find minimal grease in the suspension bearings .

Is KTM any better here or should I pull it apart this winter ??

Thanks for your time

From what I've seen from assembling their bikes I would say check the bearings, not much grease anywhere that I've seen.

[Zuber]

Grease the Steering head bearing with a moly based grease (high temp disk brake grease), use a lot.

Pull and grease the chain adjuster bolts the first time you change a tire, use a lot.

Grease the axles (lightly) when you change a tire.

Locktite (blue 243) the bolts holding the chain buffer on the swingarm. Check the 6 clutch spring bolts.

Replace the water pump seal and anti-freeze every 2 years or 20k miles. Put a little synthetic grease on it.

Flush the brakes every 2 years.

Get the forks and shock serviced in the first two years or less than 20k miles. Be sure they put pull the shock's rebound screw (lower one) and grease it good.

Check the chain, every link, when ever you change a rear tire. If you see any play in one link more than the rest, replace it. This way you won't need a rear sprocket, maybe ever. It is usually shot at 15k miles if you don't treat it right, 30k if you do.

Most every thing else will slide for the first 40-50k miles. Then I'd pull it all down, swingarm, new wheel bearings, clean switches, etc.

Follow the service schedule and you'll not have any problems.

[groovyspuds]

And don't ever, ever wash it.

[two trackin fool]

Thank You

Not to sure about the washing thing though . I like to keep it clean after I get dirty .

[Nailhead]

Originally Posted by two trackin fool

Thank You

Not to sure about the washing thing though . I like to keep it clean after I get dirty .

I tend to agree with this, if for no other reason that a bike that is clean on the outside tends to stay cleaner on the inside while I'm wrenching on it.