KTM 690 Enduro R anyone?

[sw99]

I'm getting tired of the V-Strom these days. I really just want something that still has good power if I need to use the highway to get to the trails. I don't want a 450 enduro since they are very limited on fuel capacity. I'm not small at 6'1 250 so I need some power too. Does anyone have feed back on these big enduro dual sports?

 

[sw99]

oops it won't let me delete to move to the motorcycle section...

 

[Langanobob]

Not to send you somewhere else, but…I’m pretty sure there is an immense 690 Enduro thread over on the advrider board.

 

[Reltor]

It's a great bike and I am your size. Absolutely rips. Expect to put about $3K additional in it to make it what it should be.
*Must Do's IMHO

• For our weight, suspension needs re-sprung and re-valved
• Steering stabilizer helps immensely. I used the Chinese Ebay Scott knock off with risers and it has been great.
• Rottweiler Intake, Power Commander, Map switch and Exhaust made it run like it should have from the factory...Absolute must do
• Get rid of the plastic fuel filter in the tank- I had two split. Have a best dual sports in now...Do not use the Napa. Earls makes an alternative.
• Dirt Tricks cam chain tensioner Took the rattle out at hot idle.
• Foot pegs suck if you have big feet
• Change gearing to 14/48 if you are in the woods more than the road.

 

[JWC86]

Old thread here but I’m also looking at one of these 690s, would be a older one. Any years particularly better than others? Do these bikes cruise well at highway speeds when needed?

 

[DriveHard]

I have the Husky Vitpilen 701which is based on that engine. She can cruise on the Interstate at 80+ no problem at all.

 

[Ice-9]

The KTM 690 Enduro sold before the 2019 model year has the "old" engine, which I strongly urge you to avoid at all costs.

I've owned 14 KTMs, and i have owned two 690 Enduros. I've been a rider for 50 years. A lot of people ( the majority ) on Advrider don't know what they are talking about. There is a LOT of misinformation on Advrider, and the culture on that site is such that people who suck up to the moderators are allowed to post a lot of bad info, but people who call out misinformation are often banned from the site. So take anything you read on Advrider with a LARGE bag of salt.

I'll post more in this thread later today, but for now I will suggest you give serious consideration to NOT buying a KTM 690. KTM's quality control is horrible and their customer service is also bad. The ownership experience with a KTM has been the worst I have encountered in over 48 years of buying and owning vehicles.

I still own a 2019 690 Enduro I bought new. It has been the most unreliable motorcycle i have owned in 50 years of riding. Do not expect the sort of reliability you experienced with your Suzuki : it is not going to be that way with a KTM 690.

More later ... gotta go deal with business.

 

[Ice-9]

Ok, back with more info.

The "new" 690 engine was first used in the Husqvarna 701 and the KTM 690 Duke, and the KTM 690 Enduro was the last bike to use the new engine. Do your own research to determine the exact years that the "new" engine was used in the various versions of KTM and Husqvarna bikes that used the 690 / 701 engine.

The "new" engine uses a valve train that is significantly different from the valve train of the previous version of the engine. The old engine had problems with the rocker arm bearings failing, and the staking used to retain the rocker shafts in the rocker arms was another failure point. These aforementioned failure points have been well documented and the root causes are a combination of design errors and poor implementation of what was a bad design to begin with. There was a thread on Advrider which discussed these problems, but that thread just
"disappeared". Some of us know why that happened. You can make your own guesses as to why, but if you suspected KTM USA you might be on the right track ...

The smartest way to own a KTM 690 or Husqvarna 701 is to buy a new bike and make sure to pay for an extended warranty and then SELL the bike before the extended warranty expires. The 690 / 701 is a very complex engine which has a lot of potential failure points and some failures can cost serious amounts of money to fix. The KTM 690 is a fun bike to ride when everything is working properly, but my experience with these bikes has been that you won't get many months of service before some problem interrupts your ability to ride the bike. And it will cost serious money to fix the problem, more often than not.

A used 690 made before 2019 would be a bad risk. If you choose to buy such a bike, be ready for trouble - because the bike IS going to have trouble and the only question is when.

It's possible to mitigate risk relative to the rocker arm bearing and shaft retention problems in the "old" engine by installing new rocker arms every 10,000 miles of use. But think about that for a minute : this should not be necessary in a properly designed engine. I suggest that anyone who is considering buying a used 690 should think long and hard about the downside risks before committing to buy the bike. KTM USA has consistently refused to take responsibility for selling defective product, and if you buy a used 690 which has the old engine design, you are not
going to get help from the dealer or the importer when the problems happen. Do yourself a favor and buy a Suzuki DR650 instead, and be happy with how it performs, given that it will be utterly reliable and not have expensive failures like a KTM 690 or Husqvarna 701 will probably have.

 

[Ice-9]

If you have any questions about the 690, post your questions in this thread and I will do my best to answer the questions.

 

[Ice-9]

Old thread here but I’m also looking at one of these 690s, would be a older one. Any years particularly better than others? Do these bikes cruise well at highway speeds when needed?

If you cannot afford a new 690, you REALLY cannot afford a used one.

 

[sw99]

The very conservative side me says to just get a reliable old tank like the 2022 XR650L. I certainly don't want to be fixing things all the time, I just like to ride.

 

[Ice-9]

The very conservative side me says to just get a reliable old tank like the 2022 XR650L. I certainly don't want to be fixing things all the time, I just like to ride.

if you just want to ride, a Japanese bike would be a wise choice !

Realistically the KTM 690 is never going to be as hassle-free as a Honda XR650L or a Suzuki DR650 or a Kawasaki KLR 650.

KTM bikes offer exceptional performance, but that performance comes with multiple costs. The first cost is the purchase price, but after that come the hassles, which are just part of the game with KTM. These hassles are not something everyone is going to find acceptable, and that is absolutely understandable.

My next bike purchase is going to be a Suzuki DR650. I've ridden all the Japanese 650 singles and I like the Suzuki best for the riding I want to do. I'll probably keep my KTM 690, but the Suzuki will be available to me when the KTM is in need of repairs, so I will be able to ride rather than being stuck without a bike until the KTM 690 is operational again.

 

[Reltor]

The 690/701 platform needs sorted out, is all. There is nothing out there in a single that is gonna make the power that these can and be as reliable...period. Pre 14' rockers were a problem, These newer in-tank fuel filters were an issue for me, crappy seat, crappy tail lights and turn signals that get melted off. I bought a 17' new...and didn't want all of the additional electronic crap on the new ones and I never thought there was a need for another counterbalancer. Service intervals are pretty decent. It's the same old story...If you can't buy 2 you can't afford 1, and the 'strong, light, cheap, pick two' question. Personally, I knew what I was getting into and overall am happy with the bike.

It is not a good putt around at 35 and look at the scenery bike and at times I miss that quality that made some of the other mentions so good.