Thread: Bike Lust: KTM 690 Enduro

A friend (acquaintance actually) has one. It's a pretty sweet ride. Big issues I have noticed/heard is that it doesn't seem to be as reliable as the F bikes, and needs more frequent regular maintenance as well. IIRC I think you need to do service with valves etc. every 5000km (3000mi) as opposed to 10000km on the F. Course if it's an enduro machine for mainly off-road use, and you're not ...

they do look very nice, but considering the maintenance intervals why would you choose one over an Xchallenge (if you like the weirdo air-damping system) or perhaps a somewhat more conventional Xcountry?

One of my compadres has the smaller KTM 450 (which model, I can't tell you; all orange bikes look the same to me... ) She has been waiting 3 weeks for a part. It arrived in two weeks pre-bent from the factory, so now she is waiting for the non-bent replacement. If you are going to go with a bike that is expensive, high-maintenance, and has a waiting time for parts that only sequoias and ...

Yeah, I have read over at ADVr about the problems people are having with their KTMs. I personally would buy a X-Country or X-Challenge. I know they aren't real popular, but I love those bikes. Or you could wait for the G450X, which I'm pretty sure will be badass.

I'm also lusting after the Xchallenge but it also seems to have the F disease of excessive plastics. Believe it or not the 690 Enduro is a "soft-enduro" bike, well setup for the street with switchable FI (and a poor gas mode). The 690 Enduro R has big legs (290mm of suspsension travel and a seat height of 35" or so). I couldn't help draw comparisons with the F650GS and F650GS Dakar. I'm guessing ...

You are welcome to pilot my KLR for the sake of comparison.

i_yeti wrote: You are welcome to pilot my KLR for the sake of comparison. Hey thanks! I haven't dropped a bike in 18 days now.

At the Shelton Valley Rally, I had the opportunity to ride the KTM 450 and while it really absorbs the rough terrain, I could never get over not being able to easily touch down. I could also see myself easily riding over my abilities!

Timmer wrote: At the Shelton Valley Rally, I had the opportunity to ride the KTM 450 and while it really absorbs the rough terrain, I could never get over not being able to easily touch down. I could also see myself easily riding over my abilities! I've heard a lot of people say that about bike Enduro bikes like the HP2 and Super Enduro.

i have several friends that own KTM's and although they are great bikes they are all very high maintenance machines. i honestly do not remember the frequency for oil changes but i believe it is something like every 20 hrs and there are two oil filters, which are expensive. to put it into perspective my son-in-law rides his KTM once a week when he goes out riding with the boys on the weekend but ...