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Month: June 2019

What is this grommet for?

In the pic below you can see a loose rubber grommet around the wire going to the side stand switch (you can also see it in all the pics in the chapter on oil leak). One might think that this grommet should be stuck somewhere protecting the wire. Well, it turns out it is not, this is a superfluous grommet with no purpose whatsoever, probably because the same part is used on another bike where it is needed.

Just ignore it. Or cut it and remove it to gain a few grams…

Turns out that Touratech found the grommet useful as their “side stand switch protection” uses it. Here you go.

Water/Fog in instrument panel

Happened to a few bikes, panel replaced at first service. On some bike this made the panel die completely. Those panels are probably not fully waterproof, air inside expand and escapes when hot, and then fresh air is pulled from the outside when temp is cooling. This fresh air condenses, creating the fog.

As I write this (April 2020) KTM has stopped replacing the faulty panels, there is an announced new model to replace it, dealers have been told to stop replacing them and to wait for the new part instead.

Image from Johan Viljoen‎ on the Facebook group KTM 790 Adventure
Image from Igor Borisenko on the Facebook group KTM 790 Adventure

Fuel gauge not working

Initial batch of bikes were incorrectly configured–reports are that the 790 Duke fuel tank settings were used, confusing the fuel gauge. All of those should have been fixed by a dealer reflash, most of 2019 and all 2020+ bikes should not be affected.

See the other fuel gauge article for details on how it works.

This failure mode is easy to spot. If the instrument panel indicates an empty fuel tank but the range indicator indicates many miles/kilometers available as the picture below shows then your bike is affected.

Example of fuel gauge not working properly.

In the US (where they use weird unit of measure) it is possible for the dealer to switch the bikes to miles but for them to forget to switch the fuel cons to mpg. Those are controlled by two separate settings in the menu. Easy to fix, but may be confusing.

Triple clamp not tight enough

Thomas Rosenwirth on FB noticed some movement in the front end of his bike. After a trip to the dealer the culprit was found to be the steering head screw not tightened enough. Manual says 18nm.

The same failure has been reported to me three times so far, this is not an isolated incident. The procedure to tighten it is available in the manual.

Fuel tank full of crap

Early bikes had a white residue deposit in the fuel tank. Probably some wax leftover from manufacturing. Extreme cases can block the fuel filter. Wax floats, if you fill your fuel tank and see white flakes at the surface get the bike to the dealer for a cleanup and filter change under warranty.

Apparently this is affecting only known serial number and KTM is asking dealers with the affected bikes to remove the tank and clean it, with a picture send to KTM to prove they did it. No customer should experience this at this point.

Image from Sirroslr on advrider KTM 790 adventure thread
Image from kempower2000 on advrider KTM 790 adventure thread

Another example scarce on details.

Interesting third party luggage

The choices are:

  • Go with saddlebags with no hard support. Cheaper than the other solutions, but these will scratch the side plastics, and volume will be limited. Probably a good idea to remove the side plastics for those for a narrower bike. Depending on size those may require additional protection for the exhaust (Enduristan Inferno or similar)
  • Installing a scaffolding to get side racks in place. On the racks one can attach aluminium boxes or soft bags. This also has the side effect of protecting the back of the bike and most notably the exhaust in case of spills. Can support lots of storage, but can be very wide, especially on the exhaust side.
  • Installing touring panniers. With small inconspicuous side rails. Those are intended for road use, basically the same hardware as on the 790 Duke,  sit very high, and are less robust than proper adventure side rack. If you don’t plan to do any off roading this may be a good choice.

KTM offers side racks, Touratech panniers, and touring panniers. See the KTM luggage page.

Third party options below.

AndyStrapz

From Australia, they make saddle bags and support frames down under (Frame AU$400, with two large bags AU$850).

Bumot

Bumot (Based in Bulgaria) makes a complete setup for the 790 ADV with racks, various top box, hard or soft panniers… See a happy customer review. All BUMOT panniers system are symmetrical, aka the pannier on the right side is smaller. Four options for pannier systems for KTM790, 3 hard, one soft:

  • 35L / 31L – Width 92 cm
  • 40L / 36L – Width 98 cm
  • 45L / 41L – Width 104 cm
  • Xtremada soft panniers are 35&31L and the width is almost same as 35&31L hard panniers – about 92cm.

Enduristan

Very nice soft luggage from Switzerland with a lot of offerings, all waterproof. The Blizzard soft saddlebags fit fine, under or over the seat. The Tail bag is a great mini-top box for offroading. The monsoon can be attached to side racks. Their tank bags are nice, for road use with a need for a lot of volume the 4A with its concave bottom is a good fit; For off-road smaller sizes like the 4H or 4S give more space to the rider. The French dealer has a specific page for the 790 ADV with pics.

Giant loop

They sells rackless U shaped bags of various sizes (handles needs to be removed for those, they also sell a set of spacers to do so) and also offer mototrekk soft bags to install on any racks. US based.

Happy Trail

Paniers and rack from a small company in the US.

Hepco-Becker

Paniers rack, associated panniers, top cases, racks, crash bars… German quality.

Holan

From Poland, Holan is another alternative. With racks and panniers. Very narrow solution. And they list widths and weights for their options which is nice. Early models used to require the removal of side plastics, this has been updated.

Kriega

UK based Kriega has a complete soft luggage solution with bags for all purposes. I’m a fan of this page in German just for the pictures of the Kriega/Enduristan setups Light/Adventure/Touring/Campervan 🙂

Kriega released a specific OS-Platform Base for KTM Adventure bikes, which is perfect for the 790. Available at your retailer (france for example) but not yet listed on Kriega web site.

Mosko

US based Mosko makes a variety of luggage as well, the rackless Moto R40 / R80 have been recommended on the forums. U shaped luggage like those works better once the handles are removed (replace them with spacers) and will scratch the hell out of the plastic.

Outback motortek

Makes two type of racks, with or without rotopax mounts and tabs. ($210/$300 depending on model). Apparently not compatible with the Akrapovic exaust.

Rade/Garage

Rade/Garage is making panniers racks designed for solo riding, their racks move the pannier lower and forward compared to other providers, making for a better weight distribution. €250 for the racks.

Rockfox

From South Africa, makes panier racks, with multiple options as for width, finish, and attached bags.

SW-Motech

German SW-Motech published their full 790 ADV part list, and it is very long. Or interest are the quick disconnect pannier rack. Distributed worldwide.

Tusk

US manufacturer of racks and panniers. From $375 to $460 for a complete set. The Pilot soft bags ($149) are good for the price to attach on any racks (but not waterproof).

Tank Bags

Tank bags on this bike may be intrusive: the top of the tank is small, the opening is very close to the handlebar. Bags mounted on a quick lock around it may interfere with the handlebar. Double check fit before buying.

The KTM options are first the 18-litre tank bag (p/n 75012919000 about £139). This is not waterproof, an inner bag supplied.

Another KTM option is the 13-16 litre QuickLock tank bag (p/n 63512919000 about £175). This is not waterproof, rain hood supplied.

Some of the best tank bags for the 790 available by Enduristan. All are fully waterproof by design. For road use with a need for a lot of volume the 4A with its concave bottom is a good fit (13L expandable to 20). For off-road smaller sizes like the 4H (7L) or 4S (7 to 12 L) give more space to the rider. Pics are available for all models here.

The wolfman enduro tank bag has been reported as a good fit as well. Small at 6L, but well designed.

GIVI released a tank bag mount (€70) to clip any of their bags. But it’s far from ideal, I guess it’s good only if you already have a giv bag and want to reuse it.

As always there is a thread on advrider about it.

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