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pr0zac posted:Basically the idea is it lets you square off the corner a lot more, scrub off speed faster, and get on the throttle sooner. Also it looks awesome. I've been looking for this kind of document for weeks. Thanks! Edit to crosspost this from the pics 'n' vids thread; Been having fun 'shopping new vinyl designs for my KTM;  Original;  Click here for the full 640x480 image. What do you reckon? ReelBigLizard fucked around with this message at 02:59 on Mar 20, 2009 |
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Mar 20, 2009 02:57
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Can anyone explain to me how a slipper clutch makes backing it in easier? I'm just curious.
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Apr 4, 2009 00:28
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Zool, welcome to the 690 club! I plan on making a 750mi journey on my SMC this year, from the very south to near enough the very north of Britain. The three things I plan to sort out before that trip are; Fuel 12 Litre (3.2 Gallons US) is just not enough. Considering the Aqualine tank or an auxilliary mounted to the... Luggage Rack Touratech made a mild steel one for KTM's catalogue, but sell a stainless version for less on their website. Will be making my own panniers though, the touratech alu ones are ridiculously priced. Seat The Corbin one mentioned before looks comfy but spoils the lines slightly in my opinion. Renazco, will upgrade your existing seat in full suede for $400 (only 20bux more).
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Jan 30, 2010 21:19
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yummycheese posted:Any tips on tires? the ones on the bike are the originals from 2006. They are hard as stone and probably were not all that great to begin with. I was going to go with power pilots, but Ive read that maybe those were designed for bigger heavier bikes . Also maybe there is a nice cheap alternative. Get something SM oriented. As I understand it a bike like the DRZ wont have enough weight and grunt to deform something like a power pilot, which means you will have a hard time warming them up. There are plenty excellent SM suitable tyres around, and you can even mess with combinations of front/rear. Common choices for SM include: Dunlop Mutants Apparently a good general purpose tyre adapted specially for SM conversions. From what I have heard they last well and grip plenty. Better than some on loose surfaces but by no means great. Continental Contiforce SM Good grippy tyre, apparently softer than the Mutant, I found my 690 ate the rear too quickly for my liking but the DRZ would probably be kinder to them. Another well regarded SM tyre. Usually found for a decent price too. Not as good as the mutants on loose surfaces. Pirelli Dragon Supercorsa My 690 came with these, their grippiness is only surpassed by their costliness. They function in the wet but they don't clear water well enough for my liking. They absolutely suck on any surface not road-like. Avon Pro Extreme Rain (aka PXR) Super soft rain tyre that is not even road-legal on most sport bikes, they cost as much as the Pirellis. These are what I am wearing right now and I have to say they are very confidence inspiring. I can stop in the wet almost as well as I could with the Pirellis in the dry. I live on a small island that gets an awful lot of rain over the winter so I am wearing them front and rear a the moment but when it gets drier the rear is going to get torn to poo poo. I will be replacing it with the; Avon Distanzia Hard wearing, grippy and surprisingly capable off the tarmac, it's a fairly popular choice on both ends of the bike or combined with the PXR on the front (this seems to be an immensely popular combo here in Britain).
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Feb 6, 2010 20:54
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CSi-NA-EJ7 posted:Very dirty. I know Nice find! don't worry about keeping it clean mate, Supermoto's are for riding, not preening. Spiffness posted:How prophetic you should say this, my 690 threw up a FI code tonight on the ride home and lost power a few times. Tomorrow it goes to the dealer to figure out whats up. Under warranty, which is nice, but oi. Which FI code did it give you? The owners manual has a decoder table in the troubleshooting chapter. ReelBigLizard fucked around with this message at 20:12 on Mar 7, 2010 |
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Mar 7, 2010 20:09
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tarzanspuma posted:Good, I don't want you wearing out that Fixed for SuperMotard. And Zen, are Alpina still going? there were rumours of them shutting down not so long ago, not helped with their website disappearing. We've had two solid weeks of sunshine here and it is rapidly killing my rear Avon PXR. I got a set after dropping the bike in the downpours last year (Pirelli Dragon SuperCorsas not so good in the wet) and this year it's been nothing but inexplicable, burning April sunshine. 
ReelBigLizard fucked around with this message at 08:16 on Apr 20, 2010 |
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Apr 20, 2010 08:13
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Jharkov posted:And I severely wanted a 690SMC... until i did some research. As a 690SMC owner I keep up to date on appropriate forums, and I have not really seen a significant amount of total engine failures (no more than industry average). The issues that seem to plague the 690s are stalling and snatchy throttle, which is fixed by proper mapping and the required adjustments by a competant mechanic. In fact, competant mechanics seem to be the real issue with the 690, there just aren't very many. KTM changed a lot with the new LC4 and many shops haven't caught up on their training it seems. As an ex-service engineer I can tell you that if a part fails 5 times (and doesn't have a high rate of failure otherwise) it is almost categorically not the part, it is another associated part, abuse or the mechanic at fault. No-one seems to teach proper diagnostic theory these days  As for mine, well it is almost bone stock and the only issues I have had are with the cam-chain tensioner, which seems a little sensetive to proper warming-up of the engine. If the engine was that much of a grenade they wouldn't be tuning the balls off it and sticking it in endurance races like the dakar. Sorry if this sounds a little ranty but there has been a lot of people putting the design at fault on other forums when it seems to be mostly the service side. KTM need to get their house in order on the service side, not development. TL:DR; Don't be afraid of buying a 690 if you have faith in your dealer to set-up and service it right.
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Apr 23, 2010 12:15
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Zool posted:I do my best wheelies after I do a bunch of coke. Can this be CA's tagline?
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Apr 25, 2010 07:07
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pr0zac posted:God dammit I hate you 690 buying jerks. I'm seriously considering selling off the 929 and the DRZ and picking one up now. My girlfriend is going to murder me. One of us. One of us. One o-
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Jul 5, 2010 23:06
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Z3n posted:I learned today that a slipper clutch is the poo poo for backing it in. And that a KTM 690 SMC really is a phenominal bike. Goddamn fast. I love my SMC, and the slipper clutch. It's a fantastic commuter bike, my ride to work in the morning is reason enough to get me out of bed. Big speed bump? Jump it! Tight corner? Back it in! ...then wheelie out! Coming to a stop in the company car park? Stoppie time!
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Jul 9, 2010 00:29
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Christoff posted:Also, I need to change the oil. I used rotella t I think it was on my last bike. Will that work just fine on mine? I haven't downloaded a manual yet. How often should I be changing the oil and filter? Reccomended oil change on the 690 LC4 is every 3000mi, but if you hoon it around you might want to change it more often. The engine is designed for 10W60 full synthetic (KTM obviously reccomends the pricey Motorex stuff) and you should be changing filters and screens when you change the oil. There are two different filters to change and as I remember two screens too. Seperately they are expensive but you can buy a service kit (KTM part no. 00050000069) that has everything you need but the oil.
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Jul 9, 2010 13:51
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The SMC vibrated too much and one of my rear indicators went all  So I bought some impossibly small LED ones and decided to relocated them up under the rear fairing and do a DIY tail-tidy. Before  After 
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Sep 12, 2010 12:34
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Clank posted:I was looking used. The 640 is much like the 625. They're good bikes.
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Sep 15, 2010 13:24
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Power mods for the 690 are largely an exercise in large expenditure for little gain. The engine is the strongest stock engine in it's class and I have only heard of meaningful improvements from drastic work like reworking of the head, increased compression and entirely replacing the throttle body and EFI unit. The bike can be most improved simply by having it set up in a competent garage. The EFI is finnicky and needs to be trimmed and adjusted right. Edit: Not that it's going to stop me experimenting. I want to replace the entire airbox with a pod filter to give me more space and I want to replace the exhaust with something less huge/hot. ReelBigLizard fucked around with this message at 10:58 on Oct 15, 2010 |
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Oct 15, 2010 10:55
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I was following the work some Austrian guys were doing on another forum and it seems the problem is not fitting a new can to the 690 but retaining the airbox after changing it. The airbox is a very interesting design that straightens out the power curve into the near diagonal line that it is. Unfortunately It only seems to do it's job properly when it's used with the hot, heavy stainless lump that is the stock exhaust. Fitting an aftermarket can and factory remap will do little more than give you maybe 5HP on the top which it apparently robs from the midrange. The only solution to this (that the Austrians found, anyway) was to do away with the airbox at the same time as the exhaust, replacing it with a generic pod filter. The stock ECU with factory maps can in no way handle this, so you have to either install a piggyback unit, remap the EFI with a Tuneboy or replace the entire ECU with a third party module. Removing the airbox had the effect of shifting the entire power curve down the rev range by about 700-900RPM while maintaining low and mid range. The other benefits being a large amount of space freed up for extra fuel/storage under the seat and increased intake noise (if you like that sort of thing). Bootnote: The 690 Rallye, which is based on the same engine and chassis uses an FCR flatslide carb and an even weirder airbox. The factory team apparently didn't trust Keihin's EFI enough to put it racing (which I heard they had initially intended to).
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Oct 22, 2010 20:37
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ohwandernearer posted:Putting new tires on the DRZ 400 this winter. Anyone have experience with Avon Distanzias? Theoretically they are exactly what I want and I have seen some good feedback elsewhere. Any thoughts on it or any other tire for a 75% on road, 25% light off road/gravel tire? Avon's Distanzia is an awesome winter sumo tyre. The generally favoured combo is a Distanzia rear with their Pro eXtreme Rain on the front. The PXR is super soft but on the front of a sumo it will last for a good long while and it makes the bike very sure-footed in the wet. The Distanzia is tough enough to survive as a rear on my SMC while still providing decent hold in the wet.
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Oct 26, 2010 18:54
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FuzzyWuzzyBear posted:Any thoughts on whether axle sliders do poo poo for a motard? My swing-arm and front brake disc say yes. Bar end sliders aren't a terrible idea either.
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Nov 13, 2010 14:48
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Christoff posted:But why would it run perfectly otherwise? With the fuel pump wouldn't it just not start all together? The previous previous owner did get some extended 3 year warranty. I have to pay $20 to get it transferred, or something. But I can't exactly replicate the issue on spot. Did you note the error code? The FI light will blink in a certain pattern (long or short flashes) and there is a table in the user manual troubleshooting section that tells you what they mean. Even if you can't replicate it, the dealer can look into the EFI log (which records all errors until they are purged by the mechanic) and find the issue. ReelBigLizard fucked around with this message at 14:14 on Nov 15, 2010 |
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Nov 15, 2010 14:11
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Christoff posted:Almost positive it didnt blink. I just kept trying to start it because It's usually solid, blinking the code every ~15 seconds, you probably just missed it. Either way, a tech should be able to pull an error code out of the log. How often does it happen?
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Nov 15, 2010 18:23
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quote:...supermotos corrupt absolutely. Oh god, it's true. I used to be a pretty responsible cyclist. Then I got addicted to motorcycles when I taught myself to ride on a borrowed DT125 while I was living in Uganda. I ended up getting a KTM 690 SMC when I got home. Which is something like going from a toke on your buddies joint then moving straight up to crack cocaine the next night. Now, not a week goes by without someone shouting, shaking a fist, or honking their horn at me because I'm upsetting their sensibilities by riding pavements (sidewalks), pulling wheelies, backing it in, cutting through roadworks or cutting the wrong-way down a one-way road because I cut through the roadworks too many times and the road workers know to look out for me.
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Nov 18, 2010 19:30
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I'm a similar weight to you and I had similar trouble, I played with the damping and compression for a while with not an awful amount of luck. I increased the rear pre-load, which made it a bit better, but still not quite right. Then I returned to factory damping/compression settings when I serviced my forks and suddenly everything was rainbows and puppies, different bike. So in short, try doing nothing but increased rear pre-load, it's pretty much bang on in my opinion.
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Nov 23, 2010 13:37
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I know someone who was charged with dangerous riding after he pulled a 75+m wheelie. He was taken to court and when the judge asked him to explain his actions he just said (something to the effect of): "Your Honor, it was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, the road was empty and I was overcome by the simple joy of motorcycling." Got off with a warning. So it's worth a try 
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Jan 19, 2011 23:01
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Christoff posted:Yeah, what Spiff said. The only trouble you'll get into is a cop pulling you over (somehow) for riding down stairs in a park. Or jumping off loading docks/speed bumps. Not for doing 100 mph on a public road. Apparently 'Backing it in' is not an officially recognised method of cornering and may result in a 'dangerous riding' offence. Nonsense!
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Feb 15, 2011 18:08
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Empire Waffles posted:It is done. One of Us. One of Us. Congrats dude, now post some drat pics already.
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Feb 17, 2011 22:00
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Christoff posted:At what point is it still a sumo, really? Might as well be a big duke or something. The 990 is not a sumo, it's somewhere between sumo and naked. It's a fantastic bike but you can't hoon it like the smaller bikes. I've used the 990 Super Duke, honestly I wasn't that enamoured with it, I couldn't wait to get back to my SMC, although it did look fantastic in white. Of the 990s the one I would have is the SMT; Comfortable, looks cool, smooth v-twin power.
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Feb 21, 2011 13:09
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iwentdoodie posted:Guy says it's been dropped once on the right side at low speed Drops for these bikes are like dents on Land Rovers, honestly you start asking more questions if they claim it hasn't been down.
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Feb 22, 2011 00:45
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hedgegnome posted:http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2008-KTM-Duke-Super-Moto-Street-Fighter-CUSTOM-/120703760170?pt=US_motorcycles&hash=item1c1a81372a#v4-35 I'd go for it. Looks righteous with the white wheels, just when I thought you couldn't make a white Duke 3 look better... Edit: as for first bike, it's a little hairy with the very direct throttle response the EFI gives. I had a 690 SMC as a first bike and if you're sensible it shouldn't be a problem. There is a throttle map selector somewhere, probably under the seat, I would set it to 'soft' until you get to grips with the bike. Even after 30 months of constant everyday riding I still use the soft setting when it gets snowy/icy. A 690 on the hardcore throttle setting will wheelie if you sneeze too hard. ReelBigLizard fucked around with this message at 12:07 on Mar 28, 2011 |
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Mar 28, 2011 12:01
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I'm too used to the slipper on the 690 and now I'll accidentally 'chirp' the rear when I borrow other bikes. That said, dropping the clutch completely at speed still takes some extra balls that I don't often have. The full unbridled engine braking on the 690 is intense.
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Apr 13, 2011 16:51
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"I guess you'll just have to put the tool roll in your pocket..." I'd rather see a new rider on even the hairiest of motards than a 600cc i4. Even if you loop the bike it will likely be at low speed and the bike will be able to ride away after. My flatmates '03 Bandit 600 was unnerving after having ridden my SMC for a while. Taking off on the Bandit I was completely underwhelmed for the first 5 minutes. That is, until I hit about 7500rpm...  Shedding weight as you ride Made in Austria it's Ready To Race.
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Apr 18, 2011 13:36
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Z3n posted:One of us. Fellow 690 owners: what tyres are we all running? I swapped in a Conti SM on the SMC when some little pikey put a stanley in the original pirelli rear; I really don't have anything good to say about it bar the price. For starters I felt it wore out too quickly, and I don't know if it just didn't work right with the existing Pirelli on the front but I never felt really confident with it. Swapped out to Avon PXRs front and rear for the winter of 09 and they were stoppies-in-the-wet awesome, but the rain didn't come like it did in 08 and I wore out the rear by spring. I swapped the rear to an Avon Distanzia SM, which is a popular combo on big sumos here in the UK (where we have to endure a fair amount of wet riding) and I have to say it's pretty much spot on in every department; handling, cost, wear. The PXR on the front is only now getting to the end of it's life and the Distanzia looks like it still has the rest of the summer, maybe longer left. ReelBigLizard fucked around with this message at 22:43 on May 8, 2011 |
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May 8, 2011 22:41
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Just been offered a race prepped KTM 620 for a very decent price. Just received a bonus from work that would cover it very nicely. Practically speaking I need this bike like a fish needs a fillet knife...
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May 12, 2011 20:38
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Z3n posted:Are there any sumo tracks/racing in your area? No. There's a regular hill climb event, but that's about it. Unless I can convince the go-cart track to let me hoon about. I'm not an unreasonable distance from northern france though. quote:Sounds like you need it pretty bad.. I picture a fish with a filet knife in it's mouth commando style to fight off sharks. Well, when you put it like that.. It's been stripped to bare essentials, no clock, no key, FMF race exhaust fitted, what looks like an additional remote oil filter, FMF race ignition, factory discs, braided everything, looks like the shock isn't stock either. It was owned by a very respected local racer and professional mechanic and it started on the first kick.
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May 12, 2011 21:02
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One of the perks of where I live is that we have no MOT, noise or emissions regulations. Basically if you have a plate and tyres that aren't bald you're good to go. You don't even need a headlight if you only ride it during daylight hours. Technically there's nothing stopping me from using it to hoon to work and back. Hill climbs are pretty much every bank holiday plus a few Sundays as soon as it's dry enough to be safe. http://www.motorsportcircuits.co.uk/html/val-des-terres-hillclimb.html
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May 12, 2011 21:42
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Everyone uses the curb, they purposefully made all the curbs nearly flush with the road surface. The last corner sees a lot of slides and bumps as people try to power over the line. Even riding the road day-to-day I've had the back step out there when I've been too eager to get on the power. The second to last corner is the worst for bikes though, all the corners before it have a camber but that one is completely flat and if you're not expecting it you can expect to be pulled out of the hedge. When we have inter island events or visitors it's not uncommon to see a few offs there. I've spoken to my friend who's selling the 620, if he still has it by pay day we're going to talk, if he gets a good offer in the mean time though it's no-hard-feelings.
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May 12, 2011 23:56
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Russian Bear posted:Is that guy in the video driving a Caterham or a Lotus 7? That looks fun as hell, I wish they did something like this here. A Caterham or similar clone, I really must do a thread on our hill climb one day, it's no TT but there's some interesting stuff turns up to race. It's one of the main roads going south out of town so it only gets raced on public holidays*. quote:Some day you'll be on your death bed surrounded by family. Do you want to tell your great-grandchildren how practical you were or how you used to do wheelies for days. ...Or how I generously passed on great deals so that others could wheelie for days. The problem is that I can already do wheelies for days if I so wish (or sometimes when I don't); I have a 690 SMC already. *And by a few less sane individuals in the early hours of week days.
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May 13, 2011 11:19
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On the topic of short-commutes: this is the reason I am fixing up my BSA Bantam. I'm commuting just a few miles every day and it's murder on the oil. I'm currently changing the oil at half the recommended interval and still its coming out black as the interior of beelzebubs bum. The Bantam, while not awesome-supermoto-commuter-fun, is a 2t and much more amenable to short journeys.
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May 17, 2011 09:19
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I've been thinking about getting a pair of bi-colours for the SMC, then getting some excel rims and spokes and re-lacing the stock hubs as off-road wheels. I haven't re-laced a wheel before, I understand how to true them though, is it particularly hard? I'm also vaguely worried by the fact that the bi-colour replacements do away with the 'cush-drive'. I always understood these offered protection to the transmission, is it an issue at all?
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May 19, 2011 14:37
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Spiffness posted:...waves of awesome gravitating off both wheels. I'd convinced myself I didn't need them until I saw both you and z3n have them, now I feel like the kid with Bumblebee while everyone else has Optimus Prime
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May 19, 2011 14:58
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dreesemonkey posted:Quick question. Should the seat height be very similar for a 400SM compared to the street legal dirt version? I'm going to have a chance to ride my friends dualsport this weekend and always wondered about the seat height being a short guy. I'm sure it would be fine but just turning my bike around and poo poo now is a pain sometimes even with a lower seat height. I'm not tall and I ride a ridiculously tall bike (SMC), it just takes getting used to. Sumo/Dirt bikes generally have slim seats so it's easy to shuffle a buttock off the seat and get a foot squarely on the ground.
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May 24, 2011 19:38
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| # ¿ May 3, 2024 02:47 |
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Fiendish Dr. Wu posted:I closed that poo poo like a preteen closes a porn window. Easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission, ey? 
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Jun 22, 2011 16:48
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