KTM 890R- The Super Scalpel!

[Skub]

It must be white for the seat cover,I reckon it's worth half a second off your weekend.

[Tricky]

Well, it had its first service today , it has 700ish miles up now and it got a minor spanking afterwards as the dash doesn't turn orange when you get to 7k any more, so it got to travel at more than 2 miles per minute.
Once they'd finished the service they informed me that it's got to go back to them (the dealer) for a new RH handlebar switch once they get it in, whenever that may be which is a minor annoyance, but the annoyance is mainly with the dealer, and it's not affecting the operation or performance in any way so not really a biggie for me, but hey t it's a KTM, so what do you expect

I spent a little bit of time in the garage tonight so fitted a brake lever guard and some case-savers from my old 790 in prep for Pembrey.
Tomorrow it'll get a clean before loading into the van , as it was raining when I left home on it this morning, so it got a little bit shitty. Nothing a bucket of water and 10 mins or so elbow grease won't sort though- should be the ideal bike for a bit of sportsbike hunting (© @Couchy ) at a place like Pembrey IMO

[Taipan]

Bottom picture is the bestest. Anyone who says different needs pushing into the stingers!

[weeksy]

He's getting a move on with it, going really well.

[Deadpool2]

I do think KTM should work on the seats as its the one thing i hear most complaints about across the range.

I must confess, I managed to do 250 miles on certain days with the standard seat. One of the great things I like about the KTM was that there is a lot of room to move around, fore and aft. The Triumph Trident, for example, just locks you into place!

I hear cycle shorts work as well, but have never tried them on a motorcycle.

[Skub]

I hear cycle shorts work as well, but have never tried them on a motorcycle.

They took the Z1000 seat from uncomfortable at about an hour to no discomfort with 4 hours riding.

They feel odd when walking around,but I don't notice them at all while riding.

[Bigyin]

They took the Z1000 seat from uncomfortable at about an hour to no discomfort with 4 hours riding.

They feel odd when walking around,but I don't notice them at all while riding.

That will be your piles

[Tricky]

Well, it had its first service today , it has 700ish miles up now and it got a minor spanking afterwards as the dash doesn't turn orange when you get to 7k any more, so it got to travel at more than 2 miles per minute.
Once they'd finished the service they informed me that it's got to go back to them (the dealer) for a new RH handlebar switch once they get it in, whenever that may be which is a minor annoyance, but the annoyance is mainly with the dealer, and it's not affecting the operation or performance in any way so not really a biggie for me, but hey t it's a KTM, so what do you expect

I spent a little bit of time in the garage tonight so fitted a brake lever guard and some case-savers from my old 790 in prep for Pembrey.
Tomorrow it'll get a clean before loading into the van , as it was raining when I left home on it this morning, so it got a little bit shitty. Nothing a bucket of water and 10 mins or so elbow grease won't sort though- should be the ideal bike for a bit of sportbike hunting (© @Couchy ) at a place like Pembrey IMO

It's been a while since I've updated this, not a huge amount has happened but is about time for an update I guess.
Pembrey has been and gone, the 890 acquitted itself well I thought, and most importantly was great fun to ride, if a bit twitchy through Woodlands- I'm sure that could have been improved or likely completely eradicated with a bit of fettling, but it wasn't a race so it didn't matter, overall it was tip-top, with possibly the best brakes of anything I've ever had in terms of the balance of feel and power as standard.

Since then it's been ragged around the A and B roads here a few times , it hasn't had a huge amount of use, but we're over 1k miles, and as of a couple of weeks ago its sporting a new pair of tyres (S22s) , not because the Michelins were worn out, but I got a flint through the rear and it wasn't really repairable so needed to do something- I decided to replace them as a pair , as brilliant as the Pilot Cups are as track tyres, there are better options IMO for Welsh and Scottish Highland roads for all-year round use, and S22s are it for me.

Disappointingly, after Pembrey it also seemed to have developed the infamous gearbox sprocket oil seal leak, so I asked Blade MC (the supplying dealer) to attend to that when it was in for the new RH handlebar switch.
I've just got it back, and they informed me that it was simply excess chain lube and it doesn't need a seal as it stayed clean on their 2-mile test ride - I say bollocks and it was engine oil but I didn't have the cover off and they did and are insistent, so well, we will see eh.

I'd held off putting any bolt-ons etc on this one just in case I decided it wasn't staying, but I honestly can't think of anything I want more than it for what I use it for, and it just makes me laugh every time I ride it, so it's a keeper , and over the next few months I'll be putting a tail tidy, a few bits of carbon etc and maybe getting it wrapped too..
Oh, and it will be getting some heated grips, as it's going to get a lot more use in all weathers now the world has opened up for travel more- I have really missed lack of the jolly-boys adventure road-trips over the last year or so , so the home-made Ventura rack and touring screen will also be coming out of retirement and going on too at some point- the 790 was simply brilliant as a (one person) tourer, and the 890 is going to be even better and will of course also be able to compete in the no-handed races- we have cruise control

[weeksy]

Disappointingly, after Pembrey it also seemed to have developed the infamous gearbox sprocket oil seal leak, so I asked Blade MC (the supplying dealer) to attend to that when it was in for the new RH handlebar switch.
I've just got it back, and they informed me that it was simply excess chain lube and it doesn't need a seal as it stayed clean on their 2-mile test ride - I say bollocks and it was engine oil but I didn't have the cover off and they did and are insistent, so well, we will see eh.

Interesting that you took it to Blade instead of Premier for warranty work. I'll be most curious to see how that goes for you matey.

Hope to see it Thurs/Fri this week

[Skub]

Sure if the gearbag leak oils the chain,then it's a win.

One man's fault is another's mod.

[Tricky]

Disappointingly, after Pembrey it also seemed to have developed the infamous gearbox sprocket oil seal leak, so I asked Blade MC (the supplying dealer) to attend to that when it was in for the new RH handlebar switch.
I've just got it back, and they informed me that it was simply excess chain lube and it doesn't need a seal as it stayed clean on their 2-mile test ride - I say bollocks and it was engine oil but I didn't have the cover off and they did and are insistent, so well, we will see eh.

Interesting that you took it to Blade instead of Premier for warranty work. I'll be most curious to see how that goes for you matey.

Hope to see it Thurs/Fri this week

I only took it to Blade as the switch was a hangover from the first service, but they really are a shower to deal with unfortunately , it's been painful with them (again) so that's it for them, anything else will be the Premier boys.

And yeah, will be good to catch up later this week if we can- I've got to put proper clothes on and go into the city Thursday now so won't be able to play that day, but Friday is still looking good

[weeksy]

Disappointingly, after Pembrey it also seemed to have developed the infamous gearbox sprocket oil seal leak, so I asked Blade MC (the supplying dealer) to attend to that when it was in for the new RH handlebar switch.
I've just got it back, and they informed me that it was simply excess chain lube and it doesn't need a seal as it stayed clean on their 2-mile test ride - I say bollocks and it was engine oil but I didn't have the cover off and they did and are insistent, so well, we will see eh.

Interesting that you took it to Blade instead of Premier for warranty work. I'll be most curious to see how that goes for you matey.

Hope to see it Thurs/Fri this week

I only took it to Blade as the switch was a hangover from the first service, but they really are a shower to deal with unfortunately , it's been painful with them (again) so that's it for them, anything else will be the Premier boys.

And yeah, will be good to catch up later this week if we can- I've got to put proper clothes on and go into the city Thursday now so won't be able to play that day, but Friday is still looking good

I've found Blade ok but far from brilliant. I used them for first service on the XSR and they were organised mostly, for test rides they were ok. But Comms not brilliant at times and a bit flakey when coming to getting PX valuations and potential deals going.

I think I'll be trying Motts in Basingstoke for the mt07.

[Tricky]

Heated grips time

Choices here were aftermarket (Oxford , Koso etc) or KTM PP option. The 890 differs from the (pre-2020) 790 Duke in that for the 890 the KTM option is available as a fully integrated option, ie, the grips plug straight into the standard KTM wiring loom, and are operated through the existing main LH handlebar switch and dash, rather than add-on with separate switch.
You pay a premium for them, but they are a better product IMO, installation is far neater and a lot easier (you’ll see why in the pics below) than when I put Oxford ones on my old 790 , which involved whittling away the standard throttle grip on the tube as its a one-piece moulded item, and the new grips are absolutely identical in external diameter size and design etc to the factory-fitted standard non-heated ones.
All things considered, it's a no-brainer and I plumped for the KTM ones.

So this is what you get- basically just the grips themselves (RH one is moulded with the throttle tube) and a little electronic control unit, and… no instructions....




That wasn’t really an issue, it was just a matter of working out where the control unit goes;- a quick google discovered that the connector for it is very conveniently tucked away under the passenger seat next to the battery, and (most importantly for me ) that it doesn’t require a visit to the dealer to enable them in the ECU, so all good.

The control unit connector with it's blanking plug removed


And with the control unit installed


Now to swap the grips themselves, which is even easier than a very easy thing- no knitting needles or glue or needed here, just remove bar end weight, peel back the lip of the grip to expose the locking screw , insert and twist a T20 bit and Robert’s your mother’s brother, off the LH one slides



And of course, as it's FBW, no throttle cables or the like to mess with on the other side, it all slots in nicely with pre-cut channels for the wires in the housing, as you'd expect.


The most involved part is getting to the connector behind the headlight and routing the wires, but that couldn’t really be much simpler




And Tada! - 30 mins or so after I opened the boxes we have lovely toasty grips, fully integrated into the dash






Winter here I come!

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

All the nicest people have a YPVS lurking in the garage

[Skub]

It's lovely fitting bits where they were designed to go,everything looks and feels like it grew there.

Heated grips are great almost all year around in the UK. I could count on one hand the number of trips I've done this year when I didn't have them on at all.

[Tricky]

It's lovely fitting bits where they were designed to go,everything looks and feels like it grew there.

Heated grips are great almost all year around in the UK. I could count on one hand the number of trips I've done this year when I didn't have them on at all.

Agreed on both counts, very satisfying, and heated grips are a must for me these days, even use them on trackdays

[weeksy]

It's lovely fitting bits where they were designed to go,everything looks and feels like it grew there.

Heated grips are great almost all year around in the UK. I could count on one hand the number of trips I've done this year when I didn't have them on at all.

Agreed on both counts, very satisfying, and heated grips are a must for me these days, even use them on trackdays

No arguments here. Very useful even at 12-15 Deg outside I still like them on low.

[Tricky]

Don't sell that N1 without giving me a shout, I wish I'd never sold mine

I promise I will do if, but it's firmly on the " keeper" list, at the moment it is anyway.

It's also now the planned next one on my list for some attention over the winter months- just a sympathetic freshen up, it's 99% original and I want to jkeep it that way so it won't be a full re-build, but it'll get a motor strip, check and re-furb as required ( not sure if its ever been apart looking at it from the outside) , suspension rebuild and one or two cosmetic aspects

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Don't sell that N1 without giving me a shout, I wish I'd never sold mine

There's one for sale near here (Sudbury) it's useable and straight and not silly money, it's on Facebook, if you want me to look at it let me know.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

It looks okay, not mint, but okay I'll see if I can find it