revtothelimit - motorbike forum

Never found my 690 vibey, the engines though are loud as fook. Always wore earplugs as without em it sounded on the verge of explosion at any minute and that was from new!

The last of the line 690 Dukes with twin balancer shafts were about as vibey as 1st Gen Aprilia RSV Milles, Falcos etc., and had similar amounts of mechanical noise. Dunno about the earlier (single balancer shaft) 690 engines but I would expect them to be more vibey and at least the same level of mechanical noise, probably a bit more.

Have you made a decision on tyres? I new to all this and it seems there's a lot to learn.
You can have basically full on road tyres,
20 80 ( off to on)
50 50
80 20
And full on technically road legal enduro tyres.

I guess it all depends on where you are going. No point scrubbing out a set of enduro tyres on the motorway and having next to no grip on wet tarmac going to your off-road adventure abroad, equally no point getting stuck and falling off all the time on shitty road based tyres.
@Couchy reckons proper enduro tyres for local lanes especially with a low hp bike but for European jaunts on something with some go im guessing a 50/50 or 80/20 tyre would be a better bet, depending on the going

mangocrazy wrote: Fri Dec 15, 2023 10:34 am The last of the line 690 Dukes with twin balancer shafts were about as vibey as 1st Gen Aprilia RSV Milles, Falcos etc., and had similar amounts of mechanical noise. Dunno about the earlier (single balancer shaft) 690 engines but I would expect them to be more vibey and at least the same level of mechanical noise, probably a bit more.

I had a 2015 as you know. And I rode a loaner 2018 with the twin balancers in it and tbh there wasn't much difference in vibes. It was a touch smoother but nothing major. The biggest difference in the engines was that the newer one was (even) more revy in nature and span up quicker. It made it feel a bit quicker, and they are a bit quicker. But I also found when I picked mine up that the older bike felt stronger lower down so you can really tell how KTM chased the power via revs. All very incremental advances. I'd take the new engine cos of the rocker arms over everything else. I know Taipan found his 690 viby, but I honest didn't find mine like that at all. I thought it was a world away from the old LC4 640 engines and better than my Firestorm was as well.

I've not ridden an earlier (pre-2016) 690 Duke, but everything I've heard said that the reduction in vibes was fairly minor, as you said. And yes, they were chasing peak power and revs with the later engine, so I'd expect there to be a loss at the bottom end. I love my Duke 690 and can't imagine ever getting rid of it, especially as KTM no longer make it and the (sort of) Ducati equivalent is mega-money. It does have a similar feel to my Falco - you're aware that there are some big pistons (or a big piston) whizzing around underneath you, but nothing particulalrly intrusive. A friend of mine had one of the early 640 LC4s and that was a proper animal, especially as his had the race cam in it. It shows the level of development that KTM put in as the latest engine made a lot more power than the 640 but was way more civilised.

But not too civilised...

porter_jamie wrote: Fri Dec 15, 2023 11:29 am Have you made a decision on tyres?

It’s got tkc80s on it at the moment which are 60/40 off-road/road. I’ve never used them before so will give them a go. If I don’t like then I’ll change them to a d606 rear and mt21 front that I’ve used before and like.

I had Bridgestone Enduro tyres on my DRZ (ED661 and 660 I think, it was 20 years ago) they were great off road, but like riding on marbles on road, they were road legal, but MX tyres would have given more grip on road, I think MT21s are about right for a trail bike, but if you only ride off road in the dry you can get away with road tyres.

Mine was as vibey as anything, certainly a lot more than any other big single i've had. Maybe that's why it self destructed?

Had more time to look at the bike over the last two days than I anticipated so checked the valves as well as servicing the bike. Bit of a faff getting all the rally raid tanks and stuff off but will be much easier next time now I know what I'm doing. The pivoting bar risers are a great bit of kit and let you put the bars just where you need it. I ditched the kriega luggage plates as they looked weird, I couldn't see a use for them and it was just more weight.

The valve clearances were all in spec and the rockers and bearings were as new. You can see some witness marks on the rollers but they can't be felt so no where to speak of as you'd expect after a couple of thousand miles.

I’ve not ridden it yet due to an injury so don’t know. Sat on it, it feels like there’s as much stuff in front of you as any other adventure bike but visibility won’t be as good as an enduro bike. I’m planning on replacing the solid screen with a transparent one though.

I've never seen inside the head of a 690 before, I can see the idea behind having rollers on the cam followers, but I've never seen another engine with that and I wonder if it isn't just unnecessary moving parts?

I can’t recall seeing them on anything else I’ve serviced. It seems like an obvious reduction in friction I guess but every other engine works perfectly fine without them. Also these seem to be a point of failure on these bikes so can’t really see the point.

Rotax 604 single cam

Le_Fromage_Grande wrote: Sun Dec 24, 2023 1:41 pm I can see the idea behind having rollers on the cam followers, but I've never seen another engine with that and I wonder if it isn't just unnecessary moving parts?

They're pretty standard across Harley's

First ride on the bike now my elbow is fixed and very happy with it. Miles better than the drz in nearly every respect. It’s geared a little higher but I’ll either get used to it or change it, depends on the cruising speed. At the moment it keeps up with traffic easily where’s the drz was being wrung out to keep up on the road.

It’s no heavier, it’s much more confidence inspiring on and off road for some reason, it’s more comfortable and there’s obviously more power. It’ll take a little getting used to in terms of the power and the brakes are much sharper but I already feel very at home on it. It’s comfortable sat down although probably not for miles and miles. It’s very comfortable stood up. I didn’t notice any more vibes than the drz although it’s definitely not as smooth as a twin.

Oh and the screen doesn’t get in the way.

Very pleased I bought this instead of a Tenere.

Haz the face of a startled minion.

I am going to have to change the gear lever as it’s horrible. I saw this in a YouTube video a while back and wanted to see what it was like but it needs changing. The folding end folds in when you change down. The solution is to use the gear lever from a 2017 ktm 450 exc, part number 79434031100 which is the same dimensions but a longer end bit and a stronger spring.

Replaced the gear lever with one from a 450 which is a perfect fit and feels a lot better. I also drilled out and helicoiled all the 8mm threads holes holding the oil filter covers on as all the threads have been damaged by some monkey in the past.

Took it for a mot this morning and got a pass with no advisories.

Also did a small run on the road and am happy with it. Didn’t find it very vibey at all and way more capable on the road than the drz. Would have absolutely no problem keeping up with motorway traffic if that was ever required and overtaking is an absolute breeze. Great engine.

Excellent. So do you have some trips panned for it?