Wilsons Sandbox

Posted: **Thu Mar 04, 2010 12:05 am**

Write up here on my blog along with a few pics http://tinyurl.com/ygnfosz The back story- Like all good DS bike whores I've been lusting over KTM's latest incarnation of thier venerable LC8 motor in an enduro frame. I've owned a KTM in the past, a Y2K Duke purchased in late 99' new. I was never partuicularly fond of the Duke. Sure, it was a wheelie monster and a good hooligan bike but I found the suspension spindly (for my robust frame) and the power lacking once at interstate speeds where I was known to ride on ocassion. I could have modded the suspension and the gearing to suit but I had a chance to sell the bike for every dime I had in it so bye bye KTM Duke. That was 10 years ago, and I gotta say my 08' KLR has been everything the Duke wasn't, all in a good way Before I bought my KLR I had a hankerin for a GS 1200 BMW, but not enough to come up with the entry fee, new or used. My motorcycle career started out with a 71' (or was it a 72'?) Yamaha 360 (2t) enduro back in 1975, then my second bike, also an enduro and Yammie top end, was a 75' Cooper Moto Islo, so I've ridden a few enduro bikes through the years and the KLR was and still is a very impressive bike for me, but I gotta tell ya, that twin cylinder KTM Adventure has all the horse power you would ever want. It's crazy fast but not in an irresponsible way. Not like the Y2K V11 Sport Moto Guzzi I bought new that year with me daily tooling in 4th gear at 6 K RPM's rolling along (100 MPH indicated), hold the throttle WOT, bang she hit the rev limiter, keep her pegged, up shift to 5th, repeat, up shift into 6th and the vastly optimistic speedo was reading north of 140 MPH. Good fun! but my longevity was not certain riding at those speeds on public roads, so bye bye V11 Sport, I wanna live, a little bit longer Getting back to the KTM Adventure 990 I rode in Daytona yesterday (Wednesday)...do yourself a favor, do not ride one of these bikes. I garuntee you are going to want one. I hate to say it but it's true, after riding a couple of the LC8 mills then having to hop on my KLR for the ride home, the KLR felt downright anemic. Blasphemy!, I know=:-) 20 miles into the ride home I got to thinking I could liven things up dropping a gear (I was riding into the wind) and shazam, instant gratification. It may only be a thumper but she can spin some R's and I was crusing along at 6 K RPM's (even in 5th gear...thank you 120/90 Kenda 270) Jake Reddick Fla. On the one hand, we'll never experience childbirth. On the other hand, we can open all our own jars. Brue Willis

Posted: **Thu Mar 04, 2010 1:53 am**

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "sh8knj8kster" wrote:

> > Write up here on my blog along with a few pics > > > http://tinyurl.com/ygnfosz > > > The back story- > > > Like all good DS bike whores I've been lusting over KTM's latest incarnation of thier venerable LC8 motor in an enduro frame. I've owned a KTM in the past, a Y2K Duke purchased in late 99' new. I was never partuicularly fond of the Duke. Sure, it was a wheelie monster and a good hooligan bike but I found the suspension spindly (for my robust frame) and the power lacking once at interstate speeds where I was known to ride on ocassion. I could have modded the suspension and the gearing to suit but I had a chance to sell the bike for every dime I had in it so bye bye KTM Duke. That was 10 years ago, and I gotta say my 08' KLR has been everything the Duke wasn't, all in a good way > > > Before I bought my KLR I had a hankerin for a GS 1200 BMW, but not enough to come up with the entry fee, new or used. My motorcycle career started out with a 71' (or was it a 72'?) Yamaha 360 (2t) enduro back in 1975, then my second bike, also an enduro and Yammie top end, was a 75' Cooper Moto Islo, so I've ridden a few enduro bikes through the years and the KLR was and still is a very impressive bike for me, but I gotta tell ya, that twin cylinder KTM Adventure has all the horse power you would ever want. It's crazy fast but not in an irresponsible way. Not like the Y2K V11 Sport Moto Guzzi I bought new that year with me daily tooling in 4th gear at 6 K RPM's rolling along (100 MPH indicated), hold the throttle WOT, bang she hit the rev limiter, keep her pegged, up shift to 5th, repeat, up shift into 6th and the vastly optimistic speedo was reading north of 140 MPH. Good fun! but my longevity was not certain riding at those speeds on public roads, so bye bye V11 Sport, I wanna live, a little bit longer > > > Getting back to the KTM Adventure 990 I rode in Daytona yesterday (Wednesday)...do yourself a favor, do not ride one of these bikes. I garuntee you are going to want one. I hate to say it but it's true, after riding a couple of the LC8 mills then having to hop on my KLR for the ride home, the KLR felt downright anemic. Blasphemy!, I know=:-) > > > 20 miles into the ride home I got to thinking I could liven things up dropping a gear (I was riding into the wind) and shazam, instant gratification. It may only be a thumper but she can spin some R's and I was crusing along at 6 K RPM's (even in 5th gear...thank you 120/90 Kenda 270) > > > > > Jake > Reddick Fla. > On the one hand, we'll never experience childbirth. On the other hand, we can open all our own jars. > Brue Willis >

Oh,Jake, I can hardly wait to share the punch line. cough. blush. http://www.ktm-parts.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=10990ADV drum roll please: Price: $14,898.00 It is a lovely machine. Rode one (950/990?) at Vintage Bike Days, Ohio in 2008. It got ZIP!!!! and I believe 25mpg. I did get a very nice T-shirt as well and key chain. How did I find myself on a KTM.... 1976-2003: I am without a motorcycle; but access to very nice military aircraft from 1979-1995, and then various civilian Beechcraft and Eurocopter from 95-2000. 2000-03 was full access to student loans and a library card. No helo's no motorcycles.... One semester of school remaining, it is July, 2003, and I am without access to a paid gig in flying machines; enter the motorcycle bug.... After a demo ride on a couple of bikes at Vintage Bike Days 2003 (Go A-head! What can it hurt!) I was deeply infected with the bug again after riding a Triumph 650 Bonneville. I commented to my college riding buddies and VBD compatriots, "would love to have a BMW 650." My motorcycle coach (who did not ride KLR's) said, "You can buy 3 used KLR's for one new BMW650." Starving grad student that I was, "Hmmm. Makes sense." Made sense then, makes sense now. By Oct, I had I bought a used 2001 KLR650, me = third owner with 2505 miles. Never rode KLR, never sat on one, never even seen one. Suddenly, I own one--Never looked back. Back to the KTM: At this rate, Price: $14,898.00, you can buy a bunch of KLR's for the price of a new KTM990 (and paint it orange!!!!!) For example: Oct/Nov: Most recent sold bikes on ebay; 2007/~1500miles, Yankton, SD/ $2700. 2005/~1500 miles in Rockford, IL/ $2400 miles. Not on ebay, 2004/~1500miles, Jacksonville, NC $2000. If money was no object, GO ORANGE! cough. No-object is a long ways from happening here. smile. no worry; I love my pig. How about you? One of our posters here suggests, "Don't ride if you can't afford it." True for more than just bikes. revmaaatin. ps Nice coffe maker on the blog. very nice.

Posted: **Thu Mar 04, 2010 2:52 pm**

I test rode one at the Long Beach Motorcycle show in 2007. Bought a used 2005.5 950 Adventure S the day after Christmas 2007. Put 2000+ miles on it on a ride to Oregon and back, including one 800+ mile day from Arcata to Riverside via the Lost Coast, the Redwoods, Highway 1 to SF, then high speed on the 5 home. I would rate that as one of my best days on a bike ever. Dragged the bags down highway 1, just a fantastic day, totally "in the zone". However! I took the same bike to Death Valley , had the exhaust fall apart, dropped it 4 times in one day on trails I have ridden before and since on my KLR and never come close to dropping it. I got 2 tickets on my 950, the rear carb intake boot ripped and caused me all kinds of headache diagnosing and repairing it, the clutch slave cylinder failed 150+ miles from home, I never got along with that bike like I do with my KLR. I sold it after owning it for 16 months, still have my KLR. The 950 Adventure is a great streetbike, well balanced, handles like a dream, the V twin is awesome. Off road it is way too big, has way too much wheelspin, is top heavy, very tall, the motor won't lug like a thumper, it wants to go 75 mph everywhere, and is harder than hell to stop when you need to. I'd rather own one of the SM-T 990's for what I used it for, but I have my Tiger 1050 for that, and I'll bet my Tiger would rip the lungs out of a 990... Thanks CA Stu

Posted: **Thu Mar 04, 2010 2:55 pm**

#ygrps-yiv-1373958071 p {margin:0;}I was poking around their site and saw the 690 Enduro R. Now THAT looks like a fun bike. -Jeff Khoury

----- Original Message ----- From: "SM" To: "DSN KLR650" DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Thursday, March 4, 2010 12:21:24 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific Subject: [DSN_KLR650] Re: I demo'd the KTM ADV 990 today at Daytona I test rode one at the Long Beach Motorcycle show in 2007. Bought a used 2005.5 950 Adventure S the day after Christmas 2007. Put 2000+ miles on it on a ride to Oregon and back, including one 800+ mile day from Arcata to Riverside via the Lost Coast, the Redwoods, Highway 1 to SF, then high speed on the 5 home. I would rate that as one of my best days on a bike ever. Dragged the bags down highway 1, just a fantastic day, totally "in the zone". However! I took the same bike to Death Valley , had the exhaust fall apart, dropped it 4 times in one day on trails I have ridden before and since on my KLR and never come close to dropping it. I got 2 tickets on my 950, the rear carb intake boot ripped and caused me all kinds of headache diagnosing and repairing it, the clutch slave cylinder failed 150+ miles from home, I never got along with that bike like I do with my KLR. I sold it after owning it for 16 months, still have my KLR. The 950 Adventure is a great streetbike, well balanced, handles like a dream, the V twin is awesome. Off road it is way too big, has way too much wheelspin, is top heavy, very tall, the motor won't lug like a thumper, it wants to go 75 mph everywhere, and is harder than hell to stop when you need to. I'd rather own one of the SM-T 990's for what I used it for, but I have my Tiger 1050 for that, and I'll bet my Tiger would rip the lungs out of a 990... Thanks CA Stu

Posted: **Thu Mar 04, 2010 3:44 pm**

I test rode one of them, too. Felt too dirt oriented for any distance riding to me. Seat is really narrow, you sit right on the front tire, no wind protection. Geared really low and lots of power, it would definitely be an awesome bike for day loops on the dirt that see little to no pavement, but for long days in the saddle and highway miles, I'll stick with my KLR... I love going to bike shows. If you get there early enough, you can test ride tons of bikes. Lots of fun. Thanks CA Stu A13

--- On [b]Thu, 3/4/10, Jeff Khoury [i][/i][/b] wrote: From: Jeff Khoury Subject: Re: [DSN_KLR650] Re: I demo'd the KTM ADV 990 today at Daytona To: "SM" Cc: "DSN KLR650" DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com> Date: Thursday, March 4, 2010, 12:55 PM #ygrps-yiv-622961645 #ygrps-yiv-622961645yiv2084176073 p {margin:0;}I was poking around their site and saw the 690 Enduro R. Now THAT looks like a fun bike. -Jeff Khoury

Posted: **Thu Mar 04, 2010 4:09 pm**

Exactly what I have thought with these so called dual sport adventure type bikes that the Germans, Austrians and Italians seem to woo the world with (with a hefty price tag). A friend that bought the KTM 990 complains it is a major task just to get to the oil filter. I saw a Yamaha twin the other day on the web that looked like the perfect adventure bike......er until you read the weight. The KLR is too heavy for me as a real dirt bike.....but considering price, ability to go most places in dirt (depending on your skills) and to be able to cruise on the highway all day long at 80 mph, by golly we may be riding the perfect motorcycle (without tweety). I tell non motorcycle people about riding mine 600 to 800 miles in a day and they go "On that?" I tell them it is actually quite comfortable. They look dumbfounded. They would probably like to pay another 10 grand.......and look the part.......rather than be the part. Criswell Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 4, 2010, at 2:21 PM, "SM" wrote:

I test rode one at the Long Beach Motorcycle show in 2007. Bought a used 2005.5 950 Adventure S the day after Christmas 2007. Put 2000+ miles on it on a ride to Oregon and back, including one 800+ mile day from Arcata to Riverside via the Lost Coast, the Redwoods, Highway 1 to SF, then high speed on the 5 home. I would rate that as one of my best days on a bike ever. Dragged the bags down highway 1, just a fantastic day, totally "in the zone". However! I took the same bike to Death Valley , had the exhaust fall apart, dropped it 4 times in one day on trails I have ridden before and since on my KLR and never come close to dropping it. I got 2 tickets on my 950, the rear carb intake boot ripped and caused me all kinds of headache diagnosing and repairing it, the clutch slave cylinder failed 150+ miles from home, I never got along with that bike like I do with my KLR. I sold it after owning it for 16 months, still have my KLR. The 950 Adventure is a great streetbike, well balanced, handles like a dream, the V twin is awesome. Off road it is way too big, has way too much wheelspin, is top heavy, very tall, the motor won't lug like a thumper, it wants to go 75 mph everywhere, and is harder than hell to stop when you need to. I'd rather own one of the SM-T 990's for what I used it for, but I have my Tiger 1050 for that, and I'll bet my Tiger would rip the lungs out of a 990... Thanks CA Stu

Posted: **Thu Mar 04, 2010 6:54 pm**

Posted: **Thu Mar 04, 2010 7:55 pm**

Hi,

I've got a '95 KLR and the choke cable is frozen.I was able to get some penetrating oil into the plunger assembly, which when pulled, comes out the plunger bore about a quarter inch. My riding pardner of 30 years is a mechanic and he says I can "worry" the cable out from the left side but to be careful of the plastic "thingy". It's so crowded there, I can't seem to see how it's possible. I'm going to try to loosen the cable by lubricating it, first. If that doesn't work, does anyone have experience removing it without removing the carb.? If so, I'd appreciate your advice.

Buddy

Posted: **Fri Mar 05, 2010 9:17 am**

Re: [DSN_KLR650] Re: I demo'd the KTM ADV 990 today at Daytona My son and I were working to get an old beater bicycle into running condition. The cables were frozen with rust. I squirted WD40 into the openings at the ends and tried to get the cables to move in their housings. They wouldn’t budge - after a few minutes I gave up. A few hours latter I decided to try again. This time I got the cables to move – at first a little bit, then more and eventually I was able to remove them from the housings. I then soaked them in a can of WD40. The cables have been working well for about 9 months; my son took off for school on that bike this morning. So....Buddy....be patient. I’ve also removed the cables from the klr carb; you can do it without removing the carb first. Mostly it’s common sense. My advice is to study carefully how they’re attached where they’re adjusted to - make notes if you’re a bit forgetful. Make sure you loosen them at the adjusters before you start messing with them because it’s easy to stretch the cables. Bogdan

On 3/4/10 5:23 PM, "Buddy Eckles" buddyeckles@...> wrote:

Hi, I've got a '95 KLR and the choke cable is frozen.I was able to get some penetrating oil into the plunger assembly, which when pulled, comes out the plunger bore about a quarter inch. My riding pardner of 30 years is a mechanic and he says I can "worry" the cable out from the left side but to be careful of the plastic "thingy". It's so crowded there, I can't seem to see how it's possible. I'm going to try to loosen the cable by lubricating it, first. If that doesn't work, does anyone have experience removing it without removing the carb.? If so, I'd appreciate your advice. Buddy

Posted: **Fri Mar 05, 2010 1:09 pm**

Huh, just the other day I was going to make a left hand turn when a good burst hit me... and prevented me from executing the turn normally. I had to dang near throw the bike down to make the turn! Never felt THAT before. Mech

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "David Hubbard Jr." wrote: > > like to test that bike in high side wind. already know my klr is rock steady in mico bursts. just put the bike behind a double tractor trailer on the thruway at 80 mph in the trucks wind buffet that will tell alot. >

Wilsons Sandbox

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i demo'd the ktm adv 990 today at daytona

i demo'd the ktm adv 990 today at daytona

i demo'd the ktm adv 990 today at daytona

i demo'd the ktm adv 990 today at daytona

i demo'd the ktm adv 990 today at daytona

i demo'd the ktm adv 990 today at daytona

i demo'd the ktm adv 990 today at daytona

i demo'd the ktm adv 990 today at daytona

i demo'd the ktm adv 990 today at daytona

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