KTMs bad name doesn't come from reliability, it comes from refusing to stand behind their products. I'm a big fan of their bikes and own 3 currently but am very unhappy about them refusing to warranty camshafts and engines where there's a well know and documented issue. I just forked out $1k in parts to replace the cams on my 790 because I've done my own service which KTM says they won't stand behind it. Very few people seem to make it beyond 15k miles without problems
I haven't had any mechanical issues with the two KTMs I have. I had one electrical/software issue and KTM resolved it in a few days. Sorry you've had so much trouble.
Agree mate I have a 22 Super Adventure R and at 7500 ks was playing up and was found to have a broken ring from factory it was fixed under warranty but that has now ended. Now I’m scared to do any decent rides with it as I don’t want it to shit itself and there is no way in the world I would buy another KTM just with all the crap I had to go through to get the bike fixed and I absolutely loved the KTM brand and the bike
@@dengised321 I've had other problems with mine, rear rotor practically fell apart on my first real trip, KTM dealer in FL fixed me up without issue, it doesn't start worth a crap, front rotors warp due to bad wheel from new had to buy a new wheel, has a bad bog that's just part of the crap fueling that KTM doesn't offer a fix for but other than that I love the bike. Plan on keeping it and my 890 Duke R. The Duke is a superb bike! One of my favorites ever.
Mi actual 890 ADV tiene 15000 km y va perfecta, cero problemas, también tengo una 790 ADV con 33000 km solo he tenido que reparar una pequeña fuga de refrigerante en el codo del termostato, lo he repare yo mismo con silicona termica y ha quedado perfecto. Los arboles de levas de ambas motos están perfectos.
36k miles? I just got a used 2021 790 s with 20k km on it, and i got a little scared because I didn't find ones with high mileage out there (plus all the talking about reliability). I love the bike and kind of hoping to have the bike couple of years with me and don't have the budget to buy new bikes every other year...
Unfortunately my 2020 790 R ate it's cams and followers and needed a whole new head. Fortunately KTM covered most of the cost. Otherwise the bike has been fine and here's hoping I won't have to revisit that issue again.
@@AjackLee4 Agree... every one I meet with a Ducati, I always ask any issues? and I been doing it for years, and found one guy with blown engine on a Diavel... all rest nothing... same with my Guzzis... tens of thousands of mile no real issue... sometime new model first year or two you have issue, but that is any bike
Two things to add: 1. KTM only goes by warranty claims. Do they count claims they have wrongly denied? Also, valve adjustment isn’t required until 18k miles. I think a bunch more issues will be found when bikes hit that mileage. 2. 3 out 6 790’s and 890’s in my circle have camshaft issues.
I had a 890 ADVR and didn't have cam issues (though it was low mileage), but rather I had a cam chain tensioner failure. Problem at the time was there were no replacements available and there was no estimated availability for one.... and the bike was in current production so I was like ?!?!
Went to my dealer where I bought my 890r , asked them about the cam issue they said they had three in total and KTM warrantied them all , they said that KTM warranty will cover all cam issue, what the problem is it a lot of paper work for the warranty and they feel that any one that was not covered was cause the shop didn't want to do the proper paper work
I had KTMs in the past and they were all great. With that being said, I couldn't spend my money on an 890. I wasn't willing to take the risk. Really it's one bike and how they handled it. "The end of KTM" isn't about reliability issues. It's an overstocking issue. They stuffed 60 bikes in every showroom after COVID and they didn't sell because the numbers were inflated from the COVID boom. That wasn't the new normal for motorcycle sales. I'm just some guy and I knew that.
I’m still riding my 2017 Ktm 690 enduro r. I’m in my mid fifties and bought it so I could get back into the trails after riding only street for many years. It’s been very reliable for me. I do change the oil and filters every 2500 miles not the 6200 miles it says in the manual and have replaced most of the parts that people in the forums and videos say cause problems. It’s been a lot of fun both on and off-road. It has a little over 12,000 miles on it now. When I first purchased it I noticed that it used oil on long rides so I quickly got in the habit of checking oil levels before ever ride but around 5500 miles that seemed to stop but I still check the level and top off when it’s needed. It’s the power to weight and the very good suspension that keeps its space in the garage.
I also love KTM motorcycles. I've also had several of them. Currently own one and will be picking up another this winter. My cams failed at 10,000 miles. Intake and exhaust. My welds for the dash/headlight also failed. Also had problems with the rear shock. And that's just one of my KTMs. I don't think the problems are overblown. I've experienced many of the so-called overblown KTM failures. KTM did take care of me. I appreciate that. I truly do. That said. They need to get their shit together and decide if they want to race motorcycles or sell motorcycles. You also have 6 bikes. I have 4. In my experience, it's really hard to fully experience 4 bikes. I can't imagine how hard it is to fully experience 6 bikes.
I’ll start from the last comments and work forward. I agree with you that it’s hard to really experience the bikes when you have several. I’m fortunate to have a few and that slows me to keep the mileage a little lower. You’re right, KTM needs to figure it out but I think they will, and honestly I hope they don’t drift too far away from their race inspired culture. I’m willing to accept the issues in exchange for the performance. You are one of the few that I’ve heard of with all the fabled problems and that definitely sucks, but if JTM took care of it then it’s more of an annoyance than anything else, not sure if you agree though and your opinion is the one that counts here. All in all though, I love KTM’s like so many other people around the globe and I hope to see them continue to thrive. Thanks a ton for the comments and for supporting the channel. Cheers.
@@upshiftingadventures "all the fabled problems" I hope you mean fabled as in famous or legendary and not fabled as in fictitious. Regardless, I'm a KTM fan boy. When they run, they are the best bikes in the dirt. I prefer Ducati for the street. Which is another brand that has a lot in common with KTM. When they run, the experience can't be beaten. When I buy a KTM or a Ducati, I just assume I'll be working on them a lot in the off-season.KTM has made a lot of poor business decisions and while their reputation regarding reliability probably hasn't helped, I don't think it's the primary reason they've become insolvent. You can sell a lot of bikes and still destroy your business.
I'm on my 3rd KTM. At present I have a 890R Duke and a Gen 3 SDR 1290. KTM has a "I'm holier than thou" attitude. KTM is arrogant - my dealership is no different. KTM has a bloody design issue with the 790/890 oil galleries and oil jets. This, coupled to a poor oil pump causes an oil feed problem to the cams - especially at idle and lower speeds. These are overly noisy engines (with a poor cam tensioner design)! All the negative facts regarding KTM has forced resale prices down way low and the owner bears the brunt! The KTM motors are NOT high revving at all. My Ducati Streetfighter V4S has a high revving engine! KTM is charging to activate their already present software (QS etc.). These are all contributing to the KTM woes. In a competitive world they need to pull up their socks! I do like my two KTMs but I'm not married to them and neither am I blind to their problems - they have issues and durability could be one.... You simply can not say at below 10K miles your SDR is reliable... it is only run in now. Give an update at 50K miles and let's see then. Knowing and bragging about their "performance" engines, KTM could have built in redundancy, but did they? BMW did. Ducati did. So good luck to you. I'm not too convinced. Regards!
KTM 690 is the most powerful single cylinder (margined by ducatinl after many years) and it has a very reliable motor at the same time. Not all bikes from every brand is the same.
Great point. No issues with my 701 yet. I think people lose track of the fact that when you take high performance machines and throw them on the ground, literally , things happen. This hobby wasn’t designed to be cheap. It’s part of the game.
I own 790 Duke and 125 Duke, no issues on any of them so far. Personally, I think that most of keyboard warriors against KTM, don’t even own KTM. Of course some bikes will have issues, but KTM is no worse then any other brand I had. Finally someone who speaks about minor percentage that had cam issues and goodwill covers repairs. My dealership did not have yet any bike with cam issues at all. I had different brands of bikes, but after KTM, my next bike will also be KTM. Great video.
Yes that’s absolutely true and I’m fortunate enough to be able to swap out bikes but I still think that if you maintain them properly you will get many great miles out of them.
Depends on the rider. A friend of mine does maximum 2K a year. I had 20K last year. So me with 6 bikes would have more km per bike than my friend with 2K on one.
I also love KTM but IMO they should stick with dirt bikes which they do the best. They try to bite too many things. I own two of their dirt bikes KTM 500 exc-f and Husky FE 350. I have put over 620 enduro hours and the only issues I had were poor wiring (broken wires in loom), and one bad stator in 7 years. In general what is killing KTM especially in Adventure/Road segment are electronics problems as well as QA issues. IMO only because poor management and overpricing they have financial problems right now.
I'm a little bit jealous to see a home garage with 6 bikes in it and the shop you have, too! Great video! I don't know what part of the Western slope you are in. I lived in Summit County for 6 years and in Mesa County for 6 years. Tons of great riding around both. Now I live in South America, Medellin, Colombia. KTM has a great store and shop close by. I have a friend setting up a touring business. He was ready to get 5 or 6 KTM 890s ADVs. But because of the news, he decided to go with the BMW 900s. His biggest concern seems to be the question of whether KTM can get out of the financial hole they are in. Most of us live in high rises and having a garage like yours is impossible to have. But on the flip side labot is cheaper here. You and your family have a great Turkey Day!
First thing I’ll say is that I am very fortunate to have so many great motorcycles, my wife may disagree though haha. I live in the Denver area, not exactly where I’d love to be but it is close to great riding. You may not have as many bikes as me but sounds like you competing for coolest places to live. I know KTM is very popular in central and South America and my dream is to ride through as much of it as possible. Hasn’t happened yet but it’s a goal. Thanks for supporting the channel and for commenting. Happy thanking from the US!
Awesome POV! I’m hoping to get my first KTM next year with the 1390 SA Evo S AMT! Hope it’s as exciting as it is being presented! Ride safe…subscribed!
Thanks for subscribing, I really appreciate that. I really hope you pick up that 1390. As a 1290 SD owner, I can tell you that the thrill of riding those bikes just can't be matched. I am more then willing to put up with the little inconveniences of the bike because you just can't get the fun these bikes offer in any other brand. Cheers.
I have a 2020 Ktm 790 Adventure S model with right at 10,000 miles. Had the shop check my cams for early wear even though I wasn't having any issues at the time just for my reassurance. All valves were within spec and there wasn't any signs of any oiling issues. In fact they ran it briefly with the covers off to physically see how well it was oiling the top end. All oil ports were wide open and squirting oil perfectly. So naturally there wasn't any heat discoloration on the cams or phasers.
Appreciate you making this video, especially with everything going on at KTM. I’m one of those guys you mentioned that only has one bike, bought my first Husky (Norden) a couple years ago…while I’ve heard about reliability issues, I’ve never met an owner in person that says they had an overall bad experience (realizing things happen with all machines). I do hope KTM can move to making better business decisions and focus on continuous improvement.
I think KTM owners are probably the most loyal group. Most people can easily go from a Honda to a Yamaha to a Suzuki with little to no love lost. I couldn’t imagine abandoning my Austrian fun cycles. People like you and I are in the majority when it comes to love of the KTM brand bikes. The excitement and joy of ownership far out way any issues they may have. Happy Thanksgiving!
14 years of racing ktm mx bikes. They’ve been rock solid… some parts last a lot longer than Japanese Mx bikes like clutches, big end bearings (four strokes).
Great video. I also believe KTMs get a bad name. I've have a 890 Adv, which has had only 1 small electronic issue, and a 500 exc-f with 0 issues. I love both of these bikes and wouldn't give them up for anything else.
So glad to hear that. Again, I hear way more positive things about KTM than I do negative. I hope you have many many more miles of terrible free riding. 🤘
I've had a '96 KTM 400 EXC and currently am riding a 2020 KTM 690 EnduroR. Both were incredibly well built machines and reliable as anything. The crazy thing was that the '96 KTM 400 EXC had the kickstarter on the left side which took some time to get used to.... ;-)
1390 SDR is without a doubt the funnest and most exciting bike I have owned in over 40 years of street riding. My EXC350F is the best "dirt bike with lights" I have owned in that same time. My former 690 Super Moto was far and away the best street legal supermoto on the market.
For sure man. This weather is giving me lots of time to do all the upgrades I'm wanting to do, and once I'm done, I will take it down south for a week or so of ripping it up in the desert. I can't wait.
I've owned my 790r.adventure since new 2020model,24,500miles, never had a issue with it great bike, checked the cams at 18000,and 24000, still in clearance spec,and know wear on cams,do think some owners had problems because of clutch slipping due to incorrect free play in system, causing fiber s off clutch plate to block oil ways, couldn't be happier with mine,have Yamahas,Honda,s,all good but not as exciting as KTM👍
That’s the first I’ve heard of the friction played causing oil starvation but it’s a good theory for sure and I will look in to that more. Thanks so much for commenting and for supporting the channel.
I think you hit the nail on the head when you said that higher perfomance machines, no matter what they are need more maintenance, I do not ride near as hard as you do lol, but I'm still learning offroad at 56yrs of age, needless to say I love my 701, not alot of performance upgrades, I wanted to make it more comfortable at first, but damn its fun! I wached a really good video from someone on the interweb and they kind of nailed it down to oil pressure, his opinion though, but they way he went about it was really interesting, not enough oil pressure lugging they bike, could it be riding in 4th gear when someone should be in 2nd gear with the rpm's up, i do not know but it was interesting. I still brag about my pan am on road and fire, gravel, forest service roads....but then again, I take care of them both also. good video dude!
Glad to see a fellow “old timer” hitting the dirt. I used to ride lots of dirt bikes but just started with the adventure riding in the past 5 years. I think it’s the ultimate way for us geriatrics to stay active on motorcycles. 😃. The oil pressure thing makes most sense to me. Some people buy these bikes that don’t ride then the way they are designed and lugging the motor will definitely starve the motor for oil. That being said, when I ride my 701 I do find myself wanting to shift way early because the thing feels like it is going to blow up in the mid RPM range so I short shift it a lot then end up down shooting almost immediately. If I had to choose between only one bike, it would certainly be the 701. I think it is just about the best dual sport machine ever created. I absolutely love it. I’ve got mine pretty darned comfortable now and with all the power mods it does everything I could ever ask of it. Thanks for the great comments and for supporting the channel. Happy thanksgiving and have an awesome day. 🤘
Good video, and it's especially good to hear being a recent convert form ducati and aprilia to ktm. I've two, 2024's- 890 smt and 390 duke. The 890 smt had a valve spring break at 5,200 miles. The duke had a low oil pressure warning and needed a sensor at 2,900 miles. Warranty took care of both including a pretty time consuming diagnosis for the smt. This did bum me out but you know, I've had problems with the duc's and aprilia's under 10K. I was very impressed with the dealer's and ktm north america. Will my next bike be a ktm? Yes, if they come out of administration with solid plan to move forward.
I got my new 890ADV R in March this year. I've done almost 8000miles on it. The only issue I've had is the occasional cold start issue( once or twice a month). Love my KTM, puts a smile on my face everytime I ride it. Great video
The Internet needs things to talk about. Problems that some tiny portion of owners might have are blown wildly out of proportion. I understand that a high performance single cylinder light weight bike might need a little more attention than a Japanese machine designed for inattentive owners. If you understand what you're getting into, you won't be disappointed.
That's absolutely right. I also think that with regard to the internet, it takes something that upsets you pretty badly to take the time out to go and criticize it or post bad reviews about a product so those that have had issues or let downs with their KTM's are pretty vocal about it and it might make it seem more problematic than it really is.
I’m a longtime KTM/Husqvarna guy and currently ride a 701 (I have 4 bikes). I think the 690/701 platform is solid but I’m not sure of the 790/890/901. I keep hearing that guys have had no problems with their very low mileage bikes but what will they be like at 50,000 to 80,000 miles?
I have owned many KTMs all the way back to a 1985 DXC500, KTM has always been about performance. With performance comes less reliability. I currently own a 2022 SDEvo and a 2024 890 Rally. I also have 2 Harley’s, 4 Ducatis, Gen 2 Vmax, Gen 1 1985 Vmax, 1985 V65 Magna, 1985 ZL900 Eliminator. Not a single bike has proven to be or less reliable in my ownership experience. There r too many upgrade clowns that think they know better than well paid and well educated engineers. They then fuck with the bike and blame the manufacturer. All bikes will break down and it all depends on how you maintain them. I have had Hondas, Yamaha and the other Japanese brands have major problems. Sure Japanese bikes statistically are more reliable but they also don’t push the envelope of performance so it is up to you which is a priority. I assure u that KTM is just as reliable as all of the high performance brands. Whoever runs KTM is this side of a moron taking redundant brands and selling them at the same price. KTM dump the outliers and put 100% in to KTM and nothing else! Between KTM and Harley some new CEO’s and board members would serve them well.
2 time rc8 owner, first one 2009 rc8r which was sadly stolen in Manchester UK, second one I picked up last week 2008 rc8 non r but tricked up with upgrades, same power as the r and nice red bull livery. Zero issues with mine either , touch wood 😅😅 great channel and beautiful bikes
Thank you for your kind reply, I like your style of vlog very informative and enthusiastic about your bikes. Stay safe in these streets brother. Once I get set up in the new year I'll try my hand at vlogging and show my new beast. @@upshiftingadventures
Thank God. Some one who gets it. As someone whos been on motos since 5 years old and now I am 52, you nailed it, I have 2 KTMs and agree 100%. This is the video all the haters needed. 🏁🏁
honestly, I only trust their single-cylinder engines. Anything more and I'm on the skeptical side of reliability, so I buy extended warranty for that reason. KTM is the only brand I do this with. And Maybe Ducati, IF I ever plan to purchase another Ducati again....not anytime soon. I speak with the experience of owning KTM motorcycles in the past.
Ktm500exc 2019 was taken 98,000 miles on original top end and still going owner plans to take it to 150k before opening it up. Ktm300sx at a rental shop has 400+ hours on 3 of their bikes and none of them have been opened up and they’re all running flawless They literally did a no maintenance torture test racing and beating the life out of a 300sx and it ran with no issues save for a crushed pipe which didn’t stop the bike from running or racing. There are several videos of guy taking them around the world with zero issues going well over 1000 hours without doing anything but oil and air filters Ktm are the most reliable bikes on the market.
My pro-modified, super-agile MT09 SP (181,5 kgs wet, 119,4 whp) provides immense fun every time I am touring the major mountain passes - by now 70'000 fuss-free kms on the odo 😃✌🏁
Don't own a KTM but a few of my friends do . The only problems they have are batteries [don.t last ] and clutch slave cylinders other than that they seem very reliable
I agree that KTM/Husky do require more preventative maintenance. Back when I wasn’t retired, I didn’t have time to do the necessary maintenance needed. Now retired I sort of look forward to going to the shed and “Tinkering”. Let me tell anyone contemplating retirement-You need at Least TWO HOBBIES to keep from getting bored
On my short 7 years time riding hard enduro, I owned a 200 and one 250 2 stroke. Yes, I did maintenance every week, and both machines never ever let me down. Yes, they are high-quality machines, and like any high-quality stuff, it goes side by side with money.
So far my 690 enduro R (2500km) has been just as reliable as my wifes crf250l (16000km). Zero issues. I have no reason to believe my 2023 690 will have any issues as long as I take care of it, as there are enough of them out there with high miles, in particular older models that actually had issues, as they have really been around the block and through the ringer, folks don't ride these gentle and they just keep on ticking.
I agree 100 %, thank you 🤜🏻🤛🏻 I own the 2020 enduro 690 r , I owned the 2016 1290 super Adventure r and now the 2023 1290 Super Adventure r, issues 690 1 recall clutch slave cylinder, 1290 1 fork seal ring, that’s it and much much fun 👍🏻
Every KTM owner I know is very willing to over look the small amount of issues they have in exchange for owner such a great piece of equipment. Many happy mile of riding to you my friend. Cheers!
2018 KTM 1090 Adventure R with 68,000 miles. Not one problem. My 890 is the best adventure bike I have ever ridden bar none! I had the BMW's for a while then yamahas and honda's AT. Pretty good but not anywhere close to the 890 and the 1090 to be honest. If you ride the 890 r offroad you need to treat it like a dirtbike! I change my filter out every 2 hours of hard highly dusty conditions I change out my air filter. Yes I bring extra pre oiled filters with me. The 890 whirls the dust all around the rear area where the filter is housed. I have the Rottwieller set up and it has been the best for me. 2023- with 8k miles so far using it with the extra cel tank from rotty also. I like the cell tank as it blocks alot of dust coming into the filter housing. Making the filter system pull the air more from the top. I feel that a lot of people who have problems with the 890 & 790 do not change the filter correctly when they should or keep an eye on it. Also everyone needs to understand that the KTM's are ridden harder than any other bikes in my opinion due to its ability to handle the terrain better than the other bikes without suspension/other modes. This could cause quicker part break down by riding harder.
Another satisfied KTM owner. I don't get all the hate, but hey it's a free country right? I have the power plate from Rottweiler Performance on the way. Not sure what they were thinking when deciding to put the intake inlet right above the back tire, and it should definitely be addressed in the future, but in the end, not enough to sway me away from KTM. Thanks for the comment, and have a great day.
Partially agree on your statement, being a performance "thing" involves some sort of extra maintenance and breakage. True for motorcycles and other stuff. But a software issue isn't something that you can excuse on performance. It's just a case of being sloppy and cheap on development/testing. Then came the "demo" system that was a straight laugh in the face to their customers. That alone is telling about the company and where their priorities lie, and enough to put ktm and other companies like zero on my naughty list.
my 2022 890 duke (exact same bike as yours), have had many issues 1- blown left fork seal out of the factory, when I replaced the seal I've noticed that the dust seal had INDIA written on it, while the replacement OEM part was genuine SKF, 2- oil leak from valve cover at 1500KM, there is a new part number for the valve cover gasket that I will replace it with 3- coolant thermostat housing at around 3000km maybe, replaced it with CNC aluminum aftermarket part, 4- coolant leak radiator hoses, had internal rapture, replaced with samco hoses 5- coolant leak from the worst possible place, it's on the engine case gasket near the water pump, you have to deassemble the whole engine to fix it, luckily it was a very minor leak that a coolant change along with 35ml of motul radiator stop leak fixed the issue, replaced the coolant after a month when I installed the samco hoses and luckily it's still not leaking. 6- moisture inside the turn signal after only 1500km, later on it stopped working, I never put strong pressure when I wash the bike. 7- the ABS module had a fault code that took 2 hours for the KTM engineer from austria to fix. it's still my favourite bike, lightest in it's segment, highest ground clearance for a street naked bike, most horsepower out of a 900cc class parallel twin ever made and a great turning radius the I can filter easily through cars in bumper to bumper traffic. is it reliable? not one bit even compared to my indian made bajaj dominar, was it fun, hell yeah, I'd still take it with all this headache
You just explained within the first 5 mins of the video why I’d never own a KTM, I’d much rather have reliability and ease of maintenance over performance, I very much doubt most people who own a KTM can use what little extra performance that have over any other bike. (Some can maybe but not many) in short I can live with a little less performance but I can’t live with poor reliability
Hey I totally understand. Like I said in the video, if reliability is your primary factor then a KTM is not for you. As long as people understand what they are getting in to, I think the major will really enjoy a KTM. Thanks for commenting and supporting the channel.
i currently have four ktm bikes: 690 sumo, 690 enduro, 1290 super duke, 890 rally, with combined 70k miles across the four bikes. save the 890, the ktm bikes have been quite reliable. the 890 did have cams issue though, the bike ran fine. cams had pitting at 18k miles service. ktm replaced cams and dealership screwed installing the new cams. the main issues with the 890 and, with 790 rally that i previously owned, were caused by the crappy dealership service. in ten years of owning ktm bikes, the number one issue has been dealer service. i probably wouldn't buy a ktm bike with 7/890 motor. i would definitely buy the other ktm models. to be clear, i'm not defending ktm. i'm merely sharing my experience. ktm manufacturer and dealer support are shite. overall, i think ktm bikes are brilliant. ktm makes bikes that i want to ride. ktm bikes have attitude and they're not for everybody. ktm bikes inspire hooliganing. 😀
All very true, a race horse is always temperamental. Maybe not the best analogy, but if you want the lightest bike with top performance in all aspects of running gear, maintenance, maintenance, maintenance, top end rebuilds just for the sake of preventing problems. I don't own a KTM, but if I did, I know what I am buying. As I get older, I am attracted to a 350 or 500 exc for the weight saving and as I would not be riding her hard, it will last. Yep a late model 701 would be nice.
I have had over 10 ktm dirtbikes and 2 adventure bikes all have been great .I currently have a 2021 ktm 890 adventure r with over 8000 miles on it no issues with it .I also have a gasgas ex 350 great bike no issues.
Bias is showing, Japanese make exciting bikes too. I have owned and still own in some cases, Yamaha, KTM, Triumph, Kawasaki Husqvarna. The WR250f 2020 was an amazing bike, defintely a performance machine. Currently have a Husky TE250 2023, also amazing bike. I have had starter issues with my R1, electronics issues with the Duke 390, clutch issue on the wr250r, all can have problems. My triumph was 100 percent reliable and so was the Kawasaki, luck of the draw, age, maintenance and luck. The best bike is the one you own, I intend to own a many more and have no issues changing brands. Most manufacturers make great bikes!
top fuel dragsters are not sold and pushed to normal people. now think about saying yeah a bike is very reliable but you have to know how to work on them.....
Having a “higher” performance bike doesn’t justified bad cams continually failing on the 890 and 690s or all the electrical problems they have had on there TPI bikes. I bleed orange and still own a 2020 350exc and it’s been flawless. My KTM 890 that I had started having electrical issues and starting issues with only 1500 miles on it. I’ve been a KTM fan and owned 10 different KTMs since 1996. But the last 5 yrs or so there reliability has been a serious concern. Dealer support sucks half the time as well. I hope KTM turns it around and gets back to making reliable incredible machines but for now I drive a 2024 Triumph Tiger for an adventure bike and my 350 exc as my dirt bike.
I got rid of my KTM products. This last summer was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I had a new Super Duke GT that was so awesome but it kept turning off all the TC, ABS and defaulting into Track. My mechanic after the 4th time asked me if I had told my wife what this is doing, I said no. He said that I should tell her cause this is very unsafe. So I did and she said get rid of it immediately. My 701 was pretty good but it and my buddy’s started leaking at the forks. So I traded my 1090 and 701 for the Desert X and the repair costs are about the same. I traded the Super Duke for a Streetfighter v2 and again the maintenance costs are about the same I have had zero issues with the ducatis and they have electronics that work.
@@vin374 I'm dead serious. The cost on maintenance on KTM's isn't cheap like the old days (I strongly suggest taking them to a dealer to keep your warranty). The Desert X is like a lighter lower CG version of my old 1090, which was my favorite bike ever.
I ride with a bunch of different riders on a bunch of different brands. The 3 guys that ride KTM’s, A Super Duke, 300exc and a 790, always have problems that usually lead to one of them leaving a bike behind and riding double to get home. I was a huge fan of KTM until I started riding with them .
KTM should’ve took a few lessons from Honda by not pushing the envelope on motor output and focus on longevity. That’s why Honda’s last forever because they’re always conservative on their engines and do not push them to the limit. It’s not needed on a street bike.
Just bought a 24 500 and several things found and just breaking it in with only a couple hours. The plastics were not installed correctly, turn signal indicator installed on wrong side, the front brake lines were installed wrong and the plastic guide that the lines are installed inside of is bent causing the lines to rub on the cutch cylinder when front suspension is compressed, oil weeping very slowly out of bottom bolt, the bolt had a screen in it in prior years, even AFTER removed and trq'd to spec. The weeping bold is the only thing that bothers me. Dealer is far away so have to trailer for them to inspect. My confidence in the bike is deteriorating. Not regretting purchase but not sure that will remain. Only hours and miles will tell. In contrast my 2020 701 has had no issues.
Holy crap, bro...that's a whole lot of cope in one video🤣 PAY TOP DOLLAR FOR A KTM..and you should expect it to break. That's ridiculous. They aren't premium, prototype racing machines. They're consumer grade motorcycles. And there's just no way the cam issues are isolated to a few hundred bikes. It's in the thousands at this point. KTMs worldwide are having serious mechanical issues. It's gotten so bad that KTM is in a world of financial trouble. On top of that, go search the used bike market...you'll find a ton of KTM piling up on dealer floors. Hard to see this video as anything other than financially incentivized gaslighting. Maybe it's not...but if it quacks like a duck...
You're bang on with your comment.making excuses for poor quality and backup after you've spent top end money on these bikes is insulting at best.and these machines are not for home mechanics like some are saying.its big money when they're at the dealers out of warranty!
and they be pumping bikes with flaws for years and refuse to acknowledge, (i.e. clutch master and slave) you pay top dollar and have to spend on top right out of the gate... Idiots keep paying so it will keep going... Until it doesn't
my Triumph and Ducati have about the same amount of warranty claims as my KTM and HQV, The Triumph even had a cracked subframe. I'd say all European brands are on the same level of reliability but Orange has the most haters so here we are 😂
@@donkeizluv my triumph has been back twice in 6 months,but the difference is triumph fix it and send you on your way.ktm just try and get out of doing anything,it's not about haters,people need to drop that ridiculous phrase.its about customer service!
@@mart7798 depends on the dealer really. I dont have that home delivery here. But yes Triumph does process warranty very quickly with almost no questions asked
KTM IS FOR RACERS! when I start my RC390 and it says" ready to race"...I know this bike WANTS me to red line every gear. I'm not putting around on a Royal Enfeild, in a tweed jacket ( nothing as unreliable as a RE). I raced KTM motocross bikes in AMA district 18, in the 70's, to 2 ,1st place seasons. I only had 1 mechanical DNF (did not finish), on 2 bikes, in 2 years. I'm 73 , I've owned 20 bikes and worked in the industry for decades ...LONG LIVE KTM!
250SX I own, bullet proof, TE150i I own, bullet proof, 890 ADV R I owned, not so good, stranded me several time, extremely poor warranty support. I personally would not buy that platform again, and in my riding circle I was not alone with all, or some of the issues others have reported, which is why there are now more T7's in my circle these days, which is unfortunate for KTM. The 2024 1290 SAR I own now, so far so good with 5K only on the clock, if this 1290 takes a bad turn that would be the end of my KTM adventure life and I would just get a reliable AT at that point. As for the dirt bikes, damn they are great, and would never hesitate to but a KTM branded 2T ever. I am a KTM fan, but also a fan of traveling off road, and although there is nothing more fun than those 890's in the middle weight class, I want to get home, so I hope this LC8 is the ticket to keep me having that unbeatable fun KTM provides us, but also gets me home and starts each morning if i decide to take it to work.
I totally understand where you are coming from and you make a logical argument for the pluses and minuses of owning KTM's. I hope your SAR never lets you down. KTM can't afford to lose any more buyers haha.
If you want to look data anybody can go the NHTSA database for as many years as you want. You can see the recalls and customer complaints. I looked at almost six years (2016- late 2021) recalls and complaints for Royal Enfield, Moto Guzzi, Suzuki, Aprilla, KTM, Kawasaki, Honda, Yamaha, Triumph, Indian, Ducati, Harley and BMW. Recalls are based on issues not the number of bikes sold. Out of these 13 brands for the years I looked KTM was the 5th best with the fewest recalls. BMW, Harley and Ducati were 11-13. However KTM was 5th worst in the number of complaints doing just better than Harley, BMW, Honda and Ducati. KTM was the only manufacturer to have more complaints than recalls e every year. Customer satisfaction obviously isn't solely based on the number of recalls but how the recalls are handled and recognized. More or most of the KTM complaints were from dissatisfaction of how KTM responded to their complaints as much as the issue itself. I don’t own or nor have I ever ridden a KTM, however one of my bikes is on the top ten of most recalled during those years....yet I still love it.
Thank you for the comment. What you say makes a lot of sense and I think backs up my theory that the mechanical issues are not a serious as they are being made out to be. The people who have had issues are of course going to be the most vocal and if KTM isn't supporting them in a way they see as helpful then it will only amplify the anger on the part of the owner. However, I think people don't always understand that the Austrians can be very blunt people and may be coming across as unconcerned about the issue or even as assholes but I think that is probably just a cultural issue. I believe that the engineers and people behind the brand or very dedicated to building the very best, high performing bikes that they can produce. In the end, I think that if your local dealer is willing to fight the good fight with corporate, then the owner can be left out of it and would never need to feel all that frustration.
KTM have done themselves an injustice by denying that there was a cam problem only to later come out and recognise it. All bikes can give trouble and even though you might be pissed about the fact if the problem is recognised and fixed it can still be a positive outcome.I have a mate who has a BMW GS 850 with 25000 km on it that was using oil one day when starting it his cam chain tensioner was stuck in and the cam jumped 2 teeth he took it to BMW with no warranty and they replaced the head and had supposedly put in new pistons and rings when he got it back it was still using oil he then contacted BMW head office and they are now replacing the motor with a brand new one. If KTM stood by their brand like BMW then they wouldn’t find themselves in the position they are in now
I think we can chalk this up to individual experiences. I have a GS1250 and I love my local dealership where I bought it, but they won't do me any favors with regard to warranty work, I can promise you that. Even though I have a great relationship with them. On the other hand, my local KTM dealership has hooked me up on several occasions with things. The biggest issue I've had was with the preload adjuster on my Super Duke, which due to the complexity of the issue would have cost me a ton of money, had my local dealership not stepped up and taken care of me.
Compared to Japanese brands, yes they are. Just compare new KTMs with new Japanese designs and just out of the box KTMs come already with problems. You own a few KTMs that's nice but that's not a great sample size either...
Ktm’s are great bikes, loved the 2 I owned but I’ve had minor issues under warranty period and they never gave a shit to cover them... dealers are left alone, a shame for such a major manufacturer! I went to Honda.
I'vebeen racing from 70.s . My motto after few ktm.s is Never buy a ktm. They have and had all the stupid failures, that can happen. Buy one and see, but dont Blake me. And this guy is paid off
I've got a couple of thoughts. The first in regard to the camshafts, maybe I'm in an echo chamber but I think the issue is most likely higher than 0.5%. My main reasoning is that this is an issue that usually happens around like 10,000+ miles, and i guarantee a vast majority of bikes haven't hit that number yet. I'd be curious if KTM has more internal data on this, out of the bikes that have had the first valve adjustment, what percentage have had the issue? With that being said, I do agree that the nature of the internet and forums probably does make the issue seem larger than it actually is. There's really no way of knowing without more data that KTM is likely incentivized not to share. With all that being said, I'm not a KTM hater, I have a 701 and its my favorite bike ever by a lot. However, saying one brand is wholly reliable or wholly unreliable isn't a great way to evaluate. It's better to look at specific models. The 500exc and the 690 are great examples here. Those engines have been around for a while and they've pretty much had all the bugs worked out. I think they're both pretty solid in terms of reliability. KTM has its problems with other models like the 390 and the 790/890. Again, a lot of this is based on annecdotes because nobody has the internal data. But lets discuss the 701 specifically. I think the 701 has proven to be a reliable machine. But it wont seem that way to owners who don't do their research like I do. For example, the clutch slave failure is pretty much inevitable on the pre-2021 bikes. When i bought my used 2019, i knew this so I immediately bought the oberon clutch slave to replace it(can also be done with a sub $5 oring). My clutch slave ended up failing while my new one was shipping. Somebody who doesn’t know about this issue is gonna see this as another example of KTM unreliability when it happens to them. Obviously owners shouldnt have to deal with this in the first place, and it was fixed in 2021. As an educated buyer i also know that the sidestand switch magnet likes to wiggle loose. When i was (foolishly) riding in the snow, and my bike decided to only start in neutral and died any time i went in gear, I knew exactly what it was. Fortunately i wasnt stranded because the magnet was simply out of alignment. The same night i just taped a magnet to the sensor and routed the wires to sit under the seat. Not a problem for me anymore - but somebody who doesnt research bikes in depth would have no idea that they need to do a preventative fix or get the dongle. Same story can be said with the shift star failure on certain model years. I know to do it preventatively, but most people don't research like I do. Because I know to pre-emptively fix these 3 things, my ownership experience is gonna be pretty flawless in terms of reliability. Outside of clutch slave and the sidestand switch, my bike has been flawless in the year I've owned it. I've put 8k miles on it this year, the bike itself has like 10.7k on it. This is just an example of how even on what I believe is one of the most reliable KTMs(the modern 2017ish+ bikes), the ownership experience could be vastly different based on the level of research. I dont think its fair to expect consumers to do as much of an in-depth look as I did, but its a factor that's worth noting. The three known issues I've outlined are all cheap and easy to fix, but all of them could also cause somebody to be stranded in the backcountry.
1. With the data that you have. Where did you get it from? I've been involved the garage door industry and if you contact the manufacturer of the garage doors they aren't going to tell you there is a problem with there product. Where in actual fact there is a problem and there remedy is that we will change the garage door Motor. (in the mean time you don't have a working product) Even though they are selling a product that has issues. Because I'm in the industry and I know who to talk to and have information of what not to purchase and on sell. I know this isn't about Motorbikes but is the same situation. I've seen a KTM - Husqvarna dealer cancel his dealer ship because of KTM requiring them to have unrealistic stock and hard to deal with. 2. I Have a Husky 701 which is a great bike. If this is a high performance race bike, why does it come with a paper air filter? And is the 790 platform regarded as a race bike? 3. The 2 warranty issues with my bike. 1. Clutch slave cylinder. I had to wait for it to fail to get it fixed and wait 4 weeks to get it fixed which should have been replaced with the predelivery service. 2. Radiator leak. I paid for that to be fixed as it was to hard and lengthy to go through the warranty proceedure. Once again this is a common problem with the radiators. 4. 790 camshfts. Declining warranties because KTM didn't change the oil someone else did. Poor excuse. 5. I find it not believable that it has been over sensationalized about the camshaft issue. Considering that there is a Facebook page about this. If these claims are false, why aren't KTM contacting these people or Facebook for discrediting there company.
I have owned 2 ktm now since 2016, 10pence fuse is what the bikes have cost me in 8 years aside from serviceable consumables. #KTM make great bikes - this is inarguable
as you have gone to the trouble I will add my little experience. In Wales UK moderate speed all year round trailrider and mechanicaly sympathetic doing my own maintenance. 1999 300exc short term ownership no issues.450 exc rfs 2004 medium term ownership no issues, 640adv 8000 miles, 2x cam follower bearings, 1 sprag clutch, 1 failed clutch slave cylinder which was only 12 months old yes mineral oil. 1190adv less than 1000 miles road only taillight (LED) failed dashboard display failed £££££ just inside warranty and sorted by KTM the cost of scared me and I sold it. More Mechanical maintenance for more performance more often, ye OK. expensive non maintenance items randomly failing not good enough especially when they are largely unnecessary in the first place. Your 790/890 failure data has come from KTM I have seen similar figures, bear in mind Just a couple of weeks ago KTM said there was no problem, then there were 3 issues, followers, coatings, debris, the management were rather quiet about some financial issues too, a mate asked 2 different KTM sources at a big show here in the UK a few months and had 2 widely differing answers- just be carefull, was there not a shortage of cams? numbers can be crunched. they are some of the most dynamic bikes to ride for sure, but they need to build their bikes differently and better and respond to peoples concerns. But its probably too late unfortunately, but others better pay heed because its getting far harder the Chinese are here and without something profound happening others are likely to suffer as well. thanks for your vid, your a lucky boy so many toys, my current a crf 250rally probably as far as you can get from orange and a GS 1200 my second done 200K miles on 2 GS's now, I work them hard road and trail they are tough keep going but do like a little spannering too but they are old like me.
On my 5th ktm here. And love it.. Dealer has fixed every small issue in all these years, latest aquisition is a honda.. Just because it was way cheaper but way uglier and with alot of cheap parts.. And made in china
I think your calculations are not 100% correct. The 0.5% number is for the bikes sold in the UK market only, but you are applying it to the number of all the bikes sold worldwide. Not to mention the 0.5% number comes from KTM (not from independent 3rd party) and is based on warranty claims that they have in the UK. Warranty claims number does not represent all real issues with the camshafts. KTM put conditions which disqualified some claims. I currently own 3 KTM bikes and another two in the past.
I did valves clearances in my 701 SM the other day at 10,000 km (6,000 miles) and both the inlet and exhaust cam lobes were scored, it's definitely an issue, you can argue till you are blue in the face.
If you don’t mind my asking, what year is your 701? I’ve never heard of can issues with the 701 only three parallel twins (790/890) To my knowledge there hasn’t been much discussion about the LC4 motor with regard to can issues. And conversely, I’ve never even heard of someone with valve augment issues at 6000 miles. Most every owner says that the valves are still within specs at the 6000 mark with some needing the exhaust valves shimmed if anything.
@@upshiftingadventures No I needed to change the exhaust shims, they were both tight, inlets were still in-spec. Its a 2017 with the balancer shaft motor. I have photos of the cams if you are interested. I change the oil every 3,000 KM and only use Motul 7100 10W60. Also bike is only on the road so no dust issues on the intake.
i had 2 superduke R's from new and both were rejected and sent back because of constant breakdowns and electrical issues. one a gen 2 and one a gen 3 i had enough of them and went straight back to Yamaha and MT10's. never one issue with any of the 16 Yamahas i have owned. i would have loved a new 1390 but i just cannot trust them. its such a shame because they do make great bikes but there are obvious issues. over here in the UK customer service has been piss poor with people wanting warranty work done. the trouble with your arguement is at the price point they sell there high end road bikes you expect reliabilty and its not there and the unlocking of the tech packs for stuff that is already on the bike is just a piss take. i know guys that have never had a problem with there bikes but its like a lottery if you get a fully reliable one or not
It's a bit comical how you think KTM is so special and so exceptional in terms of performance. The dragster comparison went way over the top. KTM's ads have obviously worked well. And that there is no significant camshaft problem on 790/890 engines. The problem is colossal. It affects everyone. Even if the problem hasn't been found on your own bike yet, the resale value has plummeted. And not many dealers want to take it in trade at all. KTM has dealt with complaints in the same way as, for example, Volkswagen. Denying and leaving customers in trouble. That was and is a big mistake. And now bankruptcy is imminent. If that happens, I hope you still get the parts and services you need, from someone.
OK Good video BUT the usual BUT. I can except (until there is more data in) that the 'failure' rate is somewhere in the 0.5% area and that will probably climb. So, in my case owning a 890 based HUSKY 901 2022 means I may not run into a problem. But I'm scared. Others have already experienced cam issues which means the problem pre-2021 hasn't been solved. BUT my biggest issues is RESALE. The brand/s are tarnished. Dealers are dumping stock. Owners can't sell or get a trade-in. I want out. But I'm not prepared to rip up 50% of my capital outlay in three months and 3000 kilometres. So I'm forced to keep (I do love riding it) and my other big BUT is the possibility of a significant investment may be off the road waiting for approval, parts and then work to be completed. It will be over-serviced, not see dirt and I will have my fingers crossed.
Since when are motorcycles considered investments? I don’t understand the resale mindset. To me that means you are just trying out the bike. If you bought it, ride it. After all that’s why you got it! If it breaks fix it. If you take care of it chances are pretty damn high the bike will take care of you!
The only bikes ive seen break down and strand people are ktm bikes. They are probably the most innovative company but constantly updating tech has a price.
I've definitely seen bikes from all manufactures break down on the trial. But if KTM's are the only ones you've ever seen break down, I can understand your dislike for the brand.
@upshiftingadventures I wouldn't even say I dislike them I am just wary of purchasing one as I don't have thousands laying around to fix one if it has a major issue. That said, for me the new KTM 390 adv R is very enticing.
well I have 2024 701 Husky and on 1200km my shaft seal started to leak. and my dealer refses to cover it under a warranty. the thing is, that 0.5% is an official number. in reality, it's way-way-way more higher! and it is sad, because KTM is a great bike. But unfortunately I wont buy anything from them anymore.
I truly believe if you do maintenance on your bikes they will last. I have a 22 890 R 14k miles and zero issues. Take care of your bikes and they will take care of you.
From what I can tell you are a ktm guy and you seem to be very comfortable money wise.. it makes sense you support the brand cause you don't really care about em breaking here and there, however I do not agree on everything because, ktm was making good of road and dirt bikes but when they started making road bikes you just can't make so unreliable motorcycles that they will be putting miles and miles, also the average Jo doesn't know what a ktm is and that is not a daily rider... they should have think about that many years ago.. from a first hand experience I can tell you that a few years back they didn't even had parts to send on 7 years old motorcycles.. that's trash and they go bankrupt these days cause people finally know their true colors. They should have stayed in the enduro world wich they were really good!
Las motos KTM son maquinas de alto rendimiento que requieren un buen mantenimiento, para tener una motocicleta KTM es importante que te guste la mecánica y disfrutar haciendo el mantenimiento de estas preciosas y divertidas maquinas. Definitivamente estas motos no estan hechas para el gran público, mucha gente compra KTM y no sabe realmente lo que está comprando...despues vienen los lloros y las criticas injustas.
Thank you, that’s what I’ve been saying. It should be understood that if you but one of the bikes, you need to know what your doing. Muchos gracias por tu comentario
a sensor failed, change wear parts, regular service? ok, but mechanical failures like cheese cams is on a whole other level of bs, cope much? perhaps read a bit about sunk cost phalacy
The cams are indeed an issue but such a small part of the overall reliability of KTM. The biggest problem KTM has is with their reputation, and they haven't helped themselves for sure, but most all of the KTM line of bikes have been just fine. I think we will eventually get to the bottom of the camshaft issue in the 790/890 motors and move on from there.
people are like sheep , get a few people giving a brand shit & next thing its like a trend . jealousy is usually the cause of it , a brand has all the bells & whistles or performance over what they have & next thing that brand gets attacked my two stroke has over 300 hours & i change the air filter once a year if its lucky & i ride in sand - still going 🤷♂️
Ktm Bought a 1290 sas 2023 , never going to buy KTM ever again, abs pump issue causing panic brake randomly, started to have coolant lost 250ml in 4 days and counting , paint peeling everywhere on the clutch bracket and reservoir , battery drain issue , between 50-80km the steering will wobble uncontrollably , if you let go and will also go right instead of straight. There was also a chemical / electrical smell when starting in the garage , the wireless key even in the bike compartment kept being out of range . KTM dealer said everything was "normal" . The adaptive cruise control took them a month to fix . I traded it and never looking back , lost thousands but that was better then keeping it. Dangerous bike. Believe everything you see in forums about KTM , it’s not exaggerated. Extremely unreliable!
its not my role to agree or disagree with you but i do see your points with one false statement...those bikes with camshaft problem in your info are the ones that KTM "accepted" the claim. there are so many more not accpeted by the dealer. i have 1 out of 6 riding buddies with this problem and he is still arguing with the dealer.
I have seen people abusing/destroing bikes like i never seen. Wen you have so many ktm bikes off corse more probaly too talk bad off the brand. I aware the camshaft prblems in the paralell twins and they didnt act in the right way, maybe because fhe finacial problems. Im not a crazy abaut any brand, i have 2 hondas and a husqvarna and im very hapy, not prefering any brand. Sory for my english.
He's right though. If you're scared to turn a wrench, stick with Japanese, Honda, Yamaha etc. I'll take a riding experience that's more exhilarating than a de-tuned engine in lue of extra reliability. An example would be the Tenere vs the 790 Adventure. 72 HP vs 105 HP. Yes, I know the Tenere is at a 90cc disadvantage. Here's some easy math: Displacement per HP 9.72cc per 1 HP for the Tenere and 7.5cc per HP for the 790 Adv. The 790 is a higher performance machine by design and will require more maintenance. Think of it this way, an equivalent light that burns brighter/hotter will quit before the dimmer, lower powered light. That is the trade-off...keep in mind, I own nothing produced by KTM or Pierre mobility. Not a fanboy.
@jesses1589 not afraid at all, coming from two ktms and they made me learn how to turn wrenches I do always listen to people's opinions and I understand ktms very well but fan boys like you guys are just cringe
KTMs bad name doesn't come from reliability, it comes from refusing to stand behind their products. I'm a big fan of their bikes and own 3 currently but am very unhappy about them refusing to warranty camshafts and engines where there's a well know and documented issue. I just forked out $1k in parts to replace the cams on my 790 because I've done my own service which KTM says they won't stand behind it. Very few people seem to make it beyond 15k miles without problems
I haven't had any mechanical issues with the two KTMs I have. I had one electrical/software issue and KTM resolved it in a few days. Sorry you've had so much trouble.
Agree mate I have a 22 Super Adventure R and at 7500 ks was playing up and was found to have a broken ring from factory it was fixed under warranty but that has now ended. Now I’m scared to do any decent rides with it as I don’t want it to shit itself and there is no way in the world I would buy another KTM just with all the crap I had to go through to get the bike fixed and I absolutely loved the KTM brand and the bike
@@dengised321 I've had other problems with mine, rear rotor practically fell apart on my first real trip, KTM dealer in FL fixed me up without issue, it doesn't start worth a crap, front rotors warp due to bad wheel from new had to buy a new wheel, has a bad bog that's just part of the crap fueling that KTM doesn't offer a fix for but other than that I love the bike. Plan on keeping it and my 890 Duke R. The Duke is a superb bike! One of my favorites ever.
You said it perfectly
Mi actual 890 ADV tiene 15000 km y va perfecta, cero problemas, también tengo una 790 ADV con 33000 km solo he tenido que reparar una pequeña fuga de refrigerante en el codo del termostato, lo he repare yo mismo con silicona termica y ha quedado perfecto. Los arboles de levas de ambas motos están perfectos.
2020 790 s adv with 36000 on the clock, a ton of that off rode and she’s still kicking, I trust this bike
36k miles?
I just got a used 2021 790 s with 20k km on it, and i got a little scared because I didn't find ones with high mileage out there (plus all the talking about reliability).
I love the bike and kind of hoping to have the bike couple of years with me and don't have the budget to buy new bikes every other year...
Unfortunately my 2020 790 R ate it's cams and followers and needed a whole new head. Fortunately KTM covered most of the cost. Otherwise the bike has been fine and here's hoping I won't have to revisit that issue again.
Most people who talk bad about KTM, never owned a KTM, just regurgitating what they heard from other people that never owned a KTM
SAME thing with Ducati and Aprilias too!!
@@AjackLee4 Agree... every one I meet with a Ducati, I always ask any issues? and I been doing it for years, and found one guy with blown engine on a Diavel... all rest nothing... same with my Guzzis... tens of thousands of mile no real issue... sometime new model first year or two you have issue, but that is any bike
@@guzziman Oh man I want an F4 750 so badly lol
And a lot of people riding KTMs are doing so for 1-2 years, sell their bike and get a new one...
@ but also lots of people that traveled all over the world with them, putting tens of thousand of miles …
Two things to add: 1. KTM only goes by warranty claims. Do they count claims they have wrongly denied? Also, valve adjustment isn’t required until 18k miles. I think a bunch more issues will be found when bikes hit that mileage. 2. 3 out 6 790’s and 890’s in my circle have camshaft issues.
I’m also an owner of KTM 890, 500 exc, and 300 xcw. Don I’m not a hater.
I had a 890 ADVR and didn't have cam issues (though it was low mileage), but rather I had a cam chain tensioner failure. Problem at the time was there were no replacements available and there was no estimated availability for one.... and the bike was in current production so I was like ?!?!
@@leanit5756 bummer. If you still have the 890, dirt tricks chain tensioner fixes that issue. I have one on my work bench when I get some time.
Went to my dealer where I bought my 890r , asked them about the cam issue they said they had three in total and KTM warrantied them all , they said that KTM warranty will cover all cam issue, what the problem is it a lot of paper work for the warranty and they feel that any one that was not covered was cause the shop didn't want to do the proper paper work
I had KTMs in the past and they were all great. With that being said, I couldn't spend my money on an 890. I wasn't willing to take the risk. Really it's one bike and how they handled it.
"The end of KTM" isn't about reliability issues. It's an overstocking issue. They stuffed 60 bikes in every showroom after COVID and they didn't sell because the numbers were inflated from the COVID boom. That wasn't the new normal for motorcycle sales. I'm just some guy and I knew that.
I’m still riding my 2017 Ktm 690 enduro r. I’m in my mid fifties and bought it so I could get back into the trails after riding only street for many years. It’s been very reliable for me. I do change the oil and filters every 2500 miles not the 6200 miles it says in the manual and have replaced most of the parts that people in the forums and videos say cause problems. It’s been a lot of fun both on and off-road. It has a little over 12,000 miles on it now. When I first purchased it I noticed that it used oil on long rides so I quickly got in the habit of checking oil levels before ever ride but around 5500 miles that seemed to stop but I still check the level and top off when it’s needed. It’s the power to weight and the very good suspension that keeps its space in the garage.
I also love KTM motorcycles. I've also had several of them. Currently own one and will be picking up another this winter. My cams failed at 10,000 miles. Intake and exhaust. My welds for the dash/headlight also failed. Also had problems with the rear shock. And that's just one of my KTMs. I don't think the problems are overblown. I've experienced many of the so-called overblown KTM failures. KTM did take care of me. I appreciate that. I truly do. That said. They need to get their shit together and decide if they want to race motorcycles or sell motorcycles. You also have 6 bikes. I have 4. In my experience, it's really hard to fully experience 4 bikes. I can't imagine how hard it is to fully experience 6 bikes.
I’ll start from the last comments and work forward. I agree with you that it’s hard to really experience the bikes when you have several. I’m fortunate to have a few and that slows me to keep the mileage a little lower. You’re right, KTM needs to figure it out but I think they will, and honestly I hope they don’t drift too far away from their race inspired culture. I’m willing to accept the issues in exchange for the performance. You are one of the few that I’ve heard of with all the fabled problems and that definitely sucks, but if JTM took care of it then it’s more of an annoyance than anything else, not sure if you agree though and your opinion is the one that counts here. All in all though, I love KTM’s like so many other people around the globe and I hope to see them continue to thrive. Thanks a ton for the comments and for supporting the channel. Cheers.
@@upshiftingadventures "all the fabled problems" I hope you mean fabled as in famous or legendary and not fabled as in fictitious. Regardless, I'm a KTM fan boy. When they run, they are the best bikes in the dirt. I prefer Ducati for the street. Which is another brand that has a lot in common with KTM. When they run, the experience can't be beaten. When I buy a KTM or a Ducati, I just assume I'll be working on them a lot in the off-season.KTM has made a lot of poor business decisions and while their reputation regarding reliability probably hasn't helped, I don't think it's the primary reason they've become insolvent. You can sell a lot of bikes and still destroy your business.
I'm on my 3rd KTM. At present I have a 890R Duke and a Gen 3 SDR 1290. KTM has a "I'm holier than thou" attitude. KTM is arrogant - my dealership is no different. KTM has a bloody design issue with the 790/890 oil galleries and oil jets. This, coupled to a poor oil pump causes an oil feed problem to the cams - especially at idle and lower speeds. These are overly noisy engines (with a poor cam tensioner design)! All the negative facts regarding KTM has forced resale prices down way low and the owner bears the brunt! The KTM motors are NOT high revving at all. My Ducati Streetfighter V4S has a high revving engine! KTM is charging to activate their already present software (QS etc.). These are all contributing to the KTM woes. In a competitive world they need to pull up their socks! I do like my two KTMs but I'm not married to them and neither am I blind to their problems - they have issues and durability could be one.... You simply can not say at below 10K miles your SDR is reliable... it is only run in now. Give an update at 50K miles and let's see then. Knowing and bragging about their "performance" engines, KTM could have built in redundancy, but did they? BMW did. Ducati did. So good luck to you. I'm not too convinced. Regards!
KTM 690 is the most powerful single cylinder (margined by ducatinl after many years) and it has a very reliable motor at the same time. Not all bikes from every brand is the same.
Great point. No issues with my 701 yet. I think people lose track of the fact that when you take high performance machines and throw them on the ground, literally , things happen. This hobby wasn’t designed to be cheap. It’s part of the game.
Wish I had said it that way. You’re absolutely right. Thanks for the comment and for supporting the channel. Cheers.
I own 790 Duke and 125 Duke, no issues on any of them so far.
Personally, I think that most of keyboard warriors against KTM, don’t even own KTM.
Of course some bikes will have issues, but KTM is no worse then any other brand I had.
Finally someone who speaks about minor percentage that had cam issues and goodwill covers repairs. My dealership did not have yet any bike with cam issues at all.
I had different brands of bikes, but after KTM, my next bike will also be KTM.
Great video.
If you have six bikes, aren't you dividing your riding so much that each bike sees less use than someone who just has one?
Yes that’s absolutely true and I’m fortunate enough to be able to swap out bikes but I still think that if you maintain them properly you will get many great miles out of them.
Using that logic, we are to presume that you own only 1 pair of shoes?
Umm yeah that would be obvious.
Depends on the rider. A friend of mine does maximum 2K a year. I had 20K last year. So me with 6 bikes would have more km per bike than my friend with 2K on one.
I also love KTM but IMO they should stick with dirt bikes which they do the best. They try to bite too many things. I own two of their dirt bikes KTM 500 exc-f and Husky FE 350. I have put over 620 enduro hours and the only issues I had were poor wiring (broken wires in loom), and one bad stator in 7 years. In general what is killing KTM especially in Adventure/Road segment are electronics problems as well as QA issues. IMO only because poor management and overpricing they have financial problems right now.
Agreed
I'm a little bit jealous to see a home garage with 6 bikes in it and the shop you have, too! Great video! I don't know what part of the Western slope you are in. I lived in Summit County for 6 years and in Mesa County for 6 years. Tons of great riding around both. Now I live in South America, Medellin, Colombia. KTM has a great store and shop close by. I have a friend setting up a touring business. He was ready to get 5 or 6 KTM 890s ADVs. But because of the news, he decided to go with the BMW 900s. His biggest concern seems to be the question of whether KTM can get out of the financial hole they are in. Most of us live in high rises and having a garage like yours is impossible to have. But on the flip side labot is cheaper here. You and your family have a great Turkey Day!
First thing I’ll say is that I am very fortunate to have so many great motorcycles, my wife may disagree though haha. I live in the Denver area, not exactly where I’d love to be but it is close to great riding. You may not have as many bikes as me but sounds like you competing for coolest places to live. I know KTM is very popular in central and South America and my dream is to ride through as much of it as possible. Hasn’t happened yet but it’s a goal. Thanks for supporting the channel and for commenting. Happy thanking from the US!
Awesome POV! I’m hoping to get my first KTM next year with the 1390 SA Evo S AMT! Hope it’s as exciting as it is being presented! Ride safe…subscribed!
Thanks for subscribing, I really appreciate that. I really hope you pick up that 1390. As a 1290 SD owner, I can tell you that the thrill of riding those bikes just can't be matched. I am more then willing to put up with the little inconveniences of the bike because you just can't get the fun these bikes offer in any other brand. Cheers.
I have a 2020 Ktm 790 Adventure S model with right at 10,000 miles. Had the shop check my cams for early wear even though I wasn't having any issues at the time just for my reassurance. All valves were within spec and there wasn't any signs of any oiling issues. In fact they ran it briefly with the covers off to physically see how well it was oiling the top end. All oil ports were wide open and squirting oil perfectly. So naturally there wasn't any heat discoloration on the cams or phasers.
Appreciate you making this video, especially with everything going on at KTM. I’m one of those guys you mentioned that only has one bike, bought my first Husky (Norden) a couple years ago…while I’ve heard about reliability issues, I’ve never met an owner in person that says they had an overall bad experience (realizing things happen with all machines). I do hope KTM can move to making better business decisions and focus on continuous improvement.
I think KTM owners are probably the most loyal group. Most people can easily go from a Honda to a Yamaha to a Suzuki with little to no love lost. I couldn’t imagine abandoning my Austrian fun cycles. People like you and I are in the majority when it comes to love of the KTM brand bikes. The excitement and joy of ownership far out way any issues they may have. Happy Thanksgiving!
@ Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family as well!
14 years of racing ktm mx bikes. They’ve been rock solid… some parts last a lot longer than Japanese Mx bikes like clutches, big end bearings (four strokes).
Great video. I also believe KTMs get a bad name. I've have a 890 Adv, which has had only 1 small electronic issue, and a 500 exc-f with 0 issues. I love both of these bikes and wouldn't give them up for anything else.
So glad to hear that. Again, I hear way more positive things about KTM than I do negative. I hope you have many many more miles of terrible free riding. 🤘
I've had a '96 KTM 400 EXC and currently am riding a 2020 KTM 690 EnduroR. Both were incredibly well built machines and reliable as anything. The crazy thing was that the '96 KTM 400 EXC had the kickstarter on the left side which took some time to get used to.... ;-)
1390 SDR is without a doubt the funnest and most exciting bike I have owned in over 40 years of street riding. My EXC350F is the best "dirt bike with lights" I have owned in that same time. My former 690 Super Moto was far and away the best street legal supermoto on the market.
Nice little video about your reliability/issues with your bikes. Just picked my 890 from Mike today and man or man its going to be a fun ride
For sure man. This weather is giving me lots of time to do all the upgrades I'm wanting to do, and once I'm done, I will take it down south for a week or so of ripping it up in the desert. I can't wait.
I've owned my 790r.adventure since new 2020model,24,500miles, never had a issue with it great bike, checked the cams at 18000,and 24000, still in clearance spec,and know wear on cams,do think some owners had problems because of clutch slipping due to incorrect free play in system, causing fiber s off clutch plate to block oil ways, couldn't be happier with mine,have Yamahas,Honda,s,all good but not as exciting as KTM👍
That’s the first I’ve heard of the friction played causing oil starvation but it’s a good theory for sure and I will look in to that more. Thanks so much for commenting and for supporting the channel.
I have a 300 and 890 adv R and love them. I want to add a 690 when I can. No problems here either and they get ridden well.
I think you hit the nail on the head when you said that higher perfomance machines, no matter what they are need more maintenance, I do not ride near as hard as you do lol, but I'm still learning offroad at 56yrs of age, needless to say I love my 701, not alot of performance upgrades, I wanted to make it more comfortable at first, but damn its fun! I wached a really good video from someone on the interweb and they kind of nailed it down to oil pressure, his opinion though, but they way he went about it was really interesting, not enough oil pressure lugging they bike, could it be riding in 4th gear when someone should be in 2nd gear with the rpm's up, i do not know but it was interesting. I still brag about my pan am on road and fire, gravel, forest service roads....but then again, I take care of them both also. good video dude!
Glad to see a fellow “old timer” hitting the dirt. I used to ride lots of dirt bikes but just started with the adventure riding in the past 5 years. I think it’s the ultimate way for us geriatrics to stay active on motorcycles. 😃. The oil pressure thing makes most sense to me. Some people buy these bikes that don’t ride then the way they are designed and lugging the motor will definitely starve the motor for oil. That being said, when I ride my 701 I do find myself wanting to shift way early because the thing feels like it is going to blow up in the mid RPM range so I short shift it a lot then end up down shooting almost immediately. If I had to choose between only one bike, it would certainly be the 701. I think it is just about the best dual sport machine ever created. I absolutely love it. I’ve got mine pretty darned comfortable now and with all the power mods it does everything I could ever ask of it. Thanks for the great comments and for supporting the channel. Happy thanksgiving and have an awesome day. 🤘
@@upshiftingadventures you also!
that's why I love Japanese. Reliability by design it's engineering art. 🥰
Good video, and it's especially good to hear being a recent convert form ducati and aprilia to ktm. I've two, 2024's- 890 smt and 390 duke. The 890 smt had a valve spring break at 5,200 miles. The duke had a low oil pressure warning and needed a sensor at 2,900 miles. Warranty took care of both including a pretty time consuming diagnosis for the smt. This did bum me out but you know, I've had problems with the duc's and aprilia's under 10K. I was very impressed with the dealer's and ktm north america. Will my next bike be a ktm? Yes, if they come out of administration with solid plan to move forward.
I got my new 890ADV R in March this year. I've done almost 8000miles on it. The only issue I've had is the occasional cold start issue( once or twice a month). Love my KTM, puts a smile on my face everytime I ride it. Great video
Same for me. 6.3K Single cycler cold start randomly. one out to 10-15 starts. Shouldn't happen. But it's not a deal breaker.
8,000 and 6,000 miles are not many miles
true cold only for me too. bike does serious off road and the quality frame, suspension and engine perform .Road bike with balls too.
The Internet needs things to talk about. Problems that some tiny portion of owners might have are blown wildly out of proportion. I understand that a high performance single cylinder light weight bike might need a little more attention than a Japanese machine designed for inattentive owners. If you understand what you're getting into, you won't be disappointed.
That's absolutely right. I also think that with regard to the internet, it takes something that upsets you pretty badly to take the time out to go and criticize it or post bad reviews about a product so those that have had issues or let downs with their KTM's are pretty vocal about it and it might make it seem more problematic than it really is.
I’m a longtime KTM/Husqvarna guy and currently ride a 701 (I have 4 bikes). I think the 690/701 platform is solid but I’m not sure of the 790/890/901. I keep hearing that guys have had no problems with their very low mileage bikes but what will they be like at 50,000 to 80,000 miles?
I have owned many KTMs all the way back to a 1985 DXC500, KTM has always been about performance. With performance comes less reliability. I currently own a 2022 SDEvo and a 2024 890 Rally. I also have 2 Harley’s, 4 Ducatis, Gen 2 Vmax, Gen 1 1985 Vmax, 1985 V65 Magna, 1985 ZL900 Eliminator. Not a single bike has proven to be or less reliable in my ownership experience. There r too many upgrade clowns that think they know better than well paid and well educated engineers. They then fuck with the bike and blame the manufacturer. All bikes will break down and it all depends on how you maintain them. I have had Hondas, Yamaha and the other Japanese brands have major problems. Sure Japanese bikes statistically are more reliable but they also don’t push the envelope of performance so it is up to you which is a priority. I assure u that KTM is just as reliable as all of the high performance brands. Whoever runs KTM is this side of a moron taking redundant brands and selling them at the same price. KTM dump the outliers and put 100% in to KTM and nothing else! Between KTM and Harley some new CEO’s and board members would serve them well.
My thoughts exactly. Well said.
2 time rc8 owner, first one 2009 rc8r which was sadly stolen in Manchester UK, second one I picked up last week 2008 rc8 non r but tricked up with upgrades, same power as the r and nice red bull livery. Zero issues with mine either , touch wood 😅😅 great channel and beautiful bikes
RC8 is such a great bike. Congrats on the good fortune to have owned two of them. Thanks for supporting the channel. Cheers
Thank you for your kind reply, I like your style of vlog very informative and enthusiastic about your bikes. Stay safe in these streets brother. Once I get set up in the new year I'll try my hand at vlogging and show my new beast. @@upshiftingadventures
Thank God. Some one who gets it. As someone whos been on motos since 5 years old and now I am 52, you nailed it, I have 2 KTMs and agree 100%. This is the video all the haters needed. 🏁🏁
Agreed. I want the best so I ride Orange. 250xc and 790 adv R. Hands down amazing performance out of these machines.
@2trackisback 100%. I grew up on Honda and love them. But they just dont have the performance out of the box. RACE READY....
honestly, I only trust their single-cylinder engines. Anything more and I'm on the skeptical side of reliability, so I buy extended warranty for that reason. KTM is the only brand I do this with. And Maybe Ducati, IF I ever plan to purchase another Ducati again....not anytime soon. I speak with the experience of owning KTM motorcycles in the past.
Ktm500exc 2019 was taken 98,000 miles on original top end and still going owner plans to take it to 150k before opening it up.
Ktm300sx at a rental shop has 400+ hours on 3 of their bikes and none of them have been opened up and they’re all running flawless
They literally did a no maintenance torture test racing and beating the life out of a 300sx and it ran with no issues save for a crushed pipe which didn’t stop the bike from running or racing.
There are several videos of guy taking them around the world with zero issues going well over 1000 hours without doing anything but oil and air filters
Ktm are the most reliable bikes on the market.
Nothing wrong with my WR250F keeps up with all the KTM's in my group.
My pro-modified, super-agile MT09 SP (181,5 kgs wet, 119,4 whp) provides immense fun every time I am touring the major mountain passes - by now 70'000 fuss-free kms on the odo 😃✌🏁
Don't own a KTM but a few of my friends do . The only problems they have are batteries [don.t last ] and clutch slave cylinders other than that they seem very reliable
I agree that KTM/Husky do require more preventative maintenance. Back when I wasn’t retired, I didn’t have time to do the necessary maintenance needed. Now retired I sort of look forward to going to the shed and “Tinkering”. Let me tell anyone contemplating retirement-You need at Least TWO HOBBIES to keep from getting bored
Love my Ktm 690 Duke (2016) 14000 Miles. never had any problems with it. Hard on Chain/sprokets, and tires, but thats a fun issue 🙂
On my short 7 years time riding hard enduro, I owned a 200 and one 250 2 stroke. Yes, I did maintenance every week, and both machines never ever let me down. Yes, they are high-quality machines, and like any high-quality stuff, it goes side by side with money.
couldn't agree with you more. Gotta pay to play!
So far my 690 enduro R (2500km) has been just as reliable as my wifes crf250l (16000km). Zero issues. I have no reason to believe my 2023 690 will have any issues as long as I take care of it, as there are enough of them out there with high miles, in particular older models that actually had issues, as they have really been around the block and through the ringer, folks don't ride these gentle and they just keep on ticking.
I agree 100 %, thank you 🤜🏻🤛🏻 I own the 2020 enduro 690 r , I owned the 2016 1290 super Adventure r and now the 2023 1290 Super Adventure r, issues 690 1 recall clutch slave cylinder, 1290 1 fork seal ring, that’s it and much much fun 👍🏻
Every KTM owner I know is very willing to over look the small amount of issues they have in exchange for owner such a great piece of equipment. Many happy mile of riding to you my friend. Cheers!
2018 KTM 1090 Adventure R with 68,000 miles. Not one problem. My 890 is the best adventure bike I have ever ridden bar none! I had the BMW's for a while then yamahas and honda's AT. Pretty good but not anywhere close to the 890 and the 1090 to be honest. If you ride the 890 r offroad you need to treat it like a dirtbike! I change my filter out every 2 hours of hard highly dusty conditions I change out my air filter. Yes I bring extra pre oiled filters with me. The 890 whirls the dust all around the rear area where the filter is housed. I have the Rottwieller set up and it has been the best for me. 2023- with 8k miles so far using it with the extra cel tank from rotty also. I like the cell tank as it blocks alot of dust coming into the filter housing. Making the filter system pull the air more from the top. I feel that a lot of people who have problems with the 890 & 790 do not change the filter correctly when they should or keep an eye on it. Also everyone needs to understand that the KTM's are ridden harder than any other bikes in my opinion due to its ability to handle the terrain better than the other bikes without suspension/other modes. This could cause quicker part break down by riding harder.
Another satisfied KTM owner. I don't get all the hate, but hey it's a free country right? I have the power plate from Rottweiler Performance on the way. Not sure what they were thinking when deciding to put the intake inlet right above the back tire, and it should definitely be addressed in the future, but in the end, not enough to sway me away from KTM. Thanks for the comment, and have a great day.
Partially agree on your statement, being a performance "thing" involves some sort of extra maintenance and breakage. True for motorcycles and other stuff. But a software issue isn't something that you can excuse on performance. It's just a case of being sloppy and cheap on development/testing. Then came the "demo" system that was a straight laugh in the face to their customers. That alone is telling about the company and where their priorities lie, and enough to put ktm and other companies like zero on my naughty list.
Still rocking A 2003 125 sx 3 rebuilds in 20 years love the little 2 stroke
17' Duke 390 - Only 33,250kms till now, no major issues but plan to take it really far!
u r absoloutely right!! i enjoyed my ktm's hope everthing will be ok for ktm!!!!!!!!!! its a very quality bike!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
my 2022 890 duke (exact same bike as yours), have had many issues
1- blown left fork seal out of the factory, when I replaced the seal I've noticed that the dust seal had INDIA written on it, while the replacement OEM part was genuine SKF,
2- oil leak from valve cover at 1500KM, there is a new part number for the valve cover gasket that I will replace it with
3- coolant thermostat housing at around 3000km maybe, replaced it with CNC aluminum aftermarket part,
4- coolant leak radiator hoses, had internal rapture, replaced with samco hoses
5- coolant leak from the worst possible place, it's on the engine case gasket near the water pump, you have to deassemble the whole engine to fix it, luckily it was a very minor leak that a coolant change along with 35ml of motul radiator stop leak fixed the issue, replaced the coolant after a month when I installed the samco hoses and luckily it's still not leaking.
6- moisture inside the turn signal after only 1500km, later on it stopped working, I never put strong pressure when I wash the bike.
7- the ABS module had a fault code that took 2 hours for the KTM engineer from austria to fix.
it's still my favourite bike, lightest in it's segment, highest ground clearance for a street naked bike, most horsepower out of a 900cc class parallel twin ever made and a great turning radius the I can filter easily through cars in bumper to bumper traffic.
is it reliable? not one bit even compared to my indian made bajaj dominar, was it fun, hell yeah, I'd still take it with all this headache
You just explained within the first 5 mins of the video why I’d never own a KTM, I’d much rather have reliability and ease of maintenance over performance, I very much doubt most people who own a KTM can use what little extra performance that have over any other bike. (Some can maybe but not many) in short
I can live with a little less performance but I can’t live with poor reliability
Hey I totally understand. Like I said in the video, if reliability is your primary factor then a KTM is not for you. As long as people understand what they are getting in to, I think the major will really enjoy a KTM. Thanks for commenting and supporting the channel.
i currently have four ktm bikes: 690 sumo, 690 enduro, 1290 super duke, 890 rally, with combined 70k miles across the four bikes. save the 890, the ktm bikes have been quite reliable. the 890 did have cams issue though, the bike ran fine. cams had pitting at 18k miles service. ktm replaced cams and dealership screwed installing the new cams. the main issues with the 890 and, with 790 rally that i previously owned, were caused by the crappy dealership service. in ten years of owning ktm bikes, the number one issue has been dealer service. i probably wouldn't buy a ktm bike with 7/890 motor. i would definitely buy the other ktm models. to be clear, i'm not defending ktm. i'm merely sharing my experience. ktm manufacturer and dealer support are shite. overall, i think ktm bikes are brilliant. ktm makes bikes that i want to ride. ktm bikes have attitude and they're not for everybody. ktm bikes inspire hooliganing. 😀
All very true, a race horse is always temperamental. Maybe not the best analogy, but if you want the lightest bike with top performance in all aspects of running gear, maintenance, maintenance, maintenance, top end rebuilds just for the sake of preventing problems. I don't own a KTM, but if I did, I know what I am buying. As I get older, I am attracted to a 350 or 500 exc for the weight saving and as I would not be riding her hard, it will last. Yep a late model 701 would be nice.
I have had over 10 ktm dirtbikes and 2 adventure bikes all have been great .I currently have a 2021 ktm 890 adventure r with over 8000 miles on it no issues with it .I also have a gasgas ex 350 great bike no issues.
Bias is showing, Japanese make exciting bikes too. I have owned and still own in some cases, Yamaha, KTM, Triumph, Kawasaki Husqvarna. The WR250f 2020 was an amazing bike, defintely a performance machine. Currently have a Husky TE250 2023, also amazing bike. I have had starter issues with my R1, electronics issues with the Duke 390, clutch issue on the wr250r, all can have problems. My triumph was 100 percent reliable and so was the Kawasaki, luck of the draw, age, maintenance and luck. The best bike is the one you own, I intend to own a many more and have no issues changing brands. Most manufacturers make great bikes!
Juz can't disagree to agree with you. I do change oil filter & EO every 3000 miles.
top fuel dragsters are not sold and pushed to normal people. now think about saying yeah a bike is very reliable but you have to know how to work on them.....
Owned 4 ktms no problems with any of them
Bought a new leftover 18 ver2 1290 SDR in 2020, not one issue, pulls like a train best bike I've owned not considering selling it, great bike
That’s the story I hear most often. Thanks for the comment and I hope you subscribed to the channel. KTM fans have to stick together haha
Same situation for me with my 2022 500 EXC / 2022 690 Enduro R / 2023 890 Enduro R 👍
Having a “higher” performance bike doesn’t justified bad cams continually failing on the 890 and 690s or all the electrical problems they have had on there TPI bikes.
I bleed orange and still own a 2020 350exc and it’s been flawless. My KTM 890 that I had started having electrical issues and starting issues with only 1500 miles on it.
I’ve been a KTM fan and owned 10 different KTMs since 1996. But the last 5 yrs or so there reliability has been a serious concern. Dealer support sucks half the time as well. I hope KTM turns it around and gets back to making reliable incredible machines but for now I drive a 2024 Triumph Tiger for an adventure bike and my 350 exc as my dirt bike.
I got rid of my KTM products. This last summer was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
I had a new Super Duke GT that was so awesome but it kept turning off all the TC, ABS and defaulting into Track. My mechanic after the 4th time asked me if I had told my wife what this is doing, I said no. He said that I should tell her cause this is very unsafe. So I did and she said get rid of it immediately.
My 701 was pretty good but it and my buddy’s started leaking at the forks.
So I traded my 1090 and 701 for the Desert X and the repair costs are about the same. I traded the Super Duke for a Streetfighter v2 and again the maintenance costs are about the same
I have had zero issues with the ducatis and they have electronics that work.
riiiiiight 😂
@@vin374 I'm dead serious. The cost on maintenance on KTM's isn't cheap like the old days (I strongly suggest taking them to a dealer to keep your warranty).
The Desert X is like a lighter lower CG version of my old 1090, which was my favorite bike ever.
I ride with a bunch of different riders on a bunch of different brands. The 3 guys that ride KTM’s, A Super Duke, 300exc and a 790, always have problems that usually lead to one of them leaving a bike behind and riding double to get home. I was a huge fan of KTM until I started riding with them .
KTM should’ve took a few lessons from Honda by not pushing the envelope on motor output and focus on longevity. That’s why Honda’s last forever because they’re always conservative on their engines and do not push them to the limit. It’s not needed on a street bike.
2023 KTM 250XC with 18 hrs on it. Fuel pump is dead. Missed a whole weekend of riding with the family over Thanksgiving. Getting a Yamaha.
Just bought a 24 500 and several things found and just breaking it in with only a couple hours. The plastics were not installed correctly, turn signal indicator installed on wrong side, the front brake lines were installed wrong and the plastic guide that the lines are installed inside of is bent causing the lines to rub on the cutch cylinder when front suspension is compressed, oil weeping very slowly out of bottom bolt, the bolt had a screen in it in prior years, even AFTER removed and trq'd to spec. The weeping bold is the only thing that bothers me. Dealer is far away so have to trailer for them to inspect. My confidence in the bike is deteriorating. Not regretting purchase but not sure that will remain. Only hours and miles will tell. In contrast my 2020 701 has had no issues.
Great, reassuring video 🤘
Brand new 2022 890 Adventure R - lets just say it got to the point where I did NOT trust my bike to go off road alone - that should say a lot.
Holy crap, bro...that's a whole lot of cope in one video🤣
PAY TOP DOLLAR FOR A KTM..and you should expect it to break. That's ridiculous. They aren't premium, prototype racing machines. They're consumer grade motorcycles. And there's just no way the cam issues are isolated to a few hundred bikes. It's in the thousands at this point.
KTMs worldwide are having serious mechanical issues. It's gotten so bad that KTM is in a world of financial trouble. On top of that, go search the used bike market...you'll find a ton of KTM piling up on dealer floors.
Hard to see this video as anything other than financially incentivized gaslighting. Maybe it's not...but if it quacks like a duck...
You're bang on with your comment.making excuses for poor quality and backup after you've spent top end money on these bikes is insulting at best.and these machines are not for home mechanics like some are saying.its big money when they're at the dealers out of warranty!
and they be pumping bikes with flaws for years and refuse to acknowledge, (i.e. clutch master and slave) you pay top dollar and have to spend on top right out of the gate... Idiots keep paying so it will keep going... Until it doesn't
my Triumph and Ducati have about the same amount of warranty claims as my KTM and HQV, The Triumph even had a cracked subframe. I'd say all European brands are on the same level of reliability but Orange has the most haters so here we are 😂
@@donkeizluv my triumph has been back twice in 6 months,but the difference is triumph fix it and send you on your way.ktm just try and get out of doing anything,it's not about haters,people need to drop that ridiculous phrase.its about customer service!
@@mart7798 depends on the dealer really. I dont have that home delivery here. But yes Triumph does process warranty very quickly with almost no questions asked
KTM IS FOR RACERS! when I start my RC390 and it says" ready to race"...I know this bike WANTS me to red line every gear. I'm not putting around on a Royal Enfeild, in a tweed jacket ( nothing as unreliable as a RE). I raced KTM motocross bikes in AMA district 18, in the 70's, to 2 ,1st place seasons. I only had 1 mechanical DNF (did not finish), on 2 bikes, in 2 years. I'm 73 , I've owned 20 bikes and worked in the industry for decades ...LONG LIVE KTM!
250SX I own, bullet proof, TE150i I own, bullet proof, 890 ADV R I owned, not so good, stranded me several time, extremely poor warranty support. I personally would not buy that platform again, and in my riding circle I was not alone with all, or some of the issues others have reported, which is why there are now more T7's in my circle these days, which is unfortunate for KTM. The 2024 1290 SAR I own now, so far so good with 5K only on the clock, if this 1290 takes a bad turn that would be the end of my KTM adventure life and I would just get a reliable AT at that point. As for the dirt bikes, damn they are great, and would never hesitate to but a KTM branded 2T ever. I am a KTM fan, but also a fan of traveling off road, and although there is nothing more fun than those 890's in the middle weight class, I want to get home, so I hope this LC8 is the ticket to keep me having that unbeatable fun KTM provides us, but also gets me home and starts each morning if i decide to take it to work.
I totally understand where you are coming from and you make a logical argument for the pluses and minuses of owning KTM's. I hope your SAR never lets you down. KTM can't afford to lose any more buyers haha.
Love my Superduke, way more smiles per mile. I've had no more or less issues than any other brand tbh and my dealer is awesome.
If you want to look data anybody can go the NHTSA database for as many years as you want. You can see the recalls and customer complaints. I looked at almost six years (2016- late 2021) recalls and complaints for Royal Enfield, Moto Guzzi, Suzuki, Aprilla, KTM, Kawasaki, Honda, Yamaha, Triumph, Indian, Ducati, Harley and BMW.
Recalls are based on issues not the number of bikes sold. Out of these 13 brands for the years I looked KTM was the 5th best with the fewest recalls. BMW, Harley and Ducati were 11-13.
However KTM was 5th worst in the number of complaints doing just better than Harley, BMW, Honda and Ducati. KTM was the only manufacturer to have more complaints than recalls e every year. Customer satisfaction obviously isn't solely based on the number of recalls but how the recalls are handled and recognized.
More or most of the KTM complaints were from dissatisfaction of how KTM responded to their complaints as much as the issue itself.
I don’t own or nor have I ever ridden a KTM, however one of my bikes is on the top ten of most recalled during those years....yet I still love it.
Thank you for the comment. What you say makes a lot of sense and I think backs up my theory that the mechanical issues are not a serious as they are being made out to be. The people who have had issues are of course going to be the most vocal and if KTM isn't supporting them in a way they see as helpful then it will only amplify the anger on the part of the owner. However, I think people don't always understand that the Austrians can be very blunt people and may be coming across as unconcerned about the issue or even as assholes but I think that is probably just a cultural issue. I believe that the engineers and people behind the brand or very dedicated to building the very best, high performing bikes that they can produce. In the end, I think that if your local dealer is willing to fight the good fight with corporate, then the owner can be left out of it and would never need to feel all that frustration.
KTM have done themselves an injustice by denying that there was a cam problem only to later come out and recognise it. All bikes can give trouble and even though you might be pissed about the fact if the problem is recognised and fixed it can still be a positive outcome.I have a mate who has a BMW GS 850 with 25000 km on it that was using oil one day when starting it his cam chain tensioner was stuck in and the cam jumped 2 teeth he took it to BMW with no warranty and they replaced the head and had supposedly put in new pistons and rings when he got it back it was still using oil he then contacted BMW head office and they are now replacing the motor with a brand new one. If KTM stood by their brand like BMW then they wouldn’t find themselves in the position they are in now
I think we can chalk this up to individual experiences. I have a GS1250 and I love my local dealership where I bought it, but they won't do me any favors with regard to warranty work, I can promise you that. Even though I have a great relationship with them. On the other hand, my local KTM dealership has hooked me up on several occasions with things. The biggest issue I've had was with the preload adjuster on my Super Duke, which due to the complexity of the issue would have cost me a ton of money, had my local dealership not stepped up and taken care of me.
Compared to Japanese brands, yes they are. Just compare new KTMs with new Japanese designs and just out of the box KTMs come already with problems. You own a few KTMs that's nice but that's not a great sample size either...
Ktm’s are great bikes, loved the 2 I owned but I’ve had minor issues under warranty period and they never gave a shit to cover them... dealers are left alone, a shame for such a major manufacturer! I went to Honda.
I'vebeen racing from 70.s . My motto after few ktm.s is Never buy a ktm. They have and had all the stupid failures, that can happen. Buy one and see, but dont Blake me.
And this guy is paid off
Premium price bike for sub-par reliability, for the price of their bikes they should be the most reliable, they should rival Honda....but they dont.
I've got a couple of thoughts. The first in regard to the camshafts, maybe I'm in an echo chamber but I think the issue is most likely higher than 0.5%. My main reasoning is that this is an issue that usually happens around like 10,000+ miles, and i guarantee a vast majority of bikes haven't hit that number yet. I'd be curious if KTM has more internal data on this, out of the bikes that have had the first valve adjustment, what percentage have had the issue? With that being said, I do agree that the nature of the internet and forums probably does make the issue seem larger than it actually is. There's really no way of knowing without more data that KTM is likely incentivized not to share.
With all that being said, I'm not a KTM hater, I have a 701 and its my favorite bike ever by a lot. However, saying one brand is wholly reliable or wholly unreliable isn't a great way to evaluate. It's better to look at specific models. The 500exc and the 690 are great examples here. Those engines have been around for a while and they've pretty much had all the bugs worked out. I think they're both pretty solid in terms of reliability. KTM has its problems with other models like the 390 and the 790/890. Again, a lot of this is based on annecdotes because nobody has the internal data.
But lets discuss the 701 specifically. I think the 701 has proven to be a reliable machine. But it wont seem that way to owners who don't do their research like I do. For example, the clutch slave failure is pretty much inevitable on the pre-2021 bikes. When i bought my used 2019, i knew this so I immediately bought the oberon clutch slave to replace it(can also be done with a sub $5 oring). My clutch slave ended up failing while my new one was shipping. Somebody who doesn’t know about this issue is gonna see this as another example of KTM unreliability when it happens to them. Obviously owners shouldnt have to deal with this in the first place, and it was fixed in 2021.
As an educated buyer i also know that the sidestand switch magnet likes to wiggle loose. When i was (foolishly) riding in the snow, and my bike decided to only start in neutral and died any time i went in gear, I knew exactly what it was. Fortunately i wasnt stranded because the magnet was simply out of alignment. The same night i just taped a magnet to the sensor and routed the wires to sit under the seat. Not a problem for me anymore - but somebody who doesnt research bikes in depth would have no idea that they need to do a preventative fix or get the dongle.
Same story can be said with the shift star failure on certain model years. I know to do it preventatively, but most people don't research like I do.
Because I know to pre-emptively fix these 3 things, my ownership experience is gonna be pretty flawless in terms of reliability. Outside of clutch slave and the sidestand switch, my bike has been flawless in the year I've owned it. I've put 8k miles on it this year, the bike itself has like 10.7k on it.
This is just an example of how even on what I believe is one of the most reliable KTMs(the modern 2017ish+ bikes), the ownership experience could be vastly different based on the level of research. I dont think its fair to expect consumers to do as much of an in-depth look as I did, but its a factor that's worth noting.
The three known issues I've outlined are all cheap and easy to fix, but all of them could also cause somebody to be stranded in the backcountry.
1. With the data that you have. Where did you get it from? I've been involved the garage door industry and if you contact the manufacturer of the garage doors they aren't going to tell you there is a problem with there product. Where in actual fact there is a problem and there remedy is that we will change the garage door Motor. (in the mean time you don't have a working product) Even though they are selling a product that has issues. Because I'm in the industry and I know who to talk to and have information of what not to purchase and on sell. I know this isn't about Motorbikes but is the same situation.
I've seen a KTM - Husqvarna dealer cancel his dealer ship because of KTM requiring them to have unrealistic stock and hard to deal with.
2. I Have a Husky 701 which is a great bike. If this is a high performance race bike, why does it come with a paper air filter? And is the 790 platform regarded as a race bike?
3. The 2 warranty issues with my bike. 1. Clutch slave cylinder. I had to wait for it to fail to get it fixed and wait 4 weeks to get it fixed which should have been replaced with the predelivery service. 2. Radiator leak. I paid for that to be fixed as it was to hard and lengthy to go through the warranty proceedure. Once again this is a common problem with the radiators.
4. 790 camshfts. Declining warranties because KTM didn't change the oil someone else did. Poor excuse.
5. I find it not believable that it has been over sensationalized about the camshaft issue. Considering that there is a Facebook page about this. If these claims are false, why aren't KTM contacting these people or Facebook for discrediting there company.
I have owned 2 ktm now since 2016, 10pence fuse is what the bikes have cost me in 8 years aside from serviceable consumables. #KTM make great bikes - this is inarguable
as you have gone to the trouble I will add my little experience. In Wales UK moderate speed all year round trailrider and mechanicaly sympathetic doing my own maintenance.
1999 300exc short term ownership no issues.450 exc rfs 2004 medium term ownership no issues, 640adv 8000 miles, 2x cam follower bearings, 1 sprag clutch, 1 failed clutch slave cylinder which was only 12 months old yes mineral oil. 1190adv less than 1000 miles road only taillight (LED) failed dashboard display failed £££££ just inside warranty and sorted by KTM the cost of scared me and I sold it. More Mechanical maintenance for more performance more often, ye OK. expensive non maintenance items randomly failing not good enough especially when they are largely unnecessary in the first place. Your 790/890 failure data has come from KTM I have seen similar figures, bear in mind Just a couple of weeks ago KTM said there was no problem, then there were 3 issues, followers, coatings, debris, the management were rather quiet about some financial issues too, a mate asked 2 different KTM sources at a big show here in the UK a few months and had 2 widely differing answers- just be carefull, was there not a shortage of cams? numbers can be crunched. they are some of the most dynamic bikes to ride for sure, but they need to build their bikes differently and better and respond to peoples concerns. But its probably too late unfortunately, but others better pay heed because its getting far harder the Chinese are here and without something profound happening others are likely to suffer as well. thanks for your vid, your a lucky boy so many toys, my current a crf 250rally probably as far as you can get from orange and a GS 1200 my second done 200K miles on 2 GS's now, I work them hard road and trail they are tough keep going but do like a little spannering too but they are old like me.
On my 5th ktm here. And love it.. Dealer has fixed every small issue in all these years, latest aquisition is a honda.. Just because it was way cheaper but way uglier and with alot of cheap parts.. And made in china
I think your calculations are not 100% correct. The 0.5% number is for the bikes sold in the UK market only, but you are applying it to the number of all the bikes sold worldwide. Not to mention the 0.5% number comes from KTM (not from independent 3rd party) and is based on warranty claims that they have in the UK. Warranty claims number does not represent all real issues with the camshafts. KTM put conditions which disqualified some claims. I currently own 3 KTM bikes and another two in the past.
I did valves clearances in my 701 SM the other day at 10,000 km (6,000 miles) and both the inlet and exhaust cam lobes were scored, it's definitely an issue, you can argue till you are blue in the face.
If you don’t mind my asking, what year is your 701? I’ve never heard of can issues with the 701 only three parallel twins (790/890) To my knowledge there hasn’t been much discussion about the LC4 motor with regard to can issues. And conversely, I’ve never even heard of someone with valve augment issues at 6000 miles. Most every owner says that the valves are still within specs at the 6000 mark with some needing the exhaust valves shimmed if anything.
@@upshiftingadventures No I needed to change the exhaust shims, they were both tight, inlets were still in-spec. Its a 2017 with the balancer shaft motor. I have photos of the cams if you are interested. I change the oil every 3,000 KM and only use Motul 7100 10W60. Also bike is only on the road so no dust issues on the intake.
i had 2 superduke R's from new and both were rejected and sent back because of constant breakdowns and electrical issues. one a gen 2 and one a gen 3 i had enough of them and went straight back to Yamaha and MT10's. never one issue with any of the 16 Yamahas i have owned. i would have loved a new 1390 but i just cannot trust them. its such a shame because they do make great bikes but there are obvious issues. over here in the UK customer service has been piss poor with people wanting warranty work done. the trouble with your arguement is at the price point they sell there high end road bikes you expect reliabilty and its not there and the unlocking of the tech packs for stuff that is already on the bike is just a piss take. i know guys that have never had a problem with there bikes but its like a lottery if you get a fully reliable one or not
They can be, at least compared to a Japanese bike, also KTM has pretty much gone into bankruptcy, so who knows what's going to happen to them now
It's a bit comical how you think KTM is so special and so exceptional in terms of performance. The dragster comparison went way over the top. KTM's ads have obviously worked well.
And that there is no significant camshaft problem on 790/890 engines. The problem is colossal. It affects everyone. Even if the problem hasn't been found on your own bike yet, the resale value has plummeted. And not many dealers want to take it in trade at all.
KTM has dealt with complaints in the same way as, for example, Volkswagen. Denying and leaving customers in trouble. That was and is a big mistake.
And now bankruptcy is imminent. If that happens, I hope you still get the parts and services you need, from someone.
OK Good video BUT the usual BUT. I can except (until there is more data in) that the 'failure' rate is somewhere in the 0.5% area and that will probably climb. So, in my case owning a 890 based HUSKY 901 2022 means I may not run into a problem. But I'm scared. Others have already experienced cam issues which means the problem pre-2021 hasn't been solved. BUT my biggest issues is RESALE. The brand/s are tarnished. Dealers are dumping stock. Owners can't sell or get a trade-in. I want out. But I'm not prepared to rip up 50% of my capital outlay in three months and 3000 kilometres. So I'm forced to keep (I do love riding it) and my other big BUT is the possibility of a significant investment may be off the road waiting for approval, parts and then work to be completed. It will be over-serviced, not see dirt and I will have my fingers crossed.
Since when are motorcycles considered investments? I don’t understand the resale mindset. To me that means you are just trying out the bike. If you bought it, ride it. After all that’s why you got it!
If it breaks fix it. If you take care of it chances are pretty damn high the bike will take care of you!
Man Ktm has been unreliable since the ‘70s….nice bikes , innovative but always been unreliable
The only bikes ive seen break down and strand people are ktm bikes. They are probably the most innovative company but constantly updating tech has a price.
I've definitely seen bikes from all manufactures break down on the trial. But if KTM's are the only ones you've ever seen break down, I can understand your dislike for the brand.
@upshiftingadventures I wouldn't even say I dislike them I am just wary of purchasing one as I don't have thousands laying around to fix one if it has a major issue. That said, for me the new KTM 390 adv R is very enticing.
well I have 2024 701 Husky and on 1200km my shaft seal started to leak. and my dealer refses to cover it under a warranty. the thing is, that 0.5% is an official number. in reality, it's way-way-way more higher! and it is sad, because KTM is a great bike. But unfortunately I wont buy anything from them anymore.
I truly believe if you do maintenance on your bikes they will last. I have a 22 890 R 14k miles and zero issues. Take care of your bikes and they will take care of you.
Exactly. Common sense.
From what I can tell you are a ktm guy and you seem to be very comfortable money wise.. it makes sense you support the brand cause you don't really care about em breaking here and there, however I do not agree on everything because, ktm was making good of road and dirt bikes but when they started making road bikes you just can't make so unreliable motorcycles that they will be putting miles and miles, also the average Jo doesn't know what a ktm is and that is not a daily rider... they should have think about that many years ago.. from a first hand experience I can tell you that a few years back they didn't even had parts to send on 7 years old motorcycles.. that's trash and they go bankrupt these days cause people finally know their true colors. They should have stayed in the enduro world wich they were really good!
Las motos KTM son maquinas de alto rendimiento que requieren un buen mantenimiento, para tener una motocicleta KTM es importante que te guste la mecánica y disfrutar haciendo el mantenimiento de estas preciosas y divertidas maquinas. Definitivamente estas motos no estan hechas para el gran público, mucha gente compra KTM y no sabe realmente lo que está comprando...despues vienen los lloros y las criticas injustas.
Thank you, that’s what I’ve been saying. It should be understood that if you but one of the bikes, you need to know what your doing. Muchos gracias por tu comentario
a sensor failed, change wear parts, regular service? ok, but mechanical failures like cheese cams is on a whole other level of bs, cope much? perhaps read a bit about sunk cost phalacy
The cams are indeed an issue but such a small part of the overall reliability of KTM. The biggest problem KTM has is with their reputation, and they haven't helped themselves for sure, but most all of the KTM line of bikes have been just fine. I think we will eventually get to the bottom of the camshaft issue in the 790/890 motors and move on from there.
When god invented kTm-I love kTm😁.
people are like sheep , get a few people giving a brand shit & next thing its like a trend .
jealousy is usually the cause of it , a brand has all the bells & whistles or performance over what they have & next thing that brand gets attacked
my two stroke has over 300 hours & i change the air filter once a year if its lucky & i ride in sand - still going 🤷♂️
Ktm
Bought a 1290 sas 2023 , never going to buy KTM ever again, abs pump issue causing panic brake randomly, started to have coolant lost 250ml in 4 days and counting , paint peeling everywhere on the clutch bracket and reservoir , battery drain issue , between 50-80km the steering will wobble uncontrollably , if you let go and will also go right instead of straight. There was also a chemical / electrical smell when starting in the garage , the wireless key even in the bike compartment kept being out of range . KTM dealer said everything was "normal" . The adaptive cruise control took them a month to fix . I traded it and never looking back , lost thousands but that was better then keeping it. Dangerous bike. Believe everything you see in forums about KTM , it’s not exaggerated. Extremely unreliable!
its not my role to agree or disagree with you but i do see your points with one false statement...those bikes with camshaft problem in your info are the ones that KTM "accepted" the claim. there are so many more not accpeted by the dealer. i have 1 out of 6 riding buddies with this problem and he is still arguing with the dealer.
I have seen people abusing/destroing bikes like i never seen.
Wen you have so many ktm bikes off corse more probaly too talk bad off the brand.
I aware the camshaft prblems in the paralell twins and they didnt act in the right way, maybe because fhe finacial problems.
Im not a crazy abaut any brand, i have 2 hondas and a husqvarna and im very hapy, not prefering any brand.
Sory for my english.
What a fanboy
He's right though. If you're scared to turn a wrench, stick with Japanese, Honda, Yamaha etc. I'll take a riding experience that's more exhilarating than a de-tuned engine in lue of extra reliability. An example would be the Tenere vs the 790 Adventure. 72 HP vs 105 HP. Yes, I know the Tenere is at a 90cc disadvantage. Here's some easy math: Displacement per HP 9.72cc per 1 HP for the Tenere and 7.5cc per HP for the 790 Adv. The 790 is a higher performance machine by design and will require more maintenance. Think of it this way, an equivalent light that burns brighter/hotter will quit before the dimmer, lower powered light. That is the trade-off...keep in mind, I own nothing produced by KTM or Pierre mobility. Not a fanboy.
@jesses1589 not afraid at all, coming from two ktms and they made me learn how to turn wrenches I do always listen to people's opinions and I understand ktms very well but fan boys like you guys are just cringe