Funny, I rode my bike to work this week and had a carburetor dumping fuel (stuck float needle). 914Driver just posted that he was going to ride his R90 to work and it was dumping fuel. It must be the season for it. Glad it's all back together and running right.
In reply to AAZCD (Forum Supporter) :
Yup, just in time to ride here. Still getting some funky weather but it should be pretty nice most of the time. I spent a decent amount of time working on the bike this winter, nice to finally get it all done.
Let's trail ride! Today was the epitome of why dual sports are awesome. I rode a hour on super slab to meet a friend in Boulder. Then we rode up the canyons and hit Switzerland Trail, which isn't overly technical but definitely isn't a fire road either. Trail has lots of whoops, dips, embedded rock, loose softball sized rocks, roots, etc.
The 640 did great! I was initially a bit nervous as I haven't ridden dirt in 5+ years but after the first 1/4 mile I realized how awesome the 640 is and I totally relaxed. The suspension on the bike is insanely capable with 13" of front travel and something like 9-10" of rear travel. I while I picked my line, honestly I really didn't need to, the bike went up over everything without complaint.
Ergonomics are good, I wouldn't mind having the bars slightly higher. For this trail I was stuck between gears, 1st was fine but I would've liked to have gone a bit faster but 2nd was a bit too tall. Going from the 16T front sprocket to the 15T would solve this but make the 2 hour slab ride miserable. So I just ran it in 1st and did fine.
My friend on his Yamaha T700 was in 2nd or 3rd but he also has a 6 speed transmission vs my 5 speed. He was very envious of my suspension tho, lol!
Bike ran great, had a fun time!
Rode the bike to the base this past Saturday and noticed that my LED low beam bulb wasn't working. Now that it's hot I've also noticed that the bike will start without the choke with the exception of the first cold start of the day. Hmm, I may have to swap out to a smaller pilot jet but I'll try leaning it out with the fuel screw first...
Rode home with the high beam on, then started playing with the fuel screw. I noticed that the idle quality doesn't change all that much if I close the fuel screw down. I've got it set more lean then before but I really think I need to pull the carb and swap out pilot jets and I really don't feel like pulling this carb again.
In other news I pulled off the mask to take a look at the led headlight bulb. Pulled it out of the housing and confirmed it works. Then went to stick it back in and now it didn't work and neither did the high beam. Hmmm. Pull the seat, yep, fuse is blown. Check out the wiring on the led bulb and the manufacturer didn't have anything over the ground wire hook up and I hadn't thought about wrapping it. Oops. Wrapped that in electrical tape, replaced the fuse, confirmed the bulbs worked and put it all back together.
Well I always thought the bike looked a bit plain, especially since the optional rally tank it has is just orange with no decals on it like stock.
So I decided to do something about it. I'd run these cool graphics on my old KTM 990 and I approached the company that made them about putting them on a 640 template. Guy seemed interested, then ghosted me. So I approached another company and they were down. Sent a few revisions back and forth via email, I approved them and a week or so later they asked me for my address. A day or so later I got a DHL tracking number and 3 days later I had a package from Italy!
My friend who does vinyl professionally came over this morning and installed them for me. Then we went out to lunch/beers and bench raced for awhile. It turned out AWESOME!
Covered up some of the scrapes the previous owner put on it too.
So I accepted a deposit on Big Orange last night. Buyer should coming this evening after work with the rest of the cash and taking him away.
Why'd I do that? Don't I love Big Orange? Well, yes, yes I do. However I'd been looking for a KTM 690 that has been "adventurized". KTM never made a 690 Adventure, despite having all the parts necessary in their parts bin. So the aftermarket has stepped in with several fairing and large fuel tank options. They're, um, all very expensive! However, if you buy one that's already built you end up basically getting all the mods for free and only paying for the bike.
So when a completely setup up 690 showed up 30 minutes from my house I decided to go check it out. It's a 2017, 1 owner, very well setup, basically he did what I would've done. Safari tank, Yenkro fairing, LED headlight, Konflict suspension, Scotts steering dampener, on and on and on. Oh yeah, he's ridden it 1350 miles. Yes, this bike has 1350 miles on it, so it's basically brand new. It's lighter than Big Orange and makes 15-20 hp more, which is VERY obvious. Fuel injected, switchable ABS, both of which are things I really wanted.
So I rode it and it's a total riot! I was literally laughing in my helmet as I rode it. Ok, gotta have it. Bikes are supposed to be fun and this thing is a gas! So I gave the seller a deposit and listed Big Orange. Local guy saw my ad on CycleTrader and came and looked at it with his two adult sons last night. They own 450's and a 950 Adventure and are the right family for Big Orange, he's going to be in good hands.
Here's a pic of my new bike, which desperately needs graphics. I've reached out to the company that did the graphics on Big Orange, hopefully they have a template for the Safari Tank and can make me a new set of graphics to fit.
Well, the buyer came by last night, gave me a wad of cash and then rode Big Orange off. I used the same Bill of Sale from my first 640, which I happened to sell almost exactly 5 years ago and the VIN numbers were only 11 apart!
You can see the guys Defender 90 in the background as he rides away
I've lined up my ride to get the 690 Friday am and have swapped over my insurance from the 640 to the 690. Once I get home I may check the DMV website to see what the wait times are. They're still doing appointments here (which I like) but take walk ins too, but I don't like waiting 60-90 minutes if I don't have to...
That was short lived, but the new bike looks great in white. Plus carbs are a pain given the ethanol we get at the pump.
In reply to Slippery :
I'd like to get some graphics on the tank, just too much white for me. Fuel injection is really nice for me since I can change thousands of feet in elevation in an afternoon's ride. ABS was also something I wanted for street riding.
The fact that it has close to 80 hp with the intake and pipe doesn't hurt either, I figure that's at least 20 hp more than Big Orange, without any weight penalty...
Sad to see big orange go. The efi is gonna be a huge upgrade along with weight loss.
In reply to Professor_Brap (Forum Supporter) :
Yeah, I hope I don't regret this. The last time I sold my 640 I really regretted it. I got a 990 that was just demon spawn, had to constantly work on it. As long as this 690 is fairly reliable I think it'll be an upgrade to Big Orange in almost every way except simplicity. Double edged sword, I want the EFI and ABS for what they can do but they do add complication to the bike
In reply to docwyte :
I haven't first hand seen a motorcycle with efi be troublesome, but I do love my bikes with carbs. Abs is not my cup of tea but understand the appeal.
In reply to Professor_Brap (Forum Supporter) :
KTM went EFI in 2007 and they really hadn't figured it out yet. The throttle was super snatchy feeling and their fuel pumps aren't all that reliable.
They solved the snatchy feeling by 2011-12 or so, but apparently the 690's still have fuel pump issues. I plan on buying a pump made by Quantum for $90 now, just to have it kicking around my garage. That way I won't need it!
Have you had any luck with getting an upgrade for the tail/brake light assembly with wiring harness? Mine had has gotten hot from a high resistance connection so I need to buy a replacement harness. I figured if I have to do that I would try to find a LED set up for the factory rear fender.
Thanks,
Dave
In reply to bluespeedtrip :
For the 640 or the 690? I upgraded to the euro led tail light setup from Sicass Racing on the 690. Can't help on the 640, I left all that stock. Parts for the 640's are getting hard to find, particularly aftermarket farkles
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