A New Chapter -KTM 690 Set Up

[Knuck]

Fuel? Giant Loop fuel bladder. Pricey, but not walking out has a price. I run the 3 Gallon combined with my IMS 18L tank has me close to 30L if required.

[AJRJ]

It was a great day to get out yesterday, although the ride was shorter than I hoped. The two track around my place is slick, with black loam and ice just below the surface. Not to mention some big puddles...

[AJRJ]

Still sorting out all the small details that aren't necessarily a priority, but make the ride easier in some small way. This time it's a set of fork bleeders (quality Motion Pro ones), and some small damping adjustment knobs for the forks, because well, they're orange

I plan for some suspension stuff as the list of "wants" slowly gets checked off, but that's big $$, so may be a winter project.

[AJRJ]

I've really been enjoying this bike, and the places I'm seeing are all new (to me) and fantastic. I have been playing around with gearing a bit, as these bike have a close ratio transmission, and my gearing for technical riding has me reaching for 7th gear a lot on the road. I've been running 15/50, with 15/45 being stock. Most guys either drop a tooth from the front for 14/45, which uses the stock chain, or go 15/48, which is a good all round gear. I find these bikes are no fun to ride on the freeway anyways, and droning around Alberta on pavement at 120 km/h isn't why I bought this bike, there's way better machines for that.

When I upgraded the drive chain and sprockets, I picked up a 16 tooth front. Time to put it on. The 16/50 ratio will have me slightly lower than stock, and it's been working out well so far. Most of the riding this time of year is roads that have been plowed, as the trails are still full of snow.

The install is easy, took all of 10 minutes. loosen axle nut and slack the adjusters.

Remove nut and pull the sprocket off.

Installation is the reverse. I would add that there were two reasons I trimmed the sprocket cover. I don't like how the closed covers trap mud, and prefer the open "dirt bike" style. The second obviously is that it allows these changes without removing the guard. I don't ride my bike in runners, so getting the laces chewed off is not a concern.

[dirtyboy]

It's been interesting watching your progression and customization of the big machine.

[AJRJ]

Thanks DB for the encouragement. I hope that people get something out of this. It's always possible to make a great bike better through a few mods, and I believe that set up is EVERYTHING. The best bike with bad set up is the worst, and visa versa...

The rides on this bike are better and better and the new range is proving both reliable and useful. The only issue so far is the fuel line clearance on the left tank wasn't sufficient with the KTM Powerparts Rad brace. Nothing a rotary file won't fix.

The piece, thanks Cycle Works Calgary:

With a small groove filed in, it had the clearance it needs.

More to follow...

[AJRJ]

One thing 690 & 701 owners should know is that flipping the tank up for easy access to the fuel pump is the ticket to quick services.

One of the only down sides to this is that the stock lower connection is two bolts into a hollow threaded sleeve. While this in itself is not a huge deal, there are ways to make it easier. As a plus, the lower connection can get much stronger as well. Enter the Rally Raid Lower Tank Bolt kit:

This kit replaces the previous set up with a new, larger OD sleeve and a socket head (allen key) bolt and nut. Easily removed every time, as it can be help with out spinning. As well, the larger sleeve fits much tighter in the tank poly bushings which is great. Most problems with tank bolt breakage seem to be related to play in the bushings. As I already have the upper bushings replaced and with the Rally Raid Upper Tank Bolt kit already installed, I should be good to go from here on out.

[AJRJ]

Been a long time since I posted here. I see this thread gets a ton of views, but not a lot of comments

I still ride this bike and still very much like the 690 platform. I'll try to catch up on where I've gone since we left off. Basic bike with the RR tanks is still unchanged.

I upgraded the shock with a tractive pre load adjuster. I do have mixed feelings about this. I had to change the shock spring, as most aftermarket springs are too long and will not give the correct static sag number. I could not get the rate I wanted in the length I wanted, and the supplier just shipped the next heaviest spring. This has me running the pre load adjuster at it's lowest setting, and never really feeling the need to bump it up. It would almost certainly work better on the 2010 and earlier bikes with the 275mm rear shock, although (I hate to say) those are getting harder to find.

In cooperation with the preload adjuster, I had the shock re-valved for much more damping, particularly on the rebound circuit. This mod was worth every penny, and makes the bike much more stable and safer to ride. I had this done at FRS by one of the most knowledgeable KTM suspension people here in Southern Alberta.

I'll update here again with some other changes