950 Supermoto Chronicles

Try Steel Bed. That's the stuff bench rest shooters use to glue actions into stocks.

This is true but I've already got two KTMs

I rode both the Adv and the R at the KTM rally. Uuuhm, yea, a totally refined, KTM engineered and factory built version of Big Bertha? Never thought I'd see the day!!

Standard 1190 Adv for me! The slipper clutch, FI and ABS are super smooth! The traction control was incredible... 6000rpm clutch dump at a rolling 15mph gave even power ramp up from no power to 150hp and the rear wheel didnt even chirp. The 60mph 2nd gear idle motor clutch dump was also as smooth, with a tiny chirp from the rear tire and then easy engine braking. Can I say, Bertha is gonna be a bar hopper If I ever get my hands on one of those 1190s!

Guys,

I just landed a Akra Evo Ti full exhaust system, header and slip-ons. Really, really nice stuff and the weight difference is awesome. I rode into to work today, it gets moving so much more effortlessly and great sound with the plugs out.

What I did notice was the vibration is much more. Cruising in 3rd shakes the mirrors much more where things are blurry. I am wondering if anyone has experienced this before.

How tight should the exhaust header bolts be? I am thinking I have tightened too much? Or maybe now that its breathing better and louder there is more vibration? Carbs out of sync more noticeable perhaps?

Its not that bad but enough to pose the question to the inmates.

What do y'all think?

Thanks...Kent

I noticed the bike vibrating differently just from switching between slip on systems. I don't think torque specs from the header bolts would contribute unless they were way too loose, haha. I would imagine you need to adjust your carb sync, IMS screws, and jetting (bigger mains) when upgrading to a full exhaust system to balance the changes you made. Your jetting settings are probably leaner now than before.

^^ this.

Jet it correctly to start with...

JB weld putty stick is my standard vote for that kind of re-attachment.

Thanks Mike and Justin. The Steel Bed sounds like some really good stuff and obviously it can handle shock. The $50 price seemed a bit steep for the little that I would need. The JB Weld steel sticks seem to share some of the same qualities for way less money. I checked with my brother who is an aircraft mechanic at United and works with carbon fiber and aluminum regularly. He asked the senior engineer about it who recommended Hysol E40-FL by Loctite. This stuff has the added benefit of remaining a bit flexible as well as handling shocks and stress. If you think about it, under normal road riding, the headlight bracket is under a good load. It's like holding a dinner plate out your car window at 75mph (or faster...). Anyway, I ordered this stuff off Amazon and I'll let you know how it holds up. If the weather is good this weekend, I may need to tape my light back onto the fork tubes and go riding. Looked ugly, but got the job done!

I have one person ready to go on a set of these. A couple of you here had expressed interest as well. If any of you are in it lowers the cost for everyone. If I can get 2 more people in on this I can do $130 for the set with no anodize, $160 with black anodize and $6 for a flat rate box.

These should fit any ktm with 48mm forks (sm, smr, adv, all the dirt bikes 450 530 etc). Need to know soon.

Doh! I wish I had seen this sooner. A good buddy of mine let me know that if you call Loctite's customer service, they will often send you a free product sample. They also have good technical experts that can help you pick out the right product for the application. While the stuff isn't cheap, it is amazing what they can do!

That's good to know about Loctite's customer service - thanks!

We also have an inmate who works for LocTite and could have made a recommendation.

Oil change last week, just keep rolling along. Couple of tag shots from today.

I guess it's my own fault for working too much and not riding enough lately. I left my new to me SM alone in the garage for 2 weeks and returned to find a dead battery. I'm not too surprised since it seems like it is the original battery that came with the bike from 2006 just based on the wear/ dirt on it.


I know that some guys are running the shorai's and I have used them on other bikes but I have read about some long term issues with them on 950's.

Since the Yuasa lasted in the bike since 2006 I decided to get another one to replace it.

Installing it tonight but this Nor'easter means that I'm not going to get to go for a ride for a couple days.

Plus I should have a set of those fork air bleeder valves arriving any day now. How many of you guys are using the bleeders, or are you just getting a screw driver out before and after rides?

When I got my first KTM (1996 Duke) I'd heard and read that KTMs were hard on fork seals (that is, they blew them a lot) for some reason. So I installed them on that bike and all subsequent ones I owned. Fwiw, I have over 120,000 miles on the 4 9x0's I own/owned and have never had a fork seal issue. They're cheap insurance that's easy to use.

That is my thinking too. It's kind of silly that WP or KTM doesn't include them especially since they know it is a problem, but i guess it's another opportunity for us to add bling and keep the economy going.

Keep throwing money.

I've recently noticed that my SMR doesn't want to pull WOT in 5th or 6th gears and seems generally down on power. It will rev out OK (not strong) in the lower gears. The best example would be WOT trying to pass several cars on a long uphill. The bike feels like it is loading up and choking. As soon as I hit the main jets (I think), I can feel a different vibration from the engine. If I back off the throttle a tiny bit and ease the RPMs up, it doesn't load up.

My suspicion is that the X-bike jetting is too rich on mains, so I'm going to try 170(R)/165(F) instead of the 175/170 that's in there now. I think I read that the X-bike jetting specs were developed on bikes with full exhaust systems and I only have the LV slip-ons. Air cleaner was just cleaned before my trip last weekend and it didn't make any big difference.

So while I have my carbs off, anything else I should be looking for? Are there any critical diaphragms in there that tend to get old with age and might be leaking or something? I'm going to check my fuel mix screw (not that it affects WOT) and float height.

Thoughts?

Have any of you guys used the G2 Throttle cam system?

http://www.advmachines.com/product_p/g2cam_kit.htm

It seems like a nice way to mellow the throttle out a little bit at the initial opening. I ride around the city a lot and at those small openings it is just a little jerky/sudden in traffic.

Or should I just learn to be a better/ less ham-fisted rider?

Originally Posted by Zwoehr
I think we should report any problems. From what I've read here and on other forums there are all kinds of problems with these tanks. Mine won't bolt on the frame anymore had a leak at an insert and is all wavy. Lot's of people have leaks at the low fuel sensor, many have leaks at the inserts and it seems like all the tanks are hard to refit after they've been removed. The tanks are nylon which is pretty unstable and absorbs water, but it that there were manufacturing defects that are just now making themselves apparent.

Ducati has been replacing PA tanks with some of the same issues. I think the KTM tanks and the Ducati tanks were manufactured by Acerbis

So, any more news on this?

I ask because a new post has been started on the UK KTM site where someone else has a problem.

I'm really curious as to why some people have an issue, but the vast majority don't. One guy on the site above is on his third tank, I'm wondering if it's maybe fuel related? It's got to be something environmentaly that is affecting him, to have repeat failures, 'cos no-one is that unlucky, are they?

Installed my bleeders as the first mod to the bike when I got it. I think that they are a requirement for any long travel fork, and why they are not a factory fit is beyond me. Same for a lot of off road bikes though, it's not a KTM thing.

it does mean that the toolkit preload spanner no longer fits mind... Make sure you have an open ended spanner if you want to tweak while out riding. (When else would you do it??)