Generator cover

Rolled into a fuel stop today and thought I heard/felt a crunchy/scraping sound. After gassing up I checked everything over and couldn't find anything amiss. About 4 blocks later while sitting at a stop light I heard it again coming from the motor. I pulled to the side and while the bike was idling could hear crunchy noises coming from the left side. Put my hand on the generator cover and it felt like bad things were happening inside! I immediately knew what was probably going on in there.

So anyway, got the bike at home in the garage now and I'm trying to get the generator cover off to see the damage. I have removed the vent tube and all of the bolts around the perimeter. The only bolt I didn't remove is the one for the idler gear. I'm thinking the cover should come right off now but no go. It will rock back and forth and show as much as a 1mm gap on one side or the other but that's it. I've used the 14mm allen to turn the motor thinking that loose bolts etc may have the stator jammed in the flywheel but it turns smoothly. Everything that I've read here and in the manual suggests that you simply remove the bolts on the cover and pop it off.

What am I missing?

That's it, just remove the bolts . You may have some parts in a jam so to say , if all the bolts are off ,you should be able to remove with ease .

That baffled me too, at first.
What the heck is going on??!?!
There's a honkin' BIG magnet inside that cover, and that's why it doesn't pull off easily. Serious, BIG, honkin', STRONG magnet. Which is why you can "slide" it a little bit, and nudge it around, but it won't come off.
But it will.
Trust me.
It will.
Be strong!

(But, of course, DO be sure every last screw is removed from the perimeter. That's important, too.)

No doubt there's some bad shit going on under there. If the magnet is that strong there should be a puller for it! Seriously, at 250 lbs I'm no lightweight and if that's just a magnet holding it on maybe it's time to check in at the old folks home. Sounds like I'll just have to keep fiddling with it and see if it works loose. I'll keep you posted.

I just had mine off a couple days ago... the magnet isn't that strong. After wiggleing it loose from the dowel pins, you can pull it off with one hand.

I'd give the starter button a quick nudge and then try the cover again. At this point you pretty much can't do much more damage than has already been done.

I was finally able to get back to this last night and with the use of a wood dowel in the vent connection to make it easier to keep some constant pressure on the cover while at the same time turning the engine with the 14mm allen wrench I was able to get the cover off. I found what I fully expected to find:


Stator is not beat up too bad but still a worthless lump of copper


So the good news, I guess, is that there is next to no debris strewn around. Now the question is what parts do I need to replace. Obviously the stator and the bolts. Not entirely sure about the flywheel. All the little dings from the bolts bouncing around won't hurt anything but I'm not so sure about the inlaid strip at the back of the inside of the flywheel. What is it and what is it there for? Balancing? Vibration damping? Can anyone here shed some light on it?


One thing I won't have to buy is a new gasket - I have one hanging on the wall that I ordered with the intention of checking these bolts this spring. Just hadn't gotten a round to it...

For the record it's a 2004 S model with 24k miles on the clock. This is the first trouble it's given me so I sure can't complain.

I have an '04 flywheel. It is the early one without the keyway, if that is what yours is.

In fact I probably have most of what you need.

Shit there goes another one.... Was there some weird weather phenomenon this winter that is causing this? I know it's a known issue but seems like a rash of them lately.

This one doesn't look as bad as some. Hope the OP gets off easy.

Mine is coming apart as soon as the parts get here so I can check it.

I think the more common problem is the bolts backing out and shredding the stator. Can't remember seeing one with all the bolts sheared off, but maybe I haven't been paying attention?

Irv: that flywheel's gotta go, I'm afraid. I think you'd stand a high chance of having one of the magnets below the sheet metal on the inside of the flywheel come loose and shred your nice new stator.

First I'll have to get the puller bolts and get the flywheel off. If it's without the keyway I'll be in touch. Thanks!

I'd have a hard time putting that one back on. Even if it didn't cause a problem I'd always know it was in there and be sweating it. Better to have peace of mind even if it's expensive.

I am curious as to its purpose though.

Removed the rotor bolt and can see that mine does have the keyway. What other parts do you have?

Look at my thread on this. Trust me, it could be way worse. Cheapcycleparts for the parts,I've done the research. Pm if you need info on the fix.

Ok, so now I have another question. Did the '04's not have the torque limiter that I keep reading about installed in them?

Mine is just one solid piece




From time to time I have heard the snapping sound when starting that I assumed was the torque limiter doing its thing. In fact on the fateful day it did it three times when I first started it and I remember thinking to myself that I better check into the updated version soon. Was the sound I was hearing really the flywheel bolt snapping?

No torque limiter.



PM sent on the other stuff.

Should I consider updating with torque limiter or is it even applicable to the '04's? What is the torque limiter intended to protect in the motor? And what is the nasty snap sound I've been hearing on startup if not the torque limiter?

Full of questions this morning...

FWIW, I know one guy (who worked for the dealer) who fixed (backdated?) his torque limiter by replacing it with the early setup, rather than with the updated model.

A guess on the sound: Those bolts hold the freewheel. They would have been loose for a while before breaking, and might have allowed some slack, to be taken up when the starter engaged the freewheel.

Think I've got the same problem. The stator bolts backed out, shredded into peices and took parts of the starter and flywheel with it. At least that's what I've been told. It's gonna cost about 1200bucks to fix, unfortunatley I'm not that mechanically inclined so I've got to pay the mechanic. Thought about selling the bike before I comitted to fixing it. Hope it's worth it.

Holy crap.
$300 - MAX - for a new alternator, less than $20 for your LocTite or equivalent.
You got the interweb, ya got OC, buy a couple of wrenches and the satisfaction comes free.
NOBODY was a born mechanic... we all learned somewhere, and we all learned by doing.
I actually learned here...on Orange Crush. My trials and travails are documented on this website.


Face your fear... live your dream.

We should all have our VIN's checked by your dealer- you can call one & we are required to provide you with any & all motorcycle history details & any outstanding recalls or technical bulletins for your bike.

All we need are the last 6 digits of your VIN to check the bike out. Here's the TB0410 that covers your bike

Many long-time owners have been riding through town & visit the shop; when I check their VIN's there are often open bulletins for their bikes. They thought everything had been taken care of until I did a check on the bike.

KTM dealers are also to enter service history when they work on a bike so the repairs/updates can be seen by any dealer (and KTM) anywhere. When you get your bike serviced (valve adjustment, technical bulletin work) make sure to ask the dealer if they updated the motorcycle's service history- which is not the same as a warranty claim process, if applicable

Hate to hear of your problem, I guess you're doubly kicking your own ass now for not replacing those bolts...