950 Supermoto Chronicles

The new Ducati tanks are sealed on the inside....

the Ethanol screws up our carbs and injectors, but non-ethanol gas causes the tank decals to bubble....

speaking of tank lining...what do you think about lining our tanks with POR-15?

http://www.por15.com/

Anybody tried the Keihin Carb kit?

http://www.ktmtwins.com/ktm-950-990...e-950-super-enduro-keihin-flat-slide-carb-kit

NM. I heard back from POR-15. They confirmed their products do not work with plastic.

Yep, kinda a headache IMO. Still not right, a real PITA at race pace. Off road I'm not going to get run over by a semi. On the SM, well, you know where you ride it and how.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=769794

Better to try this;

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=783573

That is actually on a SMR950. Working great.

Go to Ducati.net..should be easy to find. There was a class action suit over the expansion, Ducati finally relented and bought most people a new tank and had the interior lined with some product..should be easy to find.

I've got to ask you guys. I just bought a 950 SM. It's a really fun bike to ride. But I'm seeing a lot of threads about running on 1 cylinder, injector issues, carb issues, just all kinds of stuff. Actually, how reliable are these bikes? I've been riding a Ducati for the past 4 years, and over the years, I've owned just about everything. The Ducati surprised me, it's been absolutely reliable.

How is the reliability of the KTM twins?

Mine is extremely reliable..just don't let the gas get over a month old w/o treating it...if you do, just put some treatment or octane booster in it and it clears itself out in a few minutes.....just don't let old gas sit in it for a year or so....

Yes, search the thread. No cold start, need warm mornings otherwise... add snap and Power!

+1

I have 39,000 miles on mine, owned since new. all issues that I have encountered were known as things that would crop up and are well documented in this thread and the Orange Crush HOW.

I would say that the bike has been very reliable considering that it is a race bred beast. This bike continues to keep me happy, though I know I have had to spend more time and money than I have for past bikes owned. However, the feeling I get when riding it has been unmatched by anything else I have owned or tried to date.

First off, the 950's are carbed, so no injection/mapping issues.
Fuel pump, the stockers seem to last anywhere form 12,000 - 20,000 miles. I just installed my 3rd.
Water pump varies, but they have been known to fail as early as 15,000 miles or so or last much longer - 1 total rebuild to date.
Tank - I had a leaky tank replaced under warranty
Failed sight tube on oil tank - they have issued an upgraded piece. I would get one. This is not a fun one at all to deal with especially on a trip. You can temp fix it with sealing off both ends with bolts until you can get a replacement tube or like some have done eliminate it all together and fashioning a dipstick like the ADV has on its filler cap.
The only real running issue I had was recently when my carbs had gotten really out of sync. That has been fixed.
Replaced starter torque limiter with upgraded case and gear set. No more clackety clack on start up. that did fail when I was luckily close t home but was an easy fix.

Ride it. Fix it. Repeat.

http://ktm950.info will tell you all you need to know with helpful year by year breakdowns of what models are affected by what issues.

the ethanol also reacts with metal in the float bowl etc so i have had better luck running it dry via the fuel pump fuse if it wont be in use for a week or more

can't you shut the gas off at the bottom of the tank (both sides) and run the motor until the carbs dry out?

yes but i was thinking not so good to run fuel pump without fuel so i pull the fuse ride a block as the fuel is used then coast it into the garage

+1

I believe the fuel flow cools the pump.

Wouldn't it be simpler to install a switch? Pulling the fuse and re-installing it often will weaken the spring in the contacts and you will eventually have a high resistance short.

Replaced my oil tank sight tube today. The first one started leaking at about 20K+ miles. The first replacement (looked same as original) made it about the same mileage (pushing 50K on the bike now). The one I just bought a couple weeks ago has clear tubing where the others were somewhat opaque. I hope this is the new/improved tubing.

FWIW, the tube had two vertical splits in it: one on each fitting where the tube is stretched over the barbs. What was interesting was that they were perfectly in line, so I'm betting it was the side next to the tank because it gets hottest there.

It was a 10 minute operation with no loss of oil. A minor price to pay for the fun of riding the bike. Heading to WV/VA tomorrow for three days of twisty goodness. Staying at the Blackwater Falls State Park with a bunch of (mostly) Triumph riders for the annual "Euro Rider Rendezvous" gathering.

Garry

What's the part number on that tube?

Thx
Jason

The number on the parts bag is 61038084100

"OIL RISING PIPE CPL"

Garry