New and improved KTM690 WUNDERFEST

[FriedDuck]

Originally Posted by rickypanecatyl

Parachute math question:
2 guys jump out of an airplane. 1 guy has a quality chute that deploys 99.9% with no back up. The other guy has a cheaper chute that only opens correctly 80% of the time BUT he has 2 back ups for a total of 3. Whose got the better odds for survival?

So...20% chance of failure of each means .20 x .20 x .20 = 0.008, or .8% chance that all 3 fail. So the guy with the chute that only fails .1% of the time has a better chance of living to argue with his dealer

Whaddo I win?

BTW I have about 12k miles on mine with no issues. Single track, jumps within reason, sport-commuting and FS roads. Most fun ever!

[beaney]

Originally Posted by Uller

I really like the look of this however, wonder how you would protect the headlights from rock damage with them sticking out past the fairing like that?

Thats the proto type, the screen will be redesigned to have a perspex cover over the lights. Until they get the first evo 2 tanks the fairing design is not set in stone and will change.

[bobzilla]

Somebody had a rectifier failure on here that they said at first seemed like a pump failure. Could you please tell me the symtoms
Bike dies when running at speed but switching the kill switch off and on will start the bike again WTF is it now?

[DirtJack]

Originally Posted by Garp

I'm no expert, but if the clutch switch is disabled, the bike thinks the clutch is pulled in, hence the fact it will start in gear. So, when the bike is on the over-run, it thinks the clutch is pulled and will continue to provide fuel to keep the engine running, not cut the fuel as you say.

I'm not saying the dealer was right to do what they did, but i can see some logic to it.

I may be totally wrong and I would be inclined to agree with your analysis, but I think the situation is more complex than we imagine. The ECU uses an analog to digital converter to convert the various sensor inputs to a digital value. In the case of switch inputs, the converted input is compared against a threshold value to determine the state of the switch. This means that most switches need to have a resistance in series with the switch. We don't know how the dealer rigged the switch bypass or what the threshold value is or what the ECU software does when the sensor value is on the the unexpected side of the threshold. The behavior described seemed to agree with the analysis that the problem was caused by the clutch switch bypass.

Seth observed performance degradation when he had to bypass his clutch switch in a rally. His bike was likely trying to run off the idle map.

[Seth S]

Originally Posted by DirtJack

Seth observed performance degradation when he had to bypass his clutch switch in a rally. His bike was likely trying to run off the idle map.

We simply cut the wires and spliced them together because I had bought a cheaper aftermarket spare clutch lever...my stock one has the end broken off and I couldn't pass tech. So we rigged the clutch switch. When I ran the 26km prologue on the first day of the event the bike ran poorly, stalled a lot more than normal, and acclerated like crap. I was in contact with various forum members like Beany and Mudguts and we surmised that the clutch switch was to blame. i reinstalled my stock clutch lever and we reconnected the switch and the bike was back to normal. I do not know how the switch reacts when the Vortex computer is used.

When I compared the stock lever to the aftermarket lever we noticed that the "bump" on the top of the lever which hits the clutch switch was not on the aftermarket one...or was significantly smaller.

[Seth S]

Originally Posted by bobzilla

Somebody had a rectifier failure on here that they said at first seemed like a pump failure. Could you please tell me the symtoms
Bike dies when running at speed but switching the kill switch off and on will start the bike again WTF is it now?

are you running the CA pump now Bob? Not sure about the rectifier...but there have been problems with the master/starter relay which can cause the problems you describe. There have also been some issues with the ignition switch that can cause a similar issue.

[Albie]

Originally Posted by nippybit

bingo
thats why I think Ill build a xr 600 with good legs. I typically ride where its a two day walk to the truck and you dont see too many other humans[/QUOTE from Bobzilla]

Ricky, good points about the bike's problems. I am lucky so far as the bike has not left me 1,000 km's from Timbuktu. I did or had done every known fix up front so that I can hopefully have a dependable 690 but I do not ride outback and as hard as you, Bob, and others do. Albie would say my bike is lightly used. Probably right. Bob you are right about the known dependability of most Jap bikes. If Honda, Suzuki, or Kawasaki would make a thoroughly new and lightweight big bore-dual sport I would sell my 690 and maybe even buy the first year of their new model(s).

I have come to this conclusion after an overwhelming amount of evidence presented here on the 690's problems. I never said I was smart! It is now very hard for me to defend the bike's reliability even though mine is still running just fine. Somewhere Albie is screaming, "I told you so"!

Now drinking fruit punch koolaid (read Orange, mixed with Green, mixed with Red, mixed with Yellow).

LOL, Just got back from an 8 day ride through CO,UT, and WY. The 690 stayed at home, the DR did the ride without a single problem other then crash damage. Ricky is right, the 690 is a great bike so long as you have other bikes to ride.

[goosecreek]

Well living on the east coast I love my bike 08 690e it has only died once ,fuel pump and that was in the driveway. I am never more than 30 miles from something and most always have cell coverage so I am comfortable in my travels.
I replaced the fuel pump with the ca cycleworks pump and as suggested put the napa filter in place of the quick disconnect and all is fine now.
I am not sure what I would do without this thread thanks guys! Maybe one day I can add something new and helpful.

[bobzilla]

Originally Posted by Seth S

are you running the CA pump now Bob? Not sure about the rectifier...but there have been problems with the master/starter relay which can cause the problems you describe. There have also been some issues with the ignition switch that can cause a similar issue.

Yes I have the CA pump

Very intermitent problem but it is often enough that it is hard to ride the bike. Rode 200 miles home yesterday with it dieing about 12 times. Most times I could hit the kill switch and cycle it off and on and the bike would start running again. A few times it would take a few minutes and cycles to start again.I was never cycling the key switch only the kill switch.
Love/Hate/Love/Hate

[blakrj]

Originally Posted by bobzilla

Yes I have the CA pump

Very intermitent problem but it is often enough that it is hard to ride the bike. Rode 200 miles home yesterday with it dieing about 12 times. Most times I could hit the kill switch and cycle it off and on and the bike would start running again. A few times it would take a few minutes and cycles to start again.I was never cycling the key switch only the kill switch.
Love/Hate/Love/Hate

Bob, it was Fishfund that had the rectifier issue. I had issues with a poorly earthed coil due to relocation on the RR bracket that caused similar problems. Bike would run fine when cold, but cough, splutter and die when I got above 100kmh or engine was laboured. Was intermittent and symptoms similar to what you have. Cleaned up the contacts and ran a dedicated earth to the coil cured the problem. If it is the rectifier, run a voltmeter across the battery when running and check if voltage is stable and not spiking. Even better if you can hook it up to the bike while going for a ride and check voltage when symptoms appear.

[tonykof]

Originally Posted by mickd

HI ALL
I've got a 2012 690 with just over 1000k's on her,been brill so far,put a fmf on all good,but when she had her 1st service they did the akro mapping,now she stalls every now and again,i had a ride in the bush and it happened
around 6 to 7 times all in a different way,so hard to place what and how it does it,any help here b4 i go into the dealers again today??

thanks mick

Mine does the same thing...I have searched & searched on here & have found not clear cut fix...well except changing to a vortex system...

[rickypanecatyl]

Originally Posted by goosecreek

Well living on the east coast I love my bike 08 690e it has only died once ,fuel pump and that was in the driveway. I am never more than 30 miles from something and most always have cell coverage so I am comfortable in my travels.

I almost hit a crocodile 3 days ago on a ride - he was crossing the trail and I had plenty of time to stop but for some reason I just had this overwhelming urge to run it over. It was little - about 8' long with the tail (his back was probably 12" high or so) and I'm pretty sure I would've got away with it but I held up!

[rickypanecatyl]

Originally Posted by blakrj

I'm thinking a stainless mesh cage over them might do the job. Been looking for a way to get some HIDs mounted up front of mine and think this may at least provide the platform. Alternatively, I need to go see Colebatch's guru to get something fabricated to mount them.

I think I remember reading something about that - was it a guy in Holland that fabbed that stuff up for him on his Xchallenge? I've got the same projectors but don't really have any skills when it comes to making stuff up like that.

How about it beany - any chance we could get some shots of the projectors mounted without the fairing? Would y'all be interested in selling just that?

[Uller]

Originally Posted by bobzilla

Somebody had a rectifier failure on here that they said at first seemed like a pump failure. Could you please tell me the symtoms
Bike dies when running at speed but switching the kill switch off and on will start the bike again WTF is it now?

I, along with Fishfund that I know of, have had the Rectiifier/Regulator failure on the 690. It didn't seem like a pump failure though.

The first sign of problems were when I went to start my bike and it makes a funny sound in the starter, no start. Starts on second try. Runs for 30 seconds with the tack resetting constantly. Then dies. I start it again and it runs for even less time and then dies.

To get the bike to the road, I connected my battery to a quad's battery and it would give me enough electrical charge to get the bike started and run for a few minutes.

When I got the bike home, I found the battery to have a charge but couldn't hold a load. The battery was fried. (ultimately caused by voltage spikes from faulty Rectifier/Regulator).

I tested out the stator, it was fine. Upon recommendations by Beaney, I tested the Rectifier/Regulator and it too tested fine.

At this time, I was having a couple of issues. The first one, you are all too familar with....my fuel hose had popped off the pump outlet partially. It would pressurize the line letting the bike start but wouldn't be able to hold enough pressure for the bike to keep running. Once I fixed that issue and the bike would run without dying, I was now able to determine with a voltmeter that I was indeed getting voltage spikes with the bike running. This was due to the faulty R/R and in turn had fried my new battery.

I used a MOSFET style R/R just like you can get from an inmate here: http://advrider.com/forums/showthrea...ghlight=mosfet and wired it directly to my battery.

After researching the R/R units, I found that there are many bike manufacturers that are having problems with these and the MOSFET unit is the logical upgrade as it performs better, is more reliable, and provides much more steady current flow. I would almost consider this a mandatory upgrade. (Yes, I know that there isn't any andozided bling associated with it. )

Originally Posted by bobzilla

Very intermitent problem but it is often enough that it is hard to ride the bike. Rode 200 miles home yesterday with it dieing about 12 times. Most times I could hit the kill switch and cycle it off and on and the bike would start running again. A few times it would take a few minutes and cycles to start again.I was never cycling the key switch only the kill switch.
Love/Hate/Love/Hate

It really is hard to diagnose through the computer but, if it is your R/R it could be causing spikes in your electrical system making the sensors think crazy things and throws the system out of wack causing your bike to die. When you cycle the kill switch it causes the computer to shut down and reset without the weird info the sensor got earlier and allows your bike to run fine again until the next spike and.........the procedure repeats itself.

Just a theory as I'm not an electrical engineer...

An aftermarket R/R is around $125.00. Considering everything else, IMO that is a rather cheap fix. I don't currently have any issues with my 950 R/R but, as soon as funds allow, I will be upgrading my R/R on that bike too.

[StevenD]

The original r/r's are mosfet build units as well. all modern bikes have them these day's.

I wouldnt bother replacing a good one, there are thousends of high mile bikes on the original. just dont cook them with a bad battery / no cooling combo. and they stay ok in my experience.