Hey Danimal, thanks much for this vid! I also have a 2013 690 and I'm the 3rd owner and she has almost 22K miles (!). Got my new rocker arms and shim set, will replace plugs while I'm in there too. Cheers from DC - USA
Hi! When did you had this rocker arm issues, at what mileage and is it US miles? I could not really catch it in the video. And what year model is your duke 690? Thanks :)
Hey mate, cheers for this! I moved to Auckland from the UK last year and bought a 690! went in for its first (where i owned it, was 22k) service and had its valves replaced and about 500k's later the bloody rocker arm bearings went, luckily the guys at the garage sorted me out and saw it as something they should have noticed but whilst i was waiting to hear back I was looking everywhere for a video like this, dont know why I couldnt find it sooner! Out of curiosity, what supplier do you order stuff for your ktm from? exhaust, crash guards etc. ?
Sorry for the late reply mate, been on a bike trip overseas. Rocker arm bearings are definitely something they should have checked in a major service like that, but good on them for owning up to having missed it and sorting you out. The crash guards are a KTM Power Parts'option, I believe the original owner of my bike got the dealership to put them on when he bought it, but you can get them ordered in from KTM easily enough (don't quote me on this but I believe the cost was around $250 NZD or thereabouts). The exhaust is a Scorpion I got from Motozone, it isn't quite as nice as the Akrapovic but it was also a sane price so eh :P The previous owner had already gotten an exhaust shop to make him up a straight through midpipe to remove the cat, and the air box cover I had to order off eBay from Europe somewhere as couldn't find anyone that stocked it locally. Bear in mind that if you do the last two you should get a dealer to flash your ECU with the Akrapovic Stage II fuel map which leans out the mixture a bit in places to compensate for the air intake and exhaust side changes (or get Kev's fuel mod but I found the remap was cheaper, only $50 or so).
Just about to replace a shim in mine. Just had top end rebuilt 1000km. The gap is .20mm. So a bit loose. A reckon half the time some shops just dont buy new shims etc. Must of re-used my old shims when everything got replaced.
Yeah that definitely sounds like they just left the old shims in, they shouldn't be that far out after only 1000KM! That's a bit dodgy, valve clearances are 100% part of doing a top end rebuild, no question.
Hi mate, rocker/valve cover seals are generally fine to reuse, and no sealant required. Of course make sure to check it for cracks/damage when you pull it off and be gentle with it while removing and installing, but I haven't had to replace one on any of my bikes in quite a while. Just make sure it's clean when you reinstall it by wiping it with a cloth and something like WD40 that's not too aggressive (no brake/parts cleaner, that stuff destroys rubber), and that it's seated properly before tightening anything.
@@Delta3Sierra hi Dan thanks so much for the reply .... reason I ask I've just bought a used 2018 duke 690 and today I noticed a tiny weep of oil from the left side valve cover by the rad hose ....I don't know weather the cover had been taken off recently for a valve check ...it all looks well seated.. I did find I was able to tighten with a tiny spanner the cover bolt on the left about half a turn with hardly any effort so maybe it wasn't tight enough ....I'll ride it again tomorrow and see if it's still weeping .... failing that I'll take the whole cover off oneday and replace the gasket ...the 690 is awesome btw and I've owned many much bigger bikes :)
Yeah the head bolts definitely shouldn't be that loose, don't crank the hell out of them either but they definitely need to be firmly on there. I'd check the other bolts too before you head out just to make sure they're not too loose either, and clean the area where the leak was thoroughly. Then warm the bike up and go for a quick ride, once the engine is nice and hot and the oil pressure has built up (10 minutes or so should do it) pull over and have another look to see if it starts weeping again. If so then yeah the seal might be damaged, but hey at least they're pretty cheap and easy to replace. I love mine, went 'down' from a GSX-R 1000 and never regretted it. I loved that bike too but overall I find it much more fun to ride the crap out of a smaller bike than have to take it easy on a big one, they have so much more power than you can really use on the road (if you want to live anyway).
A good and useful video. Got my service coming up including valve clearance check so this has given me confidence that it is a job I can do myself at home. Your 690 colour scheme is one I've not seen before. What year is your bike?
Glad you found it useful mate! It's absolutely a job you can do yourself even without an enormous amount of mechanical experience, just a bit of patience required really. She's a 2013, I originally wanted the black version but this one came up at a good price so I wasn't too picky :)
good video, I've done my duke IV 2012 690 a couple of times, it's now on over 25,000 miles. Last time I found the inlet was a little wide but the exhaust was bang on. Why did you change your rocker arms were the bearings fugged?
roasthunter thanks mate, yeah the exhaust side bearing was rooted, not even opening enough to let the bike start properly. Plenty of people have had no problems at all so lucky you!
I note to add is pre 2015 690 rockers didnt get any fixes. The 15 and up have a better flare, punch on the bearing pin. ON the rocker arms is a stamp. My 08 failed and destroyed my top end. New arms are stamped 15. Ktm recommend to change every 10 000km now.
Hi Rob, if you're doing this with the bike on it's side stand then yes some oil might come out, I'm using a lift stand in the video so the bike is level.
It's to keep the motor at top dead centre so that you can do the clearances - they need to be done when all the valves are shut and sticking the screwdriver in there just keeps things from moving on you. KTM make a special tool for it but a screwdriver works fine :)
Thanks mate, I did them at around 11,000 miles. The general wisdom seems to be to do them at around 13,000 unless of course they go a bit sooner like mine did.
Hi! Great video! Just bought a 2013 ktm 690 duke and i will have to check the valves soon enough. Do you know where i can find the work shop manual? Greeting from sweden.
Hi mate, I don't actually have a manual for this bike, I've just figured it out as I went along. Having a look not even Haynes seem to make one, but it looks you can get a DVD version made by KTM themselves: www.ktm-parts.com/3206186.html You will surely be able to source it from somewhere else as well (worst case I'm pretty sure KTM dealers can sell them) :) Greetings from New Zealand!
