Hey John. Great video, thanks for the tips. I have a 2023 KTM 690 Enduro R. I love the thing. You nailed it on the 690's mission. I take it right out of my garage and explore central AZ, jeep trails, forest service roads, and double track stuff. Great fun. I have the 500exc for more serious off road riding. I have the polymer skid plate (no ring with rock strikes), the Leo Vince exhaust, and a more comfortable Seat Concepts seat (I'm not young any more). The 690 has lots of power, gobs of torque over a wide rpm range and great handling. I'm really happy with it. One little complaint; I wish the top gear was a little taller for better highway cruising, then it would be perfect.
I absolutely love my '17 690. I do mostly gravel and two track here in MN. I do have the rade aux tank cuz I need the fuel range, about 250 miles. FYI, as you ride fuel weight goes down. Tusk Dsport are my go to tires now. Great on/off rode IMO! Nice review! Thanks!
Interesting. I have an xr650r plated. 71k miles. Use it like you use this. Been everywhere. Ill be buying a fourwheel camper soon. Wife wilo be joining me, thinking a 701 690 be good with passenger pegs for those runs to town?
Hey John, I also have the Rade Garage intake on mine but I also have a Wings exhaust. Havent had to do anything with mapping or fueling and it runs like a dream. The Wings exhause isnt crazy loud either. It has a really nice tone to it. I am going to get the O2 dongle for it to stop the jerky throttle at low speeds though. You sent me the link for the Kevs but I lost it. That will be my next upgrade. My bike is also a 2018. I love the intake! What a difference it made and the storage is really nice too. Great video! Glad to see ya putting some new stuff out.
I have 21k on my SMC version. For my riding style, it's light enough to throw around, but heavy enough to hold itself on the road. Had a, "real", dirt bike on the road and it was not fun. This is the best of both worlds!
Thats the space where she lives and does it very well. It’s good at everything, the best at nothing. Just like triathlete me! 🤣 She’ll het anywhere, just a little slower and with a little more caution.. and sometimes sweat 😆
Nice balanced articulate review. '23 701 owner in Colorado here. As far as I'm concerned, the 690 platform is the perfect Colorado dual sport. These bikes are indeed dual sports, not ADV bikes or dirt bikes. By definition a 50/50 dual sport sucks at everything it does compared to specialized bikes. In exchange for the inherent compromise, a good 50/50 bike can do it all. The 690 gives us that broad band capability with a fat dose of power, better suspension, far more "coolness" than the ancient Japanese offerings. The 890's and bigger are better on the road while the 690 platform is better off road. I view the 890 and bigger as more 80/20 or even 90/10 bikes, Chris Birch's feats on them in videos notwithstanding. I modded my 701 with a Yosh can and Rottweiler PC6 O2 sensor delete tuning, which woke up the bottom end and part throttle response dramatically. It truly is impressive how much cooler and better it runs when fueled properly. Keeping with the dual sport mission, I used the extra power to pull taller 16/45 gearing, which makes the bike very nice on the open highway cruising at 70-75 when needed, while the extra power handles the taller 1st gear off road for the moderate stuff I am willing to ride the bike on. By way of experience, I race "B" class at a mid to upper mid pack level in my 300 XC, so no expert but I don't suck either. Colorado riding is dry. As you pointed out I wouldn't want to ride my 701 in mud. These bikes carry the engine low and forward and as a result have a lot of weight on the front end, going up to .65 fork springs helped balance it out better as it had too much laden sag in the forks. The engine being placed this way makes them handle way better on the street but the front end is heavy when off road. My 701 is an absolute weapon on a canyon road, the bumpier the better. Running a Rallz rear and planned to run a dual venture on the front, but based on your experience I may try the Karoo Extreme front. The front tire matters to me a lot more than the rear, especially on a heavy bike like this, and fronts last longer. The rear just needs to survive punishment and generate some traction. I may by a Motoz Adventure rear next, as it has similar knob arrangement to the Rallz but harder rubber. These heavy and powerful bikes are unkind to rear tires if one is having any sort of fun on them, and they don't call them the "Rocky Mountains" for nothing you know... Free mods I did - removed the rear ABS sensor, rolled up the cable, neatly zip tied it and stored it under the seat to the same effect as mentioned by spacing the sensor out. Also did the same with the kickstand sensor arrangement, with a magnet cut to size and fastened to the reader so it thinks the kickstand is up. If one is experienced enough to ride one of these beasts, I think they can be trusted not to ride off with the kickstand down. The reason for that mod is the sensor is low and if a rock takes it out there is no trailside fix as it is a fancy 3 wire "hall effect" deal and splicing wires doesn't work. One can simply remove the whole deal and buy yet another dongle to do this as well. 100% on the oil change comments. It only holds 1.8 quarts after all, so change it early. If it sees actual clutch slipping off road, change it earlier. If it tows a trailer with a dirt bike on it while carrying a passenger, sweet Jesus, change it really early 😂
I’m pro damper, but not if you’re putting it on as a bandaid for bad handling on the street or something. That’s a setup issue. Now if you’re desert bombing or something… that’s a different story. I think the GPR stuff is nice because of how sleek they got them, but Scotts has a great reputation.
Ive got the new-ish Tusk Waypoint back tire on my 690, cant even tell its a knobby on road, and is pretty darned decent on dirt. 75.00 tire. I tried a Motoz Rallz on back of my 890R, boy did that thing suck on the road. I took it off and sold it after a few rides. Never tried a tire that made that much noise and vibration, every little bit higher speed it howled louder and louder. Many reviews say its great on road. Buyer beware. If you take out the sintered brake pads and put in carbon pads, in the rear, the rear brake will mellow right out for dirt use. Its a way strong brake at the back, easy to lock up too much.
I’ll give that tire a look even though I probably can’t get it shipped. Yeah, It saddens me to say I wasn’t impressed by my set of Motoz at all. They seem like a cool company. Have to stand on mine to lock it with my super shorty lever. I love it! Haha! Great on our greasy roads 🤣
My only beef is the first gear is too tall. Other than that I don't have a problem with it. Anything tight though and just hold the clutch half way in, in first. Ride the fire roads which are it's strength anyway and it's not a problem. Especially if you drop to a 14 (/45) like a EXC would have.
I wish the rev limiter was 1,000 RPM higher though 🤣 If I got to ride it off-road more I might be looking for that pipe and fueler a little faster to get an extra 5 ponies. We lose a bit riding mostly above 7k feet. Pretty much why I never ride my 250Fs anymore. They're XR100s at 9,000 feet! Haha Never in my life did I think I'd be a 450 guy, but I am now. I hate admitting that I ride big power better. If I think back in history though... I nearly switched to the KTM 380SX back in my 2T days even though I identified as a 125 rider. I never did race 125s for chit 🤣
@@JohnHowerton137 ❤️🤣 I started racing 🏜️ at 13 in Southern California 100cc Honda. At 14 years old moved to Colorado racing Cross Country (style MX) & also TT and MX too but was "Bumped up to the expert class at age 14! Because I was winning most races. So my first expert class race was the annual Colorado Champion Ship. A MUD RACE 🤣😝 I FELL SO MANY TIMES, I DIDN'T BOTHER TO ATTEND THE TROPHY PRESENTATION, UNTILL MY FREND CAME RUNNING & TOLD ME GO GET OVER THERE NOW! Well I got a 6 place trophy and a GREAT SLOPY LONG KISS FROM A REALL PLAYBOY THAT WAS HIRERED TO BE THE TROPHY GIRL! 🤣. ANYWAY I WAS BEST ON 125cc until I got old. Love the 500 & 690! And I agree with you about needing REVS UP TO 10,000 OR MORE! I KNOW SOMEHOW IT CAN BE DONE 🙏😛
Great story. Same thing happened at my last 1/2 marathon. I was so pissed off I didn't win (long story but I should have smoked everyone) I left and went to stuffed my face at the Pancake house not thinking I'd won anything. Missed awards. Came back later and they made me stand on the podium alone. I was grumpy in all the photos 🤣 It was my personal worst on the year and that's all I cared about. RIP trophy girls. We need some Monster Girl action up on those stages!
65 year old 701 owner here. It’s the Unicorn for me. Light enough, fast enough, comfortable enough. An extra set of laced wheels makes it that much better
Good to see that you still have this bike at 21,000 miles. I've got a 2018 with only 7,000 miles (old guy here @62). It's a great bike for what I use it for, I'm in the Southern California desert. On these long roads (paved / dirt) out here, it's a blast. I probably would have more miles on it, but I've got an adventure bike that gets a little more use. I've gotten a lot of great tips for the 690 from your channel. Many of the parts you have used have made it on my 690 as well. Thanks for the work and videos you do. Stay safe and God Speed. ✌️
@@timmy24540 probably a perfect bike for that exploring if you don't have 100 miles of freeway first (then I could see reaching for the ADV). Happy they've been helpful to you. That's my real motivation for making them, so appreciate the feedback. Rubber side down my friend 🤙 Aloha!
I've got a 22 GG700 and you are spot on with your assessment. A light weight adventure bike that is surprisingly good on the road. The extra balancing shaft makes a huge difference with vibration. Look at the wings slip on if it's in your budget. Much lighter, less heat and with the silent kit makes the fuelling and throttle response the same as the OEM exhaust. I also recently bought a Beta 480 for more off road riding and that is no way as near planted on the road.
Yeah, exactly the point I was trying to make in the video. Know the bike's strengths and weaknesses and it's a joy to own. I bet the extra balancer is nice, but honestly the vibration doesn't bother me at all. I really don't even notice it. I do notice feedback from different tires which is probably enhanced by my stiffer forks.
Nice review. I got an older one, 2008 model 6 months ago. Modded the air box recently. Definitely worth doing. Handles our crappy sealed roads and mountain fire trails great. More fun than a sports bike for me.
nice review, a lover of the mc360 here too, the mid hard are just monsters and last so well for what they give in overall user experience - your bike looks like new, suppose that is the beauty of your climate and weather :-)
The climate (UV light) and weather disintegrate things here. Very harsh, salty, gritty and rocky. My bikes are my kids.. I don’t leave them in poopy diapers, bath and take care of them as much as possible. Most bikes in Hawaii look like they survived (barely) Armageddon.
Hi John! Thanks for the video! I'm a newer rider (1.5 yrs) with a Yamaha WR250R. I recently purchased a 2017 KTM 690 Duke. I love the power, especially compared to the WR, which has me thinking again... I would like to own just one bike, so I have been thinking about a 500 (KTM, Husky, Beta), a 690/701 and maybe even a Yamaha T7/Aprilia Tuareg 660. I want to spend more time off-road, but want something more exciting than the WR while on-road. Want to do mostly fire-roads, 2-track and easy single track. I'm 6'4" 200 lbs. What are your thoughts? Cheers! 🍻🏍🇺🇸
Sell them both, buy a 690E/701/EC700 and get a spare set of 17” Supermoto wheels or flat track wheels. Now you have a Duke and Enduro. Ride it off-road a bit and if you find you want something a little more nimble off-road like the WR, get one of the more dedicated bikes. I feel like a stock 690s power to weight ratio is a little more like a 350 with exhaust. If you open the exhaust on the 450/500 they a lot more lively. Another video for you WR250F vs. KTM 350EXC-F ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RdOsguXOybg.html
Nah, I pulled the plug on the Stark. Timing of my delivery was terrible (lots of life changes) and really I'd never get to ride it not being street legal (Long story). I still have my KTM Freeride and it might get registered out of state soon so I can get a plate on it.
About the only thing that would make sense is if you ran automotive oil with friction modifiers. Is it dragging a lot sitting at stop lights or anything?
@@JohnHowerton137 hey John, oil is fine. I ride pretty hard. Was in Romanian mountains when the 2nd clutch started to slip above 4K revs. I’m worried that there may be extra strain being applied from lever to plates somehow. She is fine at the lights and under 4K revs
KTM's. My 1st one was a 76.5 250 GP model. Had the 420, the 495 and over 18 of the austrian steeds since then. Now it's the 890R and the 21 690R I just picked up. Hardly ridden the 690 yet, but it will be out soon. The 890 is great, wonderful bike. But 470lbs turns into 490 lbs pretty easy, its tall, its heavy, it can flatten a person if things go sideways. Wonderful road/back road/gravel road bike. 890 has NEVER felt like a dirtbike, the 690 felt like one immediately, slides and wheelies are what it likes.
Exactly. I had the old LC4 too. 2001 640 Duke. The adventure stuff is really nice, but like you said, they become a handful real quick, and the munched parts are expensive 🤣 That said, I think the 950 Super Enduro would have been right up my ally! 😋
@@JohnHowerton137 If you need more power, the 950 would be the bomb. They got those darned carbs though. Which can get funny, although I enjoy fiddling with carbs to some degree. Ive got only 3000 miles on my 21 690 and it is a Blast! Can play on it, its a big dirtbike, slides great. I end up not cruising as fast on road with it. 65mph is easy for hours. Not a bad thing. Set up can indeed be pricey, but well worth it.
Still have it, just haven’t ridden it since I broke my leg on it 51 weeks ago. It was stored at my friends house until about 6 weeks ago when I got my new place. Teaching a kid I mentor how to ride (on it) on Sunday, so maybe it’ll be in a video soon 😋
