My 890 R is an untrustworthy bike with lots of qc issues and a poor dealer assistance. It is a Chinese bike with lots of substandard parts with a short life span. Even the wheels spokes are cheap, a tiny loosening and your tyre pressure goes. Crap TFT, bolts loosening constantly, coolant leaks, poor starts. My engine vibrates excessively, making the bike totally unsuitable for long trips. My previous bike was a 1090R which was a solid, honest high performance machine. But I’m now done with ktm.
My last bike was a KTM 690 Enduro R from 2017. Great bike, but needed lots of fixes, tweaks and mods to make it reliable... and as you pull it apart to mod it you do notice all the QC shortcuts that were taken -- badly routed or exposed wiring, bearings loose and not greased, valves out of spec, cheap fuel pump (which inevitably fails). Add to that a network of really arrogant dealers. Now looking for a midsize -- it won't be a KTM.
@@ssmith954 well said. I’m ok with a bit less horsepower and a lot more reliability. After almost 3 years of having to constantly deal with issues with ktm im absolutely done with them. These guys don’t realise the damage done with long term customers .
@@trroland1248 most parts are china made. They say the engine is Austrian made but that does not explain why 6 months waiting time for cams. Anyway, there are serious issues with the parallel engine design, both 790 and 890, with so many engines having cams issues at low mileage
I've had the KTM for 17,000 KMs. Serviced every 6000 and the hard surfaces are worn off the cams already.. only found it because I was checking valve clearance. Thinking about getting the Aprilia
While it's commonly acknowledged that KTM bikes can come with their share of issues, ranging from minor inconveniences to more catastrophic failures I ask the question: what other bikes out there offer comparable performance, handling, and capabilities? I feel like there’s not enough conversation around potential alternatives that match up to KTM’s strengths. What do you think? Are there any bikes that give you that same blend of power and versatility, without the typical downsides?
those very much look like angular contact bearings in good condition with the right preload and greased I would have thought they would have worked fine.
Or, get the Desert X and be happy from the start.....;-) In all seriousness, I have the 890 R Rally and it is amazing but I prefer the Desert X but the caveat is that I put a Tractive suspension on the DX which is what put it over the Rally.
Interesting about the bearings. Thanks. KTM switched to Alpina tubeless wheels on the 1290 SAR last year - I think they've given up on their own belt system. Have you tried spraying soapy water around the wheel to get an idea of where the air is leaking?
I think the tire issue has resolved itself. I was running about 28psi in the tires for better traction and comfort when they were calling for 44psi (I think). After putting the correct amount of air they haven't lost any in about a month.
For the cold start issue I found if you turn the key on and let the fuel pump run until it quits and then give it 5 more seconds it will start and run as it should. Give it a try.
May work for some people, but I have tried all the ignition and fuel pump tricks suggested and never got great results. As soon as I dropped to a mid grade fuel, it starts every time perfectly, for more than a year now. You don't have to drop to a regular fuel. Just a mid is enough.
Interesting! I have the 2023 Norden Expedition. It does have the same Explor suspension, the same as your bike. Do you think it has the same headstock bearings as the KTM 890 Adv R? I haven't noticed any vibration or play. I mostly ride dirt roads, county paved roads and USFS roads, all in the mountains where I live. (zero highway so far) The USFS roads are mostly dirt with a few stretches of old chipseal which is full of craters, so I slam into some pretty severe potholes at 35-50mph. I have 1,500 miles on it now.
I’m having some issues with mine beside the bearings. It feels extremely jerky, everytime i go on/off the throttle in street or rally mode it feels so jerky, like the chain lacked tension, even tho i checked the tension a million times and its perfectly lubed, i dont know that to do at this point, with 4500 miles, the bike doesn’t feel like it felt when i picked it up from the dealer. Do you have any idea what it could be? Also the chain makes quite a lot of noise, but as i said, i checked it a million times. Help :(
@@customjrod I’m debating a 23 890 but have heard about immobilizer issues and being stranded but am unsure if it’s an internet only thing? They are nice looking
Hello, thanks a lot for the info. Do you have the Timken part numbers. I'm from Europe and find difficult to get the part from Rottweiler. Cheers thanks!
I want one bike to replace both my 701 and R1250GS. I keep thinking about either an 890 R or a Norden Expedition. Then I watch a video like this, and I have second thoughts.
About a year. I've sold the ktm and bought another Aprilia Tuareg 660. The ktm had catastrophic engine failure soon after I sold it. I'm done with ktm.
@@customjrod sounds like I need a tuareg. I hate how intentionally cheap Japanese makers seem to be in the segment, but ktm is a reliability nightmare. Here's hoping that aprilia is getting sorted. Thanks for the head to head owner review
Nice looking bike! My 2022 890r had loose head bearings from new. I tightened them one time and so far so good at 3100 miles, including a lot of rocky off road riding. If they start to get loose again I will do what you did. Stock suspension was good on mine from new but I still replaced it with WP Pro suspension and now it is incredible. No issues with starting on my bike. Luck of the draw I guess. Only problems so far were quick shifter was not working right so the shop reprogrammed it and now it works great. Recently my cruise control started to be very intermittent which was due to a failing brake sensor switch on the ABS module. Replacing that fixed the cruise control. I also went with the PP tall seat and lower foot pegs and bike is super comfy for all day rides. Hope your bike is good to go now and you have a lot of good times on it!
Brother, great video. You probably have one of the most inclined mechanical insights on the KTM 890 ADV R. Looking forward to more videos coming from your channel.
@user-oi4in1cx1f I hate Starbucks and smug people that think they know anything about someone they've never met. Grow up, get out of your mommy's basement and let your little keyboard fingers cool down. Go buy you a man's bike and get out and ride. Smh
@@customjrod well that’s how you come off, I bet you’re on all the forms too. Taking about your shine new valve stem caps. I maybe smug but not at Starbucks smug. 😂 I’m surprised this bike hauls your fat AF a$$ around anyways. Why don’t you get the 1200, shine it up and talk all sweet to it. I have 2 bikes, I’m sure one is a real man’s bike. If you want to come do a hard enduro or scramble I’ll loan you my 300 XCW, if you promise not to have congested heart failure on it. Bahahahaha!
You need to get to a factory KTM dealer to do a software update (there have been a couple) and it will sort the starting issue. I did mine at the 1st service and it was fixed. A few other occasional gremlins were sorted too.
Have a 22 and have none of these issues except cold start ups which with a couple easy revs fixes. Even stock seat is comfortable. Steering is also good in all terrain. Maybe he gota Chinese clone lol
hello friend, when i switched from 790 to 890, i had the same issue with the steering stem. i loved bike and the loose steering made the bike not fun to ride. i eventually figured it was loose steering stem and i tightened bearing. that solved problem. please share the head bearings that you used to replace the oem steering bearing. thank you for sharing! btw, i noticed similar issue on 2021 690 and tightening steering bearing solved problem.
I tightened them multiple times but after a washed out dirt road they would feel loose again. When I took them apart you could see where the balls were deformed.
I have 7000 miles on my 2021 now. Steering head bearings were a little loose after initial breaking. They just need a little pre-load and that fuel will go away. The bike is amazing.
How do you feel about the foot pegs brackets that can move up and down unless you get a skid plate that anchors them or the gas cap that may not vent and perhaps should be replaced? Do you run a pre filter?
