Hey everyone, not posted for a while so hi to all and sorry for my recent lack of contribution!
Anyway I've decided to let my faithful XT go, I bought her with 2k on the clock now she has 20k after 2 and a half years of ownership. Shes been 100 percent reliable (apart from a flat battery once), very cheap to run (all servicing done by moi) and still rides as well as the day I bought her.
Mods are PC3, k and N stage 1, DNA stage 2 and renthal chain and sproket kit which are all well reccomended as are Metzler Tourance tyres (but careful in the wet!).
Amazingly due to the fast b road riding I do Ive only change the front and rear pads once.... recently!
For a cheap commuter which is a giggle in the twisties and can be taken for the occational trail blast these bikes are perfect, low maintenece fun machines!

For---Good on fuel, cheap consumables, cheap insurance, great in traffic, versitile, light(ish), very reliable, torquey and did I mention FUN!!!!!

Against--- Needs a few more bhp, too heavy for serious trailsters, crap on motorways, your mates will probably loose you on a Sunday blast and the tank capacity is a little small (15 litres)

Overall 8/10 if its what you're after

Reason for sale =KTM adventure 950 or 990!

How much are you looking for it ?

Know of two people after an R version

As for offroad i think you are slightly out by saying it's not very good as i take mine anywhere the enduro bikes go and thats including the Dawn till Dusk ,but it is down to the rider at the end

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OFFICIAL CRASH TEST DUMMY

I never did understand why the XT range is supposedly crap on motorways. I use my Tenere almost exclusively on motorways for commuting and so far I've generally really enjoy it (compared to a car - and high winds and rain induced visor misting excluded). Enough power to be faster than the cars when needed, not too much to loose your licence too easily and great fuel economy. What's not to love?

Ha
Sold my 03 adventure 950S just to get the XTR :P
But please do reconsider selling your XT:

1) Yamaha tank is 15L KTM tank is 21L - BUT.... KTM MPG is a lot lower than Yamahas, in some situations, you will get less mileage per tank than with Yamaha. Even when riding with one driving next you :P

2) Yamaha weight vs Adventure weight - Yamaha is lighter and with 2-in-1 a LOT lighter. Much better off-road handling with Yamaha. When you sink your KTM to mud, good luck getting it out of there. KTM is BIG.

3) Yamaha power vs Adventure power - in forest/offroad driving.. Why would you need more than 37kw or whatever the Yamaha is. Being stuck somewhere has nothing to do with KW.

4) Highway - ok here the KTM wins only if you live in germany or if you don't care about speed limits. Whats the use of knowing your bike can do 200km/h if you cant use it. Yamaha cruises ok at 120/130km/h and that should be enough in all highways.

6) Maintenance - changing oil on the 950/990 literally sucks d**k. Put on some crashbars and it sucks even more. Be prepared tearing your whole bike apart just to change the oil

7) Reliability - i wouldn't trust the ktm before anyone actually has tried a trip around the world with it. Seriously, i don't mean cruising trip with accompanied maintenance trucks. I had a lot of small, but annoying technical problems with mine.

8) KTM factory - they say it is normal for the bike to use at most 500grams of oil per 1000km... And many of those do.. No oil leaks no nothing, it just eats the oil away. Oil change you say? By the time you made 7500km or whatever the maintenance interval was, you already have completely new oil in it

9) Oil - adventure enginge is very choosy when it comes to oil. It just doesn't run right when using wrong oils. On Yamaha, i haven't noticed any differences using any other manufacturer oil. Maybe some oils lube better and some dont but on the adventure you can see, feel and hear the difference. It has to be the dry sump and oil pump thing..

10) cool factor = ok here the ktm ownz :P using some aftermarket cans on V2 engine, it makes even harley persons drule, when you pass them. its the sound it has to be.

11) I think the list goes on

If you still would like swapping your xt to ktm, i'd recommend the SuperEnduro, its the same as 950, but lighter. But then you will get a smaller tank and your milegage drops even more. If you now have your doubts (you may ask more questions about KTM 950/990 from me), you may concider getting a GS instead.
Or just keep the damn XT :P

at Piipz

Well said,






Shame we are not hiring any new staff until Jan 2011 (joke)

I agree with your comments about the KTM, as I had a 950 between 2005 and 2007 (wrote it off.) Apart from one thing. The oil. Any good quality semi/full synthetic is fine. But you're right about changing it.

I,ve had the ktm 640adv, 950 and a few 990 adv,s since 2005 onwards, just sold my last ktm990 adv recently, the reason why i,ve left the ktm brand is because the yamaha does,nt drink fuel,or cost the earth to service/parts etc, and personally with the tenere version you,ve got an all round bike, off road or touring, but will do high miles without bleeding your wallet dry. i,ve had them all ktm,bmw,husqarvana,beta,aprillia, and have always had them brand new so the poor reliability/build quality could,nt be put down to previous ownwers lack of care etc, you will not and cannot beat the yamaha build quality imo.