My XT with DNA filters,snorkel out,Kev's mod and Akra pipes goes very nicely,but has anyone ridden an XT with the same mods against a KTM 690SM

IMO, the two cannot really be compared - The XT has 47 (ish) BHP, the KTM has 63bhp, I have followed one before on the road and i got smoked pretty badly on the straights, however - I did have one thing on him - cornering...whether it is a heavier bike and more difficult to lie down in corners or whether he was just a poor rider i dont know.

Would be interesting to see if anyone has ridden the two bikes though!

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Tom

2008 White 660x - K&N stage 1 - DNA Stage 2 - Kev Fuel Mod - Airbox Drilled - Snorkel Removed - C02 + 20 - MTC pipes - Xenon bulbs - Iridium Spark Plug - Crash Bobbins - Barkbusters - Kev Fork Spacer Mod - Small Plate -

Beat me to it, big difference on the bhp. I've not ridden one but they do use top quality components so they are a quality bike whereas an XT is a budget bike really. I don't say that in a negative way, there seems to be some issues with KTMs reliability whereas XTs seem to be bullet proof. Performance is very subjective as I was passing plenty of 600 sports bikes when I did Brands on my XT.

Well I think you can definetly compare the 2,one's budget the other is the other end of the market,one is bullet proof and the other is fragile,I know plenty of folks who come a cropper with KTM's!!!.

With the few mods my XT has come on quite a way and it's going well,but can't help wondering about a 690,I'm cold blooded when it comes to buying bikes,there's no logic to buying a bike with a high probability of going bang is there!!!,but less weight and more HP is always going to make you ask the question.

Brand loyalty does make me shake my head. I'd love a KTM but the engine issues do worry me.

Yep you can ditto me in the same,interesting that there's so few replies,but thats the beauty of the XT it's a dead cert were as the Ktoom is a mighty risk,but I'm suprised there's so little feed back I guess price and risk are mighty a hurdle.

Hi guys, I know this is an old thread but I thought I'd reply as I had a 690SM up to July last year and my mate has a (standard) XTX and I've ridden them back to back. My KTM had a non standard exhaust and remap so it was probably making a bit more power than standard (and was quite a bit lighter as the standard exhausts were HEAVY).
I expected my mates XT to feel pretty flat and a bit dull compared to my KTM but overall I was quite impressed with it. There's not much difference at the bottom end, the XT felt nice and torquey and pulled as well if not better than the KTM. Midrange and the KTM felt marginally stronger but not by a great deal but at the top end there was no comparison, the KTM feels much more revvy and pulls a lot harder as the XT starts to run out of steam (that's what you'd expect though right?) The KTM motor is a lot smoother and less vibey than the XT and you don't get any of the high frequency buzz through the bars and pegs like the you do with the XT (I used to have an SV650S and I reckon the 690 engine is smoother and almost as powerful at the top end as the SV was).
Chassis wise, the XT is waaaaaaaaay softer than the KTM, the suspension on the KTM is much taughter. The other big difference was the brakes, the KTM brakes are miles better than the XT (but again its a radial 4 pot Brembo so you'd expect that).
All this sounds kinda negative but as I said I was pretty impressed with the XT, I enjoyed riding it and would be happy to own one (why else would I just have joined this forum? ). The XT is nowhere near as focused as the KTM but depending on what you're looking for that might not be a bad thing.
I had no mechanical problems with my KTM and I genuinely believe that the 690 engine is pretty strong but the service intervals are quite short compared to a Jap bike. I did have a few electrical problems with it and that was one of the reasons I got rid. The 690 was the most entertaining bike I've ridden in 35 years riding but I never completely trusted it.
I'm currently bikeless but a Tenere may be on the horizon (tbh if the Tenere had been on the market in 2007 I would have bought one instead of the Katoom). Cheers, Chris.

I have just the bike for you...



Seriously - �4995 and it's yours. WP front end, Ohlins shock, Talon/Excel wheels (18" rear), Braking Wave discs, Power Commander V, custom map, DNA airbox mods and Ti single can exhaust...

Sure it might have been to Dakar (and across the USA, twice), but it still rides very much like new, only with sublime suspension and 15% more power!

I do need to sell this now, as I need to get my Dakar 2013 entry in in May...

Jenny xx

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"Where we're going, we don't need roads..."

JennyDakar.com

Beautiful bike, Jenny. I'm very impressed.

Its not just a beautiful bike its an absolute steal at under 5K. wish I had the money I would sell my ten and get Jennys bike I would say its like getting a reliable KTM factory bike for a 5th of the price.

you are getting a great handling reliable race bike that will happily tour or run to the shops and all for under 5K.

still cant belive that no one has snapped this bike up.

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Ride On :tenere:Camel 2008XT660Z
harvey mushman did it in the dirt Uma 1994 TT250R