Picked up my new Adventure, dropped my new Adventure

[FJRBluesman]

.... bracketry? (There's a new word)..
Last week, I was splitting lanes on Wabs and thinking, My Gawd, what a big ass I have (bag width)..

and I think you're, uhh, girth, maybe larger than mine..

How wide are you, bag cheek to bag cheek?

Fixed 'er for ya.

Don - Not that I'm staring but, yes, your ass is huge.

Now you wanting to know how wide other guys are.... :dribble:

Oh and bracketry is very British... At least my version of British...

Chris's bags are like outriggers. He could probably not use the kickstand and just let it rest on the bags.

Those KTM's are cool, always wanted one. You two enjoy you're off roading. Lots of pix plaease.

 

[shokdimn]

Nice looking bike. Double bummer--going down and the twisted foot.

Did that front fender clog?

 

[beemerdons]

https://www.azbeemers.org/forum/ CHRIS_D: There are two rules of offroad riding: Rule Number One - You are going to drop it sometime. Rule Number Two - If you are OK, then everything's OK. Bikes can be fixed relatively easy, busted bones take lots longer and THEY SUCK. Any dirt crash you limp away from is A-OK!

If you go to link above showing weekly offroad rides of my GS club at AZ Beemers, you will see a faceplant of some kind!!!

I took the liberty of stealing the phrase "Candy Butt" from dcarver and have formed AZB Candy Butt GS Riders Association.

https://www.azbeemers.org/forum/index.php?topic=1365.0 CHRIS_D: Can you get away to ride Utah with us next September?

I lead easy forest road routes and smooth desert trail rides for my club here in Arizona. I've grown tired of broken fibulas!

FJRBluesman: Don has been hanging around Fairlaner too much! Last month in Richard's garage with Smitty for the Cruise Festival heard dcarver use pillion and panniers in the same sentence. Was waiting for him to say spanner and spotted dick!!

 

[CHRIS_D]

Ok here's some pics of my BIG ASS, Yes my ass is 41" wide :dribble: :dribble: I think I'm as wide as a small car

As you can see I FOUND this empty 12 pack (you know I would never drink it!! :blink: :blink: ) and it fits this and more.

Those two screws are to add an optional nozzle for a liquid dispenser. These bags are double lined and can hold a couple pints of liquid each.

 

[CHRIS_D]

https://www.azbeemers.org/forum/ CHRIS_D: There are two rules of offroad riding: Rule Number One - You are going to drop it sometime. Rule Number Two - If you are OK, then everything's OK. Bikes can be fixed relatively easy, busted bones take lots longer and THEY SUCK. Any dirt crash you limp away from is A-OK!
If you go to link above showing weekly offroad rides of my GS club at AZ Beemers, you will see a faceplant of some kind!!!

I took the liberty of stealing the phrase "Candy Butt" from dcarver and have formed AZB Candy Butt GS Riders Association.

https://www.azbeemers.org/forum/index.php?topic=1365.0 CHRIS_D: Can you get away to ride Utah with us next September?

I lead easy forest road routes and smooth desert trail rides for my club here in Arizona. I've grown tired of broken fibulas!

FJRBluesman: Don has been hanging around Fairlaner too much! Last month in Richard's garage with Smitty for the Cruise Festival heard dcarver use pillion and panniers in the same sentence. Was waiting for him to say spanner and spotted dick!!

Hi Don,

Thanks so much for the invite. My mother in-law has a house in AZ that we been meaning to visit. If I can swing the dates (my son also gradulates from AF Basic training right around that time) I'm in!! I will get back to you for sure.

 

[FJRBluesman]

Hey Chris, I think if you got a large bag like that for the front, you could use it as a flotation device for the bike. Maybe an amphibious bike. :yahoo:

 

[Auburn]

Chris, looking at the hand guards, they look like the ones that are all plastic where they go into the bars? If they are, you probably want to get the ones that have the solid aluminum piece that goes into the end of the bars. Those plastic ones wont give much if any protection and fold up when they hit the ground. Clicky (you will need the mounting kit also)

I have the acerbis ones that have the metal. I have rubbed them on trees at fairly high trail speeds on my gasgas and of course they have taken a few hard tumbles also. They did their job and protected my hands and the levers. One thing to pay attention to is the clearance between the levers and the guards so they operate smoothly and don't pinch your fingers. I had the rebend the aluminum to get proper clearance.

I have a 50+ year old friend that has one of the "R" models of the adventure. He loves it and does "explore" it limits off road. He is an extremely good rider off road.

 

[CHRIS_D]

Nice looking bike. Double bummer--going down and the twisted foot.
Did that front fender clog?

Yes the fender did clog with the mud. I will need to look for a high fender.

Chris, looking at the hand guards, they look like the ones that are all plastic where they go into the bars? If they are, you probably want to get the ones that have the solid aluminum piece that goes into the end of the bars. Those plastic ones wont give much if any protection and fold up when they hit the ground. Clicky (you will need the mounting kit also)
I have the acerbis ones that have the metal. I have rubbed them on trees at fairly high trail speeds on my gasgas and of course they have taken a few hard tumbles also. They did their job and protected my hands and the levers. One thing to pay attention to is the clearance between the levers and the guards so they operate smoothly and don't pinch your fingers. I had the rebend the aluminum to get proper clearance.

I have a 50+ year old friend that has one of the "R" models of the adventure. He loves it and does "explore" it limits off road. He is an extremely good rider off road.

Thanks for the advice. I will have to add this to my growing list of stuff.

Oh and to FJRbluesman

 

[Sagebrush]

I went through my big adventure addiction too. The best mods on my 950 ADV were crash bars, moose hand guards and leo vince cans. TKC 80's are much better on gravel roads and mild mud, they ain't bad on road when dry. I ended up staying with the Scorp AT's, they were great for hard pack forest roads and were very good in the mountain curves. I sold mine and down sized to a DR650 which I can actually enjoy off road... Great adventure bike for traveling. Keep an eye on your water pump!

Getting rid of the hot exhaust cans is a good idea, I melted some stuff one summer. I liked the cooler SBK exhaust, much less $$ than the other options and the sound is agressive.

My past baby, gone and missed sometimes...

 

[dcarver]

I went through my big adventure addiction too. The best mods on my 950 ADV were crash bars, moose hand guards and leo vince cans. TKC 80's are much better on gravel roads and mild mud, they ain't bad on road when dry. I ended up staying with the Scorp AT's, they were great for hard pack forest roads and were very good in the mountain curves. I sold mine and down sized to a DR650 which I can actually enjoy off road... Great adventure bike for traveling. Keep an eye on your water pump!
Getting rid of the hot exhaust cans is a good idea, I melted some stuff one summer. I liked the cooler SBK exhaust, much less $$ than the other options and the sound is agressive.

My past baby, gone and missed sometimes...

A very impressive ride..

So, tell me about the oil change procedure? Chris, pay attention here....

 

[Murph]

You're lucky the cases didn't break off from the bracket. I've read quite a few ride reports in which riders had to get creative to re-attach one of those KTM side boxes to a broken mount after a crash in the middle of nowhere.

Cool bike. Best of luck!

 

[Sagebrush]

You're lucky the cases didn't break off from the bracket. I've read quite a few ride reports in which riders had to get creative to re-attach one of those KTM side boxes to a broken mount after a crash in the middle of nowhere.
Cool bike. Best of luck!

My Gobis were very durable, my left one took a few hits and even popped off once in a get off. <_<

My mounts took a beating as crash bars, they are tougher than many make them out to be. But, then again some riders crash pretty hard too. :assassin:

I hate KTM oil changes, they suck and most people take short cuts. I suggest you do a full oil change and just take the fuel tanks off and do it right. Its not bad with practice, just sucks when compared to say the FJR. Also, flush the coolant system now at the first service and get the sand out. Your water pump will thank you. I used the synthetic oil and did the full factory oil change interval, I think mine was 4,750 miles. It took me a relaxed two hours to do an oil change. Watch the dealers, most don't follow the correct oil change method and only touch the main filter. Keep an eye on them if you take it in for service... I would wait and watch from the shadows popping out at random moments.

 

[CHRIS_D]

You're lucky the cases didn't break off from the bracket. I've read quite a few ride reports in which riders had to get creative to re-attach one of those KTM side boxes to a broken mount after a crash in the middle of nowhere.
Cool bike. Best of luck!

My Gobis were very durable, my left one took a few hits and even popped off once in a get off. <_<

My mounts took a beating as crash bars, they are tougher than many make them out to be. But, then again some riders crash pretty hard too. :assassin:

I hate KTM oil changes, they suck and most people take short cuts. I suggest you do a full oil change and just take the fuel tanks off and do it right. Its not bad with practice, just sucks when compared to say the FJR. Also, flush the coolant system now at the first service and get the sand out. Your water pump will thank you. I used the synthetic oil and did the full factory oil change interval, I think mine was 4,750 miles. It took me a relaxed two hours to do an oil change. Watch the dealers, most don't follow the correct oil change method and only touch the main filter. Keep an eye on them if you take it in for service... I would wait and watch from the shadows popping out at random moments.

I was talking to the previous owner and he said that there's obviously an oil filter to change and two or three screens to clean. :dribble: He said the first oil change took over 2 hours in which he took off all the tanks and did it as the owner's manual stated. The second oil change he was able to do in 20 minutes by only removing the rock guards and snaking a 1/4 ratchet with a long extension in to do the same thing.

This is one of main reason I came really close to buying F800 GS. The problem with this bike is the dealer was only willing to take $350 off the retail price plus 20% off any accessories. Then with tax and all the other BS dealer fees I was looking well over $16K!!! However I will say other than the price I do like everything about the GS!!

Sagebrush,

I have heard of the water pump failures on the older ADV. I'm just curious how in the world does sand get into the cooling system? Isn't it a closed system?

 

[Sagebrush]

You're lucky the cases didn't break off from the bracket. I've read quite a few ride reports in which riders had to get creative to re-attach one of those KTM side boxes to a broken mount after a crash in the middle of nowhere.
Cool bike. Best of luck!

My Gobis were very durable, my left one took a few hits and even popped off once in a get off. <_<

My mounts took a beating as crash bars, they are tougher than many make them out to be. But, then again some riders crash pretty hard too. :assassin:

I hate KTM oil changes, they suck and most people take short cuts. I suggest you do a full oil change and just take the fuel tanks off and do it right. Its not bad with practice, just sucks when compared to say the FJR. Also, flush the coolant system now at the first service and get the sand out. Your water pump will thank you. I used the synthetic oil and did the full factory oil change interval, I think mine was 4,750 miles. It took me a relaxed two hours to do an oil change. Watch the dealers, most don't follow the correct oil change method and only touch the main filter. Keep an eye on them if you take it in for service... I would wait and watch from the shadows popping out at random moments.

I was talking to the previous owner and he said that there's obviously an oil filter to change and two or three screens to clean. :dribble: He said the first oil change took over 2 hours in which he took off all the tanks and did it as the owner's manual stated. The second oil change he was able to do in 20 minutes by only removing the rock guards and snaking a 1/4 ratchet with a long extension in to do the same thing.

This is one of main reason I came really close to buying F800 GS. The problem with this bike is the dealer was only willing to take $350 off the retail price plus 20% off any accessories. Then with tax and all the other BS dealer fees I was looking well over $16K!!! However I will say other than the price I do like everything about the GS!!

Sagebrush,

I have heard of the water pump failures on the older ADV. I'm just curious how in the world does sand get into the cooling system? Isn't it a closed system?

The sand is left over from the casting, I guess they don't flush them out well at the factory. :angry:

I found sand in mine, water pump shaft still bit the dust at 11K or so. Pretty easy to fix. Oil changes are a pain, you really need to do it right. I never liked pissing around with it, with the tanks off you have great access to the V Twin and it a good time to clean and degrease, look for leaks and loose vac hoses, make sure the wires and connectors look good etc.

Most people will skip the screen in the oil tank, there are two and a filter. The air filter is a pain too, just take your time and enjoy working on the bike. This is a bike for people who like wrenching! It gets easy after the first time, it just takes much more time than most bikes. Parts are high and sometimes you must wait for things.

I suggest you read everything on the KTM 950/990 Hall Of Wisdom site, its got everything you need to know about the the KTM beast. https://www.ktm950.info/

Step by step oil change: Click for the correct oil change method... Long version

I loved riding my KTM ADV, just didn't have time to wrench on it since I'm on the road 99% of the time traveling in my RV with two bikes. Thats the main reason I chose the FJR over the ST13 and Connie. I can change the oils quickly with no special effort at a camp ground without making my activity stand out to the neighbors... :yahoo:

You really need a garage with the KTM ADV, I was never happy with the dealer service 100%. They didn't clean both screens during the oil change service unless you made a point of it. They charged two hours for the service plus parts and let me watch and learn the pleasure too. :clapping:

 

[MojaveFJR]

Welcome to the world of Dual Sporting. You have been christened very nicely. I have a BMW R 1200 GS. Chose it over the KTM mostly for ease of maintenance and other convenient items. Both machines are awesome. Many happy miles to ya.