school me on a ktm 690 enduro r

[breakdirt916]

I tried the 500 for a dual sport day, and that bike (and me) felt hella stressed out doing 85...squirrely bars...very high strung out...All my pavement day trip rides from home involve 1-2 hours at 80-100. The 690 was *just* enough to comfortably handle the slab; the 500, I'd do only if I was skipping all freeway (kinda like RTW paul). If you're smashing 80% of your miles on pavement all summer, the 500 is the wrong bike IMHO.

and yes, the forks need to come off to swap the fork guards:



they wrap all the way around the fork

a lot gets trimmed off to clear the 17's:



the front wheel is especially wider than the enduro wheel:



but it works:







everything clears and fits

the kickstand is a little too tall, but I have the W9 replacement

kickstand switch dongle installed and bike fires/runs.

Carrying some extra fuses, and going to do some local rides to make sure it doesn't pop.

[Kurlon]

Toss those guards, 02 era KTM guards aren't full wrap around and you can order the SMR part number that won't require trimming for 17s.

On the 500 you rode one with stock gearing, put sumo gearing on and it's a different animal, and still has plenty of torque to plod along at low speed.

[breakdirt916]

while the SMR parts won't fit (I think that lower fork leg is a different design than the Enduro R), the 00-08 era 525's look like they might actually work

my main concern was the brake line & ABS wire, guide; which it appears the 525 guards do have

thanks for the tip @Kurlon!



I came, I rode, the bike ran





Track: Apple Valley Speedway (formerly Grange)



0.9 miles, kind of tight, 65ish mph on the main straight, 20ish in the turns.

@ onecheek - Adams is 0.75miles, so this is a wee bit longer. 1:06-1:25 would be a lap time range







first time here with Thuderdome EXP

they have:
-speakers with 90's/2000's hip hop playing all day
-laid back, non-policed bike prep and gear prep
-one corner worker
-15 min sessions (A, B, C, and hooligan)
-five sessions from 9am-2pm, open track from 2-4pm, then time attack/slow races 4-5pm
-massage therapist
-BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, and sausage (included for riders)
-Fruteria food truck blending ice cold smoothies, aqua frescas, chamoi fruit
-coaching sessions
-skid pad w' wheelie coach

it's a whole different type of track day from the usual racer-bred practice days.

Definitely a fun way to spend a Saturday over a long weekend

The bike, did NOT randomly die on me



it's kinda like an ex girlfriend who's suddenly nice to you before you tried to break up with her

is it rebuilding trust? Could it have just been a overheated/defective/vibrated apart fuse?

The good news about my problems is: once I have a problem fixed, it doesn't happen again.

The bad news about my problems is: every time I get stranded it's a *new* issue. If something else goes wrong, I can't even prepare for it in advance and fix it road or trail side.

IDK.IDK.IDK

meanwhile, I hated the supermoto setup at 22psi; the rear tire didn't want to lean

I aired it to 28psi, and it finally fell into turns; I even got most of the chicken strip off:



regardless, I can't say that I loved the setup enough to justify keeping it.

I'm not a fast boi, and I can get 80-85% of how far I'd push that bike on a sportsman setup. @Iglu has seen me in the canyons on it; he said we were moving .

They do look sexy, so I'll ride out for some photo shoots, but the wheels come off this week.

They head to offer up with the Acerbis fender and shorter kickstand.

[Kurlon]

That sounds like a killer day at the track... hrmm... when can I get to Cali?

[breakdirt916]

hell yeah dude, it would be a blast. We could hit different tracks on back to back days; just bring your gear.

ordered the '03 525 fork guards from RMATV. If they fit, the OEM guards are not going back on.

Sumo wheels came off and are on offer up/facebook marketplace w' the shorter kickstand, sumo front fender, and trimmed fork guards for $1,100...hoping to get $950 for everything.

**EDIT** I have a roof/driveway/yard clean up to do on one of the rentals - maybe sell the whole package?
$6,500/bo - bike + sumo wheels
$5,500/bo - bike

Expecting to get maybe 5k for the bike and maybe $800 for the wheels

[OneCheekRider]

sounds like Thunderdome was worth the price of admission and trek out there?

NESR West Coast rides? Sign me up!

[MattR302]

This thread is pretty much the sole reason why I haven’t upgraded from my Suzuki DR to a 690/701
Edit: and the stupid fuel tank cap being behind the seat. I don’t want to have to get off the bike to fill up.

Out here people would be asking at least 8k for that bike without the sumo wheels