Big Orange, the tales of a true dual sport, KTM 640 Adventure

So I used to own one of these, but sold it for the siren song of the KTM V Twin.  I thought I wanted the smoother feel and more power that comes with the KTM 990.  I unfortunately also found out that the the 990 comes with much more maintenance, which is a huge PITA and the early models have really bad mapping, leading to a snatchy throttle feel.

Eventually I got annoyed with constantly working on it so I sold it for a KTM 1190R. Which was a fabulous street bike with an adventure stance.  It was far too heavy for me to lift off road and as an average offroad rider I didn't have the skills to muscle it into the places I wanted to go.  Then my wife went back to work full time and I had a rapidly depreciating asset in my garage with an unknown amount of time to ride.  So I sold it.

I always said if I'd kept the 640 I wouldn't have sold it.  They're 100% depreciated and always worth the same no matter if it's this year or 5-10 years from now.  Nobody has come out with a modern equivalent that has the same range, suspension, rear subframe and most importantly, LOW WEIGHT.   This bike weighs under 400lbs fully wet.

I'd kinda been looking around but these are rare bikes, they didn't sell that many of them back in the day, most people here bought the 950/990's.  So when one popped up literally ten minutes from my house on Craigslist I was interested.  It took me a week or two of internal debate to go look at it, but when I did, I bought it.

The bike is dripping with unobtanium parts, like the optional, larger, lighter rally fuel tank, a full Akrapovic exhaust, headers and pipe, rally book holder, rally skid plate, Emig triple tree/steering dampener, factory pannier racks etc, etc.

I paid a little more than I would've liked, but still less than I sold mine for back in the day, plus I didn't have to pay for shipping.

I do have some work to do, as the previous owner stripped it for minimal weight on the trail.  I want to reinstall the center stand, right front brake caliper/rotor and the pannier racks.  Unfortunately he didn't have the hardware for the pannier racks and the center stand and didn't organize the hardware for the brakes.

I haven't been able to find some of the hardware for the brakes, so I'm going to head to Fay Myers today and hopefully buy what I need and look at their parts fiche to figure out what I need to mount the pannier racks. 

After that I'll address the ergonomics, as I need wider foot pegs, risers for the handlebars, lower seat, etc...

When we met up duing The One Lap of America in 2018, which KTM did you have with you? 

It was an impressive beast but it did look big/heavy. This smaller bike looks much more agile. 

In reply to John Welsh :

That was my 1190R.  It was a fabulous street bike, made 150+ hp and was a real tarmac weapon.  Unfortunately, that bike was 550-600lbs wet, so way heavier than this one.

What a cool looking bike. Is that chain really loose? Looks like some links are binding from here. 

In reply to Slippery (Forum Supporter) :

I'll check it but the chains on these KTM's are supposed to be pretty loose...

Could be a perspective thing. 

So KTM didn't sell that many of these 640's here in the USA.  And the last one sold was in 2007.  KTM also isn't all that great about parts support.  I went to my local dealer yesterday to buy the necessary hardware to reinstall the center stand.

They had everything but the spring bow, which is this semi circular bracket that holds the center stand springs and mounts to the frame of the bike.  KTM no longer makes it.  Looked like I was screwed!  I posted on the 640 Facebook group and Adv Rider and got some leads. 

KTM made these in several different colors, using different part numbers.  I called my local dealer again to have them search these other part numbers, with unfortunately the same result.  Then the parts guy checked KTM HQ, then did a dealer search across the USA to see if anyone had one.  Turns out a dealer in Montana was showing one, so my dealer parts guy called that dealer and made sure they actually had it, then gave me the MT dealers info.

I called them and it's on it's way!  I'm over the moon about this!  Of course this morning on the 640 Facebook group someone is selling a complete center stand with that spring bow.  I may buy it just to have a spare since I know you can't buy the center stand anymore...

I also took the time to clean up and paint one side of the pannier racks, along with cutting out a cross brace that some previous owner had added.  I would've kept it but it interfered with my Akrapovic exhaust and well, that's definitely staying on the bike.

Cleaned up pretty well

My goal for today is to get the necessary hardware to mount the pannier racks and get them on the bike.  I did find all the necessary hardware to mount the RF brake setup, but need to get the center stand on first so I can remove the front wheel...

Around this part of Northern Ohio, the land is flat and it is rare to see a KTM on the road but the KTM East US Headquarters are just 20 minutes from my house.  https://www.ktm.com/en-us/contact.html  If there is some way I can help with picking something up, etc, let me know.  

Sweet Bike! I have a buddy who had one of those. Love me some KTM.

Make mine any of the 600ish cc Dukes.

So today I pulled some bolts from the bike, figured out what I needed, then headed to the hardware store.  Then I mocked the racks up on the bike and headed back to the hardware store to get some longer bolts.  lol.

End result is the racks are on the bike.  Turns out the racks did come with two necessary spacers but no hardware and I needed one additional spacer.

Right side mounted.  I think I stripped a captive nutsert tho.  Argh!  I needed a break, so I went inside for lunch and I'm contemplating what to do.  It's the very upper bolt, right below the side of the back of the seat.  I'd gotten all the bolts threaded in properly but then removed them to slather blue loctite all over them.  Because Big O is a thumper and if you want to keep bolts installed, you better loctite the snot out of them.  When I went to put that one back in I guess I didn't have it lined up quite right.  Doh...

Left side installed without issue

I think the Akrapovic pipe is larger than the factory one, as I had to space out this lower bolt a little bit to get the rack to clear the pipe...

Hopefully that spring bow shows up on Wednesday so I can put the center stand on.  Then I'll be able to put the right front brake setup back on.

After that it's dealing with ergonomics for me, adding bar spacers, larger foot pegs, heated grips, gps mount, strapping on my Wolfman tank bag, etc...

That's a great bike with reasonable expectations.  I bought a 690 Supermoto new back in 2007--it was the most fun bike I ever had, just not so much on the freeway (80+ felt like near-death).  I spent hours staring at just the swing arm (billet) and the trellis frame.  It had like a one-finger clutch (slipper, too).  Throttle wheelies on a test drive, however, definitely helped to sell the thing.  I sold it to a guy in Germany who had a house in Mexico and was planning to ride it from there to CA.  Interesting times . . .

So I've got a pretty large Wolfman tank bag and it did fit on my last 640 with the factory fuel tank.  On this one with the rally tank?  Not the greatest fitment, looks like I need to get a smaller one...

OK, got home a little early today and checked that one bolt.  Happily it's taking torque!  So I snugged it down and I'm calling it good.

I also did a little shopping at Performance Cycle, which is conveniently 10 minutes away from me.  Bought some oil, brake fluid, heated grips and bar risers.  On 640A 1.0 I had 2" Rox Risers and then eventually went to Pro Taper Pastrana FMX bars, that gave me a total bar rise of ~3.5" over stock.  For that to work with all the cables I had to flip the throttle cables to underneath the bars and have a new compression lever cable made.  I figured I'd do the same thing on 640A 2.0, so I just bought 3.5" Rox Risers to start with.

When I got home I busted out the CAD design and tried out a 3.5" bar.

Hmm, that seems really, really high?  Lets try a 2 inch bar rise...

Yeah, that seems better.  Not sure why the two bikes are different.  This bike does have an Emig triple tree/steering dampener setup while 640A 1.0 had a Scott's setup.  Maybe the Emig is higher to begin with?

Anyways, I also had another dilemma.  I'd kept my old Wolfman Rainier tank bag, that'd I'd used on 640A 1.0, (along with all my subsequent KTM's) and figured I'd pop it right onto 640A 2.0.

Um, no.  That's way too big.  Again, WTF?  I ran this exact bag on 640A 1.0?!  Maybe the rally fuel tank on 640A 2.0 is different somehow?

Anyways, a quick look on AdvRider yielded me a Wolfman Blackhawk tank bag that looked new and was being sold locally.  We agreed to meet back at Performance Cycle (I needed to exchange the Rox Risers anyways) and I bought it.

Yeah, that fits much better!

I also got a big part of my gear today.  I'd posted a WTB on one of the local Facebook riders groups and found a Klim Badlands Pro riding suit used.  It's the newer version of the gear I used to have and should've kept.  This stuff is bomb proof, lots of armor and it's goretex, so I won't get soaked.  Not that it rains all that much here...

I'd tried the sizes on at Performance.  The jacket is the perfect size for me.  The pants are a "tall", so they're probably a bit long for me.  For the price I got them for if I don't like them I can either sell them and buy the regular length or see if someone is selling the regular length used.

All I need now to ride is a helmet.  I'm waiting for Klim to release this years and I'll grab one.

So my Gobi bags showed up last night.  I scored them off Advrider.  There is some debate on whether soft bags are better but I like hard bags for longer road trips or if I have to carry something around town.  I can lock them, they're water/weather proof and you can also use them as a stool. 

I figured I might as well toss them on the bike and see what they look like.

In looking at them from the back, the racks look very asymmetrical.  Now I'm wondering if I have those back braces facing the wrong way and that the longer end should be on the right side of the bike...

In looking at pics of my old 640 1.0, it

In looking at pics of 640 1.0 it seems like I have the racks in the right orientation, but I can't find a direct rear shot of that bike.  I'll try and flip the back braces around on Sunday and see what it looks like...

My spring bow for the center stand showed up yesterday too.  Now I need to figure out how I'm going to hold the bike upright so I can install the center stand, as I need to remove the side stand to get the center stand on.  Then I need to see if I can modify the side stand to work.  Otherwise I have to order the sw-motech side stand from Germany.  Which I might do no matter what, as parts for this bike are rapidly becoming unobtanium, so I should buy stuff now when I can...

Decided to just order the sw motech side stand, it bolts right on.  Has to come from Germany, so probably won't see it for a month.  My Motion Pro spring puller tool showed up last night, so this Sunday I hope to get the center stand on.  That way I can start putting the right front brake setup back on.

After that is pull the seat and fuel tank and install the bar risers.   Not sure if I'll have to reroute the throttle cables/decompression lever cable, so might as well have everything off and ready to go.  Then I'll install the heated grips. 

Friend came over to help me with the center stand install.  Basically I needed him to hold the bike up as the center stand uses one of the same mounting points as the side stand.  Why KTM didn't design the side stand to work WITH the center stand is beyond me.

Anyways, pull out two large allen bolts and the side stand is off.  Pop the center stand in place, liberal use of loctite on the studs/bolts, then get the spring bow into place.  I'm really glad I bought the Motion Pro spring puller tool because putting the springs on without it would've really sucked. 

The dealer didn't sell me the bolt I needed, so I grabbed one out of my bolt collection but it was a little long and was hitting the spring bow.  A quick trip to the hardware store and the center stand is on and done!

Hopefully the sw motech side stand shows up in a few weeks and I can put it on.

I want to put some sort of tool box/tube on the bike and was hoping to fit one in between the pannier racks and the bike on either the right or left side. 

I played around and it looks like the only real spot I have is on top of the racks like this.  Which I'm not sure I like...

I did discover the factory tool box is still in place underneath the right rear of the bike.  Unfortunately it's quite small and even the KTM tool kit won't fit in it unless I take all the tools out of the pouch.  I'm not keen on that because if I need a socket and it's loose and at the bottom of the tool box I have no good way to grab it as I can't fit my hands/fingers in there that far...

Was up in Vail yesterday but had to come home in the morning to get my son to a Bday Party.  Of course it was puking snow up there and we missed a decent ski day.  Doh.

Anyways, with him at a Bday Party and my daughter at a friends house AND it being 50 degrees I was motivated to work on the bike.

Time for the bar risers, which means I've got to take off the seat and tank so I can get at all the cables.  2" Rox Risers mocked up.

Closer look...

I need to figure out a way to get at those lower allen bolts to tighten them.  I'll either need to tilt the risers into a position I don't want, or mess around with a cut off allen key.  Which I what I think I did on 640A 1.0 as I've found an allen key nub in my tool box.

I was able to flip the throttle cables from above the bars to below the bars...

And move the choke cable from behind the triple tree to in front of it.  The choke cable attaches to the carb with a plastic nut, that's a bear to line up.  It's really easy to get it going in cross threaded and since it's plastic, it gets all boogered up.  I wasn't excited about popping it out of the carb.  I'd bought a metal version for 640A 1.0 and I know I have it somewhere in my tool box but I can't find it.  Luckily I was able to get this one back in...

Only issue now is the decompression lever cable is too short.  A place in town used to make custom length cables, they made me one for 640A 1.0.  When I called them yesterday tho they said they'd stopped doing it.  Dammit!  KTM does make a longer decompression cable from an earlier thumper that'll fit, I'm just not sure it'll be long enough.  My dealer does allow returns, so I ordered it and I'll find out.  The risers are +2", I probably need +1" at least on this cable for it to have a bit of slack when I turn the bars.

KTM also has two auxiliary plugs for power, one is switched, the other isn't.  I need to figure out which one is which, I'll use the switched power for my GPS mount.  I scored a used Garmin Montana 610T with maps/city navigator off eBay yesterday...

Current state of the bike.  Today I hope to wire in the GPS mount, deal with the front sprocket locking washer and maybe install the heated grips...

I love these. I rode one a few years back on some double track and it was awesome. 

In reply to Professor_Brap (Forum Supporter) :

It's still a unicorn.  As much as I'd like a modern, fuel injected bike with a smoother twin motor or a balance shaft single, nobody makes one.

The combo of huge fuel tank/range, fairing/windshield, rear subframe, great suspension and under 400lbs wet is something the moto companies don't seem to want to make.  The Husky 701 Long Range comes close, but doesn't have a fairing/windscreen and supposedly it a 2020 bike only...

Ok, was able to get a little more work done before my sons friend came over.  It's a beautiful day and I'd love to keep working in the garage but leaving two 7 year old boys alone inside the house isn't a great idea...

So, first things first, tightening those basically inaccessible Rox Riser bolts.  I must've had this issue before because I found a nub of a 6mm allen key in my tool box.  I had to cut it down a little bit more to fit but then I was able to put that in the bolt head and then turn it with a 6mm open end wrench.

Next up is the GPS mount.  Luckily this bike came with the unobtanium rally book holder.  I put a RAM mount on that, then I found my old locking GPS arm.  Facebook marketplace gave me the Garmin powered AMPS mount for cheap.  Wham, bam and it's on the bike.  Still need to wire it but that's just a power and ground.

Last for today was fixing the front sprocket nut.  As I mentioned earlier, the previous owner didn't know that you're supposed to turn the lock washer over the flat part of the nut to keep it from coming off.  I thought the washer wasn't there as I found a spare one in his pile of parts he gave me. 

So I removed the sprocket again, then noticed that the washer WAS there but was backwards and not folded over the nut.

Pop the nut on, crank on it with the electric impact, then fold the washer over.  Some guys are able to do that really neatly, that never seems to happen for me...

It's not going anywhere now!  Hopefully I'll get some more work in tonight, I'd like to wire the GPS at least...

Decided to order the proper Molex connectors so I can build a plug n play harness for the GPS.  Gotta wait for those to come in plus the longer decompression cable before I do anything else.  Well, I might throw the right front brake setup on this weekend, but otherwise need to wait for parts before I can start putting things back together...

Some parts showed up today, my side stand extender foot and my Garmin 610T GPS.  Waiting on my longer decompression cable and Molex connector plugs. 

Will also order the Highway Dirt Bikes hand guards, anti vibration inserts and bar end weights.  Meant to measure the top clamps so I could order the stuff tonight, but forgot.  Was busy ordering new gear from Klim and was on the phone with them.  Ordered the Badlands Pro pants, I sold the 34 Talls I picked up used and replaced them with 34 regulars.  Also picked up the switchback pants for riding around town, the Klim Krios Pro helmet and the Badlands Aero gloves. 

Everything was in stock but the gloves, which luckily are the one thing I don't need right away as I can still use my old Fox gloves for now...

Wow that Klim riding gear is eye-wateringly expensive.  $1500 for a riding jacket? $900 for pants?  

In reply to rothwem :

Klim has a very generous military program.  I wouldn't say that it makes it cheap, but less expensive at that point.  The other high end gear from say BMW or RevIt isn't a whole lot less expensive.  I also scored the jacket and 34T pants very lightly used for a good price.  Sold the 34T pants and bought new pair of 34 Regular pants.  So at the end I did ok price wise on the gear vs paying full retail on all of it.  Their helmets/gloves/boots are the same prices as Arai, RevIt, Sidi.

There is cheaper gear out there but I know I fit in this stuff and it lasts a long time...

Major piece came in today!  The longer decompression cable, woot!  Should be an easy replacement but, well, yeah.  Turns out there's a definite order for installation.  Take out the bottom part of the old cable first, then the top part.  For the new one, put the bottom part in first, then the top part.

New cable is 3.5" longer!  Way longer than I expected, I thought it'd be maybe 1-2" longer.  It still works for me thankfully.  Got it installed, checked operation, cable works great with the Rox Risers.

Next up is wiring the GPS, the Molex connectors I got from Amazon do fit one of the auxiliary plugs.  Then install the heated grips and I can put the bike back together again...