KTM990 throttle snatch?

[ducatijim]

My 990 is off the road at the moment as the oil/water pump shat itself and starting sucking radiator coolant into the engine. AMPS are currently waiting on parts.

Oh joy.....................................

.....ya gotta luv em....

[sparker]

Have only done 2000km on new 2009 adventure.Found same problem with fueling replaced the throttle with a tamer throttle from ktmtwins.com not cheap but made a real diference. Also took out all throttle play and keep the chain as tight as possible as there seems to be a fair amount of drive line free play.Not perfect but much better.Fuelling isn't great on part throttle on many FI bikes just the KTM is so responsive and the throttle hair trigger it makes it seem worse. Hopefully get better with mor KMS. Still love it .Did New Plymouth to Kawhia along the coast grat fun.

[sparker]

Have only done 2000km on new 2009 990 adventure but found same problem really sensitive throttle response. Only need to hit bump in road hand moves a couple of mm and bike lurches even harder on gravel. Replaced the throttle with a tamer throttle from ktmtwins.com made a real difference ,slowed down that first bit of the throttle action. Also took all the slack out of the throttle and the chain. As there seems to be a fair amount of drive line slack in the transmission. Seems much better like this although not perfect especially at low revs and small throttle openings. Have found this on other FI bikes just more so on the KTM as its so lively.Did New Plymouth to Kawhia the other day via Marakopa great ride and loved the KTM not perfect yet but better.

[Crisis management]

Good to hear you're enjoying the Katoom, I used the 400 cam on the throttle plus a 16 tooth front sprocket and that made a significant difference to the snatchiness. The only time I have trouble with it now is in marginal traction conditions or when going slowly in 1st gear, my solution is to set the throttle at say 2k and use the clutch, slipping that to maintain control. This seems to work until you get a bit of lurch and accidentally jerk the throttle open!

Next weeks plan is to remove the secondary throttle "flaps" as part of a service and then rerun the 15 minute FI initialisation...if I don't blow it up, I'll let you know how that goes.

[ducatijim]

That should do it Iain,also, I have found a 'brake' or friction device on the thro tube is good- I have a 'cruise control' device I got from Oz and it is great to apply some friction in tight or town conditions just to stop unwanted 'blips' on the sensitive throttle.

[warewolf]

The only time I have trouble with it now is in marginal traction conditions or when going slowly in 1st gear, my solution is to set the throttle at say 2k and use the clutch, slipping that to maintain control. This seems to work until you get a bit of lurch and accidentally jerk the throttle open!

Try putting your thumb on the switch block to anchor your throttle. That should avoid the bump-jerk stuff.

[tri boy]

Got to ride the ex Kiwi Rider 990 for a brief squirt today. Cheers Oscar
I could see how real slow maneuvering on them might be a bit tricky. (Seems a bit too tall geared, and the throttle response was noticeable but.................

Oh the grunt the fecking thing has
Harden up you lot
Or I will make ya pootle around on a scrambler

(Wish I hadn't ridden it now, I bloody want one)

[jcsh]

I've had my 08 990 for 9 months now and 10000km. I did some research on the throttle snatchiness thing as I found it annoying at 50ks in town and downright horrible on on-off riding in the dirt. The first thing I did was change to the 91 octane fuel map and that improved things markedly. Power is slightly down but theres still masses, and i often ride 2 up with luggage in a 'spirited' fashion ;-)

Thunderbikes told me that they had a factory fix which involved filing the throttle cam, this has improved things again. I'm not too bothered about the throttle response now, its very manageable, which considering where it started from is a BIG improvement.

I laos cut down the screen and bent it backwards as per ADV rider threads - its a lot better. I've found the buffeting is all but gone now.

Cheers
James

OH BTW - does anyone know where I can get a front scorp for a reasonable price - I can fit it myself so mail order is ok.

[warewolf]

Bullion Motorcycles (cycletreads nelson) is good for tyres.

[Oscar]

Got to ride the ex Kiwi Rider 990 for a brief squirt today. Cheers Oscar
I could see how real slow maneuvering on them might be a bit tricky. (Seems a bit too tall geared, and the throttle response was noticeable but.................

Oh the grunt the fecking thing has
Harden up you lot
Or I will make ya pootle around on a scrambler

(Wish I hadn't ridden it now, I bloody want one)

Yeah, they need lower gearing, I found that my 950 was much more usable with one tooth difference on the countershaft.

The 990 needs a slightly different riding technique to the 950, I found. On gravel you can ride it like a ye olde big two stroke - shift up and grunt it out of the corners. Easier on the throttle and not as much wheelspin.

[jcsh]

Bullion Motorcycles (cycletreads nelson) is good for tyres.

Clive's a great guy but he cant get these tyres very cheaply unfortunately..

[warewolf]

Clive's a great guy but he cant get these tyres very cheaply unfortunately..

Can anyone? They are Pirellis after all. The pricing on some dirt Pirellis in Filco today was scary. Clive said some months ago that tyre prices were going to head northward with a vengeance.

[jcsh]

Can anyone? They are Pirellis after all. The pricing on some dirt Pirellis in Filco today was scary. Clive said some months ago that tyre prices were going to head northward with a vengeance.

We need to get around the NZ distributor model somehow, these tyres are way cheaper abroad. The NZ distis are gloving us... Surely someone does grey imports of tyres..? No?

[jcsh]

Yeah, they need lower gearing, I found that my 950 was much more usable with one tooth difference on the countershaft.

The 990 needs a slightly different riding technique to the 950, I found. On gravel you can ride it like a ye olde big two stroke - shift up and grunt it out of the corners. Easier on the throttle and not as much wheelspin.

I put a one tooth smaller front sprocket on mine and it improved its low speed manners measurably.

BTW I'm putting my 990 up for sale soon if you know anyone thats interested... almost exactly one year old, 14.5k kms Black, a few farkles such as carbon fork protectors, orange master cylinder covers etc. I've got my eye on a supermoto.

[warewolf]

We need to get around the NZ distributor model somehow, these tyres are way cheaper abroad. The NZ distis are gloving us... Surely someone does grey imports of tyres..? No?

yes, no, and dunno.

With the rise of internet shopping crossing geographical boundaries, local legislation has not caught up. (This has always been a problem with ICT in general, as it advances at a meteoric rate whereas governments move at a glacial pace.) Not only is purchasing accessible, but previously ppl were much more ignorant of overseas pricing.

It is not a level playing field. Businesses have heaps of taxes and overheads that a private importer bypasses and/or is exempt... the most obvious being GST not payable below $50, and some sellers happy to lie on the forms to keep it below that even if it isn't. The local businesses are not ripping anyone off.

A guy in Aussie (on advrider.com) tried to import a pallet of adventure tyres that were super cheap in the USA. AFAIK it didn't happen because freight & compliance costs pushed the price per unit too close to (or over) what the local dealers were selling for, despite the purchase price in the USA being something like 40% of the local price.

(but this is all Off Topic)