KTM 640 Adventure NEWBY

[jjewell]

Hello!
I am looking at buying a 2005 KTM640 adventure with 20k miles on it.
Mechanically it sounds in very good condition. I am planning on taking
it to Argentina and am not sure if it is wise to ride a bike that
already has 20k on it another 25 or 30k through remote areas. I am not
to familiar with putting high mileage on bikes, especially singles
like this. Could anyone give me some advice on what kind of mechanical
issues will crop up around 50,000 miles on a bike like this? Do I have
to worry about piston rings or other engine parts wearing out? Also
any other mechanical issues typical for the KTM I should be prepared
for in advance. This bike has a new output shaft seal installed and
another new spare along with it. Any advice will be helpful. Thanks A
lot!
Max

[bajadog]

Hey Max,

My buddy posted this on another website about the LC4 engine:

"I have driven two LC4's to almost 40,000 miles each (see sig below) without failure. I use nothing but dino oil at 2,000 mile intervals unless I'm really hammering on it, then a bit sooner. I am anal on my air filter services. The LC4 is a VERY good platform for performance and durability."

Here is a guy that tried to ride down to the tip of South America, but
did not keep his valves adjusted, or change his oil enough.

http://ktmtalk.com/index.php?showtopic=389444

I have 16K miles on my 2002 LC4 640e. Just synthetic oil, valves at 5000 miles and air filter cleaned at EVERY dusty ride (keep one in a zip lock bag pre-oiled).

Marco

[jjewell]

Originally Posted by bajadog

Hey Max,

My buddy posted this on another website about the LC4 engine:

"I have driven two LC4's to almost 40,000 miles each (see sig below) without failure. I use nothing but dino oil at 2,000 mile intervals unless I'm really hammering on it, then a bit sooner. I am anal on my air filter services. The LC4 is a VERY good platform for performance and durability."

Here is a guy that tried to ride down to the tip of South America, but
did not keep his valves adjusted, or change his oil enough.

http://ktmtalk.com/index.php?showtopic=389444

I have 16K miles on my 2002 LC4 640e. Just synthetic oil, valves at 5000 miles and air filter cleaned at EVERY dusty ride (keep one in a zip lock bag pre-oiled).

Marco

Thanks Bajadog! Thats encouraging. How often do you do a valve adjustment and do you need new gaskets every time?

[bajadog]

Originally Posted by jjewell

Thanks Bajadog! Thats encouraging. How often do you do a valve adjustment and do you need new gaskets every time?

I bought my bike in 2004 with 60 miles on it. Ran it up to 500 miles, then
adjusted the valves. The exhaust were just BARELY off.

Next adjustment came at 7000 miles, and they were dead on.

I have not adjusted them since then and now have 16K miles on it.

I do use the BEST synthetic. I drain the oil at 1500-3000 (1 liter) depending
on dusty conditions. I do the complete oil 2 liters and both filters at 5000-6000 miles. It's so easy to just drain out a liter of oil, and replace it, and this really
extends the over all full change interval.

Make sure you don't run the bike lean. That will shorten the engine life.

Goodluck,

Marco

[jjewell]

Marco,
Thanks that's sounds real reasonable.

[bajadog]

PS. I have not changed the right side oil filter gasket yet.