15 replies to this topic

[ChrisSuzor TT Newbie]

I am really enjoying this new bike, doing dual-sport as intended with trails and street fun. I have broken the engine case cover (left-side) with a fall on some rocks, so I added the touratech engine and radiator protection bars, which saved me from some more damage on the trails this weekend.

In the mud I did manage to bend the brake pedal 180 degrees. The part catalog shows the complete brake pedal package, 7651305024401 FOOT BRAKE LEVER CPL. 11, but the local dealer says there is no availability on this part, he will call head office in the week. The pedal itself has a number written on it that is just 76513050200 but it is nowhere to be found in catalog nor online. I would think this is a typical breaking part, I see RallyRaid has a "much stronger" replacement brake pedal but quite expensive. I am thinking that I should buy spare brake and gear pedals for the future. Does anyone have experience / advice on this?

On the street I had some frights with front-wheel wobble, either upon landing a wheelie (I am no expert) or when exceeding 130kmh. I have to slow down or hold much tighter and wait. I think this problem could be overcome with a steering damper, but I would like some opinions. I hesitate, there is a KTM steering damper which looks quite good 76512905000 but it has only 1 control and no reviews I could find, and the SCOTTS is cheaper but has 2 controls (?) and is highly recommended. Advice anyone?

Thanks for the help.

[biped TT Newbie]

I would recommend the RR brake lever. The KTM version, as you see, is very soft. Here is mine after a small get-off, can you beat that.

[ChrisSuzor TT Newbie]

It's a sad sight, I agree, mine was similar but twisted downwards, with a pair of pliers I managed to bring it back a little so at least I can use it until I can find a replacement. Have you tried the RR pedal?

[biped TT Newbie]

I had a replacement KTM part already. I will be getting the RR pedal soon and keep the KTM one as a spare.

[Infidel TT Bronze Member]

Do any replacement foot brake levers lower it by any significant amount? I have placed Fastway footpegs which are lower than stock and that lever is higher than I would prefer..........

And you know what they say about "preferred"......:moon:

[biped TT Newbie]

Have you tried mounting the tip on the underside of the lever. (assuming adjustment is not enough). I believe the aftermarket ones are at the same plane as the stock.

[TheLetterJ TT Bronze Member]

I bought a brake pedal from Cleenspeed http://www.cleanspee...ake%20Pedal.htm and have been very satisfied, but the RR pedal may be easier for you to get being that they are on the same side of the pond as you. Either way the aftermarket pedals are only marginally more expensive than the OEM pedal and the aftermarket ones are much more durable.

As far as breaking your engine side cover, I bought these http://www.adventure...tm-690-e-r.html to protect against that and they have worked as intended thus far (with rock gouges to prove it!)

[OkieBoy2 TT Newbie]

Letter J how did you mount the guard?

[TheLetterJ TT Bronze Member]

OkieBoy2 said:

Letter J how did you mount the guard?

I just used Permatex "ultra black" silicone. It seems to work well enough, I had a clutch meltdown while riding in the snow of all places (300*+ surface temp on the clutch cover) a few thousand miles ago and the covers stayed stuck on.

Here's my brake pedal fail picture from the Rubicon trail last year:

[Hlavkb TT Newbie]

I have the RR rear brake pedal, it's proven itself to be quite strong. One design flaw is the reduced diameter for the mounting bolt. Admittedly, it'd take an extraordinary impact to cause this damage. RR sent me a free replacement, said I was the first to incur such damage. The pedal itself had a significant gouge, so the impact must have been extreme.

I'd definitely recommend the pedal!

[ChrisSuzor TT Newbie]

Thanks for the advice. I am getting the akra exhaust fitted this week, so I need to spread my expenses towards richer days. The RR brake pedal is next, if the local dealer can find a stock pedal I will use that as a backup for later. I guess a spare gear shift pedal would also be welcome insurance. Then the damper, the bolts, a seat, etc... I now realize the list of things to buy never ends!

[OkieBoy2 TT Newbie]

Ok J thanks. I will try that.

[BobD TT Newbie]

I also recommend the STR brake pedal end. I got mine from Slavens Racing. It has a tapered end so the points on the pedal don't cut into the case. A friend of mine crashed on a rock and had the brake tear a hole in his case. (Luckily we were carrying JB Weld.) Anyway the STR pedal end is a great part. Comes with two size allen set screws.

[BobD TT Newbie]

J,  As I looked back over this topic, I noticed your rear tire.  Is that a trials tires on your 690?  How does it hold up?  I run trials on my 250 and 400 but haven't tried one on the 690.  Does it hold up?  If it isn't a trials tire, what is it?

[TheLetterJ TT Bronze Member]

The rear tire in my last pic is a Pirelli MT43 "trials" tire. If you aren't familiar with it, it has the same tread pattern and dimensions as a competition trials tire, but it is bias ply instead of radial so it has a stiffer carcass more like a knobbie which works to its advantage on a heavy bike like the 690 or when riding faster terrain. It actually works awesome on the 690, I was worried that the 690 was too big to take advantage of it, but 1000 miles or so on it and it is down to about 1/2 tread (mt21's lasted me 800 miles total for comparison.) I like it for pretty much all types of terrain except bottomless mud/clay/snow/slush. I still keep a knobby on another rear wheel for those rides, but the trials tire is awesome in the desert and mountains that I ride in. I keep it on my bike most of the time now. In the above pic I was running 14psi (what I normally ran in my nobbies) but later found 11psi to give me 4-5mm of rim clean on fast rocky trails//desert and I could go to 7-8psi if it was just tight trails. Do a search here on TT and you'll find many reviews about the mt43 (including mine)

[ChrisSuzor TT Newbie]

I finally installed the Scotts steering damper this week (RR kit), and went for a long ride today in the trails. I can't feel a difference a low speed, but at high speed on rough terrain it is great. I often get jarred with the handlebar from hitting rocks or roots at an angle, and it's scary enough at high speed that I have been slowing down... not anymore! I found myself going over the same trails faster, and received no nasty jarring, I could maintain a straight trajectory where I used to slow down because of crazy handlebar movements (because previously I was not able to hold it straight and could not anticipate the bumps at high speed). On a slower section going downhill on loose rocks I felt like the front wheel was on air cushion, I did not feel the handlebar twitching left and right anymore. I also hit some very high speeds on the road without the nasty wobble I sometimes get.

It's everything I expected, and requires no extra strength to make turns (and I did a lot of tight turns today). Expensive but highly recommended.

Edited by ChrisSuzor, 29 April 2012 - 11:53 AM.