Removing KTM 690 Enduro R spark plugs

Now usually removing spark plugs is a two step deal. 1. disconnect spark plug cable 2. unscrew spark plug. Deal done. Not so with 690 Enduro R. It doesn't help that the owners manual doesn't have any instructions on how to change / remove the spark plugs.

The following is a step-by-step instruction on how to remove both of the spark plugs.

1. Disconnect the white coupler from the stick coil and pull the outer stick coil out from the stick coil holder. If the stick coil O-rings are dry, as they probably are, the coils need some force for it to pop out. Grease the O-rings once you you get them out.

This outer stick coil with the white coupler

Outer stick coil removed

the 2014 KTM 690 Enduro R stick coil itself. 1 of 2.

Now here is where it starts to get tricky. One would assume that the inner stick coil could also be simply pulled out from the holder, but that's a NO. The frame gets in the way and I didn't feel comfortable applying force to try to pry it past the frame.

Nope

At this point you would think that you could insert the spark plug removal tool in to the stick coil holder and simply remove the outer spark plug. Again NO. The bottom end of the stick coil holder is too narrow for the tool to reach the plug at the bottom of the hole! Yes, really. So more stuff to do before getting to the actual spark plugs.

Nope again

2.

a) You need to pop out the inner stick coil, but since you can't fully remove it this point, leave it in the hole but make sure it is disconnected from the spark plug. (You can feel it pop of the plug). Disconnect the wire from the stick coil too.

b) You need to unscrew the 2 stick coil holder mounting bolts.

stick coil holder bolts

This bolt goes to the cable holder, removing it gives you a tiny amount of more room to work on the bolt behind the cables

The KTM toolkit T-wrench is slim enough to access the other bolt

 3. Lift off the stick coil holder. Dry O-rings may need some convincing again. I recommend applying grease to these O-rings too when you remount the holder.

2014 KTM 690 Enduro R stick coil holder

bottom end

top end

O-rings

Finally! Access to the spark plugs!

Now You can finally just unscrew the plugs using the spark plug tool included in the toolkit.

FYI

2014 KTM 690 Enduro Spark plug specs

Inside spark plug: NGK LKAR8BI-9

Outside spark plug: NGK LMAR7A-9

Spark plug electrode gap: 0.9 mm (0.035 in)

New farkles - Rally Raid products soft luggage racks

Not my bike or my picture

Last summer I came to the conclusion that in order to travel comfortably (not constantly fiddling with luggage during fill ups etc.) I need luggage racks. My preferred option were the so called Wolfman racks, but apparently they are no longer available. I looked through offerings from KTM, Touratech and the like, but found them to be both ugly and of wrongly shaped for my plans.

The Rally Raid soft luggage racks seemed to be the best available alternative and I made the order a while ago. It was also important that the RR racks and my Nomadic rear rack would fir together which they do judging from the pictures found at ADVrider.com. I haven't actually received the goods or installed them yet, but both of those things should happen at the end of the month.

In the meanwhile I got a heads up from The Rolling Hobo that the RR racks have a weak spot at the lowest mounting bolt. His rack fractured from both sides during the Eastern Dirt ride. You can see pics from the failure at the week 3 entry of his blog. The plan is to tackle the issue with large spacers and see if that is enough to prevent them from breaking. I'll post more once I get the racks mounted.

Desert race on KTM 690 Enduro

I haven't posted many videos by others, but I think it's time so there is something to watch during the winter months. The video below is from the 44th desert 100 race. I like that it really shows a mere mortal (mistakes and all) participating on a race event and there is no fast editing or annoying music. The race doesn't really end well for the guy, but it was very interesting to watch anyway.

Too many of the 690 videos are just asshats doing wheelies on public roads. I ***ing hate that stuff.

Decatting the 690 Enduro R stock exhaust [updated 20th Dec.]

-14 690 Enduro R stock exhaust

I got the idea from ADVrider forums where I found a couple of different approaches to the process. There is no real sensible purpose for this project, but out of curiosity I want to see if the decatted exhaust will run noticeably cooler. I'm also interested in how the decatting affects the sound. (I like my exhausts as quiet as possible). The starting point is a -09 SMC exhaust which looks visually identical to the current  -14 version with the exception of it not having the single mounting hole and the missing "crash guard". If all goes well, I will have a slightly lighter and somewhat cooler quiet OEM pipe.

The patient (-09 690 SMC exhaust) sedated for surgery

At this point I'm not at all certain if I can mount the -09 pipe directly to the bike simply by using one of the two mounting holes. I.e. I don't know if the holes will match.

***Disclaimer, I recommend you don't attempt this at home. Neither should you install a decatted exhaust on your bike since it may be illegal and/or damage your bike.

Step one, hacksawing the exhaust in two [Sat Nov. 15th]

(Step one should really be to check if the holes match and the pipe can be mounted using the existing mounting holes etc., but I'll worry about that later)

Sawing complete. Took some time with a plain old manual hacksaw

The catalysator is the big round thingy with the "filter"

Step two, removing the cat [Sun Nov. 16th]

cat removed

With the help of a power drill, a long iron rod and a hammer the cat was first drilled and then pounded clean off. Seemed hopeless at first, but the key was to drill it full of big holes first and then chip away what was left.

The weight (the now separated end cap not included) was reduced from 4,315 kilos to 4,137... This means removing the cat resulted in weight savings of 178 grams or 6,3 ounces. Clearly saving weight is a very poor excuse for decatting.

Next step: find a welder... (this can take a while)

Step three, welding it back together

I found a welder through a friend and he did a rather good job in my opinion. Cost me a bottle of gin so the price was very reasonable too. 

Next step, mounting it on the bike

For now, I'm assuming the existing mounting holes will not match. I will probably have a chance to test this assumption during the weekend. I'll keep you posted.

UPDATE [30. Nov]
Eyeballing the pipes side by side the holes could match, but the problem was the width of the -14 adapter. Apparently the earlier bikes with two hole mounts had an adapter that was narrower.

The original -14 model pipe still mounted

the -14 mount is too thick to fit on the -09 pipe

Next step, ordering the 08 - 13 exhaust mount.

 I need parts 13,14,15, and 17. Let's see how much that will set me back.

Mount sourced

The mount set me back 55€. Ouch.

UPDATE [20. Dec.]

Mounting and testing

Today was finally time to mount and test the modified pipe. I was armed with a temperature "gun" and an iphone decibel measuring app. After running the bike with the original pipe for a while it became clear that the temparture measuring would not work under these conditions. The outside temp was 2 Celsius degrees (35 F) and the pipe would only warm up up to 14 degrees after 6 minutes. I wasn't going to stand out in the cold and wait for both the pipes to heat up properly. 

The noise levels were pretty similar which was good. My unscientific measuring method, showed an increase of 2 to 3 decibels at 5000 rpm. At lower rpms the difference was maybe 1 decibel. Again very unreliable data and very unscientific method, but watching the videos will probably give you a better idea. 

The mounting itself did not go according to plan. For some reason the mounting holes on the pipe would not match up. The pipe was seated properly, maybe even a millimeter or two deeper than the OEM -14 pipe, but there was still a half a bolts width to go. There was no hope of getting the bolts in place. No big deal for now, but I will have to figure out a solution later.

I just can't understand what is causing the mismatch though.

modified exhaust mounted, sort of...

nothing is happening

nope

the modified pipe was seated well

no differences in lengths as far as I can see

2014 Enduro R fuel breather hose and ABS wiring recall

The problem area / hose in my bike

KTM USA has sent out a technical bulletin stating the following

 During routine production checks, KTM discovered that the fuel tank vent hose could be

routed incorrectly on some 2014 690 Enduro R models. This could cause the hose to

become pinched by the seat and not vent properly as intended.

» The original 900mm length hose is too short for the new routing, therefore a new 1000mm

length hose must be installed connecting the Fuel Cap flange to the EVAP Canister. The

actual hose and routing need to be changed on all affected models linked to this bulletin.

» Additionally the ABS Power Cable, which connects to the battery + terminal, may not have

a red color wrapping to indicate that it is the power supply cable.

» KTM is requesting all affected retail unit customers be contacted to have this repair

performed as soon as possible. This repair can also be performed at the next service

interval or workshop appointment. 

>> THE BULLETIN [PDF]

The breather hose was an issue on my bike and the recall should therefor apply to euro bikes too. The ABS cable issue is a non issue in my opinion, but I guess it is liability thing if they don't fix it. Neither of the problems require immediate action, just pay attention when putting the seat back on.