So you disliked the bike out of the box because you had to adjust the clickers, put a seat on it and put $60 worth of stem bearings in. Huh. Those all seem like small issues. If the Aprila comes setup for a 300lb dude it will suck for the majority of the population.

So after watching this video i can now teach paid KTM mechanics how to check for a loose front end.

All the 790s (dukes and adventures) have the ball bearings. yours was probably lacking grease which damaged it esp after riding. Happened to my Hondas on TAPERED bearings.

Here's the timken part # 32006x

Does anybody know the code of the bearings ? THank you for the video

Regarding the suspension, my 1090R shock came from the factory with the shock primary stage piston installed upside down. It rode like a rigid frame.

Hi. I bought adventure R 2024 and I have done 500km, I also feel play in the head tube. Can you give me the part numbers of Timken bearings? Greetings from Poland.

Thanks for review! Found this on my WP EXPLOR while changing to tapered bearings -> kzbin.infoN6qJf-4w_I8?si=AdPRpefXzzCyW2X0

The only adventure this bike sees is Starbucks. It’s a “great bike” that’s never tested so…… did you really know it’s a “great bike”. I think not.

While it's commonly acknowledged that KTM bikes can come with their share of issues, ranging from minor inconveniences to more catastrophic failures I ask the question: what other bikes out there offer comparable performance, handling, and capabilities? I feel like there’s not enough conversation around potential alternatives that match up to KTM’s strengths. What do you think? Are there any bikes that give you that same blend of power and versatility, without the typical downsides?

Until those cheesy cams start to melt down , KTM still scamming the world .. but last a class action has woken them up

Nice bike

Hello, thanks a lot for the info. Do you have the Timken part numbers. I'm from Europe and find difficult to get the part from Rottweiler. Cheers thanks!

Thanks for the honest review, I was thinking of buying ktm 890 but a lot of people complained about quality,especially cam shaft failures. 👍

Hi. Where did you get the seat.

Will be interested to hear how the cams look after valve clearance check.

Why even buy an 890 if you ride mostly street…

Unplug your ECU and disconnect your battery for 30 min or so, and it will clean up your starting issues.

What year is this bike?

Brother, great video. You probably have one of the most inclined mechanical insights on the KTM 890 ADV R. Looking forward to more videos coming from your channel.

You need to get to a factory KTM dealer to do a software update (there have been a couple) and it will sort the starting issue. I did mine at the 1st service and it was fixed. A few other occasional gremlins were sorted too.

How long did you have the aprilia? Was it reliable? Only 3 aprilia dealers in all of Japan and only 1 seems good. Plenty of ktm dealers

My 890 R is an untrustworthy bike with lots of qc issues and a poor dealer assistance. It is a Chinese bike with lots of substandard parts with a short life span. Even the wheels spokes are cheap, a tiny loosening and your tyre pressure goes. Crap TFT, bolts loosening constantly, coolant leaks, poor starts. My engine vibrates excessively, making the bike totally unsuitable for long trips. My previous bike was a 1090R which was a solid, honest high performance machine. But I’m now done with ktm.

You are crazy

No shit..Ball Bearings😅

those very much look like angular contact bearings in good condition with the right preload and greased I would have thought they would have worked fine.

I've had the KTM for 17,000 KMs. Serviced every 6000 and the hard surfaces are worn off the cams already.. only found it because I was checking valve clearance. Thinking about getting the Aprilia

Have a 22 and have none of these issues except cold start ups which with a couple easy revs fixes. Even stock seat is comfortable. Steering is also good in all terrain. Maybe he gota Chinese clone lol

Did you buy the Tall Comfort style seat from Seat Concepts or the Tall Rally seat?

Mind sharing the bearing and seal sizes?

Were you able to use the screws that came with the 508t to mount it to the plate successfully?

Grate video mate. What bearing numbers are the timken youv used? what seals did you used? Thanks

So out of all the people in world that own these you’re the only one that thought it felt loose and you sorted it 👍🏻 nice one

Interesting! I have the 2023 Norden Expedition. It does have the same Explor suspension, the same as your bike. Do you think it has the same headstock bearings as the KTM 890 Adv R? I haven't noticed any vibration or play. I mostly ride dirt roads, county paved roads and USFS roads, all in the mountains where I live. (zero highway so far) The USFS roads are mostly dirt with a few stretches of old chipseal which is full of craters, so I slam into some pretty severe potholes at 35-50mph. I have 1,500 miles on it now.

Hi, thanks so mich for this informativ video. Can you tell me what kind of hand guards you are using ?

What part number is timken bearings

Or, get the Desert X and be happy from the start.....;-) In all seriousness, I have the 890 R Rally and it is amazing but I prefer the Desert X but the caveat is that I put a Tractive suspension on the DX which is what put it over the Rally.

You shouldn’t have to spend more money on a 14 grand bike but I know how you fell I have one and I wish I hadn’t bought it.

Thank youbfor the heads up. Do you know if the S-version and the 1290 has the same issue?

Wow nice colour how did you done that😮

Very nice video, thanks for the info. Do you have the Timkin bearing numbers of a link?

cool!!

Straight forward review ... could you please tell us the part number of the Timken bearings ?

Cool

where did you get the new bearings from? Nice looking bike.

Nice looking bike! My 2022 890r had loose head bearings from new. I tightened them one time and so far so good at 3100 miles, including a lot of rocky off road riding. If they start to get loose again I will do what you did. Stock suspension was good on mine from new but I still replaced it with WP Pro suspension and now it is incredible. No issues with starting on my bike. Luck of the draw I guess. Only problems so far were quick shifter was not working right so the shop reprogrammed it and now it works great. Recently my cruise control started to be very intermittent which was due to a failing brake sensor switch on the ABS module. Replacing that fixed the cruise control. I also went with the PP tall seat and lower foot pegs and bike is super comfy for all day rides. Hope your bike is good to go now and you have a lot of good times on it!

I have the exact same feeling with my Husqvarna Expedition, like I have a the fork stem nut is loose.....

hello friend, when i switched from 790 to 890, i had the same issue with the steering stem. i loved bike and the loose steering made the bike not fun to ride. i eventually figured it was loose steering stem and i tightened bearing. that solved problem. please share the head bearings that you used to replace the oem steering bearing. thank you for sharing! btw, i noticed similar issue on 2021 690 and tightening steering bearing solved problem.

I want one bike to replace both my 701 and R1250GS. I keep thinking about either an 890 R or a Norden Expedition. Then I watch a video like this, and I have second thoughts.

Interesting about the bearings. Thanks. KTM switched to Alpina tubeless wheels on the 1290 SAR last year - I think they've given up on their own belt system. Have you tried spraying soapy water around the wheel to get an idea of where the air is leaking?