How to Change KTM 690 Enduro R Countershaft Sprocket

[@peterwoolcott2535]

Your videos are awesome, so straightforward. You've saved me a TON of time with this bike. Thank you

[@JohnHowerton137]

Happy to help 🤙

[@foehammerE419]

Great video, I'll be going down to a 14T soon. Thank you.

[@paulfuchs9594]

John - Your videos are so helpful. Do you have one showing how to adjust the chain tension and specifically showing where KTM says your supposed to measure slack? I can’t believe how unhelpful the manual is. Its vague. I literally cant find their location on the swing-arm. Maybe thats why there are so many personal “this is where I measure” DIY methods. Thanks.

[@JohnHowerton137]

Glad they help. I don't. Their method is push the chain up from the bottom to tension. Behind the lower chain guard/slider you should have 5mm to the swingarm. When slacked it should hang 30mm away. My way is a whole lot less scientific than that 🤣 Their way will work pretty good with the stiffer o-ring chains, so best to probably use theirs.

[@paulfuchs9594]

Hello John - I successfully replaced my OEM 15th sprocket with a 14th sprocket on my 2021 690. Wow. It's like a whole new bike. Thanks to your video I had the confidence to do this. Now I am considering some f/s and r/s combinations to get the torque increase I want without killing speed. Right now I am looking at 15 t f/s and 50 t r/s. That is about +8% increase in torque. Question - in your opinion, with a larger r/s like a 50t, can the OEM lower swing arm chain guide still be used? In other words do you see an interference with a 50t r/s?

[@JohnHowerton137]

I actually like the 14T quite a bit too. I’ve had it on for about a month now. Our roads are slow (>55) here though. I highly doubt the 50T would be a problem. I know some using 14/47 combo for off-road, but you do lose some of that road cruising speed. Seems like at least 5mph or so per front tooth if memory serves. Our old rule of thumb was 3.5T rear was about 1 the front. 14/50 prob has you at like 50mph 4,500 RPM. I don’t know, just guessing. I believe there is also a limiter in the stock ECU for 2nd and 3rd to help keep the front wheel down. I think if you buy the Hardparts Akrapovic exhaust kit the dealer can unlock that part of the ECU… of course an aftermarket ECU would too.

[@jessiebrown1459]

Is that screwdriver really anything different than a regular one? I can't find anything on the Google that gets me to one of those.

[@JohnHowerton137]

Sorry, that was sarcasm. No, it's just a regular old screwdriver 🤙

[@papaduck2443]

Hey John, do you have any idea what the torque specs are for the front sprocket cover? I cant find them anywhere. Thx.

[@JohnHowerton137]

They are the same as any other standard M6 bolt, so 10nm (7.4 fp). They’re also Blue (med) threadlocker. If you want to verify in a manual, look under the slave cylinder section and it will be the longer one, like 6x35 (passes through cover).

[@papaduck2443]

@@JohnHowerton137 Awesome! Thank you! Yea I found the M6 soec but the M8 spec I coudnt find. I did find it on a video though and it was 25NM which is around 21 ft/lbs. Thanks for the speedy response! Im looking forward to some new 690 Enduro vids!

[@JohnHowerton137]

@@papaduck2443 been wanting to make some for quite a while. Don’t even get to ride. Trying to get life into a more stable place. New career and trying to find a place to live 🥴

[@papaduck2443]

@@JohnHowerton137 Im patient. I’ll wait. I hope all goes well for you with the new job and house hunt. God bless!

[@Rspence_86]

I'm just about to fit a 13 tooth front sprocket to my 701 enduro, I'm now worried I may have gone to small. Stock rear is 46 tooth I believe

[@JohnHowerton137]

If you're riding tight stuff it'll be ok, but it'll probably buzz on the road pretty good at like 60 mph. 14 is a pretty decent compromise for the road and good in dirt.

[@EricBanner571]

John, Do KTM 690's need a speed healer if you change the front sprocket size?

[@JohnHowerton137]

Nope, all that’s done with a rotor magnet and brake caliper 👍

[@MrTocov]

Still learning, great video again! Would you suggest a 14T for offroad and single tracks with the 46 OEM rear one?

[@JohnHowerton137]

I bet it would make 1st and 3rd much more useable, yes. I've never put my 14T on because I got dedicated off road machines before them. It'll likely be way too buzzy on the hwy. The 16T is the tits on-road, but I took it off because with towing it was a little tall in both 1st and 6th. The 15T is perfect for my towing.

[@MrTocov]

@@JohnHowerton137 i’m coming from a EXC 500 with a lot of torque, it pulled me trough on 2nd and 3rd in the mud. Loved that “lazy” bike due to its gearing and torque. But onroad it was not that at all and we have a lot of onroad sections in between. So to obtain the same power as the 500, I would start with a 14T. Don’t do much highway so I don’t care about that.

[@JohnHowerton137]

@@MrTocov yes, I'd imagine it'll grunt a little better. 4th at altitude had too long of legs for me with the 15T if I remember correctly. The 16T let me pull 3rd longer. I think if you didn't have much road over 50mph the 14 should work pretty good. Rev limiter is only like 8,500 on the 690. Not saying it was the correct way to ride it, but I was bouncing off that thing all the time. My last bike before it was a 250SX smoker 🤣 690 was my first 4-stroke as an adult.

[@dougiequick1]

I thought about a 14T but smaller CS sprockets make me nervous...harder on chains and guides I hear. Now I am wondering about running a larger rear sprocket and then keep two front sprockets on hand to gear lower or higher without changing the chain? Maybe a 50T ? Or 49T? Then with the stock 15t in front I will have lower than stock gearing but I can return to higher gearing again with an alternate 16t? (each tooth on front is equal to 3 teeth the other way around in the rear...yes?) Something like that. One downside is slightly more weight...bigger sprocket is heavier and a chain with a few more links is heavier...not by much but it is something to consider....but can offset that a little bit with a composite rear sprocket with alloy aluminum inner/center mounting piece and just a narrow outer ring having the steel teeth.

[@dougiequick1]

Are you ever sorry you didn't wait just a little longer and buy the 2019? By the time I finally made the decision to get a 690 the 2021s were already out and so I never had to agonize over that when I picked up a nearly brand new 2020 Enduro R....but I still wonder if they really even are significantly better than the previous generation? Personally I like the gauge of older gen better with the big round tachometer...I also can't help but wonder if the older generations don't have better torque curve for off-road? When KTM extracted more top end power it just had to come at some cost to torque/power lowering rpm range....logic suggests anyway?

[@JohnHowerton137]

Would I like to have the latest generation? Yes. Am I sad I have the older generation, especially at the big discount and 0.9% interest I got it at? No. Not even sure my dealer has even gotten a 690E since mine. I go there quite often and I don’t remember seeing any, maybe one. They’ve had a few SMCs since. There is not many around these parts. Yes, the gauge is legit and easy to read. Great for the road. The dual counterbalanced engine probably has a little smoother roll on. I have a few things on mine that have smoothed that out a bit though over the showroom feel. Airbox lid, Kev controller, manual cam tensioner.

[@Stuartlonewolf]

Really liking the videos John! Could you do a video on setting the chain tension on the 690? Thanks!

[@JohnHowerton137]

I think so :) Next tire change for sure, or maybe when I get back from my race first week of Jan. Appreciate you tuning and chiming in. Aloha!

[@DanielBaksa]

Hi John, did you manage to make a video of setting the chain? I couldn't find it... Every time I set mine it feels like the chain strach out fast. Maybe it's time to get a new chain?

[@JohnHowerton137]

I didn't. That would be a good indicator. Are your sprocket teeth hooking?

[@patterguitsit7124]

Dude I love your videos and that sweet sweet 690. I might have to replace my DR650 for one of those.

[@JohnHowerton137]

Patter Guitsit appreciate you watching. You wont regret it if you do!

[@DieselSmoker07]

Great content man... I love the 690 definitely going to have to get a 16 tooth for mine.

[@JohnHowerton137]

Turbo07 Thanks. Appreciate you watching. Merry Christmas! Unless you're in real tight single track, I feel like 16T is way better than the 15, and in that case go 14T. 1st and 2nd have nice spacing, but the jump to 3rd is a big gap. 2nd is a really useable fire road gear with the 16T. Plus the motor was designed around it (Duke). 14T and you could pull nicely with third. 15T just feels like its not good at anything IMO, I always feel between gears.

[@DieselSmoker07]

@@JohnHowerton137 I can totally agree with that, but I didn't know that the Duke came stock with the 16 tooth. Is there any chance that after your race you could make a video of how the 16 tooth changes the ratio (especially first from a dig). Again keep up the great work and Merry Christmas to you and your family.

[@JohnHowerton137]

Maybe I can do a road speed comparison in each gear. That's something that can translate for everyone. I'm taking the 15T off as soon as I get back to Hawai'i... but I'll make that video first.

[@ritchfrancis7553]

Anyonw knows the torque spec for the countershaft? Thanks

[@JohnHowerton137]

Here: ibb.co/dftFFk9 👍

[@dirkhain8932]

Which island are you on?

[@JohnHowerton137]

Dirk Hain Big Kine 😋

[@rikacoetzer8135]

Thanx helpful vid👍

[@RobMatthews21]

No loctite?

[@JohnHowerton137]

Been a long time since I saw this video, but I probably used some blue unless there was a lot of sticky factory stuff on the threads. Little blue is pretty common practice for me. Anything tougher can be a pain to take off IMO.

[@StoryMotoADV]

very helpful data brudda

[@jamesklauzner6938]

John, your chain adjuster blocks are facing the wrong way, i.e. the protruding part is supposed to face the adjuster bolt. You can see the correct orientation of the adjuster blocks in this KTM factory vid. kzbin.info/www/bejne/ammmoXZ3d9CbeMU

[@JohnHowerton137]

The KTM axle blocks are reversible for wheelbase adjustment. They can be run either way depending on how you want the bike to handle. My way = shorter wheelbase (better cornering), the other way longer wheelbase (better straight line handling). In this video I did it so I didn’t have to replace the chain. I had the bike over 100mph many times (116 max) so it handles for me just fine even with the short wheelbase. Thanks for noticing though.