KTM 690 Enduro - Mirrors!? and stuff.......

Chasem

Chasem

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I'm posting this to see if my line of thinking is completely out of whack... before I go off the deep end.

So I have a 2014 KTM 690 Enduro R with 4500KM on it. The mirrors are completely useless, they spin around from the vibration and face downwards. This is BOTH mirrors. After inquiring at the dealership, they tried to tighten them to no avail. I was told this is the nature of the beast and I should probably get some aftermarket mirrors. I was told the 690 is not so much of a road bike and most people probably go off-road. I understand it's an enduro (and I do take it offroad) ... but come on KTM. They also indicated I have knobby tires and that's another factor. It came with Pirelli MT21's.... (knobby tires) I understand vibration causing havoc, but it's only been 4500KM and I can actually watch the mirrors fall down once I adjust them.

Shouldn't factory mirrors actually work? is this not a safety concern? Am I the only person that actually uses my mirrors on the KTM 690??? (I almost got hit on the way home... did a shoulder check.. Okay nothing there, about to move over and a sports car fly's up the lane)


Between the uneasy wobble at 110KM+, broken rear brake spring, melted indicator, false neutrals (was told this will clear up in another 5K) and the freaking mirrors.... I'm going bananas. Aftermarket mirrors don't cost THAT much, but it feels retarded to buy aftermarket mirrors on a very new bike.


On the plus side the dealership lubed my chain......... :lmao:
 
Can't help you with the mirrors except for lots of bikes come with inadequate mirrors and people have to customize afterwards, for example, many Vstrom riders add mirror extenders so they aren't looking at their shoulders and they get mirrors of a different shape to reduce the buffeting. Lots of DRZ riders replace the stock mirrors because they have broken the stock mirrors -- apparently they break easy. Mine are resting in a box, so they won't break.

On a side note... I know you just replaced your rear tire. Was it balanced properly when you installed it? If not, could that be the source of the wobble at 110kph+?
 
Double Take Mirrors
 
Motorcycle Mike said:
Can't help you with the mirrors except for lots of bikes come with inadequate mirrors and people have to customize afterwards, for example, many Vstrom riders add mirror extenders so they aren't looking at their shoulders and they get mirrors of a different shape to reduce the buffeting. Lots of DRZ riders replace the stock mirrors because they have broken the stock mirrors -- apparently they break easy. Mine are resting in a box, so they won't break.

On a side note... I know you just replaced your rear tire. Was it balanced properly when you installed it? If not, could that be the source of the wobble at 110kph+?
Click to expand...

Its more of a light head shake, that makes the bike feel really nervous on the highway. I have a feeling its suspension related. It was doing this before I changed the rear tire.

I guess since KTM won't fix the mirrors, I have to get the double takes or something...
 
I'm probably going to get the doubletakes on my 690R. I've managed to get the tops of the mirrors to stay in place at lower than highway speeds most of the times but as soon as I hit those highway speeds or even try to adjust them, they fall back down. The main stalk is pretty durable and does stay in place but that double nut system drives me batty. I think they have a Powerparts mirror that does fold. These mirrors should fold from the factory.

I haven't melted my indicator yet but have roasted a side reflector.

The headshake on my 690R isn't bad at all compared to other enduros I've owned but I did drop the forks about 20mm in the triple clamps. It's never confidence inspiring but never had me thinking it's going to fling me off the bike. None of my bikes have had a steering damper on them. Almost all of my off road crashes could have been avoided if I had a steering damper. Food for thought.
 
Chasem said:
Its more of a light head shake, that makes the bike feel really nervous on the highway. I have a feeling its suspension related. It was doing this before I changed the rear tire.

I guess since KTM won't fix the mirrors, I have to get the double takes or something...
Click to expand...

Were you at Guelph Line and Hwy 5 about an hour ago?
 
I've got double takes on my DRZ... next time we ride you can try one out to see if it works well on your bike. Double takes can vibrate a lot too, but they don't move if you tighten them (unless you hit them off a tree, then they move).
 
mudmojo said:
I'm probably going to get the doubletakes on my 690R. I've managed to get the tops of the mirrors to stay in place at lower than highway speeds most of the times but as soon as I hit those highway speeds or even try to adjust them, they fall back down. The main stalk is pretty durable and does stay in place but that double nut system drives me batty. I think they have a Powerparts mirror that does fold. These mirrors should fold from the factory.

I haven't melted my indicator yet but have roasted a side reflector.

The headshake on my 690R isn't bad at all compared to other enduros I've owned but I did drop the forks about 20mm in the triple clamps. It's never confidence inspiring but never had me thinking it's going to fling me off the bike. None of my bikes have had a steering damper on them. Almost all of my off road crashes could have been avoided if I had a steering damper. Food for thought.
Click to expand...

I believe I should be able to rectify the issue by adjusting my suspension a little bit. I think the front is a little bit too low.
Going to raise the front and take off some preload on the rear.

A steering damper is a great idea, but some serious $$$.

inreb said:
Were you at Guelph Line and Hwy 5 about an hour ago?
Click to expand...

Negative sir.

Motorcycle Mike said:
I've got double takes on my DRZ... next time we ride you can try one out to see if it works well on your bike. Double takes can vibrate a lot too, but they don't move if you tighten them (unless you hit them off a tree, then they move).
Click to expand...

Thanks Mike! I don't mind the vibration... I just want to actually have mirrors. My mirrors are literally pointing at the ground *facepalm*
 
The mirrors on my KTM default to pointing at my balls. I can set them, accelerate hard, aaaannndddd back to pointing at my balls.
 
I've been eyeing some aftermarket for my RS125 because it has the same problem. It's not too bad because the mirrors have almost no adjustability so they can't get too far out of whack but especially the left one is next to impossible to aim and never stays in place.

On my last bike, 2009 650R, the mirrors vibrated so much that they were basically useless at anything over idle.
 
Double Takes?
 
Joe Bass said:
Double Takes?
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Double Take mirrors look like this... They apparently work very well.

home-mirror.png


Kinda grates my cheese that I have to buy mirrors on a new bike.
 
Electrical tape.../restart thread. The cheapie Emgo Suzuki replacements don't hold a swivel so I craftily applied electrical tape. Seems to be holding over the short term. Do I get comments? Sure I do.
 
yeltoM said:
Loctite... /thread
Click to expand...

Dealership apparently tried this.. no luck. I will check and see if they ACTUALLY did this.

inreb said:
Electrical tape.../restart thread. The cheapie Emgo Suzuki replacements don't hold a swivel so I craftily applied electrical tape. Seems to be holding over the short term. Do I get comments? Sure I do.
Click to expand...

Electrical tape? :lmao:hey if it works... I'd rather have electrical tape then not functioning mirrors.
 
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Chasem said:
Dealership apparently tried this.. no luck. I will check and see if they ACTUALLY did this.



Electrical tape? :lmao:hey if it works... I'd rather have electrical tape then not functioning mirrors.
Click to expand...

If the dealership used permanent Loctite there is no way the threads vibrated loose.
 
inreb said:
Electrical tape.../restart thread. The cheapie Emgo Suzuki replacements don't hold a swivel so I craftily applied electrical tape. Seems to be holding over the short term. Do I get comments? Sure I do.
Click to expand...

It stands to reason, if you use Emgo parts, you use electrical tape for repairs.
 
yeltoM said:
If the dealership used permanent Loctite there is no way the threads vibrated loose.
Click to expand...

They apparently used loctite on the adjustment screws behind the boot. I honestly really doubt it though. I can move the mirrors with my pinky finger.
 
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