2007 Ktm 990 Adventure problems

Filed Dec 26, 2008 · Engine · OK

My ktm adventure is having some major issues. The engine is shutting off at seemingly undetermined moments while driving. It is a very hair raising experience, especially when you have your fiance on the back. It seems to happen when there is a change of speed happening. I.e shifting, clutching, and or braking. My idle seems fine and the bike starts fairly easy after the failure. I usually manage to start it back up before even coming to a stop. I have gone on a 500 mile trip where it only happened once and I've gone on a 20 mile trip where it happened three times. I have most of the records of the attempted remedies with two different dealers. They could never get it to reproduce the problem. It has been remapped and inspected. The battery keeps having problems. They have replaced it and I think it is dead again. Otherwise, the bike has an uneven throttle response that is defective in nature. I am not sure, and am not a mechanic, if these incidents are related. The one commonality they share is my feeling of fear while operating this vehicle. I am an experienced rider and have had many makes and models, this one really stand out. I am finding more and more complaints similar to mine about this bike (blogs etc.).

Filed Sep 11, 2008 · Engine, Transmission · 939 miles · TN

Tl*the contact owns a 2007 ktm 990 adventure. While driving less than 60 MPH, the ignition shut off completely when switching from fourth to fifth gear and from fifth to sixth gear. The failure has occurred at least 10-15 times. The dealer could not find any failures with the vehicle after performing a diagnostic. The failure persisted and the vehicle was taken back to the dealer. The contact informed them that the vehicle was shutting off at full speed. A second diagnostic was performed and the cause of the failure could not be found. The dealer stated that the way he was riding the vehicle may have caused the failure. The vehicle was taken in a third time and the manufacturer recommended that the black box be reprogrammed and the ignition re-mapped. The vehicle shut off one mile from the dealer and was taken for a test drive. The dealer stated that the failure occurred due to how the contact was shifting. The failure continued and the vehicle was taken to a local dealer, who changed the hose. While driving, the clutch plate bolt loosened and caused a catastrophic failure, which rendered the vehicle inoperable. The dealer notified the manufacturer and it was determined that the engine needed to be rebuilt. After the repairs were made, the clutch began to fail and hesitated when shifting from first gear. The motorcycle later became inoperable while riding and was taken to the local dealer again. The manufacturer was notified and sent out a factory technician to view the vehicle. The technician repaired the clutch and replaced the plates. He also stated that the clutch basket installed after the rebuild of the engine was faulty. He also stated that the ktm was having multiple issues with the particular model, and that there was a failure with the oxygen sensors causing the engine to shut down. The failure mileage was 939 and current mileage was 5,350.

Filed Apr 8, 2008 · Engine · 1,454 miles · VA

My new 2007 ktm 990 adventure motorcycle continues to have a serious safety defect. While riding the motorcycle the engine shuts off while changing gears. I am unaware of the engine being off until I feel the rear wheel slipping or see the red oil pressure light. This is unacceptable and has been brought to ktm both at the dealer and through the ktm na rep. I have no issues with the people handling my bike - they have been trying. I'm simply not willing to die over it. This engine shut down occurs at random times, both high (freeway) and low speeds. The only correlation appears to be when the clutch handle is pulled in, and engine RPM drops while changing gears. Releasing the clutch on a shut down engine results in the rear wheel locking up and sliding out from under the bike - unacceptable. This issue happened in the first hundred miles of my ownership and randomly up until the 600 mile service. Ktm dealer was told about the shutdown and checked the bike over. They remapped - updated the fuel injection and were confident the problem was fixed. It is not fixed! Some have attributed the problem to being a "new" bike - however I have 1454 miles on it and it shut down on me twice today at high speed. This is a serious safety defect and must be aggressively handled by ktm. Please help me accomplish that. I am an advanced rider and it takes all my skill to manage a bike at freeway speed with the engine shut down. I do not want someone to get hurt or killed by this defect.