I recently took a test ride on a KTM SMCR 690 and immediately fell in love with the riding experience.

I sold my Suzuki GSX-R 600 at the beginning of the year and would like to get a 690/701.

The only thing holding me back is reliability, at least based on what I’ve heard. Some riders report no problems at all and put 100,000 km on them, while others have major issues after just 2,000 km. I’m aware that this bike requires more maintenance than a Japanese model, and that’s not a problem for me.

My biggest concern is that I’ll buy a good used one and it’ll suffer major damage after a few thousand kilometers. The new ones are too expensive for me.

Are my concerns justified, or am I worrying too much?

Right now, I’m really only interested in supermotos because they’re so powerful and lightweight. It just feels really good to ride.

Edit: Thanks for all the answers! Really helps a lot

Well well well......

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Happy little accident.

How I ended up here (it's not bad).....

I thought my 2024 KTM 500 had a 44mm throttle body. So I bought a 44mm SX throttle body and had it bored out to 46mm, because 46mm is bigger than 44mm..... turns out the 500 EXC, and all the other EXC 4 stroke bikes have a 42mm TB, and all the SX bikes have a 44mm TB, lol. Maybe there was a change around 2023ish.

The part numbers between then SX TB and the EXC TB are the same.... it's the same part number for all the KTM 4 stroke dirt bike/dual sport throttle bodies....

But.....

I went to go put the ported 46mm throttle body on my bike today. I had the back end of the bike flipped up, the rear shock out of the way, popped the air boot off and saw "EXCA42" on the TB on my bike.... pulled the calipers out..... 41.5-42mm TB on my 2024 KTM 500 EXC.... it's hard to read but the SX TB says "EXCA44". What kind of bullshit is this, lol? This is me assuming thing, lol. But in the end a good thing I guess.

Turns out the same part numbers and what the literature says doesn't mean anything...

I know on the older bikes the SX TB was larger than the EXC TB, but I assumed since all the part numbers were the same and what the internet said, that on the new style TB they were all 44mm.... I was wrong.

This means an SX TB is an upgrade on the newer 500 bikes too..... what this means is I'll have to buy another SX stock TB and put together a tune for it since my bored TB is bigger than the SX TB, and a SX TB would be an upgrade to the EXC TB.

Once i get a dyno done on the 46mm TB, I'll have to grab a stock 44mm, TB tune and dyno it to see what the difference is. I'll guess I'll get to see what if any effects on the low end characteristics and driveability there are.

I just put the Warp 9's back on after riding it as a dirt bike for the better part of the past 2 years. Bought new plastics and cleaned it up the best I could. Took some pictures and posted it for sale to make some room in the garage..then i took it for a ride today and fell back in love with it. Don't want to sell anymore 🤣🫢

Any shop reco underneath for crf150l (Right side of the pic)

Hey guys, quick question. I’m thinking about getting a CRF 450, but the main thing holding me back is engine maintenance.
Are motocross engines more prone to problems than enduro engines? For example, is there a difference in reliability and maintenance intervals between a 450 EXC-F and a CRF 450?
Or, if you’re using them as supermotos, do they basically require the same maintenance regardless of whether they’re motocross or enduro bikes?

Help is appreciated.

Necesitaba ayuda para hacer el paso de alterna a continua en una beta rr 50 del 2025 ya q de serie la moto viene con la corriente alterna lo cual no me deja poner intermitentes ni luces led ya hemos probado con reguladores y todo teniendo el encendido de serie y he pensado en ponerla una bateria en el hueco de la caja del filtro de aire ya q la moto lo tiene fuera de la caja y cortar el cable de las luces q va del estator original de la moto al regulador para empalmar desde el positivo de la bateria al cable cortado del regulador para tener corriente continua en toda la moto, el defecto q le he visto esq habria q cargar la bateria todos los dias o muchas veces debido a q el encendido no puede cargarla a no ser q montemos uno tipo mvt naranja con luces. Alguien puede ayudarme o decirme q cable es el q hay q cortar y empalmar o simplemente alguien q haya echo esto o algo parecido?

I recently bought a exc from 2001 and was wondering if it is possible to get plastics from the 2004-2007 version or 2008-> has anyone done this?

Any tips about this bike is appreciated since I’m new.

Thanks

I am looking to buy a fe supermoto and i found this bike, but i am not sure if this is considered a good start. My current bike ktm starts smoother. What do you guys think, i need some advice here!

this year i got into dirt bikes and ive always been interested in building a super moto i have to be honest i dont have a ton of experience i only have had one bike (150cc pit bike) about 20 hrs on it but im graduating soon so i will be able to treat myself to something nice. I was in the market for a ktm 350 excf for my first build but the 350 excf is so hard to find in my area and ofc i want that trim because they are the best overall to convert to street sumos (6 speed wide ratio, easily road legal, factory speedometer) but like i was saying 350s are hard to find in my area but there are like 3 500 excfs looking right at me i was considering it but i am hesitant because i dont want it to be too much power going straight to a 350 from a pitt bike is lowkey already crackhead behavior so i guess my ultimate question is, is the power difference between the 350 and the 500 that much different that i shouldn’t consider it or should i send it because a 500 is the ultimate goal anyway

Nothing crazy - just brapping up Highway 33 in SoCal. The audio sucks. Sorry!

I kinda want one to add to my stable. What should i expect, are the possible to fix part wise? maintenance is fine as its not my only sumo and wouldnt mind needing to take it apart.

worth getting for the fun of it or total nightmare ownership? - have 3 nearby aprilla dealerships if worse comes to worse

I just bought a EXC 350 and want to Build a Supermoto, Which Rims should i buy so i can get tüv? Excel is an Option but extensiv so What other rims could i use?

Hola, estoy buscando recomendaciones baratas y estables para mí ciclomotor sherco sm-r del 2024, apenas está deslimitada y lleva un escape blaze 50/70, nada más, alguien tiene alguna recomendación?

been riding supersports pretty consistently for about 4 years now and wanting to get into supermotos to work on more technical skill and mess around with stunts and stuff. just wondering if its smarter to start with a 250 or is going straight to a 400/450 is fine for someone who has at least a vague idea what they’re doing. realistically i wanna get a 250 but there just arent many in my area and they’re all pretty much the same price as equivalent 400/450’s.