KTM 690 Enduro R

Exploring Jersey’s lanes on 70,000-mile machine

Bike 2015 KTM 690 Enduro R Total miles 69,124

Rider Owen Lewis

Age 56

Miles per year 12,000

“I LIVE ON Jersey, so motorcycle riding can be quite limited. The whole island is only nine miles by five and there is a 40mph speed limit with some smaller lanes 20mph, which is very strictly enforced. Yet despite this there are three bike dealers one of which — Bikers — I own and is a KTM franchise.

“Small-capacity bikes make sense on the island and before the Enduro, I had a 690 Supermoto but a trip to Norway made me turn to the adventure bike as I liked the idea of exploring off the beaten track and my SM, with its road tyres, couldn’t take me. Sadly there are next to no green lanes in Jersey but there’s a daily ferry to France, so I head there.

“The Enduro may not seem the ideal adventure-travel bike but it has so many benefits over something like the 1290 Super Adventure or the 990 Adventure I previously owned. As I tour solo, I wanted a bike that I was confident I could pick up should I fall off on a trail. I’m not into serious off-roading, just light gravel paths but accidents still happen.

“While it sounds like madness, riding distance on the KTM is fine; as long as you replace the seat for a more comfortable one and add a fairing and heated grips it’s perfect. Take it steady and it will hit 75-80mpg at 65mph on A-roads and with my auxiliary fuel tanks, I can cover 400 miles between stops. I often take it on weekend trips to France but I’ve also ridden to the Pyrenees, Alps and even Norway to explore the roads that inspired me to buy it.

“In nearly 70,000, miles the Enduro has never let me down; the only electrical issue was a corroded starter button and I’m still on the OE clutch. I use Heidenau Scout tyres, which last 10-15,000 miles and are good on and off-road as well as cheap and long lasting, and a chain and sprocket set lasts 20,000 miles.

“I don’t see the point in updating my Enduro to a newer model; I’d only be worried about dropping it and I don’t want a bigger-capacity bike. Last year I did 5000 miles on the Enduro and I never went more than seven miles from home — Jersey is a small island but when you are in no rush there are lots of lovely lanes and the 690 Enduro is perfect.”

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go the distance and bikes that the people Celebrating ROCKER ARMS “Some owners swap the rocker arms every 10,000 miles; it’s a hot topic on forums! I changed mine at 40,000 miles but they were fine. I think KTM had one dodgy batch and that caused a storm in a teacup. I keep my old ones on me when touring just in case.” CAM BEARING “At 60,000 miles the needle roller bearing the cam sits on in the head went, which made the cam rattle really badly. It didn’t damage the head but I did need to replace the cam. I didn’t see the point in adding an upgraded item, I don’t need more performance and it could have compromised reliability.” OIL “The 690 engines burn a bit of oil early on but at about 8000 miles, they stop doing it and never need topping up. It’s a weird quirk. I use KTM’S recommended Motorex 10/60 oil.” TRAVEL READY “I’ve fitted a Safari auxiliary fuel tank, which gives me an extra 12 litres of fuel, a rally-style fairing from Nomad ADV and a comfortable seat from Uscompany Seat Concepts. The panniers were from a small company that has now sadly ceased operating.” SERVICING “I service the bike every 5000 miles, simply as it is an easier number to keep track of than KTM’S 6000-mile intervals!” CLUTCH COVER “I stripped a thread when removing the oil filter cover, which meant removing the outer clutch cover to fit a thread insert. Totally my fault.” REAR WHEEL “A bit of corrosion got under the paint on the rear rim, so I swapped the whole wheel. I think it was a result of a scratch in the paint and Jersey’s damp and salty atmosphere, as the front is still perfect.”