[advstreak]

Originally Posted by advstreak

After fitting the new clutch cable the clutch cable pull has become much lighter. But I remember the 250 clutch pull to be even more lighter. I plan to do a pull test on another 250 as well as get the exact 250 clutch spring part numbers to see if they are the same as 390 or not.

So I had a discussion with the mechanic about this and he sent this link to confirm that the clutch springs are the same:https://www.motorcyclespareparts.eu/...ts/91232010010

Now I saw this post by Sunnyboi and it surprisingly has the 250 ADV spare part catalogue also: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motor...ml#post5773349 (KTM and Husqvarna - Spare Parts Catalogues and Repair Manuals)

A quick look confirms that 250 clutch springs (JY551447) are different compared to JY551439 of the 390 while other clutch parts remain the same.





The parts numbers mentioned for the whole clutch assembly on 99rpm.com are also different:

JF551419 for the 400: https://www.99rpm.com/bajaj/clutch-d...g-2021-22.html

JF551422 for the 250: https://www.99rpm.com/bajaj/clutch-d...0-2020-21.html

99rpm also has clutch components listed out here for the 400: https://www.99rpm.com/bajaj/clutch-p...minar-400.html which confirms that the Dominar 400 uses the same clutch springs as that of the KTM 390 adventure i.e JY551439

But it does not have the same for the Dominar 250. Thankfully Bajaj has a spare parts search app from which the Dominar 250 clutch springs are JY551440.





Now I am really curious how the Dominar 250 clutch feels compared to the ADV 250 one and why Bajaj decided to use different clutch springs in the first place.

So to conclude ADV 250 clutch springs are different from the 390/Dominar ones confirming my observation that the clutch pull is not as light as before.

[neoakshay]

Amazing info on this thread, special mention to Advstreak

Mine is a 2021 KTM 390 Adv with a couple of mods:
1. FuelX Lite
2. BMC Air Filter
3. dB killer delete on the stock end-can
4. Secondary cat delete (just before the mid-muffler)
5. First gen 390 rear sprocket - 44 teeth I think
6. Adjustable rear shock
7. Carbon Racing 2" handlebar riser

The performance mods really woke the bike up, especially from the crap BS6 lean fuelling at lower rpms. I prefer running on XP95 or Power95. The rear shock was changed recently and really transformed the comfort of the bike (it finally knows what rebound is). I'd tried the Xpulse rear shock which was definitely comfier than the stock one, but is one 1cm longer which made the bike quite a bit taller.

Upcoming mods are adjustable front forks, Powertronic piggyback and a good set of aux lights. The HJG-16 discussed above sound PERFECT and I'm sad that they aren't easily available. I will definitely search everywhere I can to source them.

I'm surprised to have reached 20k kms on odo on the stock Metzelers Tourance tyres and chain-sprockets. Not sure I want to spend 30k+ on a set of Metz although they are the best tyres for the 390. Might go for the Reise TourR based on the reviews I read here.

FINALLY about to achieve the 10 year dream of riding to Leh from Blr and can't wait for Aug-end to come sooner!

[advstreak]

Originally Posted by neoakshay

5. First gen 390 rear sprocket - 44 teeth I think

Why are you running a taller gearing setup compared to stock?

Originally Posted by neoakshay

The HJG-16 discussed above sound PERFECT and I'm sad that they aren't easily available. I will definitely search everywhere I can to source them.

There are other similar lights available from more premium brands:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twRQgwgAJyc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llkKAfXDfh8&t

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3Voo2CLBm8&t

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLQ0IrBXaDU

[neoakshay]

Originally Posted by advstreak

Why are you running a taller gearing setup compared to stock?

My other mods increased the power and the taller gearing gave me better in-gear acceleration and more relaxed cruising. 6,000 rpm is 111 kmph as tested yesterday. Installed the Powertronic, will review this separately, but for now the bike pulls hard. It was very windy and my fat ass could only get the bike upto 167 kmph on a brand new deserted highway.

The chain has more than done it's duty by lasting 20k kms, so when I change to the new set I'll be going back to stock sprockets. Will help me out there in the mountains.

Originally Posted by advstreak

There are other similar lights available from more premium brands

Thanks a tonne for these, will take a look.

[boniver]

Took a long time, but I finally hit 20k last evening. 1.5 years old. Average fuel consumption is constant at around 28kmpl (last tankful showed 27.3 kmpl)

[SiLxNcE]

Am planning to get my first motorcycle and have decided to get a 250cc, specifically a KTM. Was okay till 400cc but primary use case will be city commutes (45kms daily) and occasional long trips, and hence didnt want to compromise much on city mileage and engine smoothness. Ruled out the Triumph Scrambler 400x as I dont quite like retro styled motorcycles.

I have been riding motorcycles for the last 3-4 years but haven't owned one yet.

This brings to my current shortlist in chronological order of how I selected them:

1) Current gen KTM ADV 250: I am 6ft tall and this bike suits me good. My feet are comfortably flat footed on it. Have ridden the 390 ADV-X and felt the bike doesnt feel at home in the city, but the riding dynamics was good and comfortable. Brakes felt spongy. Yet to test ride the 250 ADV. But its at the end of its product lifecycle. Also I have no reference of how this engine feels against the new engine.

2) The TFT updated Duke 250: Never fascinated owning a Duke and more so because the latest gen is also more compact for my height, but now the Duke 250 feels complete. DRLs, TFT and a very smooth engine as per reviews. Took a test ride today followed by another test ride on the ADV 390X just to see how different the dimensions feel. Needless to say, I felt much more comfortable on the ADV but the Duke wasnt bad. Will probably be more enjoyable in the city because of the quickshifter and a brilliant chassis, and the showroom said they can modify the seat to raise it to 820mm, but the Duke cant be retrofitted with handlebar risers as the TFT is on the handelbar. This might feel cramped on longer rides.

3) The upcoming 250 ADV: Recent leaks indicate no DRLs and TFT like the bigger 390 and the biggest bummer is in the form of tubed spoke wheels. Any chance of it coming with alloys? Also KTM will probably relaunch it in an year with the fancy display and lights like the Duke. Worth the wait/risk to buy a new product on launch? I feel if I choose this, I need to wait till April-May atleast.

4) Suzuki Vstrom 250sx: This is the safe backup. If I cant decide on any of the above, I will get this. Not a big fan of it after test riding it for around 100kms as its a little boring but probably will get my job done.

I plan to get one by November or at max, Dec to make use of the riding season. What do you guys think will be the best choice?

(Posting the above on behalf of my brother. Fast replies will be appreciated as we would want the bike soon. Thanks in advance!)

[advstreak]

Originally Posted by SiLxNcE

use case will be city commutes (45kms daily) and occasional long trips, and hence didnt want to compromise much on city mileage and engine smoothness.

Have you decided on the bike yet?

You can check out the V-storm 250 comparison against the KTM ADV 250 in this and subsequent posts: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motor...ml#post5487010 (Ownership Review | KTM Adventure 250)

I would personally suggest to go with V-storm incase mileage and smoothness are primary decision parameters.

[advstreak]

So here are the mods and service updates after a long time as I shifted to Pune/Nashik for work reasons.

The events are in semi-chronological order.

Centre-Stand

After 40K km, the centre stand bent after hitting several rocks over narrow trails. It was touching the chain and I removed it easily by taking out the two bolts in the trail itself.

I had initially planned to get a new stand and replace it. But after moving to a rolon brass chain which does not require frequent adjustment and mastering the art of tilting the bike to lube the chain I decided not to install the center stand again and hence removed the brackets which also had gotten bent a little due to the impact.






Windshield Mod

Earlier I had modded the ER 760 mounts by drilling a hole in each mount and fixing it to rally-replica windshield using a bolt and locknut. This was done so that the extension remains attached and does not get loose during trail rides.
The wind buffeting was not completely solved and hence I went back to the flat angle extension design. I made my own by bending an L bracket and using the same mounting holes to mount the extension. This is the perfect setup with no wind blast/buffeting or torso and clean airflow on the helmet.





Side Stand Sensor Bypass

Tired of triggering the side stand when dropping the ankles while saddling I got the side stand bypass installed. Installation is very easy and was done in 5 minutes. I could not take more pics while the installation was being done and here is one after with the original connector before being taped up.
It works perfectly and it's perfectly fit it and forget it type mod.




8th service

The 8th service was done at 47700 km.



From the last 2000 km or so I started noticing that the handle seems to get stuck just after a bump and the problem seems to be getting worse as time progressed. Finally one day I realized it was due the the mudguard getting stuck in the bash plate.





Later it was confirmed by the mechanic that was it due to the seals having a stiction problem.

So the front forks were serviced during the 8th service. Along with the usual consumables of filter oil, and spark plug ( got NGK one installed this time) the brake fluid was also changed. Decided to go fancy on this and use Pakelo 5.1 brake fluid as had a good experience with the Pakelo engine oil. I did notice an improvement in brake feel and performance but I am not sure this was due to it being 5.1 fluid or just because it was fresh.



The front sprocket also showed signs of wear and also was replaced. This was its condition after 14.7K km.




50000Km and Front Brake Pads Change

While returning from Pune to Bangalore the bike hit the 50K km mark.



For the return journey, I decided to change the front brake pads proactively as there was not much life left in them. The rear still had more than 3/4 left as I primarily use the front brake.

They were changed at 50389 km ODO and here is the condition of them after approx more than 15K Km.




And here are the new ones before installation.





Front suspension oil leakage

While going from Bangalore to Pune I was doing rally speed in the "Trail" section from Belgavi to Kolhapur and noticed that the RHS fork was leaking oil. I decided to wipe the oil and reach Pune and then take care of it.





Notice how much oil is at the top of the fork near the clamp area. This will be referenced later.

I initially thought that the fork seal had gone bust and replaced it at 51535 km ODO.

But then just after 500 km, I noticed that there was a slight leakage from the lower T clamp.





So actually last time also the fork seals were okay and the leakage was from this location only.

I have tried a cloth around the area so that the oil does not run down and cause other problems.



The outer tube was ordered but I have not gotten the time to get it replaced yet as I specifically wanted to be present to know how and which kind of damage is then. I have been driving more cautiously to minimize the leakage.


9th service

The 9th service was done at 55957 km in Nashik. I have been doing Pune-Bombay-Nashik runs for work and managed to do a trip to my hometown Nagpur during Diwali also in between.



I was initially planning to do this in Pune but did not get the time to do it and I was anyway way past the service interval and went ahead and got it done in an FNG in Nashik itself.

This is the dirtiest I have seen the air filter in a span of 5000km.



Surprisingly the fuel filter was very clean considering it was used for 8527km.



As the local shop only had Motul 7100 decided to go with it. The Plan will be to use Motul 7100 for couple of more times and then again get on to Pakelo or other fancy oils. There is a drop in smoothness after switching back to Motul and I might switch to Pakelo sooner if it gets irritating.

The ODO reads 56611 as of today and the next plan is to replace the leaky RHS fork outer tube. I am also thinking of getting a custom suspension setup done by Zedling or similar to get it suited to my weight and riding style.

Here are some pics while doing single day trips around Bangalore, Pune, Bombay, Nashik, and in between them.

[advstreak]

Originally Posted by advstreak

The outer tube was ordered but I have not gotten the time to get it replaced yet as I specifically wanted to be present to know how and which kind of damage is then.

After riding the bike carefully over 6K Km with a leaky front fork I got the time to replace it finally.

The first thing that came to notice was that KTM will be using prolube fluids from now on. Here is the fork oil that was used. No specs are mentioned on this. The earlier one was by fuschs. Anyway, I have plans to upgrade the suspension so I did not bother much about this technicality.







Now coming to pièce de résistance is the nice crack on the fork tube.





One thing that might have aided in the crack is the fork being installed at ring 1 instead of ring 3 stock spec. But still, the fork should not have cracked in whatever high-speed off-roading I could manage to do.

Here is the price of the fork tube.



But my troubles were not over as this was the condition after riding back from the service center to my office which is 5km away.







I talked with the service advisor and took the book bike back next morning. It turns out the fork had a run out issue and hence the seal was not seated properly leading to such drastic oil leakage.
A new fork outer tube and seal were replaced without any charge.

[advstreak]

At around 58K Km I noticed that one of the mushroom head screws of the fender flap had fallen while the other only had a couple of threads left in place.







I fixed this at the local mechanic in Nashik as I did not have access to tools and other bits. All the bolts were fixed using locite including the number plate as he did not have rivets.

From the last couple of thousand kilometers, I noticed the increased play in the rear sprocket. This leads to a "THAKK" sound when slotting gears and a jerky power transmission while releasing the clutch. The play had become aprox 5 mm at 58700km which is after 25700km since they were replaced with the Rolon brass chain. The recommended play should be less than 5 mm per the repair manual.



The damper coupling JU131222 were bought from the spare part shop and replaced.



Here is a pic of the new damper couplings during installation.



After replacement the play is zero leading to much smoother power transmission without any jerks.

[advstreak]

I have been quite busy with work for a couple of months and did not get the time to update the ownership log, so here is everything that was done.

Reise TRACE-R

So while going to Bombay around 10 Jan the bike hit 60K km on ODO and suffered a "Bhisma Pitamah" type of puncture.





Here is how it looked on the inside.





The TourR has served me well but I recently noticed some bumps at the block ends. These tyres had done approx 27K km and still had a couple of mm treads left.







But knowing there was not much point in trying to fix the tyre I got the Trace-R installed for 5800 for the pair. I even got 1200 back from them as I put the tour for warranty claim for the swelling issue.





Here is how it looked after installation.





And here is after the break-in ride Nashik-Trimbak-Ghoti-Nashik loop. They are very much confidence-inspiring over the corners.

I have used them for 5k+ KM till now mainly in highway runs between Pune-Nashik-Bombay and they are holding up quite well. The ride is stiffer compared to the tourR, but it is smooth when the roads are properly paved. Whatever 1km gravelly patch I need to do to get to the vendor's factory location in Nashik these seem to hold quite well. Wet performance will be known during monsoon and then I will update it here.


Mesh Cover Seat Removal

After serving 35k+ km the mesh cover near sit bones had become flattened. Hence decided to remove it and see how the stock seats feel.



Here is the mesh pattern in the uncompressed area.



And here is they have compressed flat and hence have lost their function.



Now, this is how the bike looks after removing it.



I plan to install it back in case I start feeling some pain again.


10th service at 65k Km

As said earlier I was extremely busy with work and hence not able to take the time to service the bike while still riding it almost every day. For some reason, the Motul 7100 was holding its colour quite well and hence I kept on stretching the service interval.

Finally managed to service it yesterday at 65059 Km.



Here is how the oil held up after 9100 km.



And here is how the NGK iridium spark plug has helped up 18k+ km. Seems to be quite a perfect working condition for it.






Apart from the regular oil and filter, the coolant was also changed.
There are a couple of critical upgrades and parts changes that will need to be done soon, which I will update here accordingly.

[Shonith]

Originally Posted by advstreak

The damper coupling JU131222 were bought from the spare part shop and replaced.

After replacement the play is zero leading to much smoother power transmission without any jerks.

White cush rubber are for the 125 and 200, these are soft. 250 and 390 have black ones, which are hard. These will have lesser life than the black ones when installed on the 250/390.

[advstreak]

Originally Posted by Shonith

. These will have lesser life than the black ones when installed on the 250/390.

Not entirely sure about that.

Dominar 400 and both KTM Adventure 250 and 390 along with Duke 250 2017 model seem to JU131222.









However, the Duke 390 2017 seems to use JY131201, which seems to be black in color.

Not sure which has the longer life. As anyways, it is Adventure 250 which anyways has much lesser shock loads compared to the Duke 390.

Can you let me know your source of info about the white ones J(U131222) performing worse compared to the black ones (JY131201)?