mazambaan

While I love DH I have no dog in the fight but two comments. 1. Ideally someone should "replace" GM at some stage so at least one "under study" could be picked if this objective was focussed on. BMX is different but I understood that they threw a big effort (and money) into Sifiso and maybe a few others back in the day. 2. Sponsorship is key. Quite a few niche sports get key sponsors where they are wealthy and their family is involved (SA has had a number of bodyboarding world champs due to this; real unsung heroes IMHO). I personally think quite a number of people / organisations have made good money out of cycling, particularly "mountain biking" and they could plough more back in. Some of the SA exclusions have just been petty and unfair (the very first men's hockey team exclusion was just racist politics IMHO). I hope the DH ones aren't and would love to see more SA participants.

Whew, Droo and ChrisF have saved me some sleep. I hade a good look at the cranks and they are marked 165-R and 165-L on the inside lower end, except the L is on the right and vice versa 🤬🙈. So my efforts were tightening the pedals 😶. Methinks back to LBS, politely and patiently, no moer stripping, explain. Take off pedals and swap cranks back, er, please.

Much appreciated Chris 👋, I will get to searching, magnifying glass in hand.

Good thinking and I have tried this now and they don't loosen or tighten "easily", in fact they don't budge at all with my maximum half gorilla power (although I didn't give it everything, just about maximum on a 15 spanner). Will have another try after wedging the opposite pedal with a bit of timber.

Great bit of insight; I never thought of that. Before I tear off to the LBS I will try and check for any marks on the cranks as I really hope it is this - sort of seems more likely than the forcing of a RH thread into LH hole unless the "forcer" was severely mechanically retarded; which is not impossible sadly. Any idea what sort of marks I should be looking for on the cranks?

Very positive and so cool in SA. Good luck!

Thank you; it seems it is as I feared so I will first make a cautious and polite approach to the LBS that initiated this disaster. Then report in.

Apologies; riding, family catch ups and work interfered. Thanks for the comments and a few things to try. This is the RHS pedal where the "L" can be seen if zoomed in. Below it is the LHS one, its hex and the "R" can be seen if zoomed in. I am a worried man.🙈

Yebo, yes.

It isn't Pretoria but I think I have a related problem. Giant eTrance, LBS had it about a year ago for a few things including new motor bearings and took it upon themselves to replace my battered and loose flat pedals with some used plastic flat pedals that I really only noticed when I next rode the bike. I meant to raise the issue but didn't use them again (other grumbles) until I decided to replace the pedals, now also battered and loose, a few weeks ago. Pedal spanner didn't budge them (actually stripped the soft BBB spanner) and neither did the 6mm Allen key, first just a long key, then a 3/8" drive breaker bar and finally a 1/2" breaker bar. Then heat, vice and Makita rattle gun, no hint of movement. Yes, it was all loosen to the rear, left and right. Bear with me; only now, defeated, do I inspect more closely. Only marking on pedals is K 1283 and VP-573-R (on one pedal) and L on the other. Now the plot thickens, maybe sickeningly, as R was on the LHS of the bike and the pedal slope was up where it is normally down 🤑. The L pedal, with some markings on the 15mm hex was on the RHS 🙃. This is not good at all 👺. Question: Can you really cross thread the pedals as these appear to have been and get them to seat? Then: is this fixable, eventually pedals are extracted (I probably have to revert to said LBS)?

Someone had the comment quite long ago "and out pops this cheeky Manx monkey to snatch the win" which I thought was a nice and relevant turn of phrase; even now. Great result, a DQ would have been terrible.

Thinking about it another spot on KTM's that can leal oil is the countershaft seal behind the front sprocket, particularly if the chain is too tight. On many / some KTM's the chain can look slack so follow the tensioning procedure in the manual.

Oil selection is a rabbit hole of note. I would go with the manual and use Motorex, Motul or whatever as I don't ride much so its affordable. I fill the amount specified in the manual, only use sight glass/dipstick for checks. Many, many use commercial motor oils BUT change frequently so I would say damage is unlikely. I would try get to the bottom of where the oil is coming from; airbox (from being overfull etc) or a leak. My experience - these bikes have something that needs attending to if they leak oil. Wildogs and Advrider be your friend although there are 1000's of posts to sift through.

100% this. I started trying to sort out streaming my Premium account and ended up cancelling due to the irritating (polite) service.

Congrats on the 950, welcome to the dark world. "Did the choke thing on the way home, she cut out twice, so a little more choke........", could be indicative of carbs needing cleaning although I have had a KTM where the plug cap was the guilty party, only discovered after multiple carb cleans. K&N filters not recommended for dusty conditions; it is a long storey. OEM paper (?) or oiled foam is my suggestion. Not sure which is OEM.

Excellent summary and the age old biker dilemma; sensible or hooligan (and a thirst for rear tyres). I have not owned either bike; closest to the 660 was a Yamaha TT600 and, to the 950, a Husky 701 (not even close). Wildogs and Advrider will expose a good few 950 / 990 adherents but few diehard 660 fans. Tread carefully, the ABS etc won't be as good (or traction control exist) on older bikes and the 950S is a tall beast; be sure you can utilise the better suspension effectively. Try get someone knowledgeable to look over the 950; there have to be a few aficionados in CT. The 660 will make you smile on gravel roads; with the 950 it will be between maniacal laughter and abject terror; everywhere.

Maybe; I think the Tenere is actually more suited to surfaced road droning while the 950 will smoke it everywhere, including on dirt roads and keep your eyes on high beam BUT a 2004 950 is pretty sure to need some work and they are somewhat fiddly and expensive (dredge out the Pyndon rebuild on AdvRider if in doubt). The Tenere is a KLR 650 / DR 650 beast, solidly reliable, no fireworks and you can perk them up a little (the Shimwells model). I would go for it on age alone, km being equal.

I can imagine that sort of hill on an ebaike; dial up the power and zoom up only to run out of epuff 5km from the finish. Which may as well be 50km with ebike for me.

That is a bummer - one of those places I'd meant to ride. Quite a few places in KZN seem to have quietened. Baynesfield was a dangerous shambles last I rode there (about a month ago) + R100 day fee a bit steep anyway, ripoff on the day. St Ives long closed. Shongweni being cramped by development and the floods but Holla and Giba (thanks Chris) seem solid having ridden there in the last few weeks.

I should follow my own advice more but first thing is service it; oil and filters, check for dust after the filter in the airbox. Obviously before riding check tyres, brakes and chain if it has been standing.

Hmmm, maybe "woza" is better for come but there is no "we have come" or even "we came" except to use fikile. "I have not heard "fika" used on its own come to think of it.

and have a coffee etc says the dictionary. In Zulu I think "fika" means arrive so sengfikile is "I have arrived". You have!

Damn, but, apologies for this, at least you are ok.

Bah, looked in good shape; all I would add is crash bars. But in that "class", as well as the Yam 660 (ideally a Shimwells modded one) the good old Suzuki DR 650 (at least one nice one was for sale on Wildogs a few months ago) and even Kawa KLR 650 have their adherents but neither wakes you up like a KTM (it is quite tall though and is much less comfortable on "tar" roads - it vibrates!). Also out there is the BMW 650X, getting on though and the air shock seems an issue but the Rotax motors seem solid.

I had many happy years with a 2006 640 Adventure and not 100% sure why I "upgraded" to a Husky 701 🙃. It did have dual discs, a bit overkill I think and if converted to a high mudguard (standard was a low one) sometimes one disc would be forfeited. As noted, this is quite an old bike and the engines are a little highly strung but mine was quite reliable (it let me down when the ignition wire chafed through) and when I cracked the front mounted oil filter in a deep ditch. Suspension linkage needs to be movement free as this can cost you money and one regular problem is a failure of the water pump seal, letting water into the oil, fairly easily remedied but usually needing a new shaft. Headlight (s) is poor but easily converted, as are the indicator and tail lights (to LED). More a weekend adventure bike than daily droner.