mazambaan Posted February 6 Posted February 6 17 hours ago, RocknRolla said: Damn Hairy, I was hoping for the better, but I would agree with the others to part (pun intended) ways with that KTM and move onto other things. I understand people go through personal things, but when it starts affecting business dealings, He should have manned up earlier and said, Sorry, My life is a trainwreck, please collect your bike, and I will pay back your money. It's been painful following this, must have been 10 times worse for you. I really feel for you getting the runaround and investing time, money and spirit in the project, results not materialising. I don't have much experience with extensive engine re-builds but did have a 640 Adv KTM and rebuilt the water pump and a few minor things and even then, 5 years ago, spares were hard to come by. KTM's woes and age have not helped. Crank machining; good engine machinists and re-builders are hard to come by and not cheap (I have stories), same for stator and starter motor rewiring etc. Either an ongoing labour of love, look for any secondhand 625/640 motor or cut losses and look at other options. Hairy 1
Hairy Posted February 6 Posted February 6 2 hours ago, mazambaan said: I really feel for you getting the runaround and investing time, money and spirit in the project, results not materialising. I don't have much experience with extensive engine re-builds but did have a 640 Adv KTM and rebuilt the water pump and a few minor things and even then, 5 years ago, spares were hard to come by. KTM's woes and age have not helped. Crank machining; good engine machinists and re-builders are hard to come by and not cheap (I have stories), same for stator and starter motor rewiring etc. Either an ongoing labour of love, look for any secondhand 625/640 motor or cut losses and look at other options. Things are getting positive. Got a couple of goods from the bad mechanic last night. Still missing items from the list. He also committed to paying back money for the work not done and parts not provided and parts missing. Sure this came with the threat of reporting him for theft and fraud. He made a first payment last night, not a lot, but a good indication of commitment. New mechanic is rock and roll. Hopefully this weekend or early in the new week he will open up the motor and have a quick look at the piston, main bearing, etc to see if the motor is worth saving. His feeling is that the motor is actually a really solid unit and that the compression is good .... so he is very positive. With the first cash payment, and the quote from the good mechanic to do the work I am happy to fill in the shortfall in cost to bring her back to life. What really got me irritated was that the bad mechanic was happy to give me the bike back, thinking he had opened and cleaned out the bottom end, and then if I got her rolling by doing the basics in my garage, go ride and then the copper blocks up the oil passages or the like and fooks up the motor.....what a real chop. Any way, new mechanic seems meticulous, has lots of experience and has a good engineer to sort out the crankshaft. Stator and stator cover we will be sorted with, starter motor we can get sorted for not much money and then the sprag clutch arrived in the batch of things last night. WaynejG, IceCreamMan and mazambaan 2 1
Hairy Posted February 6 Posted February 6 (edited) So for good vibes, here is a lekker clip from some guys up country Edited February 6 by Hairy IceCreamMan 1
Spokey Posted February 6 Posted February 6 12 hours ago, Hairy said: So for good vibes, here is a lekker clip from some guys up country This is pretty lekker. I have a 2018 690 Enduro R and a Yam T700 2022. The 625 in the video is super, not far removed from my 690. I liked this. The T700 is fantastic on longer trips and flatters one’s ability in the dirt. However, when the time comes to let one go I believe the T7 will go first, purely due to the weight V the 690. mazambaan and Hairy 2
Hairy Posted February 9 Posted February 9 On 2/7/2026 at 12:33 AM, Spokey said: This is pretty lekker. I have a 2018 690 Enduro R and a Yam T700 2022. The 625 in the video is super, not far removed from my 690. I liked this. The T700 is fantastic on longer trips and flatters one’s ability in the dirt. However, when the time comes to let one go I believe the T7 will go first, purely due to the weight V the 690. The 625 SXC wet weight = 148-150kg, and dry = 139kg .... that is just about light enough to pick up under your arm and carry the bike out of bad situations. What I must say, for the limited time the bike was in my garage, it is really nice and light whereby you can pick up and toss the rear end around just using your hips and holding onto the rear rack while standing next to her. Spokey 1
Gnarly Posted February 10 Posted February 10 @Hairy I have this for sale if you looking to replace the KTM. Only 6 hours on the bike. mazambaan, WaynejG, Hairy and 1 other 4
Hairy Posted February 10 Posted February 10 3 hours ago, Gnarly said: @Hairy I have this for sale if you looking to replace the KTM. Only 6 hours on the bike. I am not looking, and that is one sexy bike. 😍
Hairy Posted February 10 Posted February 10 Motor opened, piston looks good. Decision to save her has been made, deposits paid, and now the waiting game for the gaskets and engineering works to the crank. Looking around the 9th of March that she would be ready, give or take a few days that is. Donald noted that the cylinder head was a mission to get off, indicating that no one has been inside this motor in a very long time! Stoffel76, Stretched@Birth, mazambaan and 2 others 5
mazambaan Posted February 14 Posted February 14 On 2/10/2026 at 3:59 PM, Hairy said: Motor opened, piston looks good. Decision to save her has been made, deposits paid, and now the waiting game for the gaskets and engineering works to the crank. Looking around the 9th of March that she would be ready, give or take a few days that is. Donald noted that the cylinder head was a mission to get off, indicating that no one has been inside this motor in a very long time! Something that may interest you -640 engine disassembly. Hairy 1
Andymann Posted February 16 Posted February 16 @Hairy saw this on the weekend and thought of this whole debacle. Had a little chuckle.... Hairy, mazambaan, IceCreamMan and 1 other 1 3
Hairy Posted February 16 Posted February 16 3 minutes ago, Andymann said: @Hairy saw this on the weekend and thought of this whole debacle. Had a little chuckle.... properly funny
Hairy Posted February 16 Posted February 16 so while waiting I thought I would mess around with AI and see what options could be had. ref pic Option Option
Hairy Posted February 16 Posted February 16 And then it could also animate the vid. option grok-video-fae2531c-f5e3-435b-bc7e-327e3735b747.mp4 and final option grok-video-fae2531c-f5e3-435b-bc7e-327e3735b747 (1).mp4
Stretched@Birth Posted February 16 Posted February 16 1 hour ago, Hairy said: And then it could also animate the vid. option grok-video-fae2531c-f5e3-435b-bc7e-327e3735b747.mp4 3.9 MB · 0 downloads and final option grok-video-fae2531c-f5e3-435b-bc7e-327e3735b747 (1).mp4 2.11 MB · 0 downloads Is that your prediction… 226? Hairy, WaynejG and IceCreamMan 3
Hairy Posted February 17 Posted February 17 14 hours ago, Stretched@Birth said: Is that your prediction… 226? Just a random number, tomorrow is day 226. My estimate is race no. 245 Stretched@Birth 1
Hairy Posted February 20 Posted February 20 Shooting from the hip ... anyone have a KTM 640 flywheel looking for a new home?
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now