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2014 KTM 690 Enduro to Supermoto

Posted on January 7, 2015

This article is a description of the conversion of a 2014 KTM 690 Enduro R to a Supermoto with 17" wheels. Two goals are kept in mind:

  1. It is easy to go back to Enduro configuration.

  2. It is easy to go back to factory. This refers to minimising the irreversible modification of factory parts.

Part names and numbers will be provided.

If you would like me to do this conversion for on your bike and you are able to transport your motorcycle to Brisbane, please email me and I will be happy to help you.

tonymorris@gmail.com

Motorcycle models

The motorcycle was already heavily modified (details below). It is an Australian version of the KTM 690 Enduro R, which closely resembles the EU version. I would expect that the modification described here would apply, without alteration, to US models.

I also expect that this description would apply to earlier year models, with exception for taking into account the ABS. The use of ABS in the 2014 model only changes the following facts:

  • There is no need to purchase the ABS sensor rings for the supermoto wheels.

  • The earlier models use different wheel bushing/spacer widths, which:

    • are supplied with the supermoto wheels for all year models

    • required customisation for the rear wheel in my case anyway

Wheels

In August 2014, I purchased the front wheel, rear wheel and cush-drive hub with 44T sprocket from warp9racing.com:

  • ASSEMBLED KTM 690 FRONT WHEEL - 17“X3.50” BLACK HUB / BLACK RIM / SILVER SPOKES WITH SILVER NIPPLES INCLUDES 300MM FLOATING ROTOR WITH SPACERS

    USD468.00

  • ASSEMBLED KTM 690 ENDURO REAR WHEEL - 17“X4.25” ORANGE HUB / BLACK RIM / SILVER SPOKES WITH SILVER NIPPLES INCLUDES ROTOR

    USD468.00

  • KTM 690 CUSH DRIVE WITH SPROCKET (USES OEM RUBBERS) 44T

    USD139.00

When the wheels arrived, they looked like this:

warp9racing supermoto wheels

Note that the wheels included:

  • disc brakes

  • wheel bushings/spacers

ABS Sensor Rings

I chose to buy a second set of ABS sensor rings and factory bolts to use on the supermoto wheels, so that I didn’t have to remove them whenever I wanted to go back to Enduro configuration.

  • 1x SENSOR WHEEL FRONT (KTM part 60142020000)

    USD23.46

  • 1x SENSOR WHEEL ABS REAR (KTM part 76542021000)

    USD23.36

  • 15x ZYL.SCHRAUBE DIN14580 M6X16 (KTM part 014580060166S)

    USD11.25 (USD0.79 each)

Each ABS sensor requires six (6) of the Zylinderkopf DIN14580 Torx bolts. I purchased a total of fifteen (15) so that I had 3 spares.

The KTM 690 service manual1 specifies the following for these bolts:

  • Tighten to 14Nm (10.3 lbf·ft) torque

  • Use Loctite 243 (thread locker)

  • “The lettering on the ABS sensor wheel is located on the outside.”

After fitment of the ABS sensor rings, the wheels now look like this:

warp9racing supermoto wheels, with ABS sensor

Tyres

I fitted Pirelli Diablo Rosso tyres to the rims. The tyre sizes were chosen for their application, however, it was later learned that the size is also important for fitment. Specifically, the front tyre is at the limit of maximum width without fouling.

I also used tubes and rim bands.

  • Front 150/60-ZR17

  • Rear 120/70-ZR17

Rear Wheel Fitment

Using the warp9racing supplied bushings, I was able to fit the rear wheel, however, it was clearly malaligned, since:

  • the inside brake pad friction was preventing wheel rotation

  • the ABS sensor ring bolt heads fouled the rear brake caliper

    warp9racing supermoto rear wheel, malaligned

I removed the rear wheel and measured the distance from the wheel hub shaft (against which the bushings sit) to the surface of the ABS sensor ring, by first placing a straight-edge along the ABS sensor ring.

measure malaligned rear wheel

I first measured the distance from the bottom edge to the wheel hub shaft, using the factory wheel. The resulting distance is 18.93mm.

measure factory rear wheel

Next, I measured the same distance for the warp9racing supplied rear wheel. The resulting distance is 20.84mm.

measure warp9racing rear wheel

I then double-checked all measurements, supplied parts and considered other possible errors. I was left to conclude that the supplied rear wheel would not fit this motorcycle. I sent an email to warp9racing.com, while I set about making my own spacers that would put the rear wheel in its appropriate position, which is an extra 2mm left.

I have still not heard from warp9racing since sending that email (20 December 2014), which is disappointing. Everything else about the company had been great, including the quality of the wheels. Unfortunately, since they now had my money, I was screwed. It was a shame to learn that warp9racing would not support their product. I suspect that nobody had actually successfully fitted these wheels to the 2014 model.

Oh well, plan B.

Fortunately, I know an excellent machinist. Given the two supplied bushings, I asked him to add 2mm to the right-sided one and shave 2mm from the left-sided one.

warp9racing bushings, before alteration

Since he is awesome, this was not a problem and I had new bushings within a couple of hours.

I used the existing cush-drive rubber dampers and fitted them to the supermoto hub. This requires no bolts or fixings as they just slot right into position. Here they are on the factory hub.

cush-drive rubber dampers

Next, I fitted the warp9racing supplied 44T sprocket and cush-drive into the hub. Again, no fixings are required. After reassembling the rear wheel, with the custom-made bushings, it all slotted in perfectly. The alignment of the drive-chain and brake calipers was perfect.

Front Wheel Fitment

For the front wheel, I did not have the same problems with the bushings/spacers as I had for the rear wheel. In this case, the wheel fitted perfectly with the supplied spacers.

However, since the front wheel is wider than factory, it fouls on the fork leg protectors on both sides as well as the front brake hoses. The fork leg protectors are important and cannot be removed, as the left one retains the front brake hoses from hitting the wheel or rim.

Importantly, even though at rest the front wheel does not contact the front brake hose, under motion, there is fouling. Therefore, it is important to modify the left fork leg protector to clear the tyre as well as mount the front brake hoses on the outside of the fork leg protector. It is impossible for the forks to clear the brake hose if it were mounted in the original position, between the forks and the front wheel.

The fork leg protectors can be modified to clear the tyre by cutting a notch with a utility knife. The part number for the fork leg protectors, if you choose to have another set, is 7800109420030.

Here is the modification of the right fork leg protector:

right fork leg protector

Here is the modification of the left fork leg protector:

left fork leg protector

left fork leg protector

The channeling that has been cut on the inside of the left fork leg protector is a consequence of having attempted to route the brake lines on the inside of the forks. It was then determined that this is impossible, since it fouls the forks when they are under compression.

Kickstand Height

Using a factory kick stand, with the supermoto wheels fitted, the motorcycle will be difficult to stand on a level surface. This is because of the lowered overall height, requiring a shorter side stand.

Using an additional factory side stand (part 7650312300033), I shortened it by 50mm. After fitting the shortened side stand, the length was found to be optimal. I recommend losing exactly 50mm from a factory side stand for this modification.

Speedometer

With the supermoto wheels fitted, the speedometer will over-read by approximately 20%. This can be corrected by paying a KTM service centre.

However, it can also be corrected with a minor modification to the factory wiring. This modification is simply a matter of disconnecting one wire from the harness. It should take a maximum of 15 minutes in total.

  1. Remove the headlight assembly.

  2. Underneath the speedometer, on the right side, is a black rubber boot covering a white-coloured electrical plug. Disconnect this plug. There is a retainer on this plug, so don’t just pull it — undo the retainer.

  3. Holding all the wires in the plug is a black-coloured retainer clip. Release this clip from the plug.

  4. Identify the wire that is coloured completely brown, with no other trace colour.

  5. Using nose pliers, gently pull this wire from the plug.

    pulled brown wire

  6. Insulate this wire. I used 4mm heat-shrink.

    insulated brown wire

  7. Restore the black-coloured retaining clip to the plug.

  8. Reconnect the white-coloured plug to the speedometer and fit the protective rubber boot.

  9. Turn the ignition to the ON position and wait for completion of the ignition start sequence.

  10. By pressing the MODE button, scroll to the TRIP 1 mode.

  11. Hold down the MODE button for 10 seconds, until the dashboard displays the factory wheel circumference (2250), then release.

  12. Using the MODE button to increase the wheel circumference and the SET button to decrease it, set the circumference to (1840).

    Be careful about holding down either of these two buttons for too long, since the scrolling speed increases rapidly.

  13. Once the desired length has been selected, press the MODE and the SET buttons simultaneously, until the dashboard display returns to the TRIP 1 mode.

  14. Turn the ignition off and on to have the new settings take effect.

  15. The time might have reset to 12:00. Set the time to the current local time.

    Here is the relevant excerpt from the Owner’s Manual (part 3213101en)

    manual: set the time

Check the accuracy of the speedometer against a reliable GPS. At this setting, I found the accuracy to be within the tolerances of undetectable error.

Result

The wheels, with appropriate tyres, result in excellent handling of the motorcycle. I have run these same tyres on a track bike (YZF-R1) before and now with a lighter motorcycle, the performance is outstanding.

Wheelstands remain easy from third gear. Highway riding is still comfortable. The bike tracks exactly as it is told.

Here are some pictures.

2014 KTM 690 Enduro R to Supermoto

2014 KTM 690 Enduro R to Supermoto

2014 KTM 690 Enduro R to Supermoto

2014 KTM 690 Enduro R to Supermoto

2014 KTM 690 Enduro R to Supermoto

2014 KTM 690 Enduro R to Supermoto

2014 KTM 690 Enduro R to Supermoto

List of Existing Modifications

It is not expected that any of these modifications have affected the procedures outlined here, however, they are listed for completeness.

  • KTM bad fuel dongle (part 60312953000)

  • Scotts DS-SUB-3528-02R steering stabilizer

  • Wings 690E/R 14+ muffler

  • Sicass Racing 22-100c rear turn signals

  • Sicass Racing 22-206 black turn signal hand guard deflectors

  • (x4) Oledone 1L10-L spotlights

  • Oxford OXF.OF692Z heated grips

  • Seat Concepts seat

  • Unifilter 690E (07-14) foam air filter

  • R&G FP0085BK fork sliders

  • Rear swingarm spools

  • perunmoto KTM 690 subframe reinforcement kit

  • perunmoto KTM 690 Luggage rack

  • Barkbusters

  • KTM 690 Enduro 14L Safari Tanks long range fuel tank

  • (x2) 3BR 5V 2.1A USB charger

  • Doubletake mirrors with RAM mounts

  1. This service manual is made available online, in protest to a lack of response from KTM Australia, regarding a defective service manual product in violation of Australian Consumer Law (Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010). Read more here.↩︎