ktm 640 hiccups

[Island Hopper]

Hi I'm new to D.S.B.C. and am wondering if any of you 640 owners have experienced the same problem as me? I have a 03 Adventure that periodically will have a hiccup between 4000 - 5000 rpm, This usually happens out on the highway where the engine will just have a momentary studder almost as if the ignition cuts out for a split second. It happens more frequently in the wet, so I checked the float bowl for water just in case the odd droplet being digested might be the problem. It seems more like an ignition rather than a carb problem, so I'll go over the wires just to make sure there is no rubbed wires shorting out. This is a head scratcher and hard to diagnose because of its periodic nature. Any Ideas?

 

[640in604]

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Welcome to DualsportBC!

My '03 hasn't had that problem, nor have I heard of it - sorry. Maybe try the Thumper forum at advrider.com, there's a lot of 640 Adventure riders there.

I had a wierd problemthat appeared only at highway speed and it turned out I had air filter oil deposited on my carb's slide. Cleaned slide and carb, problem gone.

Good luck,

Paul

 

[Island Hopper]

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Signed up to Adventure Rider a couple of months back and am still waiting for E-mail membership confirmation. When that happens I'll post them the same question as I know there is a lot of 640 owners on that site. How many 640 owners are on D.S.B.C. ? I moved from a KLR in 2004 to the 640 on a chance encounter with a dealership that actually had one in stock.I'd been eyeing them up for along time and jumped at the first chance to pick one up. The KLR was a great bike but I dont regret my decision to switch. Other than a warranty repaired oil leak and a front wheel recall, this is the only glitch I've had in the first 18000 mostly loose surface KM.

 

[ktmken]

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I have a 2002 640e that I have put 9000 miles on in the last two years. I have had no gliches what so ever. I know of6 KTM 640's that are on DSBC or have been on DSBC in the last two years.

Hope to see you at the bike show, I will be at the booth Sat. Afternoon.

KTMKen

 

[Hooligan]

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I have had my Adventure for close to 40 000km now.....only one minor proplem with the head gasket :hb:......it did not want to hold the radiator coolant in the cylider head once I reached 6000rpm on way to Bella Coola last year.........

....oh and at the same time it spilled some coolent through the tailpipe....

Problem went away by applying $1200.....(and a few choice words)

:hb:

 

[Island Hopper]

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Bella Coola is a ways out to have that kind of problem,were you out of commission? Or were you able to do repairs in the field. We did that loop a few years back and really enjoyed the ride, nice country but a long ways from any bike shops. I made sure I carried a fix it for just about any problem I could envision as we were travelling two up on solo machine. Something I don't recomend doing because if you break down or have a problem way out on some of them back roads its a long walk {if you can] out. Did you do the loop on the ferry or ride in and back out?

 

[Hooligan]

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Never got that far so never had to deal with the issues you mention, phoned the "backup" or shall I say "wifewithpickup"

Got the going and two weeks later rode to Prudhoe Bay Alaska and back.

:hb:

 

[Island Hopper]

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Prudhoe Bay! Now thats a way to put your repairs to the test I'm asuming that ride went trouble free. I just noticed that my warranty repair on the leaky valve cover wasn't such a good repair , shes weeping oil again. Goes back to the old saying {if you want something done right.... everyone knows the rest.] Looks like I'll have another project for the weekend. Back to the original thread starter, I just recieved my confirmation E-mail for Adven. Rider so I'll pose the Hiccup ? on that site.

 

[Hooligan]

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Certain things you replace when you see them, like a clutch plate, and Copper seals should always be replaced......they never do when they do a service and more than once did I replace copper seals that seems re-used....! funny thing is they are so cheap and yet dealers never replace them.

:hb:

 

[Island Hopper]

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I've got to agree with you on that, the odd time that I've had to reuse a two bit part or seal its just bugged the heck out of me till I replaced it properly. Sometimes I have to improvise because the closest KTM dealer is a ferry trip and a 300+ km ride away. That's my excuse, but a dealership should have those parts in stock, especially with KTM because a lot of those parts are common to there full line of bikes.

 

[Island Hopper]

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I had the bike torn apart to reseal the valve cover and noticed the tank vent had been rerouted to where it was almost pinched shut. This may be the cause of the hiccup problem {I'm hopefull}. The warranty valve cover reseal job done by the KTM dealership had me in cursing fits. They used so much goop that it was in all the cover bolt threads in effect almost seizing the bolts in. Also it was smeared on the end of the cam bearing. They also smeared it on the waterpump seal {which has double o-ring and requires no sealant} making the whole thing a hell of a mess. Also the sealant used was not the right stuff as to where it dried hard like wood glue and split off in shards, rather than the firm rubber like properties its supposed to have. I had to retap every bolt hole on the head to chew out all the epoxy lodged in the threads as well as chase the threads on the bolts. Enough of this , you get the picture. The warranty repair that was carried out, was a waste of time and was more trouble than worth.

 

[Island Hopper]

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Found the source of the hiccup problem, it was a pair of broken wires inside the ignition key switch, resoldered them back in place end of problem. Simple to fix difficult to find.

 

[ktmken]

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Wow, I am impressed that you found and fixed the problem. That would be a hard one to track down.

KTMKen

 

[Island Hopper]

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At least the bike died near Cambell River {where I was able to buy a butane soldering iron} and not in the middle of the boonies {would of had to hotwire}.

 

[soupbone138]

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Good job on the repair. That would be a tough one to find.
I had a 2002 LC4 640 E and I just exchanged it for a 2003 LC4 640 E. Lower milage was the main reason as I had never had a problem with the 2002, other than the leaky valve cover.
The 2003 apeared to have a leak also, so I repaired it with some Honda Bond. So it should be as reliable as a Honda now.

 

[ktmken]

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Lets see some pictures of the newer LC4

KTMKen

 

[Island Hopper]

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Hey soupbone, going to the 03 also gives you the high flo head, do you notice any performance increase over the 02 on your new bike? They advertise a couple of Hp increase over the non hi flo, but they also advertise my 25.5 litre tank on the Adventure as holding 28 litres. Is it fact or fiction?

 

[soupbone138]

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The bike is geared with a 45 tooth on the back and a 16 on the front. I was running a 42/17 on the 2002.

So, I'm not sure. But I want it to be faster, so IT IS !!!

I have a 42 tooth on order, when I put it on I might have a better idea.

Looking at a gearing chart the 45/16 is close to the 42/15 I would sometimes put on for dirt rides. The 2003 seems to have a good speed with that gearing.

I ran it up to 140 KM without any over reving. (no tac.) I did not use the 42/15 very often so it is hard to remember exactly what the 2002 did, but it seems to me it did not like to go that fast.