KTM 790 Adventure — Recalls, Reliability, Specs & VIN Decoder

At approximately 14,700 Miles, the motor on the bike shut off abruptly while riding at 60 mph down the road while negotiating a blind curve. The vehicle was catastrophically disabled with no warning sounds, lights, or codes and left me stranded in an area with limited cell reception and in a blind spot for approaching vehicles with no shoulder to safely park on. The bike had not yet seen its first scheduled maintenance interval (manufacturer recommends 18,000 miles) and had received multiple oil changes well before scheduled intervals. No aftermarket modifications were done to the engine, air, fuel or other pertinent systems. Upon disassembling the motor for inspection, there was substantial catastrophic damage to the cam shafts and cam followers. It was concluded by a BMW certified master mechanic that the failure was due to premature wear of the cam followers and cam lobes. The cam follower broke in the motor causing a jump in timing and ejection of valve shims. The force of the malfunction was severe enough to spin a cam lobe 90 degrees out of position on the shaft, bend valves, and other damage. Upon inspecting the air box and oil jets, these components appear in good form and do not appear to have contributed to this malfunction. Upon contacting KTM, I was denied any assistance and have had to facilitate these repairs on my own out of pocket expense (approximately 2500 dollars so far). KTM also denies accountability for what appears to be a design or parts flaw that has been happening to other motorcycles manufactured between 2020 and 2023.

Engine requires multiple tries to start when cold due to inadequate fuel supply from fuel sensors or fuel injectors. A recurring issue, this happens upon starting every time the engine is cold. This is a known issue by KTM. When the bike was returned to dealer, they reset the sensors and the bike operated normally for a short time and then returned to faulty starting procedure. The starting issue places an inordinate drain on the battery putting the rider at risk of being stranded.

The engine’s intake crank lobe (left side) and it’s follower wore unexpectedly to a point that the engine is unusable without inspection and replacement of internal parts. All manufacturer’s service instructions were strictly adhered to and the motorcycle (and original engine) has little more than 10,500 miles on it. Engine can break down completely if operated in its current state and leave the vehicle’s operator in a position of potential harm, especially during off-highway use, which this vehicle is designed for. Vehicle is available for inspection upon request. (Pictures of internal engine damage are attached.) Dealer currently has vehicle; states they will not be able to independently inspect it until 27 September 2022 at the earliest. Problem had thus not been independently reproduced by the dealer, but the attached pictures clearly show the engine damage. Problem first noticed by the owner/operator through unusual engine noise on 8/14/2022. Other than unusual noise, no vehicle-produced information (lights or messages etc.) informed the operator of potential issues. Operator did not know of the engine damage until he inspected the engine — by removing the valve cover — on 8/27/2022 and notified a local dealer on the same day.

* Severe camshaft lobe and follower wear at 17,500 miles with very loud valve knock. I have photos of the wear, and the motorcycle is currently at the dealer for work. And yes, it is available for inspection. *Valve clearance check is due @ 18,600 miles. I checked my valves at 17,500 due to a long upcoming trip. Since the valve follower on the intake of cylinder #1 inboard was worn down severely, this could've caused catastrophic engine failure while on the road and possibly caused a sever accident. *The dealer has witnessed the problem and have serviced other similar model KTM bikes for the same issue. *The bad components have been inspected by the KTM authorized dealer. *The only warning was a clicking sound coming from the engine, but one had to carefully listen for it.

Motorcycle takes multiple attempts to start and run - minimum 3 at this point.

The vehicle can take 4-6 attempts to start when cold. Following the exact procedures in the Owner's Manual, or attempting other things like putting a hand over the exhaust to increase back pressure or slightly adding throttle during start makes no difference. This has the potential to be a serious issue as these vehicles are often taken far into the backcountry where there are no services. Should the vehicle not start after multiple attempts the owner will be stranded. Owners have been led to believe this issue is the result of KTM trying to meet emission standards, though no other models (other than 790/890 vehicles) exhibit this fault.

Engine starts then stalls multiple time when cold starting. Problem has existed since the first service at the dealer at 1000 kms at which time the break-in period ended and the computer was updated at the dealer. Bike was returned to said dealer to report this problem and no solution was found. Currently have 13000 kms on the bike with no resolution or improvement to this problem.

August 14, 2024. My KTM 790 Adventure left me stranded on side of highway due to motor failure. 14,440 miles on odometer. Oil pressure light on dash lit up. 3rd oil change of its life. Had bike towed home and then dropped off at dealer on Sept 7th 2024 and the inspection was performed on 9-25-24, was charged for valve inspection. Dealer agreed valves, lifters and head were damaged and matched my description of failure. Case was opened with KTM USA , KTM denied me their 'Goodwill scheme" due to dust/dirt in motor. Appeal filed with KTM and that was also denied. This is a known faulty head in the motor that left me stranded on the side of a major highway. I received back at time of pickup a bag of taken out parts along with cams ,clutch plates in a bag. I asked KTM North America in writing of my denial of my "goodwill Scheme " that they were providing for this motor but was told "sorry" we cannot give you that. -No prior warning -Noise was present at time of pulling off to shoulder of highway -Breather tube was melted from heat from intake cam -No asked answers were given at time (what was valve clearance,where would the dust come from)- There is actually a bulletin informing KTM techs to seal up the motor in 5 places when they service the motorcycle, mine was not sealed, no answers on that either.

The contact owns a 2019 KTM 790 Adventure Motorcycle. The contact stated that several attempts were needed to start the vehicle. While driving at low speeds and applying the throttle, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer five times where it was diagnosed that a new fuel pump, new fuel hose, clamps, fuel line, fuel connector, fuel injectors and smog kit and power-washed tank were needed. Additionally, there was build-up in the throttle body. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified but, no further assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 2,382.

Oil leak at counter shaft seal, repaired by ktm safety recall on rear brakes dash goes' blank while riding, steering dampener failed water pump leaked the clutch failed ( slipping ) ktm declined to repair this, i took it upon myself and found a broken clutch plate. The front brakes experienced a pulsating sensation while braking, this gradually got worse over time, ktm replace the front wheel and one brake rotor the front brakes experienced inconsistent free play in the lever, this caused the front brake reaction timing to be different every time, ktm declined to repair this, we had the dealer blead the brakes at our expense, this seemed to help the rear brakes where not fully releasing causing drag and the brakes to get hot, this also damaged the rivets that hold the rotor together and caused them to wear on the caliper mount, ktm declined to repair this but did supply new brake caliper mount and rotor, but not labor.

Motorcycle rider was cruising forward and in an upright position at 15 mph on a public road when the front brakes experienced a complete and spontaneous lockup, thus preventing forward travel. At the exact time of front brake lock up there was zero input to the front brake control lever, meaning this was a result of a defective braking system. There was no mechanical feedback felt by the rider to provide any warning that the front brakes would spontaneously lock up the front wheel. Note: motorcycle was purchased brand new by rider from authorized ktm dealer. Incident occurred with roughly 200 miles on odometer. The motorcycle was never modified or altered once it left dealer lot after purchase.

Failed brake light switches cause brake light to not operate. Fails state safety inspection .

The brake light doesn't illuminate unless excessive brake pressure is used. During normal braking the light doesn't illuminate at all when using the front or rear brake. It is available for inspection upon request. My safety and safety of others has been put at risk because other motorists will not know that i'm braking since the light doesn't illuminate. The problem has been reproduced by me. The KTM dealer will not offer free diagnostics for this even though there have been two other brake recalls for this model. This has only been inspected by me and multiple other owners who hav encountered the same issue. There were no warnings or symptoms prior to the issue.

I puurchased the motorcycle new on 11/19/19. After 3k miles the front wheel and suspension began lurching severely when the front brake is applied in motion on city streets. At slow speeds when approaching a stop sign/light the lurching is worse to the point where i can only use the rear brake to stop the machine. I have nearly lost control of the motorcycle on several occassions when turning on pavement at low speed due to the severe lurching when applying the front brake. If required to use the front brake in stop and go traffic the condition is such that the motorcycle cannot be stopped effectively without losing control, therefore i can only use the rear brake which greatly increases the required stopping distance. This condition is indicative of warped brake rotors or malaligned wheel hubs. The dealer service technition rode the motorcycle and experienced the same condition as i. Next, he meaured the front brake rotors and determined they were severely warped. He filed a warranty claim with the manufacturer (ktm) and the claim was denied. I contacted ktm customer service department 3 times and each time was informed they would not honor the warranty because they claim brake rotors are "wear items". I explained to ktm that i have ridden motorcycles for 40 years and have never had a rotor warp or wear out within 3k miles, indeed my 2017 bmw f800 gs brakes work perfectly and it still has the original rotors and brake pads with 18,000 miles on them. When rotors "wear" they become consistenly thinner around the entire circumference of the contact surface with the brake pad, not at random points on the rotor surface.

Oil leak at counter shaft seal, repaired by ktm safety recall on rear brakes dash goes' blank while riding, steering dampener failed water pump leaked the clutch failed ( slipping ) ktm declined to repair this, i took it upon myself and found a broken clutch plate. The front brakes experienced a pulsating sensation while braking, this gradually got worse over time, ktm replace the front wheel and one brake rotor the front brakes experienced inconsistent free play in the lever, this caused the front brake reaction timing to be different every time, ktm declined to repair this, we had the dealer blead the brakes at our expense, this seemed to help the rear brakes where not fully releasing causing drag and the brakes to get hot, this also damaged the rivets that hold the rotor together and caused them to wear on the caliper mount, ktm declined to repair this but did supply new brake caliper mount and rotor, but not labor.

Front brake lever inconsistent, then front brake began applying itself forcing unwanted reduction of speed during highway use and overheating of front brake. The only way to get brake to release was to pull brake lever very hard and suddenly multiple times to force engagement of anti-lock system, at which point the brakes would release.

Two issues, after 2k miles the front rotors are warped, ktm will not cover this under warranty top break fluid reservoir leaking even after replacing rubber gasket.

The bike suffers from uneven front brake rotor wear or some other issue which causes the bike to pulse severely when the front brake is applied. The problem is most severe at low speed as when coming to a stop at a red light. The inability to come to a smooth stop is inherently dangerous, in that when the brake quickly grabs and then lets go it is disrupting to balance at these low speeds. I am not the only person with this problem with this motorcycle . Installing a second set of rotors did not address the problem, the problem returned. While i have indicated january 1, 2020 as the "date this happened", the problem is progressive and becomes worse over time,

When slowing with the front brake there is a pulsing sensation, like the brake grabs and then releases. I first noticed this on the highway with strong breaking from about 70 mph. It felt like a strong high frequency vibration in the front of the bike. It is most noticeable at lower speeds, when slowing for a stop light or stop sign. When i took the bike in for scheduled service i told the dealership about it and asked them to check the brakes. This was in november when the bike was only 5 months old. The dealership informed me the front brake rotors were warped by about 10mm. They took a video of it and submitted the video with a warranty claim to kim north america and then about 2 weeks later told me the claim had been denied. I have been riding motorcycles for over 30 yrs. And teaching motorcycle safety classes for 7 yrs. In that time i have encountered 1 warped brake rotor, which was replaced under warranty. This is safety issue and a manufacturer defect. There are numerous owners of the same make, model, yr bike with the same problem. My bike is not an isolated incident. If it was ktm would probably repair it. If you would like, i can ask the dealer for a copy of the video.

Tl* the contact owns a 2019 ktm 790 adventure. While the vehicle was stationary in a parking lot, the contact noticed that the rear brake pedal was blue (indicating heat). There were no warning indicators illuminated. The contact greased the rear brake caliper pin. The motorcycle was taken to scuderia west motorcycle (located at 69 duboce ave, san francisco, ca 94103, (415) 621-7223), but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 70. Contact states after went home found a stickey white substance in the brake pins, cleaned it all is normal then. *pm *tp

Engine requires multiple tries to start when cold due to inadequate fuel supply from fuel sensors or fuel injectors. A recurring issue, this happens upon starting every time the engine is cold. This is a known issue by KTM. When the bike was returned to dealer, they reset the sensors and the bike operated normally for a short time and then returned to faulty starting procedure. The starting issue places an inordinate drain on the battery putting the rider at risk of being stranded.

Motorcycle takes multiple attempts to start and run - minimum 3 at this point.

Riding at a constant speed in either 3rd or 4th gear, approx. 30-40mph. Was preparing to make a left turn in the left turn lane so began decelerating by downshifting through all gears until reaching neutral. Once I got to neutral, the engine stalled within 1 or 2 seconds later. Light braking was being applied during this event. Engine stalled while motorcycle was still in motion, approx around 10-20mph. Used brakes to completely stop motorcycle and restarted it without issue. There are lots of discussions about this engine stalling issue in forums online.

The clutch quit engaging while in traffic and I was nearly stranded on I-25 in stop and go traffic. I was able to nurse it along to a nearby parking lot with the clutch slipping very badly. I could have easily been rear ended. I took it apart and found the wet-clutch system was not getting any oil, it was completely dry. I bought a new clutch pack and cleaned the oil jet that supplies the clutch with oil. The clutch worked fine after oiling and installing it. It started slipping badly only a few hundred miles later. I took it apart and the clutch was completely dry again and the clutch oil jet was clogged. I replaced the stock clutch oil jet with an enlarged one and it has worked for 500 miles or so and is currently working.

The contact owns a 2020 KTM 790 Duke. The contact stated while riding approximately 30 MPH, the rear brake light failed to illuminate unless the brake pedal was fully depressed, not while slightly first applying the brake. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the motorcycle to a local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that nothing could be repaired and that depressing the brake pedal with force was the only option to illuminate the rear brake light. The motorcycle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 7,000.

Failed brake light switches cause brake light to not operate. Fails state safety inspection .

I puurchased the motorcycle new on 11/19/19. After 3k miles the front wheel and suspension began lurching severely when the front brake is applied in motion on city streets. At slow speeds when approaching a stop sign/light the lurching is worse to the point where i can only use the rear brake to stop the machine. I have nearly lost control of the motorcycle on several occassions when turning on pavement at low speed due to the severe lurching when applying the front brake. If required to use the front brake in stop and go traffic the condition is such that the motorcycle cannot be stopped effectively without losing control, therefore i can only use the rear brake which greatly increases the required stopping distance. This condition is indicative of warped brake rotors or malaligned wheel hubs. The dealer service technition rode the motorcycle and experienced the same condition as i. Next, he meaured the front brake rotors and determined they were severely warped. He filed a warranty claim with the manufacturer (ktm) and the claim was denied. I contacted ktm customer service department 3 times and each time was informed they would not honor the warranty because they claim brake rotors are "wear items". I explained to ktm that i have ridden motorcycles for 40 years and have never had a rotor warp or wear out within 3k miles, indeed my 2017 bmw f800 gs brakes work perfectly and it still has the original rotors and brake pads with 18,000 miles on them. When rotors "wear" they become consistenly thinner around the entire circumference of the contact surface with the brake pad, not at random points on the rotor surface.

When slowing with the front brake there is a pulsing sensation, like the brake grabs and then releases. I first noticed this on the highway with strong breaking from about 70 mph. It felt like a strong high frequency vibration in the front of the bike. It is most noticeable at lower speeds, when slowing for a stop light or stop sign. When i took the bike in for scheduled service i told the dealership about it and asked them to check the brakes. This was in november when the bike was only 5 months old. The dealership informed me the front brake rotors were warped by about 10mm. They took a video of it and submitted the video with a warranty claim to kim north america and then about 2 weeks later told me the claim had been denied. I have been riding motorcycles for over 30 yrs. And teaching motorcycle safety classes for 7 yrs. In that time i have encountered 1 warped brake rotor, which was replaced under warranty. This is safety issue and a manufacturer defect. There are numerous owners of the same make, model, yr bike with the same problem. My bike is not an isolated incident. If it was ktm would probably repair it. If you would like, i can ask the dealer for a copy of the video.

The main rear shock shaft seal has failed on two separate occasions causing shock oil to spill all over the catalytic converter posing a huge risk for fire. On both failure instances the motorcycle was being transported on a motorcycle specific hitch rack on the back of my pickup truck. The first shock seal failure occurred when I was transporting the motorcycle to my local dealer for service and the temperature was 16 degrees Fahrenheit during transport. The second shock seal failure occurred when I was transporting the motorcycle to Moab for a riding trip and the temperature dropped down to -6 degrees Fahrenheit during transport. KTM completed the first repair under warranty, which only lasted about 9 months when the shock seal failed the second time. I had to pay nearly $600 to get the second failure repaired by a KTM dealer using KTM parts. Both shock seal failures caused shock oil to spill all over the catalytic converter posing a huge fire risk. At this point I seriously doubt the durability and safety of the shock and I'm considering replacing the shock with an aftermarket one that won't fail and cause a fire.

The contact owns a 2019 KTM 790 Adventure Motorcycle. The contact stated that several attempts were needed to start the vehicle. While driving at low speeds and applying the throttle, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer five times where it was diagnosed that a new fuel pump, new fuel hose, clamps, fuel line, fuel connector, fuel injectors and smog kit and power-washed tank were needed. Additionally, there was build-up in the throttle body. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified but, no further assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 2,382.