Highway testing my KTM 690 SMC R | Is it comfortable?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 มิ.ย. 2023
- Can you ride your KTM 690 SMC R on the highway? Well of course you can but would you?
I have gotten many questions of how the 690 performs on the highway. To be honest it works and is a good commuter bike but DEFINITLY not the best..
Needless to say, keep to the hooligan actions, corners, tight roads and track days, leave the highway for the big bikes..
Motorcycle
2021 KTM 690 SMC R
Bike Mods
- FMF 4.1 Slip-On Exhaust
- Custom Install - Check my channel for the full video!
- DynoJet Power Commander 5
- Custom Tune from Rottweiler Performance
- Rottweiler Performance Fuel Dongle
- Misc. bling bits
- eBay Seat Cover
- Plasti-dip wheels
- Tekmo Carbon Fiber swing arm guards
- Tekmo Carbon Fiber Skid Plate
- Tekmo Carbon Fiber Engine cases
- ASV Shorty Clutch Lever
- ASV Shorty Brake Lever
- Amazon Parts..
- Berotec Cumpan Cockpit Assistant
- Rottweiler Intake
- Rottweiler SAS Delete Kit
- More to come!¬¬
Camera Gear
- Sony a7c
- Rode VideoMicro Mic
- Tamron 17-28 f/ 2.8
- Sigma 24-70 f/2.8
- Insta360 X3
- GoPro HERO 9
- GoPro Media Mod
- Hama Laptop Microphone - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
I cruise the freeway 75-80, 85-100 passing but I agree they purr and chill in the 70s
I find my 690 smcr to be an amazing all around bike. It does everything very well, in my opinion. I'd rather ride the 690 long distances on the highway than a sportbike, any day. I've always ridden naked bikes and supermotos so the wind doesn't affect me at all at highway speeds. I have no idea how people do long rides on bikes with such horrendous ergonomics, knees fully bent and leaned all the way over the bike.
I couldn’t agree more! A naked with a little more power would be good tho!
It's so weird seeing someone on youtube on my streets haha. Love the bike, I want a husky 701 really bad and came across your channel because of that
Haha what do you ride and where are you located?? A 701 would be badass! Do it!!
@@LifeWellRidden I just passed the MSF and dont have anything yet as im still in school unfortunately. But I live in Naperville and commute to Cod so if I ever see you around ill be sure to say hi!
@@zkseries hell yeah that would be awesome!!
I would probably get a windshield upgrade, full exhaust system from KTM and the rack and bags. I have friends who have toured 120-130 km no problem best engine ever.
0:30 bro left the damn oven on while leaving the house!
Sweet videos bro. Keep them up. What clutch and brake levers are they?
Thank you! And they are the ASV shorty levers, you can buy em in Rottweilers website. Just make sure you get the mounting kit for the clutch side (if you don’t have the factory guards)
Hey man nice bike! How do you get thru yearly bike inspection with the FMF exhaust since it doesnt have any homologation?
I don’t have yearly inspections in IL.. or at least I have never been called in for one.. if I did have them then I would probably put the baffle in and pray I would pass 🤣
Hey it sounds like i may be getting thru to you! Seatconcepts comfort xl baby!
Awesome seat compared to stock seat. Have one on my 2023smc
@@timtimmons5558 that's an excellent mod. The stock seats are 🗑️. How u like the bike
seatconcepts comfort xl is the first mod you should have done. IT IS AWSOME!
i can hardly see your digital cluster, but do you have a gear indicator on there? i dont on mine, but the older models do
The cluster itself does not but the Cumpan dash does! It’s hard to see I direct sunlight unless you have some sort of shadow over it haha and I think the EU models all have em but USA models don’t.. not sure on what years and all that
Will it do highway speeds. Yes absolutely is it fun to do for long periods not so much. At least on mine since i changed my sprockets to give more low end! I personally avoid long highway stretches
Likewise my friend!! I try to avoid them but when I have to.. hunker down and have fun at 80 🤣
@@LifeWellRidden that's right!
Gear up that front sprocket a tooth and drop those rpm’s from 4700 at 75mph to 3800-4000 at 75mph 👌
Oh sweet thank you!! What does that do for any low end?
My stock 2022 ktm 690smcr went 115 with me on it i weight 310lbs, in mexico of course.
Got damn!! That’s fast haha I should really do a top speed test one of these times 🤔
@@LifeWellRidden DO IT!
Find this to be true. Not bad commuting on this my other option would have been a 500. It would be doable but meh
A 500 would be a stretch for long highway haha but it’s not a bad bike for long highway, something I wouldn’t want to do every day!
Where did you get your mirrors?
th-cam.com/video/hg8utdwkOk4/w-d-xo.html
What phone mount do you use?
I use the SP Connect+ with phone case and I bought the anti-vibration mount as well and no complaints so far!
It's doable on the highway. Comfortable on back roads.
How tall are you if you don’t mind me asking??
I'm 6'1!
Do you think it’s bad to ride the 690 on highways for long periods of time engine wise?
Good question 🤔 personal thought (non-professional opinion) it wouldn’t be the kindest thing but you could do it, it would be wayyyy better than like a EXC 500 or true dirt bike but if your riding long rides on the highway ALL the time, I would probably get a bigger bike like a 890 adventure
I've had this bike (2021 model) and i sold it because it was very unconformable in my opinion. I'm 23 yo and I'm pretty tall and i just couldn't live with the harsh seat and its seating position. It's sad because it was super fun, handled like a dream when ridden fast and it was an overall fantastic bike for the more quick and fun type of riding, but i personally couldn't stay on this bike for more than one and a half hours without my ass and my back feeling pain. Also having zero wind protection combined with the motocross-like seat position makes it terrible for cruising. Of course it can't exist a bike that excells in both fun/agility and comfort, but this bike was just too uncomfortable for me. Just my personal opinion though.
I couldn’t agree with your points more! Super fun but super uncomfortable for long rides haha sad to see it go but what did you end up getting to try and solve the issue?
@@LifeWellRidden i honestly didn't want to spend a ton of money trying to make a bike do what it wasn't supposed to do (being a confortable bike). So i just ended up selling it for a more comfortable bike😂
No but seriously, spending something like 300€ for a comfier seat just sounded stupid to me when i would still had been stuck with the wind and the seating position problems. I just accepted the fact that this is not a bike you can use to do longer rides. I live in an area in italy where if you want to reach a twisty road you need to ride at least half an hour. That got me tired quickly.
Bought a cheap but perfectly maintained bmw r1100gs. Bought that bike also for my father who loved it. At first i wasn't sure i could enjoy such an old bike but the reality is that i have a lot more fun on the bmw just because of the fact that i no longer get sick from the bike, and that makes me able to do a lot more things that i couldn't do on the ktm. Of course it doesn't handle like a 690 but it is really fun in its own way, just like any bike
If you want a bike that's more comfortable and still a TON of fun, get a yamaha tracer 900 gt or a ktm smt 890
@@michele1342000 damn where about in Italy?? (Speaking like I have been.. I have not 🤣) that sounds like you could get into some really cool roads close to you! But I have been looking at the 890 SMT but I feel like if your going down that road already then why not an adventure bike for some dirt stuff?? Either way I think you made the right choice for you and glad you can enjoy riding again!!
@@LifeWellRidden haha, I'm from Treviso which is a city near Venice so I'm in the northern part of Italy. We have some really nice roads in the alps which are relatively close to where i live but in order to get there i still need to take a highway and that's no good on a 690 as you might already know 😂
I get your point on the smt 890. I also considered buying a ktm adventure 790 which has now become kinda cheap at least here in Europe and it is also a very capable on the road, but in italy off-road riding is basically illegal so i went for a more road-oriented thing✝️
Btw if i lived somewhere where you can do offroad, i would surely buy an adventure bike because i love going offroad
@@michele1342000 The views must be beautiful! I am beyond jealous! That is interesting on the offroad laws.. some beautiful contry to tear up hahah 🤣
But now I see the importance ofr a bike like the SMT, on road killer performance in a highway friendly platform = an amazing bike!
Mirrors?
I've got a whole video explaining them! th-cam.com/video/hg8utdwkOk4/w-d-xo.html
I had a 21 Husky 701 for around 10 months. It sat along side my 20 1290 SDR. After selling it I thought damn why’d I do that lol. So just got myself a 23 690 smcr.
I’ve done a brief ride on the motorways (I’m in the UK) and found it ok. Even with my fat arse on it. 😄
Hahah the sad day when a SMCR/701 leaves the stable.. but glad to hear you got yourself a 23’! I would think the 1290 is much more fun on the highway haha
@@LifeWellRidden oh for sure. That’s until you get north of the Speedo. Then it becomes a little windy lol.
@@Robbiemoto 🤣🤣 so true.. man I miss actually being comfortable on the highway and longer rides.. this has me thinking for a second bike 🤔
@@LifeWellRidden my last
Reply seemed to have disappeared. Any way as I said go check out a 1290 to sit along with the 690.
@@Robbiemoto I’ll have to take a look! Honestly I’m debating between a 890 Duke R or a MT-09.. I have ridden an FZ-09 when I living in Las Vegas and it was so much damn fun! That motor was just so good and sounded amazing
change your helmet for more comfort and wind noise