KTM owners are a very weird bunch. I own a KTM 790 Adventure R, I purchased it new and it's had numerous issues including the camshafts failing at 28,000km which was $6000 AUD worth of parts and months waiting with no timescale given. I am absolutely bashing KTM, I don't care how good the bike is when it works, I don't care about the history of KTM, KTM's handling of this entire issue and every interaction I've had with them has been a disaster. I hold no brand royalty, KTM don't care about me as an owner, what do I owe KTM? I would of happily purchased KTM's in the future as the performance is good when they work, however KTM have insured I'll likely never buy a KTM again and I'll very happily share my experience and criticize KTM for it as it's completely, true, factual and justified as a owner of the bike who has had issue after issue. Not quite sure why KTM brand royalists will defend a brand for genuine criticism when the brand does not show the same level of support to it's customers and treat them with contempt.

In all honesty .... KTM deserve to be bashed for this disaster of a situation. There is clearly some inherent issue within the LC8c engine that give it a 50/50 chance of being fine or being a costly and infuriating timebomb. The way KTM have decided to handle it all is just throwing fuel on the fire. Have a little respect for your customers at least!!! I bought a 790 Duke brand new in 2019 .. it didn't even make it 14 miles home from the dealership before developing an oil leak. By the time the warranty period was over I'd made a dozen claims for repeated oil leaks, cracked front brake reservoir and rear shock damping circuit failure. Ended up trading it in a few months ago before the whole 'cam saga' gained much publicity. Went back to a trusted Japanese brand, bought a second hand, 2 year old Honda with almost 10K miles on it and it's been perfect and faultless so far. KTMs are great when they work properly ... it's just you genuinely never know if it's going to work properly or not every single time you hit the starter ... cross yer fingers and hope for the best ... 🤷‍♂

KTM 790R 2020 owner; at 22,000km with no symptoms I took then bike in to have cams inspected (start of May) and a service (which I’ve done myself since out of warranty but wanted to keep the KTM logs happy), turns out the cams and followers are toast. KTM agreed to pay for parts and maybe some labour. Dealer says KTM will have stock of parts in late August, maybe arriving at the dealer in mid September). Love the bike, but seriously that’s gonna be 4 months of registration and insurance costs for no bike. Ready to race, more like ready to waste.

A rude phone call? Yep, I can confirm that's the KTM dealership experience!

Thanks for no music and getting to the point.

KTM is shipping new bikes with cams in them....but can't keep replacement parts in stock. People have reported missing most of their riding seasons waiting for parts.

I have a 2020 KTM 790 Adventure and had to replace the entire motor one year into ownership. KTM did not support it and I had to pay the entire bill. the local dealer was fucking amazing and waved the labor but it took nearly one year to get the drive line parts from KTM to rebuild the bike. 11 months almost to the day it died. I had put 12K miles on it changing the oil and filters every 3K miles. I planned to keep the bike forever but now with 90 miles on the new motor it is getting sold.

I sold my 22’ 890 Adventure solely for the cam issue. Had mine checked out, luckily they were good at the 11K service. Made the decision to go to a T7. I’m keeping my 501, just because it is so lightweight and I’m not getting any younger.

The problem is that the manufacture will only pay the dealer a fixed fee for warranty work, this is why the dealer never like a warranty job.

Well done. Keep up the good work. Far to many of these bikes are faulty. Yes they are brilliant bikes but far to many cam problems showing up. That is why I got rid of mine.

Fella, you are doing a great job highlighting this issue. I've seen other fellas in the UK reporting having the same problem but you're first to report that's it a oil feed problem not the hardening of the cam lobes which makes us all know what the problem is, why didn't KTM let us know? I love my 790 and really don't want the get rid of it but at the same time, how's going to want to buy one or a dealership won't one as a part exchange. Big problems for owners but really appriciate your concern and help👍.

Wanted to buy a midsize adv bike after I totalled my Super Tenere. Studied and researched the category really well. Hands down. Toureg 660 best handling and pkg for the money. Still bought a Tenere 700. Lmao.

KTM company is terrible and I Love my 20 790 AdV.R. The cam chain tensioner broke...ordered it 2 months ago and still not here. They are saying Mid August. 3 months with no ride ..ridiculous. Good look getting camshafts.😮 Going Japanese next bike . Ktm is losing my business 😢

As a mechanic,i can say that they aren't really good on their warranties,or part supply.

That 1976 CB750 Tank in the back brings back good memories.

TE250I, different kettle of fish to 790 . I have a TE250I and it is a brilliant bike but the only KTM branded bike I would own.

I’ve put 155 hours on my 2024 TE 300. It has been great, only needing tires, brake pads, gas, and oil. I expect 250-350 hours out of a top end riding hard enduro terrain.

ktm doesn't really fix anything. they just release new things with new faults

Honda VF-owners: First time?

2019 790Adv owner here. This is a very shitty situation for owners with fcuked engines, very frustrating I’m sure. My bike has been trouble free so far… Hopefully not jinxing myself 🤨 Hopefully KTM come to the party and help rectify this situation, fingers crossed!

My 1090R was solid, my 890 R ain’t. Engine is simply not built to last. Everybody in the business knows that so when I tried to swap it for brands I got terrible quotes.

Looks KTM presses those cam lobes onto a shaft instead of machining them out of one piece of billet , same old cost cutting problems they’ve always had. owners have defended these crooks for ever ,but KTM arrogance still have them ignoring owners dedication and are still knocking back warranty’s, there’s a good video explaining it called ‘KTM cheese’ .. they could even be made from Swiss cheese to keep them in line with European manufacturing practices.

Cam failure means metal in the engine. A new head and cams won't fix the early bottom end failure.

Also had an issue with a 790 Adventure and have sent the details with pictures per email because that’s too much text for here.

It's going to be a long drawn out ideal. Hopefully it will be sorted before winter😊

how this issue isn't reported to the NTSB and becomes a "recall" is beyond me, KTM should be buying these back as lemon law units etc. I had the 790 on my list of next models to buy, after doing research, I'm glad I didn't. And to those that are saying Husqvarna and Gas Gas are all the same, they are not, they use different parts, different designs, different staff, etc. The only common dominator is that Pierrer Mobilty owns the brands.

Hey there great job on the video! You have any idea in what have caused the issue?? It is very strange…🙄

What year bikes are affected ?

Sadly this is all the result of KTM trying to cut costs and manufacturing in China where their metallurgy is simply not that good. I believe all the KTM 790 and 890 engines are manufactured in China. C F MOTO (Chinese motorcycle company) actually uses these KTM motors in their own bikes

As an owner of a duke 790 (still under warranty) I'm wondering if adding oil additives will help or I should only use high quality oil and never ever add anything else?

What year bikes does this concern with the camshaft

I bought a new 350 exc-f a few years back and one month in the cam lobes were all scraped and burnt. After discovering it I took it back to the dealer the day after the warranty was up. Ktm had them remove the cam and sand the cam lobes smooth and re-install it. Literally shit I would have done when I was 13 years old, broke, and riding 1980s 3 wheelers lol. Sold that bike. I've had about 7 new ktms over the years but almost all 2 strokes. I ride Ktms 90% of the time, but I wouldn't buy another 4 stroke from Ktm group. Especially if I'm not racing it. They're akin to a high performance version of a Chinese bike, like Gio. Plenty of fish in the sea.

I'll never buy KTM

Great vid. Maybe stop saying 'you guys' so much 👍

There’s no context here just that the cams failed , no history of use or service no reasons or even speculation half the vid just taking about nothing .

The 790 head should have been designed with replaceable cam bearings. Running the cams directly in the aluminum head is an improper design.

Familiar story it seems🤔

These the engines made in china?

Sorry so many people's self-esteem is based in the reputation of a corporation that they feel aligned with. KTM as a company is horrible. I had to pay for my own cams and followers after their poor QC and/or engineering.