1997 KTM 640 Adventure Input

[beemerwolf]

Hey Ya'll KTM Riders.......

I've done a search on this year 640 Adventure within the TT Site & there's not much there, so I thought that I'd seek input from those that own, or have owned this bike.

What do you think of it?....really?

If I purchased this bike, it would get some dirt, some singletrack, but it would mostly get true dual-purpose type riding with a good mix of paved roads, forest roads, and whatever in-between.

I need reliability, some comfort (considering) and the ability to get the job done.

Parts availability is important too.

I can work on most anything having ridden & wrenched for over 30 years on all types of bikes.

So, would this 640 hold together for me...............or, would I do better with a Jap 650 Dual-Sport?

AND did I mention, RELIABILITY is at the top of my list!!

Thank you in advance for your great comments!!

HappyRiding !!

:ride:

[AzStorm]

Ive owned several 620's and 640's over the past few years and have loved each and every one.

Ive never had a reliabillity issue with any of them even after riding the living snot out of them both on the street and dirt.

I will say that the Adventure model with its larger fuel capacity can be a handfull on tight single track due to the weight,especially if the tank is full.

Maintain it properly,enjoy and ride the daylights out of it and you should have no worries.

[Halfcab76]

My (new to me) 01 LC4 is serving me vary well. If it vanished tomorrow I would buy another one and would not even think about a Jap bike unless they came out with a DRZ 650 that had a six gear and a kicker to use if ever needed (been there, done that and had to walk for over a mile for help when I had a DRZ).

The LC4 is not a dirt weapon like my RFS are a bullet like my street bikes but the bike is a blast to ride anywhere any time.

[festa]

Ive owned several 620's and 640's over the past few years and have loved each and every one.

Ive never had a reliabillity issue with any of them even after riding the living snot out of them both on the street and dirt.

I will say that the Adventure model with its larger fuel capacity can be a handfull on tight single track due to the weight,especially if the tank is full.

Maintain it properly,enjoy and ride the daylights out of it and you should have no worries.

What Azstorm said,, i second it:thumbsup:

[techieguy]

Outstanding bike. Parts shouldn't be too hard to find since the basic design is still being made, at least for this year. The LC4 motor is pretty bullet proof but does have a weak spot on the older motors on one of the output bearings. In 03 they changed to a roller bearing from the ball type. That should be changed out to the new style. If you've worked on bikes for a while, you can do the change our yourself. Over at KTMTalk and Advrider there are posts on how to do it along with a lend out tool to pull the old bearing.

You talk about reliability? You are looking at a 10 year old dirt bike. How well was it maintained before you got it? How many miles and how much are you looking to pay? It may be cheaper in the long run to buy one a few years newer than to replace all the bits and pieces one at a time. Prices for parts isn't too much but replacing wheel bearings, swing arm bearing, ... can add up no matter if it is made in Austria or Japan.

The Adventure is a super bike. If you fill the tank with the full 7 gallons of fuel, the weight is a bit much for any single track but you can ride all day without fear of running out of gas.

As far as parts availability there are many dealers that offer all the parts on line. I personally like www.mattocycle.com . Bud offers 15% off all OEM parts and his shipping costs are reasonable.

[tooofast]

I just got a 2000 640 adv last weekend with 7k on it and love it.. its been a pain getting it running, some of that becasue it sat for a year and was not loved some because im a dumb ass at time... regardless here is just about everything you could ever want to know about the bike/motor

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=86958

and if you make it up this way come ride with us..

http://lvnvdualsports.com/forum/index.php

There is something going on most weekends for one size of a bike or another..

Dave

[beemerwolf]

I wanted to thank everyone for all of the info & let you know I missed out on this one.

The guy sold it to someone else a couple hours before I could get there.

Anyway, in the weeks that followed, I did manage to buy a nicely taken care of and lightly upgraded DRZ400E with all of "the legal goodies" to be road qualified here in Arizona.

So, it's up on the stand getting a few other tweaks getting it ready for the start of the riding season here in Arizona.

BUT

I'm still in the market for a KTM similar to what I previously found. With all of my research, I have determined they are a great bike that will provide the owner with many smiles per mile throughout it's running years.

Thanks for all of the info, and...................

HappyRiding !!

:confused: