Fuel filters unlucky or just crap design?

russ996duke

russ996duke

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Last year my 1290SA started showing classic signs of blocked filters, so into dealer who fixed it
Then this year a few weeks ago it again started spluttering and wouldn’t pull above 4500 rpm, this time tho annoyingly on tour of foreign parts
This demonstrated firstly that KTM website is crap at showing dealer network and also that breaking down on a Friday afternoon in France is not a good idea!
No bike shops capable of doing the work opened until Tuesday ferry sailed wed night so RACbreakdown called for and if you enjoy stress conflicting info and knuckle dragging call centre operatives then their service is just right for you!
So bike now back and dealer tells me it’s dirty fuel for the second time
Yet no one on trip had same issue
So was I unlucky or is KTM fuel filter just not good enough?
Anyone else had this in UK?
I had lots of time to read all the threads on ADVrider about aftermarket upgrades mostly it seems in US or Australia
KTM say bad fuel not an issue in UK and deny any issue with filter set up
Before I go for aftermarket kit anyone else used it?
Thanks for reading!
 
Hundreds of threads about this if not thousands all over the Internet. It's at its worst in the US but it does happen elsewhere in the world. KTM use a very fine fuel filter. They have done so using practically the same filters since they started using fuel injection. Whether a design fault or doing its job and saved you replacing fuel injectors is up for debate but if KTM felt it needed redesigned they would have done by now. For whatever reason they think it is the right solution and haven't changed it over the last 10 years or whatever.
 
I can’t comment on the fuel filter issue but as for the website showing the dealer network it was spot on when I holed the radiator on my 1190 last year.

I noticed it was spurting coolant out of a small hole and felt that immediate sensation of impending doom so bought a beer and went on the website. It showed a dealer in southern Hungary about 30 miles from where I spotted the problem so I rode there arriving under 30 minutes from closing time. They sorted me a hotel within walking range then had a new radiator fitted and me back on the road in under 72 hours so it worked for me.
 
AndyB_11 said:
I can’t comment on the fuel filter issue but as for the website showing the dealer network it was spot on when I holed the radiator on my 1190 last year.

I noticed it was spurting coolant out of a small hole and felt that immediate sensation of impending doom so bought a beer and went on the website. It showed a dealer in southern Hungary about 30 miles from where I spotted the problem so I rode there arriving under 30 minutes from closing time. They sorted me a hotel within walking range then had a new radiator fitted and me back on the road in under 72 hours so it worked for me.
Click to expand...
Glad it worked for you!
I picked a bad time to breakdown
Looks like guglatech filter kit will sort it properly
Trouble is the bike is just too good to trade in for something that is likely to be less fun!!
 
The RAC sucked a few years ago when the Mrs got a puncture late on a Saturday and wanted us to wait until the nearest dealer opened on a Wednesday, the tyre had a huge hole so would need replacing and we had no idea if the little bike shop close by would have one.

They refused to pay towards Hotel as they expect people to fit the spare, Wankers!, I wanted it taken somewhere on Monday that had a tyre in stock and they told me to bugger off or pay them a few hundred Euro's to move it to the nearest larger town, after a lot of arguing they moved it FOC - to a moped shop that did not have the right tyre, and left me to try and converse with the garage and get it all sorted.

Sounds like a bit of bad luck with the filters, but really KTM should either improve them or make them a cheap service item, the reason they have not is probably because they can charge a couple of hundred quid to replace them and people put up with this shit and still buy the bikes.
 
Rasher said:
The RAC sucked a few years ago when the Mrs got a puncture late on a Saturday and wanted us to wait until the nearest dealer opened on a Wednesday, the tyre had a huge hole so would need replacing and we had no idea if the little bike shop close by would have one.

They refused to pay towards Hotel as they expect people to fit the spare, Wankers!, I wanted it taken somewhere on Monday that had a tyre in stock and they told me to bugger off or pay them a few hundred Euro's to move it to the nearest larger town, after a lot of arguing they moved it FOC - to a moped shop that did not have the right tyre, and left me to try and converse with the garage and get it all sorted.

Sounds like a bit of bad luck with the filters, but really KTM should either improve them or make them a cheap service item, the reason they have not is probably because they can charge a couple of hundred quid to replace them and people put up with this shit and still buy the bikes.
Click to expand...

RAC
sent me a customer service questionnaire to allow me to respond on their service....score various aspects on a 1 to 5 scale, neat trick they pull is that no where does it say whether 1 is a bad score or a very good score!!
Still waiting for refund of the expenses I incurred which they authorised to cover the incompetent way they "handled" my repatriation, ie I was left to sort it out myself.
KTM
Not interested, making the sort of Corporate corporate schmoose noises they think calm a customer down and convince them it was all an illusion!
Dealer
Very concerned, genuinely sorry the bike let me down, offered help fit the aftermarket filter kit when it arrives from Guglatech, also to check the pump prior to my next foreign jaunt, charge me at cost for work to sort the issue for the time being
 
Dealer not that concerned then since they are charging you! Sadly its all smoke and mirrors and nobody actually cares about doing what they are supposed to.
 
Marki_GSA said:
Dealer not that concerned then since they are charging you! Sadly its all smoke and mirrors and nobody actually cares about doing what they are supposed to.
Click to expand...

Well, charge was at cost with no margin for them so not too dusty really. Its KTM who are the villain here!
 
Just going to change mine at 14K as a precaution. Filter kit is £49 + it looks like two new O rings for the pump which are £29 :eek:

Both figures +VAT if not bought from Jersey as I have.
 
cookie said:
Just going to change mine at 14K as a precaution. Filter kit is £49 + it looks like two new O rings for the pump which are £29 :eek:

Both figures +VAT if not bought from Jersey as I have.
Click to expand...
Good plan!
There are loads of threads on this over on advrider some are quite useful!
There is a supplier of kits equivalent to the KTM version straight switch
Be interested to see state of the filters in yours
 
here are the filters out of my 1290sa, this is after about 5k miles, since they were last changed!
 

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and here are the components from guglatech to replace!
 

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Is there a single "service kit" out there with everything you need or do you need to buy the filters / O Rings / Gaskets from various vendors.

My 1190 is well past 10k now so from sound of it highly likely to crap out on my next big trip.

Also does anyone know if they are a service item and on any of the KTM scheduled services or are you just supposed to ride until your bike conks out at the side of the road?
 
Scary prices, the whole pump assy should cost about that IMO, £80 for a few O-rings and filters that probably cost KTM no more than a fiver.
 
Rasher said:
Is there a single "service kit" out there with everything you need or do you need to buy the filters / O Rings / Gaskets from various vendors.

My 1190 is well past 10k now so from sound of it highly likely to crap out on my next big trip.

Also does anyone know if they are a service item and on any of the KTM scheduled services or are you just supposed to ride until your bike conks out at the side of the road?
Click to expand...

Its not on service schedule for change...buy them from link in cookies thread and DIY or have your KTM tech do the work, or do the guglatech thing as I am doing, (which is for peace of mind for me especially in respect of foreign trips)
 
I think you can get the bits cheaper elsewhere.

IIRC the whole pump is not much more than that from a UK supplier, not the £342 that KTM want.
 
That used filter looks like it contains activated charcoal or similar - my household water system filters look like that after a year or two. I’ve never seen anything like it on a bike before :eek:

How can fuel contain that much filth?
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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