Curious to see the number and frequency of failures on the 790. I've compiled a list of the most common problems that I've noticed (including ones that I've experienced myself). Feel free to add any other issues in a reply. If you own or owned a 790 and have had ZERO problems, please comment and post your mileage.
I have come back from the dealership in 35c temps and smoke from local bushfires. Australia is on fire in case your elsewhere and don’t know.
Anyway I feel now entitled to a gripe given what has been a very ordinary ownership experience.
I have had the bike off the road for 7 weeks in 11 months and 17,000 kms. The bike came from the dealership with the indicators incorrectly connected. Then there were the oil leaks x 4. Then the chromed fork sliders were replaced, then injectors, followed by a front disk service which hasn’t fixed the pulsing disk and lever. So the disks are probably next.
I suspect I need a new clutch cable also as it has now run out of adjustment, frustrating.
Overall the finish on the machine is only just okay. The plastics scuff and mark far too easily and my dash has permanent white marks on it that resist every attempt to remove. OMG the list keeps going as I write this.
Apart from a tense relationship with the workshop manager and a consistently unreliable supply chain from KTM the work has been mostly done under warranty and it was the down time waiting for parts that caused the delays
However how much can a Koala bear? If you haven’t noticed I can tell you the second hand market has tanked on these things and to make matters worse dealerships are flooding the market with cheap run out stock so selling the bike isn’t my first best option.
I feel KTM should be upfront with these issues and provide some financial compensation to the owners who have put down good money only to face a frustrating experience. In spite of the fact that I have been inconvenienced on multiple occasions I do believe in the machines. I have ridden a dozen or more test bikes out of sheer curiosity and the duke is still the best I’ve tried as a cheaper all rounder.
But what is most telling is I am always looking for an alternative bike. It’s true the machine does everything well but is a jack of all trades and a master of none. I feel my desire to change the bike is down in no small part to the ownership experience. I now cringe at the very idea that I have to call the dealership and book my bike in for another warrant matter, arrange the necessary transport, lifts and time off work.
Anyway gripe over now.