There are two paths I can travel, when it comes to fixing this bike

• Fix it myself. I started down this road, then realised it’s going to take a lot of time, especially when I lack the ability to talk to it’s CPU (brain).
• Send it to the friendly romans at a dealer, spend lots of money, and pray for a happy ending.

However, following the dealer path has led to a bleak picture.

I was looking in the wrong area of the bike, and it’s likely the faulty component is actually one of several rather expensive parts.

To add some complication to this, KTM itself is in dire financial trouble (likely terminal), which means even the agent can’t get any parts for it.

https://amcn.com.au/editorial/ktm-inside-a-cash-crisis/

The only source for parts then, is Ebay, which can be dubious as to what you are getting.

All of leads to the question of whether it’s worth keeping the bike.

A test ride of a possible replacement bike was a revelation. It just went and everything worked flawlessly with a very efficient Japanese feel to it. (even the clock works!)

The KTM in comparision is ‘contankerous’ in it’s nature. Unless you warm it up nicely in the morning, its going to give you a hard time (it will stall and then be hard to start). It only likes 95 octane (preferably higher). On 91 octane, it just feels flat and lacks any urgency. 

The thing with these ‘character’ bikes though, is that they are never boring.

With a bit dedication and some late nights, perhaps I can get it sorted.

Not having my favourite bike going was a bit of a downer, so when it only took a week for the parts to arrive from China, I  studiously replaced that fuel pump and put the bike back together.

When I turned the key on, the pump burst into life and it only took a few seconds to get up to pressure.

That lit up a few memories, because thats how it was years ago when I first got the bike.

That pump had been slowly getting blocked over time, and I hadn’t noticed the gradual change.

I thought Cool!, so I put the bike back together, and rode off into the sunset… and  it died again a few miles down the road, so I got to meet some more  of our neighbours who helped me trailer it back home.

Just like last time, the fault disappeared again for no obvious reason.

These are the hardest faults to find because there aren’t many clues, which means you have to take an educated guess as to what it could be.

I decided to get a whole pump & filter assembly from India on Ebay that has KTM part numbers on it, as I’ve found that buying cheap parts for this bike are more trouble than it’s worth.

I was a lot more circumspect riding the bike with the new parts fitted this time around, but it didn’t leave me on the side of the road this time, so it may be Ok -or not.

As it happens, the bike is almost due for a service, so I’ve given it the local agent to sort out.
It’s possible to plug a computer into this bike to read all the diagnostic errors, so the agent got a definite advantage over me taking guesses as to what the problem could be.