Why I chose the 690 Rally and not a 690 Enduro R for Races to Places.
After many question from all angles, I decided to put this post together. Where to start? First I’d like to point out that my adventure of ‘Races to Places’ is quite a bit different to most. Sure I am riding around the world and require a good solid adventure bike, but I am also a racer at heart, appreciate a well set-up bike and I am racing too, so I want a machine that is capable of that also.
Many people get confused and think my bike (Basil) is a 690 Enduro, modified for adventure / racing. In actual fact it is far from that. For those that have been watching ‘Races to Places’ and know that the bike started life as a 690 Rally, don't be fooled into thinking you can just go and buy a 690 Rally Factory Replica and it's good to go. A lot of time and hard work goes into making a 690 Rally 'truly' adventure ready. I have to say though, in my opinion, the 690 Rally is the best base platform for this, hence why I used it.
So let's talk about the advantages of the 690 Rally over that of the 690 Enduro.
I see this breaking down into 5 categories:
1) Suspension and chassis set-up
2) Fuel Capacity
3) Carburetor
4) Simplicity of systems
5) Ergonomics and durability
I’ll finish off with a brief overview of the engine differences and give an indication of the price of an LPR prepared machine.
The suspension units (forks and shock) are far superior on the Rally compared to the 690 Enduro and I'd go as far to say it is even better than the aftermarket options too, for example, I’ve ridden a 690 Enduro with a Tractive shock on the back and honestly, while an improvement on OEM, it’s not a patch on the Rally set-up and never will be because it is more than just a shock change. The chassis set-up on the rally is much more suitable for carrying weight, it is stronger and is also way more stable, let’s explore why. The wheel-base is longer, obtained by a longer swing-arm, the swing arm and suspension linkage is far stronger on the Rally, with billet components and 17mm high tensile pins instead of the Enduro which has 14mm pins and cheaper cast / forged items and finally, the upper shock mount is not only in a different position to allow a longer shock to be installed, it is stronger. However, their were a few 690 Rally bikes produced with a cast upper mount similar to the Enduro (but in a different position), I believe this was for a bit more flex/feel for shorter tighter races such as Baja but I don’t want more flex on a bike that’s carrying luggage. The front triple clamps are stronger for the longer forks and offer 20/22mm adjustable offset which is a nicer combination for stability. You get a full 320mm race suspension package which is great on the rally, the downside, you better have a good size inseam to get on it. I have delivered customer bikes with lowered forks, shocks and seats so you can get around it and still maintain the stability / feel without the longer stroke.
Moving onto fuel capacity. I do change the rear fuel tanks and some other stuff to strengthen things up for the luggage but there is no getting away from the fact that the rally has 32 litres of fuel, in factory tested and produced tanks, bolted sturdily to the chassis with appropriate isolation. I have ridden with aftermarket kits, seen tanks fall off, riders experience significant vibration due to aftermarket tanks touching the chassis and even experienced them break in a crash due to their design. The rally front tanks are designed with a huge chambered leading edge to prevent them catching stuff in a fall, sure they can break but are less likely to and I’ve crash tested them plenty of times. As for fuel range, I’ll come onto that in the next bit.
I appreciate the advantages of fuel injection (FI) but the carburetor get my votes for an outback adventure bike. There are much less things to go wrong and when it does, I can see what it is. I know you cannot get a carb to fuel as perfectly throughout the entire range of throttle openings and engine conditions but you can get them pretty **** close with a bit of knowledge and time. The only notable downside I see to the carb is it's inability to compensate for altitude but to be honest, I can adjust the idle mixture in 10 second and if I need to change the jets it's a 20 minute job however, I now have a base setting that is good enough that I don't need to change it anymore, but yes, I have to ride around the characteristics at serious altitude. I also don’t believe fuel economy is a real reason why people want FI bikes, I rode back to back with a 690 Enduro (FI) for months and every time we filled up the difference would be between -5% and 15% (more efficient for the enduro) depending on conditions or choice of fuel map for the Enduro and even with a full Rally Raid Products kit (as in this case), you still have 25% less fuel capacity and therefore still run out first, we’ve proved that! So far, over the last 50,000km, I have averaged 47mpg on my carbureted bike (including races!), seeing just over 60mpg if I ride how I like not to.
Since we’ve just discussed carb, this brings me nicely onto the electrics / systems side of the bike and the whole simplicity of the Rally bike. While the base components are the same, stator, regulator rectifier etc, without the fuel injection system, things are much more simple and there is much less wiring, less components and therefore less to go wrong. There is much less draw on electrical systems and its components on the rally and should you find yourself with a flat battery in the middle of nowhere, you can bump start the bike no problem, I’ve done it! Other little features like the regulator rectifier being located in free flowing air on the rally and not stuck behind the radiator like on the E/R where it gets superheated air blowing on it all day, all make things that little more reliable.
Then there's the ergonomics of the Rally bike, wider foot pegs as standard, higher and a more ‘attack’ handle bar position due to integrated risers in the top triple clamp, PHDS bar mounts as standard, a higher peg to seat distance to reduce rider fatigue from sitting and standing and narrow fitting front tanks where your legs sit results is a very comfortable non-cramped feel. A good strong front nav tower and proven fairing that fits well and works better than others I have ridden. Sure, the nav tower will bend in a heavy crash but this is the idea, bend and not break. I’ve seen a lot of aftermarket ones just break into pieces and make it difficult to continue without parts flailing around.
Moving onto the engine, the stock engine in the Rally is one of the first LC4’s and is 654cc. While it has essentially the same components as the 690 Enduro, the later Enduro models have a true 690cc motor with more compression and a twin spark head and therefore do make more power however, I think the 654 motor has plenty and with the smoothness of the carb low down, it has often out tractored (hmmm, says that’s not a word but I refer to tractor like operation) a 690 Enduro when side by side on steep hill climbs at low revs. You do have know how it likes to be ridden though. The crank, rod, piston, cylinder and head are all essentially the same. The gearbox is different though, the Rally box is closer ratio, some 7.5% in top. I actually prefer it, especially for racing and cuising around but if you want to sit at high speeds, the Enduro box would be more suited. The clutch in the Rally is a Billet race clutch and while it is much stronger for racing, it does lack some long travel adventure needs. It can be grabby and is hard on the pull at the lever. I have recently fitted an Adler torque-loc / slipper clutch from a late LC4 and it is much lighter on the finger and seems like a way nicer solution for adventure riding. The clutch cover on the Rally is a 2-piece split cover which means you can access the plates if you burn them out, something I have never done but I guess it’s just a nice to have but at £1200 GBP for the inner and outer Rally clutch cover, you can see how this contributes to the price tag of the rally. My KTM 950 Adventure has 170,000km on the original clutch plates so I don’t expect I’ll be changing the clutch plates on my LC4 any time soon.
Finally, working on the Rally is way easier. Just accessing parts on the bike and removing panels, tanks etc. is definitely easier than working on the Enduro model. I know this from experience, I’ve worked on numerous adventurised 690 Enduro’s and Rally bikes over the years. The simplicity and design of the Rally wins hands down over the Enduro and it’s aftermarket options. Let me tell you this also, if you think everything goes plain sailing on Races to Places, think again, I’ve lost count how many times I’ve had to stop and carry out maintenance or fixes on the bike since leaving the UK, it’s all part of the deal but I am confident of one thing for sure, it would have been much more if I was on an adventurised 690 Enduro or any other bike that I put through the ringer like I have with Basil.
There are soon to be ten LPR 690 Rally/Adventure conversions out there and I often get asked about the price. It depends totally on the specification and would have to be discussed with the customer on an individual basis. Price varies dramatically and the price of the donor bike has a big influence as they are rare and the prices also vary dramatically. Remember also, the bike will be based on a 4-8 year old well used / raced donor bike and therefore has to be stripped and checked over thoroughly (more cost maybe incurred depending on condition of donor). Given today’s prices of used 690 Rally bikes and with a full strip, inspection and service of chassis, engine and wiring with a very basic conversion of rear tank and luggage rack (not all LPR upgrades), I suspect the cheapest we would see one roll out of LPR for would be circa £15,000 GBP but that’s simply a guide as it is a difficult equation to answer. You can still pay over that for a nice, low mileage non-raced 690 Rally donor bike. I would go into it thinking it might be more as when you sit down and go through the options with me, you’ll see why I do what I do and make the changes I do. Remember the chassis has to be modified to fit the 450 RFR rear fuel tank, it’s not just bolt on. Also, the luggage rack and foot-rest hangers have to be manufactured, they are not an off-the-shelf part. I could go on, there’s a lot more to be done.
As for the upper end of the price scale, with a full chassis up rebuild, every LPR modification (like Basil has), full treatments, paint and graphics kit, Woody’s wheels, Factory Cone Valve forks and Trax rear shock, you can even have a Factory Spec 730cc (80+ bhp) engine or an 800cc motor if you so choose. The sky is the limit but you better have some deep pockets for these options.
The price tag is obviously a big deciding factor for most in the decision of what to go for and only now, might you appreciate why the new price of the 690 Rally Factory Replica was over 3 times that of the 690 Enduro. It is also likely to cost you more than a new 690 Enduro to get hold of a 4-8 year old donor bike. As always though, you get what you pay for. For me, I had an ex-Dakar finishing KTM 690 Rally sat at home and always knew this was the bike I would use for Races to Places.
I hope this helps, that’s 5 hours of my day gone, but the sun is shining here in Laos and I have a full day of admin and planning ahead. This was way more fun to do. I've also attached a few images of my favourite bikes to roll out of LPR and of course, a couple of Basil doing what he does best, visiting races and places! Please help me to increase my likes by sharing my page ‘Lyndon Poskitt Racing’ with your friends or followers if you think others might like to follow my adventures, travels, racing, video’s, thoughts and more. Thank you.
Ride safe and enjoy, whatever bike you choose to do it on.
Lyndon & Basil.
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