FAQ

Owners of the KTM 790/890 and Husqvarna Norden 901 motorcycles have been reporting premature wear on their camshafts lobes at low km’s/miles.

This wear can be identified by gouging, or visible wear marks on the cam lobes. See the phots below of example cam wear photos that have been shared on the KTM Failed Camshafts - 790/890 & 901 Facebook group.

Some owners have reported wear from cams also causing gouging on the cylinder head.

The majority of owners, online, who report camshaft lobe wear are reporting they have found the premature wear during routine servicng. They were unaware of the issue until inspecting the cams and the bike was running as normal with no obvious faults or issues.

However, Facebook user “Michael Kowalski” shared the below story on the KTM Failed Camshafts - 790/890 & 901 Facebook group. The exact cause is unknown, some owners online have reported engine locking up with valves dropping. It’s impossible for us to know if that is what happened here but either way it is worrying.

Hello all, thank you for the add. I have been riding ktm dirtbikes for almost 20 years and owned a 2022 Duke 890R, last September it was totaled in a crash. I can’t remember most the day of but what I’ve been told, according to the police report and looking at the crash scene I believe the bike had a failure causing the accident. I want to ask this group for opinions and advice so here’s the info. The bike had 5,700 miles on it, I just had the third new rear tire fitted and had no modifications to it. Met up with some friends that were in their cars and were on our way to get food when my rear tire locked up entering a 60 degree turn and I slid off the road into a dual post street sign. My estimated speed was 50 mph in a 45 zone and in the police report they said there was a long skid mark leading to the crash scene. If my friends hadn’t been there I would have drowned in my own blood till anyone found me. Cracked my skull in three places, brain hemorrhage, broken rib that punctured a lung, vertebra fractures and was kept in a medically induced coma for over a week was the worst of it. A family friend who is an instructor for bike days at a local track owned the same bike and said it was impossible to lock up the rear tire like that without turning off the abs. I also used to hit false neutral between gears and coolant was seeping through the webbing of a hose that I told the dealer about and they basically said I was on my own. Finding out others have been having issues with these bikes has made me very curious. Was there anything I could have done to make that rear tire lock up without turning off abs or traction control? 22 years of riding motorcycles has me thinking I couldn’t be that dumb but who knows.

Owners have reported cam shaft wear on the below models on online forums and communities:

• KTM 790 Duke
• KTM 890 Duke
• KTM 790 Adventure
• KTM 790 Adventure R
• KTM 890 Adventure
• KTM 890 Adventure R
• Husqvarna Norden 901

Owners have reported cam shaft wear on models from 2019 to 2023 on the KTM Failed Camshafts - 790/890 & 901 Facebook group.

There doesn’t seem to be any owners posting failures on the 2024 models on the KTM Failed Camshafts - 790/890 & 901 Facebook group but few 2024 models will have reached enough km’s/miles for the 30,000km/18,600mile valve inspection where owners are identifying premature cam wear.

Only time will tell if 2024 models are affected.

Owners on the KTM Failed Camshafts - 790/890 & 901 Facebook group have reported mixed responses when submitting a warranty claim.

• Some owners have reported KTM replaced the camshaft, cylinder head and valves under warranty with KTM covering all costs.
• Some owners have reported report KTM have offered the parts for free as “good will” and owners must pay for labour to fix the issue.
• Some owners have reported KTM have advised them worn cams are “normal wear” and polished them with an “abrasive fleece”
• Some owners have reported KTM have denied to cover warranty completely
• Some owners have reported KTM have blamed unrelated issues on the bike and refused to cover worn cams because of that issue. From reports, this often relates to “dust ingest” through the airbox.

As far as we are aware, KTM has yet to make a public statement or press release on the matter.

A Facebook post was made on 2024-06-10 by Riaan Neveling, Head of Global Marketing for KTM after some members of the KTM Failed Camshafts - 790/890 & 901 Facebook group publicly shared he was a member of the group.

Below is the comment made by Riaan Neveling.

Hi everyone, Thank you for accepting me into this group. We are currently doing an in depth investigation on this topic and we have managed to gather very valuable information through your posts and comments. We have taken this information to the highest level and are currently assessing the options. Rest assured that we value each and every one of our Orange Bleeders and as soon as we have an update we will inform this group first.