On April 30, 2021, KTM North America issued a safety recall for certain 2019 and 2020 790 Adventure, 790 Adventure R, and 790 Adventure R Rally models. On affected bikes, the front brake master cylinder piston return spring may not be strong enough to return the brake piston to its original position. This could cause the front brake to not function correctly, which could result in an increased stopping distance, and potentially lead to crash and/or injury.
Affected motorcycles were produced between February 14, 2019 and February 28, 2020. According to KTM’s estimates, about 3,707 bikes are potentially involved in this recall. That’s approximately 3 percent of the population of bikes.
The affected components were supplied by J. Juan SA, and both the brake manufacturer and KTM investigated and tested them after receiving 79 separate reports of front brake issues in 2019. Testing took place between February 2020 and February 2021, and by April 2021, KTM determined that both repair criteria and a recall were needed.
More Recent Recalls:
According to the timeline set forth in NHTSA safety recall 21V-304, the remedy is a replacement spring that is both larger and stronger than the faulty spring originally installed on affected bikes. Therefore, KTM is recalling and replacing all such springs on affected bikes, and also performing this service on any remaining stock that has not yet been sold to customers.
This isn’t the first brake-related recall KTM has issued on some bikes affected here. In April, 2020, KTM North America issued a different 2020 790 Adventure recall related to the risk of a rear brake failure. Regarding this front brake master cylinder recall, KTM is notifying dealers between April 28, 2021 and July 22, 2022 about this issue. KTM also plans to send out official notifications to registered owners of these bikes between May 21, 2021 and July 29, 2022.
If you own one of these bikes, you should contact your local authorized KTM dealer as soon as possible to arrange recall inspection and service, at no charge to you. KTM estimates that the service should take around 35 minutes; however, due to different shops having different workloads and schedules, you may be required to leave your bike in their care for a longer time period.
Owners can call KTM Customer Service at 1-888-985-6090 about KTM recall number KTM2106. Owners can also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153) or go to www.safercar.gov.
Source: NHTSA