The enduro outfit of the KTM 690

KTM 690 SMC to KTM 690 Enduro convert guide

KTM 690 SMC in the sunset
KTM 690 SMC in the sunset

This is a guide and tutorial of how to convert the KTM 690 SMC to a KTM 690 Enduro.

The following parts has been purchased to be mounted.

  • KTM 690 Enduro front wheel complete 1.85*21
  • KTM 690 Enduro rear wheel complete 2.50*18
  • KTM 690 Enduro-distances matching front & rear hub to the  rims above
  • KTM 690 Enduro underbody protection (the original plastic engine cover)
  • Rear tire Maxxis IT Maxxcross 120/100-R18
  • Front tire Michelin S12 90/90-R21
  • Maxxis X-thick tube 80/100-R21
  • Maxxis X-thick tube 100-120/100-R18
  • Rim & tire flaps for front and rear wheels

Some picture of the convert from SMC to Enduro:
(click the picture for a larger version)

Enduro wheels
Enduro wheels
KTM 690 SMC & Enduro wheels
KTM 690 SMC & Enduro wheels

Removing the rear wheel on 690’n was really easy. Just deattach the screw to the wheel axle and take of the rear wheel. After removal of the rear wheel move robber dampers with associated rear hub over to the Enduro Rear wheel.

KTM 690 rear brake disc
KTM 690 rear brake disc

Removal of rear brakedisc from SMC wheel to the Enduro wheel.

mounting ktm 690 rear enduro wheel on ktm 690 smc
KTM 690 rear enduro wheel

With brake disc and sprocket mounted on the enduro wheel, the complete enduro wheel was mounted back on the ktm 690. The same bushing is used on the SMC and enduro wheels so it was easy to install and mount the enduro wheel on the smc.

 

Disassembly of ktm 690 smc front wheel
Disassembly of front wheel

Removing the frontwheel was easy. Remove the front wheelaxel screw and loosen the four screws that holds the wheel axle in place.

Front brake disc on the ktm 690 smc wheel
Front brake disc

Disassembly of the front brake disc from the ktm 690 smc wheel.

 

Front brake disc
Front brake disc
Front brake disc adapter 10mm thick
Front brake disc adapter

On the ktm 690 smc wheel there is a front brake disc adapter with a thicknes of 10mm, this adapter is used to get the brake disc out/away from the front rim. This adapter needs to be moved over to the enduro wheel or else the spokes on the front wheel will scratch against the brake caliper.

Test mounting of enduro front wheel
Test mounting of enduro front wheel

After mounting the brakedisc on the enduro front wheel the complete enduro wheel mounted on the ktm 690. It showed as seen on piucture that the SMC fork is wider. It was a total glap of 5 mm on each side of the fron wheel bushings.

SMC and Enduro bushings
SMC and Enduro bushings

SMC bushing to the left and enduro bushing to the right. On each side of the wheel there is two identical bushings mounted.

SMC bushing mounted on the ktm 690 enduro  wheel
SMC bushing mounted
SMC bushing mounted with no play at all
SMC bushing mounted

After the ktm 690 smc bushins was mounted on the enduro, perfect fit and no play at all.

Home made 2mm bushing from smc front wheel bushing
Home made bushing
Home made bushing mounted on the enduro wheel
Home made bushing mounted

Next concern was that the brake caliper and the sprockets was scratching against each other, thats because the smc brake disc has a larger diameter and results in that the brake caliper is mounted closer to the sprockets on the front wheel. To solve this concern I mounted the front bake disc 2mm away from the front wheel fork and original bushing with help of a 2mm homemade bushing.

Front enduro wheel with home bushing and spacers of a 2mm thickness.
Front enduro wheel mounted

After mounting the home made bushing and 2mm spacing between the brake disc adapter and the brake disc the free play was OK. Now the enduro can spin without the brake caliper and the sprocket is scratching each other.

KTM 690 with enduro wheels mounted
KTM 690 with enduro wheels
KTM 690 with enduro wheels mounted
KTM 690 with enduro wheels mounted

KTM 690 SMC with enduro wheels mounted and engine cover plate.

KTM 690 Enduro ridning
KTM 690 Enduro ridning
KTM 690 SMC on the race track
KTM 690 SMC on the race track

After some test riding and adjustment of the front and brake shock/dampers I now have to bikes in one, one street bike and one offroad bike to ride on the dirt roads and enduro tracks.

More pictures on my KTM 690 project can is viewable on my flick page »

Comments

27 responses to “KTM 690 SMC to KTM 690 Enduro convert guide”

  1. […] conversion Call me stupid, but he has his front enduro wheel 2mm off-center, right? KTM 690 smc to enduro convert guide – QuBaR.se he starts with: all goes well untill he notices that the caliper touches the spokes, and he puts […]

    1. QuBaR Avatar

      Thats true, the front wheel comes off center for 1-2mm. But it is not noticable when you ride, especially not on dirt/mud roads… I have had this “off center” setting on my KTM 690 smc for some years and have nerver had any problems… The solution to solve the problem with of center is to have a complete enduro front brake system you switch with when you switchw wheels between smc and enduro.

  2. Milos Avatar
    Milos

    Hello,

    Its really nice post. Please could you tell me is it rear HUB on SMC and Enduro same?
    I looking to find an complete set of enduro wheel like spare ones for my 690 Enduro R to have one with knobs and one set for roads. dont want SMC wheels.

    Can you give me some more detailes or advise were to buy or what to do because the new ones its terrible expencive…

    Thanks

    Milos

    1. QuBaR Avatar

      Hello Milos,

      really nice that you enjoyed my post.

      On my KTM 690 SMC 2008 is the rear HUB is almost the same. Brake disc is same and robber dampers with associated rear hub is the same. The only thing that differs is the rear sprocket.

      Cheapest solution is to try to find a used/second hand KTM 690 enduro wheel complete with sprocket, brake disc and robber damper HUB.
      There are to big difference from other KTM models or other manufacters to try to replace with a another set of wheels i think.

      Regards
      // Robban aka QuBaR

  3. […] a conversion similar to the one linked? (conversion may be slightly different due to newer model) Guide to convert KTM 690 SMC to KTM 690 Enduro – QuBaR.se […]

  4. Corey Romero Avatar
    Corey Romero

    How did the bike handle on dirt? I have a 690 SMC and I’m looking to do this conversion. How were the front forks on dirt?

    1. QuBaR Avatar

      Hello Corey,

      I found out that the bike handled pretty well on dirt and enduro tracks. The SMC suspension is a bit harder/stiffer then the Enduro version, but with a few clicks you can change the front fork and rear suspension to be softer. Its the same with the engine mapping, the best result and driver experience i got on dirt was when I put the engine/fuel mapping in normal mode (not race or eco).

  5. David Avatar
    David

    Hi Robban,

    Why the front caliper rubs on 21 inch wheel but not 17inch front wheel? Is it because the wheel hub are different? If you were to lace the 21 Inch wheel with the 17 Inch wheel hub, do you think it would rub?
    Could you measure them? Also, by moving the wheel off center how the disk sill align with the caliper?

    1. Mike Avatar
      Mike

      Naturally, the 21 inch wheel is larger and so the angle of the spokes changes. This puts them farther outboard in the middle than on a 17 with a steeper angle.

  6. Hannu Mylly Avatar

    Hey, is it possible to sent photos to my e mail? I have same problems with my KTM !
    Hannu Mylly
    Finland

    1. QuBaR Avatar

      Hello Hannu,

      I have updated my site today, and some of the images didnt export/import correct. But you should se all of the pictures correct by now. Please leave a reply if you dont se any images.

  7. James Avatar
    James

    Thanks for this how-to, I am going to do the same conversion.

    What isn’t clear for me is the following:
    Are you using a 2nd spacer between the hub and the front disc or only the standard smc spacer?
    And if you add 2mm on the left axle bushing, shouldn’t you take off 2mm on the other side, or is that not needed?

    Thanks, James

    1. QuBaR Avatar

      Hello James,
      I’m not using a 2nd spacer between the hub and the front disc. Only the standard SMC spacer. Thats because i’m using the SMC front brake system and the front brake disk is a bit larger then the enduro front disc brake. The front wheel comes off center for 1-2mm. But it isn’t noticeable when you ride, especially not on dirt/mud roads… I have had this “off center” setting on my KTM 690 smc for some years and have nerver had any problems… The solution to solve the problem with of center is to have a complete enduro front brake system you switch with when you switch wheels between smc and enduro. But thats nothing that I feel any need for, mostly because it works flawless now and its a more time-consuming process to change both wheels, disc brakes/caliper and the lever hold. And its also very expensive to buy a full setup with booth front/back wheels inc. complete brake setup. My setup with new enduro rims, wheels, spacers cost me a little bit more then $2000 when i bought this in 2010….

  8. James Avatar
    James

    Thanks, I’m not worried about it being off-center a few millimeters 🙂

    I’ve bought a complete (used) enduro wheel set yesterday. Looking for a SMC front disc + spacer now, so I don’t have to swap it out every time I change the wheels.

    So to have the front spokes clear the caliper, I have to put approx 2mm of extra bushing between the left side front axle, correct?
    Do I then have to take off 2mm on the right side bushing, or is that not required?
    And I can use the standard SMC front axle and bushes, right?

    Best Regards

    1. Philip Avatar
      Philip

      same questions for me, hope to get a quick response!

  9. James Avatar
    James

    So most important question for me:
    When I add 2mm on the left, do I need to cut off 2mm on the right side bushing? Or is that not needed?

    1. QuBaR Avatar

      Hej James,

      Sorry for the late answer.
      Yes, you need to decrease with 2mm on the right side when you are increasing the left side with 2mm.

  10. jonas Avatar
    jonas

    Hello. Im wondering how much this costed? and does the off center have any inpact if you are driving high speed with the enduro wheels?

    1. QuBaR Avatar

      Hello, the total cost was about €2000 in 2010 when I did this conversion. The offcenter of 2mm did not have any impact at all when i ride with the enduro wheels at higher speed. The off center is so small so you never gonna feel that when riding offroad.

  11. James Avatar
    James

    I did this conversion successfully, used it for two summers already.
    I bought some 2nd hand 690 enduro wheels with good tires.

    The only downside to this setup is that the front brake is too powerful.
    So when going downhill on bumpy surfaces, it’s difficult to control the power of the brake.
    The suspension can be softened to make it decently ridable offroad, but for me (only 65kg) it is still a bit too stiff.

    Total cost for me was about 600 euro, including the custom spacers. You will need to make a curved edge on the inside of the right side spacer ring, to make it fit on the axle. If I remember correctly, I took a bit off the original spacer on the right side to make room.

  12. Philip Avatar
    Philip

    I’m doing this now, but I just don’t understand, I’m sorry.
    I have used the SMC spacers on the Enduro wheel. I purchased 2 new Enduro spacers as noted in the above instructions. I have what looks like 2mm gap on each side of the spacers to the fork legs, plus the caliper just scraps the spokes. Do I need to:
    1. make some sort of spacer to increase the 10mm spacer on the disc by 2 more mm?
    2. take the Enduro spacers and cut 2mm off each and put them next to each of the SMC spacers to fill the gap on the axel?

    Thanks for helping me out with the instructions

    1. QuBaR Avatar

      Hello Philips!

      Sorry for late answer, it was a couple of years ago i did this modification. But what i remember is that you need to cut of the enduro spacers by 2mm to fit the gap on the smc axel. You also need to add some spacers to get the brake disch do not scratch the spokes.

  13. steve cook Avatar
    steve cook

    I converted my 2016 SMC R ABS to enduro yesterday.
    The back wheel was a straight swap out and in.
    I expected the front to be difficult as described, but….
    The new DID enduro wheel fitted perfectly to the axle and into the forks when using the SMC R width bushings. No cutting or anything required.
    I then fitted the disc spacer and disc and popped the wheel back in with the disc into the caliper. Perfect spacing, and the spokes do not touch the disc and/or the caliper. There is about 1mm clearance of caliper/spokes

    1. Patrick Dudley Avatar
      Patrick Dudley

      same as Husqvarna 701 SM (2017) to Enduro ?

  14. Faraz Avatar
    Faraz

    Many thanks for this post! I’m about to do this myself and wondering what your change in ride height was after this? I’m height challenged! Thanks!

  15. Patrick Avatar
    Patrick

    Wondering if it is the same process for the Husqvarna 701 SM into enduro (2017 with abs)

  16. Patrick Avatar
    Patrick

    Just to add to this. If you dont want to mess around with the 2mm spacers (and if you have a bit of spare $$) then take the front wheel to a re-spoker (wheel builder) . He/she can offset the spokes that 2mm to clear the caliper . Ive done this making Choppers offsetting 5mm on the rear to fit wider tyres to clear the chain.

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