690/990

[BradP]

Anyone have experience switching from a 990 to a 690? Am considering it as I very seldom get the time to do long trips and figure the 690 might be more fun on shorter trips?

[aka.Goliath]

I have ridden both but have had my 690 for a while now and have done around 20,000km on it. What riding do you want to do? the 990 is capable but a lot heavier than the 690. The distance you want to ride is not the issue with either bike but the technicality of what you want to ride. I take my 690 for Sunday runs on some pretty interesting terrain but also do longer routes off the beaten track where I'd definitely feel more comfortable on a 690. I would not take a 690 to do just gravel travel though that is definitely 990 territory. 

[BradP]

Have done a couple gravel trips but have also had the 990 in the dunes which was great fun but hard work due to the weight, am keen to do some more technical riding and am trying to figure out whether the 690 is a lot better than the 990 or if it is similar but with less power like my old Yamaha tenere 660 which was worse than the 990 in the technical stuff.
I assume it will be far better than the tenere as the yams suspension was kak and it was slower than my bakkie.

Just worried I will miss the 990s grunt

[Kobus Myburgh]

You will certainly miss the 990, but the 690 is very capable for what you want to do.  The 660 you had is more aligned with KTM 640 IMO, which the 690 far exceeds in power and agility.

It’s a lekker bike and I would have not sold mine if it wasn’t for the fact that I have a 990 and 640.

[miks]

Have done a couple gravel trips but have also had the 990 in the dunes which was great fun but hard work due to the weight, am keen to do some more technical riding and am trying to figure out whether the 690 is a lot better than the 990 or if it is similar but with less power like my old Yamaha tenere 660 which was worse than the 990 in the technical stuff.
I assume it will be far better than the tenere as the yams suspension was kak and it was slower than my bakkie.

Just worried I will miss the 990s grunt

There is plenty grunt from the 690 (power to weight) and it is very capable offroad. 
One thing you will need to get used to is the lack of fairings etc - it really is just a big enduro bike 

[DCR]

Yep, the 690 has more than enough power for the weight. It is faster than you want to ride it - wind and other discomfort gets you long before the engine runs out of go.

[Buff]

I went from a Super Tenere to a 690 and I certainly miss the grunt on the open road but that's about it. I had both for a while but the 1200 just stood as the 690 was far more nimble & fun around town. The added bonus on the 690 is that if you see a track and want to explore then off you go exploring, no stress about dropping the bike or unable to turn the bus around.
But yes, you will miss the open road eating ability of the 990 but life's all about compromise right 

[BradP]

Thanks all for the responses, slept on it and am going to pull the trigger, just need to get the 990 up on Gumtree before I make the purchase of the 690 otherwise I will end up with two bikes and zero wife haha

[aka.Goliath]

I will end up with two bikes and zero wife haha

Oh the life

But seriously I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Just beware that to start doing long distance stuff you will need some more fuel tanks at some stage but there are multiple options out there. Also suggest a 2014+ model although not the best suspension compared to the earlier models but much smoother engine.

[BuRP]

You'll find out that comparing a Tenere 660 to a 690 ain't fair 

[Donaldbr]

Have my 690 for sale, 2012, 12700km
Steering damper, Ali skid plate, ss carrier, crash bar, Evo really kit, akro exhaust, new tires, got all the original kit
R90k neg

Sent from my Redmi Note 4 using Tapatalk

[Omninorm]

Fun you say?  Fun could be spelled like this.  690.   

@Donaldbr let me know if you are thinking of selling that Steering damper separately.