Nothing shows under Warnings?

 

No nothing showing under warnings at all. It wasn’t until I started the thread I found another one with multiple others saying having the same problems on numerous different models of KTMs. A few of those problems were found to be caused by a faulty brake light switch despite the brake lights still working. My bike is still under warranty so I am going to give the garage a call tomorrow to see if they can have a look at it.

The bike still runs normally so I would assume it will be a sensor or minor electrical fault somewhere.

If the garage manages to repair it I will give an update as to the cause.

 

Aye, always lean on the warranty, that's what it's there for. Keep us updated so it helps others.

 

It certainly appears to be brake related as I managed to witness it activating this morning as I was applying the brakes coming up to a set of lights. Unfortunately I was applying both brakes so haven’t managed to narrow it down as to which one is at fault.

I will give the garage a call today and get it booked in for them to look at it under warranty.

 

Check your ABS sensor isn't loose.

 

Thread on reddit discussing the problem.

 

The front brake switches on Dukes seem to be a weak point. Ive had to replace them on both my 2016 and 2023 models. As Ive been out of warranty ive replaced them with non oem switches off ebay (£15 to 20) which seem to be of a better quality than the originals. My 2023 390 seems to have electrical quality issues Ive now had a new front brake switch, new radiator fan and left handlebar switch (horn stopped working) all before 6k miles.

 

How are you doing Paul? I have literally just come back from a run out there and it appears to be the rear brake that is causing the fault.
The bike runs fine and the brake lights still work even after the fault has appeared so it doesn’t seem to be a huge issue. I am going to wait until the bikes service in October to have it looked at then under warranty. Its an hour and 15 minute journey one way to the garage due to fact I can’t use motorways so looking to avoid the extra journey if I can.

Feel free to correct me if I am wrong but I think I read somewhere that is is pressure operated switches that are used for the brake light? Seems to be a tad over complicated rather than using a mechanical limit switch on the levers themselves. I am guessing you will have to bleed the brake system after replacing the pressure switches as I would assume some air would be introduced during the replacement.

 

Hi mate, I dont have access to the 2024 year manual but assuming that its similar to whats gone before, the front brake light switch is a physical micro switch underneath the handlebar brake lever and only works the brake light.
The rear brake switch is a pressure switch on the back of the rear brake cylinder as well as operating the brake light this also sends a signal to the ABS system via an opto coupler. If you can do it safely I would take a short video of the sequence and email it to the garages service dept. and see what they say. Its better to be safe than sorry.

 

Hi Paul,

Just thought I would have a quick look there. The brake switches for the front and rear are located under a small inspection hatch to the front offside of the fuel tank and are directly mounted to the ABS unit. They are both quite handily labelled with tabs.

I disconnected them both and checked the contacts and both had a bit of gunk built up in them. I cleaned them out using a bit of electrical contact cleaner and reconnected them.

I will get the bike out tomorrow to see if it has made a difference. The fact the fault is intermittent makes me think it is likely to be a poor contact rather than a sensor failure so fingers crossed that has done the trick.

 

Update regarding the issue.

Turns out the fault mention is actually being driven by the front brake light pressure switch on the ABS module. The switch does not fully open circuit when the brake lever is depressed and retains a resistance value of around 2.7MOhms which in turn is brining in the fault on the TFT.

What is more concerning is that when I was in carrying out the test work I noticed that the rear brake pressure switch has a leak, not from the copper seal but actually right out through the top of the sensor. This leak became significant to the point of being a jet when a large amount of pressure was applied to the rear brake lever depleting the rear brake reservoir in around 5 operations. Obviously this has rendered the bike unsafe to ride.

With the bike being under warranty and with active road side recovery I was able to get the bike uplifted by the AA and taken to my local KTM dealer on the 28th of August for repair. Honestly can't fault the service by the AA, they were with me within less than half an hour of the initial phone call.

The dealer has now had the bike since then and they still don't have the parts required to carry out the repair (Part Number 28111051000 x2). The only interaction with the dealer I have had is when I have initiated it via phone or else otherwise I would have been left in the dark. According the KTM parts website which has since been confirmed by the dealer the parts are on back order until the 7th of November. I have asked if they had any other bikes in stock that use the same parts which could be used for donor to get my bike back on the road which could then be fitted with the new parts when they arrive but was told that they did not. I kind of find this hard to believe considering they have a lot of stock of various KTM and Husqvarna road and offroad bikes which appear to use the same parts but how can I argue this?

The thing is, I have my full bike test coming up in the next few weeks and now I have no access to a bike to get any extra practice/experience in beforehand. I am now in a scenario now where I could end up having my full license and essentially a 125 that I don't have my hands on that I would be looking to move on so I can get a larger bike. The bike is also due its annual service at the end of October so they may as well be carrying that out when it is with them. Other than this issue I have experienced here the bike is immaculate and has only covered 1600 miles.

I have really enjoyed getting out the 125 Duke and it originally had me sold on moving on to something like the 790 Duke as I love the look and styling of the KTMs, however my experience with my local KTM dealer with this issue has been far from great. The next closest dealer to me is over 100 miles away which would make it unappealing when getting a bike serviced every year. I think now this experienced has made my mind up for me and I will be looking at other manufacturers in the coming weeks when I look to upgrade to a larger capacity bike.

 

According to their website Jim Aim Motorcycles in Essex https://www.jimaimracing.co.uk/ have 2 of the brake switches in stock. Theyre a KTM dealer though mostly off road I think. They have got obscure KTM special tools for me before. Might be worth trying to do a deal with the dealer, maybe you buy the parts and they knock the cost of a service or something?
Good Luck with your test.

 

Good luck with your test.

As for which bike next, does it have to have nearby dealer support?
I intentionally buy my vehicles when they are no newer than approaching the end of their warranty, that way I pay less to buy it and again less to service it.
It means I'd not be tied to any particular dealer, but I do my own servicing so would only use a dealer for ECU type stuff.

 

Cheers Paul, I will give them a call this afternoon and try and sort this out. I am confident I will pass my test but would love to have the ability to get in some more time in the seat before it comes around.