KTM 790 and 890 camshaft wear: how owners get the repair done free

What owners keep finding

On KTM's LC8c parallel twin, the engine in the 790 and 890 range, owners have spent the last three years reporting worn and gouged camshaft lobes, usually spotted during a routine valve inspection rather than after a breakdown. The owner-run site failedcams.com, which collects these reports, says the wear typically turns up at the 30,000 km valve check and that the bike often runs normally until then, with gouging in the cylinder head in some cases and engines locking up in rare ones. KTM's own symptom list, as reported by ADV Pulse in July 2024, is poor starting, unusual engine noise and a clear drop in power.

Searches throw up long owners' threads on ADVrider and a busy owners' group alongside that dedicated site. ADVrider's pages would not open for us, so we have not quoted them. RideApart reported the Facebook owners' group had around 8,500 members by July 2024, not all of them with failed cams.

The fix owners report works

The repair itself is KTM's job, and the route that works is boringly procedural. ADV Pulse reported that KTM gave authorised dealers instructions on how to inspect camshafts on 2018 to 2020 790s when an owner reports a problem, and that dealers have been assessing and repairing cam assemblies free of charge case by case under a goodwill scheme. KTM also said most bikes it inspected had no physical damage, only discolouration or running marks that clean off. There has been no formal safety recall.

1000PS reported KTM's explanation of the cause: the camshaft was not the problem, the rocker arms were too narrow on models built before 2021. From 2021 KTM moved to wider rocker arms with a DLC coating, added a cleaning stage for the oil channels, changed a shaft seal and redesigned the cylinder head gasket. The builds it listed as affected are the 790 Duke from 2018 to 2020, the 790 Adventure from 2019 to 2020 and the 890 Duke R from 2020. Per that report, KTM covers the repair on goodwill even outside warranty as long as the service history can be verified, accepts proof of work done outside its network, and reimburses owners who already paid.

That last bit is the practical lesson from the owner reports. Pulling the valve cover for a look is within reach of a careful owner with a torque wrench, but do not let an independent garage fit new camshafts at your cost before KTM's dealer has seen the parts, because the claim rests on that inspection being logged. Failedcams.com says responses have been inconsistent, from full replacement of camshaft, cylinder head and valves to goodwill with the owner paying labour, to claims written off as normal wear. RideApart described one 790 Adventure S owner whose claim was refused because his oil changes were done outside the network, and who then paid for the repair himself and sourced parts from abroad.

What this means in India

India's exposure is small but specific. The 790 Duke came here on 23 September 2019 as a CKD model at ₹8.63 lakh ex-showroom, capped at 100 units for 2019, Business Today reported at the launch. Those bikes sit squarely in the 2018 to 2020 window. The 890 Adventure R, sold here at ₹15.80 lakh ex-showroom Delhi according to BikeWale, is a later build, after the rocker arm and coating changes KTM described.

If you own one, do this. Note any hard starting, rattle or lost power, and ask the authorised dealer to inspect the camshafts under KTM's dealer instructions, with photographs of the lobes in the job card. Keep every oil change bill, including garage work, because service history decides the goodwill call. If you already paid for the repair, ask for it to be reviewed for reimbursement. If the dealer stonewalls, escalate in writing to KTM India customer care through the dealership, and then to the National Consumer Helpline on 1915.

Over to the club: has your LC8c been inspected, and what did your dealer find?

Sources

• KTM Responds To Reports Of Camshaft Failures On 790/890 Models, ADV Pulse
• KTM covers camshaft issues on 790 and 890 twin engines, 1000PS
• KTM 790/890 and Norden 901 failed camshaft FAQ, failedcams.com
• Why Is KTM Only Now Addressing Its Camshaft Issues? RideApart
• KTM Duke 790 launched in India priced at Rs 8.63 lakh, Business Today
• KTM 890 Adventure R launched in India at Rs 15.80 lakh, BikeWale