NHTSA Complaint #11498129 — 2020 KTM 790 ADVENTURE

The main rear shock shaft seal has failed on two separate occasions causing shock oil to spill all over the catalytic converter posing a huge risk for fire. On both failure instances the motorcycle was being transported on a motorcycle specific hitch rack on the back of my pickup truck. The first shock seal failure occurred when I was transporting the motorcycle to my local dealer for service and the temperature was 16 degrees Fahrenheit during transport. The second shock seal failure occurred when I was transporting the motorcycle to Moab for a riding trip and the temperature dropped down to -6 degrees Fahrenheit during transport. KTM completed the first repair under warranty, which only lasted about 9 months when the shock seal failed the second time. I had to pay nearly $600 to get the second failure repaired by a KTM dealer using KTM parts. Both shock seal failures caused shock oil to spill all over the catalytic converter posing a huge fire risk. At this point I seriously doubt the durability and safety of the shock and I'm considering replacing the shock with an aftermarket one that won't fail and cause a fire.