Brand new 2018 KTM 250sx-f rear brake line issue

Dude I'm so sorry to hear that. I've always heard KTM customer service is second to none. Again, sorry about your crash and injuries man.

Ouch, sorry to hear about your broken back! Did you require surgery? I recently broke my L2 and had L1-L3 fused so I know what you're going through. Hang in there!

As for the bike, KTM/Husky are really good for helping out their customers in ways like that. Definitely contact them, or your local dealership and explain what happened. I have a pretty good feeling that they'd at least give you the parts for free to fix the issue. As for anything else though, I don't think so. Riding a dirt bike is dangerous as it is, so I don't think they'd compensate you missed out pay or anthning like that.

Heal up though! Best wishes.

Oh here’s a link to the GoPro video of the crash if anyone is interested

I'd be curious to see a picture on how the brake line was assembled. i'd like to compare it with mine.

I have a hard time figuring out how it would touch the exhaust line.

The rear brake comes assembled on the bike in the crate. Your local dealer should not have had to touch that. Sorry to hear about your injuries. That really sucks!

Usually when you get a new bike, good rule of thumb is to tear it down and re-torque everything, and grease all the bearings which usually come bone dry. You can make the argument that it's a 10k bike all day long, and that this should be done from the factory! But hey, every single new bike I've ever owned came all the way apart to check everything.

Unfortunate, but a little look over of the bike before riding it and you probably would have caught that.

Get well soon!

That really sucks and you should absolutely contact your KTM dealer. KTM is by far the best brand when it comes to customer service. They will compensate if something was wrong.

sybro wrote:

I'd be curious to see a picture on how the brake line was assembled. i'd like to compare it with mine.

I have a hard time figuring out how it would touch the exhaust line.

It was touching right after it comes off the master cylinder where it bends and kind of loops back around. I think usually it faces more towards the shock. Mine was facing out towards the exhaust

sybro wrote:

I'd be curious to see a picture on how the brake line was assembled. i'd like to compare it with mine.

I have a hard time figuring out how it would touch the exhaust line.

MikeL281 wrote:

It was touching right after it comes off the master cylinder where it bends and kind of loops back around. I think usually it faces more towards the shock. Mine was facing out towards the exhaust

I've seen this happen one time before. The customer had twisted the rear caliper which in turn changed the direction of the line by the reservoir.

Steadman wrote:

I've seen this happen one time before. The customer had twisted the rear caliper which in turn changed the direction of the line by the reservoir.

I’m assuming you mean the customer had the caliper off the swingarm doing pads or whatever right? I could see that. I definitely didn’t have any of that off. I think bikes ship without the wheels on, maybe something like that happened when the wheel was off

Bummer to hear about your injury! The brake line shouldn't go up, it should go straight then 180 back to the caliper all while laying on the swing arm.

Let your dealer know and call Customer Service.
Even if you don't get any recourse, you may save some other poor bastards life if they deem a recall is necessary.

MikeL281 wrote:

I’m assuming you mean the customer had the caliper off the swingarm doing pads or whatever right? I could see that. I definitely didn’t have any of that off. I think bikes ship without the wheels on, maybe something like that happened when the wheel was off

Only the front wheel is off in the crate.

Well, Yamaha paid a truckload of money years ago for their throttle assembly failures. I am not litigious, but be wise.

Bummer about your injuries man. Contact your dealer. Every dealer gets a checklist, and they are supposed to go over the bike and check a bunch of stuff. It is kind of the manufacturers way to pass on the responsibility to the dealer...

MikeL281 wrote:

It was touching right after it comes off the master cylinder where it bends and kind of loops back around. I think usually it faces more towards the shock. Mine was facing out towards the exhaust

Steadman wrote:

I've seen this happen one time before. The customer had twisted the rear caliper which in turn changed the direction of the line by the reservoir.

MikeL281 wrote:

I’m assuming you mean the customer had the caliper off the swingarm doing pads or whatever right? I could see that. I definitely didn’t have any of that off. I think bikes ship without the wheels on, maybe something like that happened when the wheel was off

Yes he had the bike for over half a year before it happened. They ship with the front wheel off only. Maybe they messed it up at the factory? Sorry to hear about your misfortunes. Hopefully you heal up and KTM and or the dealer steps up to help you out.

I’m not really one to make a big deal of stuff or sue to try to get money or anything like that. If it’s the dealership’s fault I’ll probably ask for a new brake line or whatever because it’s just a small place but if it’s ktm’s fault maybe they might be willing to do more. Thanks for all the response I appreciate the input.

MikeL281 wrote:

I’m not really one to make a big deal of stuff or sue to try to get money or anything like that. If it’s the dealership’s fault I’ll probably ask for a new brake line or whatever because it’s just a small place but if it’s ktm’s fault maybe they might be willing to do more. Thanks for all the response I appreciate the input.

You may want to get some legal advice on that one. When you're an older man and can't work for back pain, you'll probably wish you did. If KTM have screwed up in their assembly procedures, that's not your fault and something you should have to wear for the rest of your life.

Sixeightone wrote:

The rear brake comes assembled on the bike in the crate. Your local dealer should not have had to touch that. Sorry to hear about your injuries. That really sucks!

Usually when you get a new bike, good rule of thumb is to tear it down and re-torque everything, and grease all the bearings which usually come bone dry. You can make the argument that it's a 10k bike all day long, and that this should be done from the factory! But hey, every single new bike I've ever owned came all the way apart to check everything.

Unfortunate, but a little look over of the bike before riding it and you probably would have caught that.

Get well soon!

This^^^. It seems like every time someone posts this advice, it is met (sooner or later) with a chorus of “ive never done that and my bikes are fine,” “that’s BS, it’s unnecessary,” and/or “do you tear your new car apart too?”.

Only one time in over 20 years did I ride a new bike straight off the showroom, and (had Dad not insisted on an abbreviated once over at the track) it nearly cost me a gearbox (no oil). Over the years, besides Forrest Gump grease jobs (never know what you’re gonna get), I’ve found loose bolts, poor air boot sealing, a barely tightened drain plug, loose bar mounts, loose spokes, poorly bled brakes, and the list goes on. If I’m trusting my hind end to the bike 20 feet in the air, it’s getting a thorough once over and the best way to do that is a complete tear down when new.
The other thing is that this only takes a day. Tear the bike apart, check torque specs, grease everything, put on any aftermarket stuff, do the air filter, check fluids, safety wire grips, put on a decent chain, reassemble, done.

If you are missing multiple weeks of work and have a significant back injury then getting a free brake line is not really a fair trade off. And KTM or the dealer may be hesitant to even give you the free brake line because some may consider that a form of admitting guilt and could open them up to a lawsuit.

The only problem you will have is proving it came like that from either the factory or the dealer. How do we know you didn't have the back wheel off at some point and you put it back together wrong?

What evidence do you have that it came like that from the dealer? Do you have pictures from the day you purchased it? Does it show the incorrect installation of the brake line?

This gets to be a bit of sticky of a situation overall.

Underground wrote:

You may want to get some legal advice on that one. When you're an older man and can't work for back pain, you'll probably wish you did. If KTM have screwed up in their assembly procedures, that's not your fault and something you should have to wear for the rest of your life.

Here we go....

TXDirt wrote:

If you are missing multiple weeks of work and have a significant back injury then getting a free brake line is not really a fair trade off. And KTM or the dealer may be hesitant to even give you the free brake line because some may consider that a form of admitting guilt and could open them up to a lawsuit.

The only problem you will have is proving it came like that from either the factory or the dealer. How do we know you didn't have the back wheel off at some point and you put it back together wrong?

What evidence do you have that it came like that from the dealer? Do you have pictures from the day you purchased it? Does it show the incorrect installation of the brake line?

This gets to be a bit of sticky of a situation overall.

Just went back and looked through pictures I took of the bike the day I got it because you make a good point. It’s obviously kind of hard to tell. But this is what I have.

So how much did you pay the dealership for PDI? I'd say this is absolutely something that should have been caught before you took possession of the bike, and I'd be more than a little chapped at the dealer.

Sorry what’s PDI? I’m assuming something to do with assembly or something like that right?

I have seen those hoses rub the shock also and it requires you to loosen the "banjo" bolt and turn the hose to get clearance and retighten. If you notice on some Japanese bike, they have to two ears sticking up to guide the hose in the proper direction.

MikeL281 wrote:

Sorry what’s PDI? I’m assuming something to do with assembly or something like that right?

Pre delivery inspection, is what I think it stands for. It’s basically the dealer giving the bike the once over prior to sale (fluids, proper assembly etc).

mx317 wrote:

I have seen those hoses rub the shock also and it requires you to loosen the "banjo" bolt and turn the hose to get clearance and retighten. If you notice on some Japanese bike, they have to two ears sticking up to guide the hose in the proper direction.

Ya I’m an automotive mechanic and most if not all cars have some kind of “stop” so you can’t put the brake line in the wrong spot. Personally I think it’s a design flaw on KTM’s part to not have something like that on all their bikes.

MikeL281 wrote:

Sorry what’s PDI? I’m assuming something to do with assembly or something like that right?

omalley wrote:

Pre delivery inspection, is what I think it stands for. It’s basically the dealer giving the bike the once over prior to sale (fluids, proper assembly etc).

Yes it's the pre-delivery inspection. It's the additional ~$500 on your bill that the dealer charges you to make sure everything is in good working order before you take it.

TXDirt wrote:

If you are missing multiple weeks of work and have a significant back injury then getting a free brake line is not really a fair trade off. And KTM or the dealer may be hesitant to even give you the free brake line because some may consider that a form of admitting guilt and could open them up to a lawsuit.

The only problem you will have is proving it came like that from either the factory or the dealer. How do we know you didn't have the back wheel off at some point and you put it back together wrong?

What evidence do you have that it came like that from the dealer? Do you have pictures from the day you purchased it? Does it show the incorrect installation of the brake line?

This gets to be a bit of sticky of a situation overall.

MikeL281 wrote:

Just went back and looked through pictures I took of the bike the day I got it because you make a good point. It’s obviously kind of hard to tell. But this is what I have.

One look at that and I would not have ridden that bike

Who ever assembled that and thought it was a quality job is fired immediately

MikeL281 wrote:

I’m not really one to make a big deal of stuff or sue to try to get money or anything like that. If it’s the dealership’s fault I’ll probably ask for a new brake line or whatever because it’s just a small place but if it’s ktm’s fault maybe they might be willing to do more. Thanks for all the response I appreciate the input.

Underground wrote:

You may want to get some legal advice on that one. When you're an older man and can't work for back pain, you'll probably wish you did. If KTM have screwed up in their assembly procedures, that's not your fault and something you should have to wear for the rest of your life.

BobPA wrote:

Here we go....

Here we go what? The guy has a broken back due to assembly negligence. If you bought a brand new car and the throttle stuck on 2nd drive out and caused a crash that resulted in a permanent disability, would you just say oh well?