990 Canisterectomy/SASectomy

By:Katoom119

First things first: I did not figure out the process by myself. Credit is due to Tahoeacr and fasteddy760 for figuring out the resistor trick. I merely condensed a couple of threads into one and CP had asked for a write up, thusly...

Tools/Materials needed:
-M6x1x10mm bolts Qty: 2 (Got mine at Advanced Auto)
-Connector for Canister resistor (parts listed page 6 of thread above)
-~10" of 18 ga. wire
-1/4 watt 22,000 ohm resistors: 2 (Radioshack SKU: 271-1339)
-SAS block-off plates
-Heat shrink
-Rubber vacuum caps

-T45 Torx wrench
-5mm Allen wrench
-6mm Allen wrench
-6mm socket
-8mm socket
-8mm box-end wrench
-10mm socket and/or wrench

I'm assuming that anyone attempting this will know how to pull the fairings off the bike. If not I'm sure there are threads concerning this if the information is not in the manual.

So now that the fairings are off the bike should look something like this.

Let's start first with the canisterectomy. In the left upper fairing where the turn signal is if you look inside there should be a black container with a bunch of hoses inside. Taking the Torx wrench remove all the screws and separate the two pieces. When you're done you should have this.


Remove the charcoal canister and all the various hoses except the one on the canister that runs directly to the brass colored bolt. Remove it from the canister and then plug it up to the upper vent in the same piece of bodywork.

Before


After


*Note: This is an optional step in how you vent the tanks. It is not entirely necessary. I ran the left side upper vent into the lower fitting IIRC and then let it vent out the top fitting. You can just run a hose straight from each of the upper tank vents down alongside the radiator into the skidplate.

Now let's identify the canister vacuum pump that we'll be removing and replacing with a resistor. In front of the airbox underneath the fuse block there is a small round black canister that resembles a can that 35mm film came in. This is what you'll be removing.


Remove the airbox and the air snorkel so you have this.


Remove the side pieces with the Torx 45 wrench.


This is what you're looking for, the orange and white wires.


Now let's get some plumbing straightened out. There is a hose coming out of the right side of the pump. This hose runs alongside the engine to a T-fitting. One branch will go to the front cylinder, left side and the other to the rear cylinder, right side. Not in sight is a hose that comes out the bottom and runs over to the left side of the bike. You unplugged this when you were removing the fairings. This went into a feed line for the charcoal canister.

T-fitting, right side of bike, below the center of the airbox.


The hose coming from the right side (in the picture) of the T-fitting runs up to the pump...


...where it exits the pump...


...goes under the frame and rests on the radiator.


Take the triangle shaped covers off of the airbox and loosen the hose clamps holding the throttle bodies on. Carefully pull the throttle bodies up and stuff some clean towels into the intakes. This is important as it's directly into the engine. Dirt is your enemy here. Pull the airbox up too. You'll need to later anyway.


Now that you've got room to work let's get rid of that pesky charcoal canister pump. Pull the pump from the metal tab and remove the metal clip holding the the two halves together. The pump should come off in your hand with a hose coming out the bottom and the right side. Pull the right side hose off and with the pump still attached to the bottom hose pull the hose from under the frame. Discard this, you won't need it any longer. Now go back to the T-fitting. Pull the hoses off the front cylinder left side and the rear cylinder right side. There will be a small brass fitting going into the intake manifold. Take the 8mm socket/wrench, remove, and replace with the M6 bolts. Blue Loctite is a good idea here.

*Note: On the 950's the standard, as far as I know, is to remove the left side plugs and leave the right side to sync the carbs. I'm not too sure this will work as there are pressure sensors hooked to the rear cylinder, left side and front cylinder, right side that then run into the ECU. I'm guessing that if you unplug these you'll throw an error code. If you look in this picture it is the black connector to the right of the triangle shaped airbox plate that says "KTM".


Now we need to make a false pump to fool the ECU. As Tahoeacr and fasteddy760 figured out the computer tests for resistance to make sure the parts are still there. Take the replacement connector that you ordered (mine is from Eagle Day) and take a length of 18 ga. wire. Cut the wire into four pieces and strip the covering off, exposing the wire. Take a resistor, take one piece of wire, wrap one end of the exposed wire around the resistor wire, and then solder/shrink wrap. I found that I had to shrink wrap over the resistor to get it to stay. Do the same to the other side. The remaining two ends of exposed wire will be inserted into the blue plugs, then into the metal connectors, and finally into the plug. Push in until you hear a click, and you're done. I wrapped mine in several layers of electrical tape to secure it.

Plug this into the factory harness in place of the pump, install the metal retaining clip, and you're done with the canisterectomy.

Now onto the SAS pump. If you're tired perhaps a beer and pizza break is a good idea. This is the PITA part.

This is the SAS pump and the connector you'll need to undo.


This is where the SAS pump connects to the airbox. Remove and cap with a rubber vacuum cap. The block-off plates from KTM Twins came with the necessary cap.


This is the left side of the bike and the hose that comes down from the SAS pump and into the engine. I'm pointing to the plate that will be removed and replaced with a block off plate. When you remove the factory plate there will be a black "cap", for lack of a better term, that should stay with the engine. This is the reed valve. Just leave it alone.

This is the right side of the bike. From the SAS pump this big hose runs to the front cylinder on the right side into a plate just like the rear cylinder.

Unplug the SAS pump from the factory harness...


...undo the electrical tape, move the heat shrink, and cut the green and yellow wires that come off the pump. It would be a good idea to leave a couple of inches of wire attached to the pump incase you ever decide to put the bike back in stock form.


Now it's just a simple process of making another resistor plug like you did for the charcoal canister. Strip the ends off the yellow and green wires, heat shrink/solder a resistor in place (one side to the yellow, the other to the green), and you're done.

Plug this back into the stock plug and secure to the bike. I took a couple of small zip ties and attached it to the frame on the right side. There is a tiny strut where the VIN number sticker is. Basic idea is to get it somewhere out of the way.

Now remove these plates that I mentioned earlier...

...replace with the block-off plates, blue Loctite on the bolts, and you're done with the SAS system.

Take all the various parts and pieces, put the bike back together, and turn it on. The FI light should not be on, let the bike idle for a bit (I let mine idle until the 3rd bar came up on the engine temp display), then go ride.

When I did mine I did a lot at once: Akrapovic map into the ECU from the KTM dealer, Wings exhaust, Uni pre-filter, canisterectomy, and SAS removal. The bike literally fired up as soon as I hit the starter. It didn't hesitate, the engine didn't do anything funky, etc. and after it warmed up it didn't miss a beat when I did a test ride around the block. Others have said they had problems with the bike not running well initially. Don't panic. Start the bike and let it idle for about 15 - 20 mins without touching the throttle. This should allow the ECU to adjust properly. I think each bike is different and has it's own quirks but overall you should be fine.

EDIT: After riding with mine as I'd done it above for about 500 miles I was having issues with the bike surging between exactly 3000-4000 RPMs. After much discussion and debate I pulled the bike back apart and instead of putting the bolts into the intakes I simply took some hose and the little pipe clamps leftover from the canisterectomy and connected the two sides using the stock brass pieces. Dusty and I both had this problem and it fixed it both times. Apparently you cannot use the same techniques as the 950 in this regard.