Picked up my new bike today, a 2014 1290 Superduke. Went out for a play and then tried to figure out where to fit everything, need to have a clear out at some point.
Did about 30 miles in rain mode to get used to the handling. It feels so light and the wheel base is so short it took a few miles to feel right. Then put it back in street mode for full power and did another 50 or so miles. Really happy with it, so light and quick to turn. The throttle is quite sensitive but by the end of the ride it felt pretty good and only a bit jerky on shit roads at town speed. Happy days.
Had a play with the suspension and found that the front was set about as soft as it could be, softer than the comfort settings and the back was set to track settings... very odd. Set it all back to comfort as I'd read that that was a good setting for the road. Then did another 50 or so miles and it feels pretty good. Doesn't feel like a dramatic difference but seems to work well.
The torque is epic though. You can either rev the nuts off it if you like or just ride it off the torque and it'll still fly. Great engine.
More miles on the bike this weekend, getting more comfortable with it and the settings that were in it are starting to make a little more sense. The back needs firming back up as every now and again it squats in a dip which really unsettles it so I'll have a play next time. The front feels pretty good but every now and again it starts to flap a bit... just the beginnings of it.
I think I'll service the steering damper with fresh oil and tighten the back up and go from there.
Also found that the speedo is way off which seems to be a common thing with these but I need to check the sprockets fitted to see if someone has geared it down. At a steady 70mph gps reading the speedo is showing 80mph. This makes a lot of sense as I didn't think I had been going as quickly as it was showing. I'll check the sprockets and go from there.
The bolt holding the clutch reservoir vibrated off at some point... big v-twins
Wound up the compression and rebound damping by three clicks from comfort and it feels great. I still need to service the steering damper as it still feels slightly flappy but making the backend more controlled has reduced it quite a bit... or I'm just getting used to it.
Love this bike, is everything I wanted the 950sm to be but wasn't.
One thing I forgot to say but I was thinking about this on the ride today. Quite unlike the other KTMs I've owned, the gearbox in this is absolutely terrific. Ok, you can't find neutral with the engine running (it's a KTM), yes if you clutchless shift from 2nd to 3rd at 30 there's a bit of a leap (big pistons) but in every other regard it's fantastic. The clutchless changes up the box are easy and fast and the blip changes down the box are just lovely and sound great too. Quite unlike the 950sm I really want to use the gearbox, it's brilliant and will probably remain so until it turns in to swarf at some random point in time in the future. Until then... happy days.
Was a fella there today with 1290 SD - with a Austin Racing ''approved 95 DB'' 200mm can. 200mm !!! We had to have a word it was blowing over 100 DB but he had the std ( honest guv / modified....) pipe so could continue.
Dern c u in a bit - S/O opens at 7.30am. Going to be a warm one and it's a full house.
