Skub wrote: ↑Mon Jan 31, 2022 3:14 pm
Maybe the internet and owner's forums blow the issues out of proportion?
I always found that owners that had issues with bikes posted more as they were looking for solutions, those with faultless bikes tended to read about the problems rather than post
Those of you who know Adam/Abelrider will know he doesnt fuck about when riding his bikes and his first KTM was an 1190 Adventure R that got caned and toured for many many miles with pretty much no issues. Since then he has had between him and his new fiancee 390 Duke, 790's, 890, 1290 i think 690 SMC. I think the current line up is 4 KTM's with 890 adventure and 690SMC for him and Jade has a 790 adventure. If they were a problem he would have binned them off which is why he swapped from BMW to KTM as the GS he had were being troublesome
For info of @weeksy my Ducati has reset itself and working perfectly ...... about 2 hours after i booked it in for diagnostic and replacement fuel sensor
I am going to run it for some miles over the next few days and see how it goes and if it goes in or not in a couple of weeks
I’ve had quite a few KTM’s first being around 1999 iirc never had any problems that I can remember, certainly nothing that has put me off other than them knocking £1500 of the price of a new 790 duke 2 weeks after I bought mine.
I had a 05 625SMC which I thrashed mercilessly through several trackdays and wheelied it loads..... too much in fact, they starve the engine if you wheelie too far and I was clocked at over a mile on one occasion! So it blew up and the dealer repaired it and it failed again not too long after. Personally I think the dealer did a shit repair and that's why it failed again!
At the time KTM's were mainly supermotos and MX bikes, and while they where the fastest lightest road ready SMs available, they were bread from race engines and it showed. EG Yamahas closest equivalent to a 625 SMC was the XTZ, weeksy had a couple IIRC. The were so much better built than the KTM, much more reliable, smoother, easier to own. But they were slow and heavy unless you threw several hundred quid at them, then they were not quite so slow and heavy, but still not as fast or light as a standard KTM.
Smaller SMs at the time tended to be converted Motocross or Enduro bikes and while that's fun for a while, those engines simply weren't designed to handle the thrashing they get when used on tarmac with SM wheels and brakes. So they would blow up or fail one way or another. However, let's not forget Honda CRF450 was a popular bike for SM conversion too, and they were HoNDa so bound to be betterer..... Well yeah, if you don't mind chucking a £1000 rebuild in every year.... You don't have to, but the likelihood of your con-rod taking a trip to the outside world is a wager even BetFred wouldn't take!.
I had a new Superduke in 08. It had a major engine failure at Rockingham with just 1500 miles on the clock, it was repaired under warranty, and went on to do loads more trackdays and road miles upto 8000 ish, I've now sold it to a mate !
Later KTM's got better, but they had some models that just weren't that great, the first RC8's did have lots of issues including not being very quick which didn't help customers forgive their "character". The newest bikes are pretty much OK, yes there's issues with them of course there is, As Weeksy showed, you can find list of defects with every motorcycle manufacturer.
I've now got a 2016 690 with 20,000 miles on it and it sounds like it's about to blow up, but I'm reliably informed that "they all do that sir" !?
In conclusion, I think KTM's aren't as unreliable as they used to be and maybe they didn't entirely deserve the reputation for unreliable bikes?
As for character etc, well I don't really buy into that myself. I've never really ridden another manufacturers equivalent of my current bike to be able to assess if the other bike is missing something!
They definitely have their issues, but were always fun bikes with great motors. However, other maker's have caught on and also making fun bike, that don't break down or drink oil.
How they've changed, my 86 250 was the most reliable MX bike I've owned, it was bloody full though, the same year RM250 was loads more fun (and had a self destructing power valve)
I’ve got a 2008 990 superduke, I’ve got the common flickering oil pressure light, apparently it’s a shit to sort out so I just ignore it. All good other than that, great fun to ride and pulls like a train.
Scud wrote: ↑Mon Jan 31, 2022 10:02 pm
I’ve got a 2008 990 superduke, I’ve got the common flickering oil pressure light, apparently it’s a shit to sort out so I just ignore it. All good other than that, great fun to ride and pulls like a train.
I've got a tunecu cable for that bike somewhere. If you want it you can have it. I used it on my bike to upload the standard map to the bike. The previous owner had termis on it and removed them for sale without switching the map. I'll have to see if I can find it but I'm pretty sure I know where it is if it's of any use.
Scud wrote: ↑Mon Jan 31, 2022 10:02 pm
I’ve got a 2008 990 superduke, I’ve got the common flickering oil pressure light, apparently it’s a shit to sort out so I just ignore it. All good other than that, great fun to ride and pulls like a train.
I've got a tunecu cable for that bike somewhere. If you want it you can have it. I used it on my bike to upload the standard map to the bike. The previous owner had termis on it and removed them for sale without switching the map. I'll have to see if I can find it but I'm pretty sure I know where it is if it's of any use.
That’s a very kind offer thanks, I would take you up on it but I have one that came with the bike - no idea what to do with it mine you
Scud wrote: ↑Tue Feb 01, 2022 9:41 am
That’s a very kind offer thanks, I would take you up on it but I have one that came with the bike - no idea what to do with it mine you
Ah, cool, no worries.
If you're ever tempted to play then have a look at https://tuneecu.net/. They have software for android devices that allow you to read, modify and load maps. There are example maps on their site such as tunes for putting after market exhausts on.
Scud wrote: ↑Tue Feb 01, 2022 9:41 am
That’s a very kind offer thanks, I would take you up on it but I have one that came with the bike - no idea what to do with it mine you
Ah, cool, no worries.
If you're ever tempted to play then have a look at https://tuneecu.net/. They have software for android devices that allow you to read, modify and load maps. There are example maps on their site such as tunes for putting after market exhausts on.
The bloke I bought it off was into all that, he put it back to standard as I bought it with the standard exhaust, I then put it into BSD who mapped it up on the dyno, it rides spot on now
Had an RC8 which I rode to Slovakia and back, then a few months later did a tour of the Balkans on it. Not one issue.
So I bought an RC8R to go with it. No problems with that either. Nothing.
Had to sell them when I moved, and if I could find one here, I'd buy one. But rare here, and the local KTM dealer tells me they have never had one to sell, and never serviced one.
Appreciate that anecdotal experience is only of so much use, especially given that Weeky's had more KTMs than I've ever own bikes in total, but I've had my 1290GT from nearly new and had no problems. Again, maybe little electrical gremlins, in that I've had spurious warnings pop up from time to time, but they disappear as soon as they appear and have never led to anything. It's also the bike I've had with the most electrical stuff on it, so it could be that as much as it being a KTM.
The only major issue I've ever had with any bike was my ZX10r that destroyed its engine for no reason whatsoever and Kawasaki weren't interested, so that's been, by far, the worst situation I've ever encountered.
Oh yeah forgot about Mrs mate's husbands 1290 Super Adv. That's got 86k miles and nothing gone wrong at all. Ridden all year round and the finish is great and all the gadgets work, no oil use etc. He does have it dealer serviced though so must cost him a fortune to run.
Slenver wrote: ↑Wed Feb 02, 2022 9:15 am
Appreciate that anecdotal experience is only of so much use, especially given that Weeky's had more KTMs than I've ever own bikes in total, but I've had my 1290GT from nearly new and had no problems. Again, maybe little electrical gremlins, in that I've had spurious warnings pop up from time to time, but they disappear as soon as they appear and have never led to anything. It's also the bike I've had with the most electrical stuff on it, so it could be that as much as it being a KTM.
The only major issue I've ever had with any bike was my ZX10r that destroyed its engine for no reason whatsoever and Kawasaki weren't interested, so that's been, by far, the worst situation I've ever encountered.
Some early tens used to explode the alternator and fire the remnants into the engine,with predictable results.
Whilst in warranty...? Yes... I've had many frustrations during 2yrs of ownership with my 1290 SDGT, but when not having minor issues put right, it was absolutely awesome to ride...
Out of warranty...? An altogether much deeper conversation depending on your circumstances and your requirement for the bike to "just work" or your ability to forgive it sometimes when it doesn't...
Note that I said "was" not is about my SDGT... It was 2yrs old on Tuesday... It got traded in on Saturday, before the 2yr warranty ran out! I have had too many minor issues with it to consider keeping it past that warranty period whilst it's still a depreciating asset.
That said... I'm just putting my 10plate RC8 back on the road. I've had a few niggles with that too, but less than my 2020 SDGT ironically! It also owes me a lot less money, isn't depreciating at all (arguably it's appreciating in value slowly), and with a lot less electronics on it it's easier for the home mechanic to work on too.
It's electronics that are the problems with KTM for some reason... The more electronics it has got, then buy/PCP it new and chop it in before it gets to 2yrs old or risk potential huge bills to put it right... Older bikes with minimal electronics (1090/990/RC8 etc.) then if you're reasonably mechanically adept and don't mind it being a bit more demanding to run than a Japanese inline 4, then crack on...
Yorick wrote: ↑Mon Jan 31, 2022 2:55 pm
I wouldn't consider any bike which wasn't 100%.
Character is just fancy word for needing lots of work and attention.
You wouldn't buy a car, TV or phone with known problems.
I've been around cars, bikes and anything with engines since I learned to walk.
I still bought a P38 Range Rover.
Sometimes you need to go against your better judgement.
Im on my 2nd LDV Convoy. Nothing wrong with the first one i just wanted larger so got a Coachsmith version. Dont tell @Yorick but they have character that i love.
