Ducati Monster Forum

My first thought was "What is the big deal about this bike?"  I mean, really?  The bike is just not that impressive. I went into the deal thinking that if this even remotely kicks my wheels then we'll have to talk trade or whatever. The SuperDuke was what I originally wanted last year and even had a deposit down on one. Trouble was I was forth in line at a big Southern California dealer that was only allocated 3 bikes at the time and we had no KTM streetbike dealer in Hawaii. Plus at my shop we work on BMW cars and I've had BMW motorcycles before.  Well, now our BMW dealer is also a KTM dealer so things were looking ripe.

First off, the KTM is just not the animal my bike is and is not the animal that I thought it would be.  Heck, a Ducati Streetfighter 1098  is much more evil than the KTM.  I might even go so far as to say the old 990 SuperDuke was more of a handful and more fun to ride than the 1290. The 1290 does have a better top end rush but how often are you really in the very top end of your revs?

The KTM is a peach in the low revs but you have to really twist the throttle to get it going, and that is just fine but it doesn't give you that immediate "Whoa, hold on" thought. Yep it goes but the Streetfighter was just plain flat out nasty in that regard. Before I go any further I will add that I set the drive mode to "Sport" before I set out and even dialed up the compression/rebound settings on the front forks. My bike, in Dynamic mode yanks harder than the KTM and if I've got the S1000R is set in Dynamic Pro then it's lights out faster.

Now the KTM does feel lighter and flicks around easier. The more dirtbike than streetbike ergos have a lot to do with that so that would seem to go slightly in favor for the KTM but hold on. That lightness also translates to another kind of twitchness. If you do a fast yankover lane change it bobbles, it shakes a bit and you wonder if there is a steering damper on board. I don't know if one is fitted but if it is then it sure isn't doing squat. If there is no damper fitted then it sure needs one. The BMW moves very quick in it's own right but is far more planted in fast, evasive type movements.

The KTM does run cooler and is especially nice on the freeway where you could actually run between 3rd and 4th gear. The engine just lopes along without that I4 rev up noise the BMW has. On the other side of that the KTM stock muffler make the bike sound absolutely anemic and not anywhere the near hooligan noise of the BMW exhaust.

Mirrors?  No one on a S1000R has any right to complain.   :008:   Our mirrors are wonderful compared to the KTM. On the KTM I kept thinking "Oh wow, colors!" when I was checking behind me.  :008:

One last thing, for now, the shift lever on the KTM is absolute crap! The trans shifts real easily and light if you can find the shift lever with your left foot. Modifying the shift lever would be the first thing I would have to do. But, of course, I won't need to do that because I'm keeping the S1KR for now, even with it running hot.

Now, a 2015 Yamaha R1 might be something else...............

Put it in race/track mode.

Bill wouldn't like that...

On his cute little scooter...   


[evil]

I had it set in the most aggressive mode available on the menu screen.

Bill was on a metric Cruiser of some sort.

Bill & I left and went down to the Chevron on Valkenburg to get gas. We had to go back to the shop to put a temp plate on the SD. Bill said we would go down the freeway to Kahala and back. When we left the shop he was looking left for traffic. I came up on his right side and saw an opening and that was that. I was gone and he was still looking left. The Sales guys on the floor were roaring, as I found out when I got back. I never saw Bill, not that he would keep up with me anyway.   [evil]

And thus marks the end of Rick test riding motorcycles at South Seas.

Well done!!

 ;D

 [laugh]

Tarting up the beast


(http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx24/rickmch/KTM%20%20Super%20Duke%201290R/IMG_1152_zpsdrurz7xh.jpg) (http://s738.photobucket.com/user/rickmch/media/KTM%20%20Super%20Duke%201290R/IMG_1152_zpsdrurz7xh.jpg.html)

By applying more heat-induced "coloration" to the header?

 [evil]

Tank panels

Booooooooooring

Kiss off.    ;D

 :-*

Looks good...a little less orange... ;D

That was my thought. I haven't seen anyone else do this. I like it so far but I still have the old panels.

So here it is just about exactly one year after I wrote the first comparison of the SuperDuke 1290 to the BMW S1000R.  I've had the SuperDuke now for 3 months and just shy of 2,000 miles. In the year and a half of owning the SK1R I put just over 6,000 miles on it.  Why did I sell the BMW? The only real answer is that I'm just not an inline 4 cylinder motorcycle person. I've had high performance twins blood in me since the early '70's & it seems that I can't shake it no matter how good the I4 is.

I expect this second review to have some contradictions and no doubt you will think I'm talking out of both sides of my mouth at times and if you've spent any time with these two bikes you will understand why and why so many of the video reviewers are almost the same way.  To start with, on a purely stock bike to stock bike comparison I will come out and say that the BMW is the better bike. I said it's the better bike, however, but maybe not the most appealing of the two and this is the start of the bantering between the them. One thing I wll say about the two is that you really can't compare them, or any bike, really for that matter, until you've got them broken in and can use the whole rpm range. Neither of the two I'm talking about are much to shout about when you are riding in that break in period except that the BMW is better there in the wimp range as you get a glimpse of what it can do. The stock KTM hides it's true character in many ways and continues to hide it even after you can rev it to redline.

The BMW engineers and designers did an outstanding job. It is a relatively easy bike to ride although you could also easily get into trouble with it real fast. It has a good low end with a smooth and predictable power delivery all the way through the rev range. With 4 power modes you just set what you like the difference is really only how fast the throttle comes on and let's just say that in the top mode, Dynamic Pro, it comes on so quickly that you need to be on your game or you'll find the pucker factor coming on fast too.  The Beemer is happy in just about any gear and at any rpm. By it's nature it will automatically make you a better rider and if you are already good you'll find that you can do just that much more with it. Don't get me wrong and misinterpret what I'm saying so that you think I'm endorsing the bike as fit for beginners.  I'm not saying that at all & I will continue to say that new, inexperienced riders will do well to stay on smaller machines until they develop a set of skills & second nature reactions when it comes to riding.  The BMW's character can make it very tempting to get and therein lies a hidden danger.  Coming from years of riding the bike is too easy and that is a large part of it's appeal. Not to mention being a rip roaring machine when you want it to be.

A few things about the BMW.  The rider has to be within a certain middle weight range to make the DDC ( if so fitted ) electronic suspension work properly and if you are too light or too heavy you will find yourself fighting the bike. Still, even if you are so blessed as to be within the sweet weight range, it is a bit different acting suspension.  I will call it "digital" as opposed to "analog". Mine seemed to go through a break in period and in it's early days was a bit off, a bit unpredictable, at times and when it was off it was horrible.  OK, maybe not really horrible but enough to give you pause if you were stuffing the bike through some rough patches in corners as it would either be too stiff or too soft at times.  Mine did it just enough to make me always have that little bit of pause in my mind when things were getting wound up.  To be fair though that only happened in the first couple thousand miles and didn't happen afterwards. Still.......  The other thing is that the S1KR seems to be geared low and you will find yourself going for that missing 7th gear on freeway stints. It seems to be singing high at 6,000 rpm at 70 or so mph and you have to remind yourself that you are only halfway through the rev range. Maybe that's why so many BMW owners are putting on smaller rear sprockets.  The KTM, on the other hand, has a very high 5th gear and a 6th gear that is so high many riders won't use it much. The KTM folks seem to go for a smaller front countersprocket and in some cases even more teeth on the back sprocket.

OK, let's talk about the KTM for a bit.  Again, as a purely stock bike, I won't say that it has all that much appeal.  Looks wise from a head on view it's only slightly better than the BMW and only because it has one headlight instead of those ugly non symetrical lights. They are both a bit of the "fat boy" from the front and I guess that can't be helped with those radiators and side panels.  Once you get away from the front the KTM is better looking and that is one of the things that kept drawing me back to it.  People who know bikes still comment about the BMW when they see it but non-bikers will comment on how mean & cool looking the KTM is. It gets as many positive comments as my old Ducati Monster 900 did and that's saying a lot.

The KTM is a big V-twin and has that big twin character. By that I mean it doesn't like low rpm's and is herky jerky and snatchy down low. That is only made worse by the closed loop oxygen sensor tickling on the fueling. It's not as bad as the old Ducati's but it's still there and you have to like it and know how to deal with it. That fueling character seems to be a dividing line for lots of riders with most riders lining up on the side of the I4's. With the stock exhaust it doesn't sound like much either.  You get a hint of what it could be but nothing that really starts to rock you. The stock BMW exhaust is better in that respect in that even though it's an I4 it's a damn mean I4! I had a full Akrapovic system ready to go on the BMW when someone stepped up out of the blue and offered to buy the bike.  I still regret that timing of events a bit as I was looking forward to that sound.  The KTM is also different as that V twin power plays a huge part in how the bike handles and how it gets through corners. You have to learn it. How the power comes on can and does change your line through a corner. Contrary to the BMW the KTM doesn't just accept whatever you want to do to get through a bunch of interconnected twists and turns. You have to work the brakes and the gas just so to make the best out of it.  The BMW makes you a better rider.  The KTM wants you to be the better rider.  Like the BMW the KTM suspension is also set to a certain rider weight range but seems to be more forgiving in that respect.  Mostly I liked the "analog" feel and totally predictable handling. I'm just a tad on the heavy side for it and even though I can set the rear shock pretty good I miss the preload front end adjustment and that is one area where the KTM could use a change up. This, in part, again, is something that has a different appeal to different riders. The BMW electronic suspension is compensating all the time and as a result evens out the natural changes to the bikes suspension & steering geometry when riding. This results in a more forgiving ride when it comes to working a line through corners.

Very much like the Ducati's the KTM starts out with kind of a clean slate and there's lots to be done that totally changes the bike and that's where things start to get good. Also, like the Ducati, it's a pisser that you pay a premium to start with when you buy the bike and then have to spend even more to change it for the better. You would hope, you would even expect that would be the case from the get go but noooo......
But Whooo Boy!!! When you do bite the bullet and go off the deep end what you get in return is lights out!!   [Dolph]  [thumbsup]
 [thumbsup]

More on that in a bit.........

This is getting to be a bit long, so I will apologize now, and will try to finish as quick as I can.

The KTM started out on the design table and first executions as a raging monster torque & power machine.  Then they dumbed it down, way down, to produce it & sell it.  Emissions and noise laws I expect.  Off the showroom floor it's just not that impressive.  HOWEVER, the folks back in the parts and service departments are waiting for you.  Plop another whole bunch of money down to get the KTM Factory Akrapovic full exhaust and the bike totally changes. Totally. You get a full exhaust that doesn't restrict anything, an opened up intake & a factory supported ECU re-map.  It sounds evil and it is evil. Then it becomes an outright public nuisance. It's loud and accelerates like a demon.  I tell my friends with Ducati Hypermotards that's it like their bike on steroids and meth. It makes you do bad things. Did I say it is loud?  It makes you think of the "Song of the Sausage Creature" and has that total bad boy appeal. If this is not appealing to you as a rider then stay away from this modified machine. Stick to the BMW with it's cruise control and it's semi-closet animal like performance.  The modified SuperDuke is all out in your face and I would ask, how, why even, would you get the SuperDuke and not modify it?

So there.......... If price is a factor and a more user friendly ride is preferred to get some crazy good performance then the BMW would be for you.  But....... If you have that little more ( or a lot more  [evil] ) outlaw blood in you and are willing to pay for it then the KTM SuperDuke 1290R is the way to go.

 [popcorn]

See the edited and expanded review.   [Dolph]

Sounds like you've got the ultimate in hooliganism in your Katoom... ;D

Even more so with the 16 tooth front sprocket.  Everything got better!   [Dolph] [Dolph]

 [laugh] [laugh] [clap] [laugh] [laugh]

Love it!!  And especially fitting out here in NM.

I got to ride one of my buddy's Aprilia V4 Tuono yesterday. All I can say is   (http://www.thespeedtriple.com/forum/images/smilies/jerkoff.gif)--------