Super Duke 990.....want.

[Speedbag]

Yesterday I took a ride over to the local Yamaha/KTM emporium, hoping to see a Duke 690. No luck on the thumper, but they had a white '08 990 demo on the floor.

"Of course I want to ride it....."

All I can say is wow. I took it on a 5-10 mile blast on a favorite road and can't say I can find fault with it anywhere (well, I guess it does need more obnoxious exhaust....). What a handler, and the clutch/gearbox action is sublime. They've got a price of $12.5K on it, which could drop a bit more IMO, after checking eBay. Seriously thinking about it....



The owner of the place had his newly acquired 1098R there also. I made him fire it up to hear those 70mm Termis bark. What a beauty, wish I had that kind of cash to drop on a bike. Drool....

[LA]

Form personal experience I much prefer the S4RS over the KTM.  Having said that it is a very good motorcycle and KTM has a parts catalog that could put you in the poor house. The WP suspension is probably equal to the Ohlins units too. Over the weekend the local KTM shop offered a friend of mine a brand new one for just over $10K. That's a deal.

LA

[Speedbag]

I lust after the S4Rs, but honestly I'm just not keen on the typical/frequent belts and valves routine after having my M900. I talked to their tech in detail regarding maintenance on the 990 and it doesn't seem too bad.

And, yes, the KTM goodie book is amazing....

They'll have to drop a bit more in price to get me. I'm considering swapping a quad, have to see what kind of deal we can swing. If it's sweet enough, I might have a new troublemaker.

[corndog67]

I looked at those seriously before I bought the S4.   I decided that I didn't want to drop $14 large or so on a toy (it was the R version with the CNC ported heads, light flywheel, and bigger injectors, according to the salesman).   As far as the price of KTM accessories, has anyone looked at the Ducati accessory catalog?   I'd say damn close on prices. 

They are bad ass bikes. 

There are also leftover Supermoto 950's out there still, too. 

[Monsterlover]

+1

I initially went down to demo the 990 SD, and when they were all full all that was left was a 950SM.

It was about the ugliest bike I'd ever seen but I wanted to ride something so i took it.

It was the most fun I'd ever had on 2 wheels.

Fast forward 2 years and I sold my 675 and was on the hunt for a 950sm when that same dealer had a left over 07 950SMR (juicy WP stuff, different tank and seat, blacked out stuff etc) for $11.5K plus the taxes and stuff.

I found a used 950SMR with 486 miles on it and got it for $8300.  The thing is a rocket in disguise.  It will leave most sportbikes for dead in the hands of a good rider.  Notice I said good rider, not great rider.  This is an easy bike to ride.  I wheelies and stoppies like crazy, and will damn near lean over to the horizontal.

I added racks and bags meant for the Super Enduro (same bike but spoked wheels and knobbies) and rode it 1340 miles to DIMBY and back.

I can take it down dirt roads and not cringe.  And I do

What I ended up hating about the 990SD was the fuel injection.  I found it very unsettling when you rolled off the throttle.  Very very jerky.

The Supermoto's (950's) are carb'd and run pretty smooth.

A set of FCR flat slides on one of these bikes would turn it into a widow maker.  I think I read about someone doing it on a Super enduro with *excellent* results.

You owe it to yourself to demo a 950 Supermoto, R version or not.

[didzhej]

I like both of Duke's - super and non-super.
Have been at tests, very good stuff to ride. But after all Ducati has style and KTM  -just orange (or grey).

[LA]

You're right on about the 950 SuperMoto. My Bro-in-law has been riding one since 2006. It's a hell of a good motorcycle - one of the best handling bikes ever and up to something over 120 or so will keep up with almost anything.

Of course you have to put the Akrapovic Ti cans and do some carb/airbox mods to make it work like it should, but one hell of a great bike.

LA

[Speedbag]

Orange disease is right....

Anybody got any FHE on the 690 Duke? That's the one that really seems super silly fun.....and I found one only an hour from me.

[Q777]

I had an 06 Super Duke before my current S4RS.  I had an unfortunate accident on the KTM after the gearbox locked up while in 4th gear.  The resulting sliding and bounding down the road led to the bike being replaced.  KTM didn't want to listen to my concerns about the failure.  I sent them photos of the straight section of road, with a 30 foot long tire mark prior to me coming off the bike.  As the insurance company had paid for the bike to be removed from the scene, KTM saw it as an insurance (rather than warranty) matter.

I pushed the insurance company to see if they would send the bike back to KTM, but they seemed to just want to py the claim and be done with it.  I offered to go and strip the bike to found the exact cause of the failure, only to be told that interfering with the bike now could lead to the insurance claim being knocked back...

Having said that, I am over the moon with the way the S4RS makes me feel when I ride it.  It's quicker accelerating, sounds better, looks better (IMO), less wind buffeting for my 6' frame.

I think the KTM had better initial turn-in, was a bit cheaper to buy initially, a bit cheaper on servicing.

Both great bikes, but I wouldn't even consider another KTM until I could be sure that the transmission wouldn't let me down.  Bouncing down the road at 75mph is not something I want to repeat anytime soon.

[Monsterlover]

I had the same thing happen to my 900ss on the track 4 weeks ago.  I managed to stay up though (and I was going significantly faster than 75 at the time.)  My point is that something like that isn't specific to any brand.  Shit happens.

That being said, here are a couple good videos of SM tomfoolery

KTM 950 Supermoto on the track - Vid1, left side Cam

ktm 950 sm

[Privateer]

I sat on a superduke at the dealer last year and the seat felt like a 2x6 wrapped in vinyl.  Is it better when actually riding?

[Monsterlover]

Not likely.

[Speedbag]

I sat on a superduke at the dealer last year and the seat felt like a 2x6 wrapped in vinyl.  Is it better when actually riding?

Yeah, the monster seats are plush marvels of comfort. 

[corndog67]

Don't you just love the way that guy in the first video just motored around all those GSXR's, R-1's or 6's or whatever, on his converted dirtbike?   After all, those things started out as 950 SuperEnduros.   That guy was smooth. 

And that Russian (I assume) guy was an excellent rider also.    Maybe I should have bought one of those when I had the chance.    Nah, I'd be in jail by now. 

[Monsterlover]