This forum makes sad reading :(

I have logged onto this forum most days for many years now. It's a small habit that I'm happy to indulge in. To keep in touch with Superduke owners and feel part of a community that is passionate and committed to one type of bike.

But these pages were always about how people got an already brilliant bike to perform better. Doesn't matter whether it was an early '06 model or a later bike everyone was improving their bikes to go better and overcome the small issues that could be improved.

But since the introduction of the 1290 things have changed. Originally it was just pages of exchanges about adding factory provided bling and coloured rim tape. Then the problems started emerging. Everyone expected a certain amount of issues with a new model but nothing on this scale and certainly not issues that seem to come down to bad manufacturing.

It's changed the atmosphere of this forum. It's not a happy read and it's sad to have to hear about how KTM has changed as a brand and company.

I feel sorry for all you new 1290 owners. Not sure how it's all going to end. Certainly all the 990 owners who were waiting to pick up a first generation 1290 when they start being resold will probably be rethinking this.

All I know mine will be gone in 14 months time & I will buy another 1290. I Love my 1290 & don't really care if it has teething problems, most things can be fixed & if it can't I will just modify it to suite my liking.

Absolutely nothing wrong with mine at all. Except for the trouble it wants me to get in. I love it to bits and wouldn't trade it for anything else on the road in its price bracket. Best bike I've ever owned period.

Cheers
Jem

I don't think there have been an abnormal amount of problems with the 1290 and certainly no exploding gearboxes or engines which certain other new launch bikes have suffered from. I'm sure in the next year or so people will start modding their engines but as there is no aftermarket airbox yet or off the shelf PCV or equivalent it's a bit limited. For me it's not the same forum as it's 80% 1290 now but that's my problem for being shite at spending all my money so I can't afford one

I love mine and it gives me everything I want from a bike.

Life is too short to wait for the next model, so if timing is right "just do it"

I'm sorry bic, my fault about the 1290 rant!

Just a story from today to make you feel better.
Went on a ride today with a few people and took the 990 out. (you know the reason, but no moaning here).
It was a mixed group of bikes but all good lads, hey we even had few a harleys in the group. Just to say that they wanted to hang out with us is credit to the kind of blokes they are.
Anyway after some plotting around at the PC correct speeds we ended up at a twisty but highly dangerous road. Just to clarify, it is hardly wider than single lane and since it ends up at a touristy spot anything can come from the other side, 4x4, vw combi, name it.
To add to the difficulty the surface changes from nice asphalt to pebble in tar, it also has blind corners and a steep ravine at the side.
Anyway I took it easy but ended at the top about 2 min before anyone else and I really enjoyed it. I could outbrake anyone and even the smaller bikes where no match in the hairpins.
The way down was as enjoyable as I left the earplugs out and listened to the suck of the Rotty airbox and the bark of the Mivv's in the valley.
I let everyone take off before me and ended up with enough time at the bottom for a piss in the bush and I could have had a cigaret too, but I don't smoke.
The road is only 8km BTW.

It really made me fall in love with the 990 again especially as some people commented that I'm fast (and I know I'm not). This to the extend that I probably don't want to sell it anymore.
I also feel sorry for all the people out there who got a 1290 but never had a 990.
Makes me feel very proud to actually have owned both, but too all who have the 990 only GOOD ON YOU, and trust me you don't miss much besides the extra power and speed.
It was wonderful bike and still is, in love all over again!

i love my 1290 it puts a grin on my
face every time i ride it
love the sounds that come from
the full ti akra system
this bike is going to be in my stable a long
time

Bic, I know where you're coming from fella. I've found myself still logging on as usual, but posting/wanting to contribute less each time.

I think it's probably because we have reached as far as we can really with the 990, so this place will just get more and more over run by the 1290 scum

I'm pretty sure once the mods start to come out, this forum will have a resurgence like it used to, but it will have us lot in the background statinv "It's not like it used to be" like with the old hats in real life.

I have no intention of changing out from my 990, and you yourself have got a new project to keep yourself going. We will just have to see how it goes from the sidelines. Heck even Plipton and jehadjoe crop up every now and then

Doesn't like the volume of complaining / whining on forum,;starts another thread of whining.

I wasn't whining Pete, just commenting on how the forum leaves me when I read through it. And to all you defensive 1290 owners, I didn't say that you didn't like your bike, or that it isn't huge fun to ride. What I said was it's sad reading about all the issues you have with build quality. The seasoned forum members that have traded up to a new 1290 seem to be kept busy just sorting out issues, uncovering the underlying reasons behind why they have made it to market unchecked. I've had three KTMs and non of them was poor quality. I like many of you followed all the years of development on this bike and kept abreast of the hype surrounding it's design. How much was written about the rear swing arm and how proud KTM were of the design? Any yet there is this big thing about the rear wheel play. (Not sure if it is linked to the single sided design but you'd think they would have made sure the whole package worked before bragging about it so much). Klinky, you always defend KTM on this.......but I just can't accept that there needs to be so many flaws with a new model. Not at £14,000.

Hopefully next year all will have been sorted and everyone can get on with doing mods that make a difference rather than just ironing out problems but until then it makes for a rather dull and depressing read and I'm glad I didn't buy one.

Even if I had the money for a 1290 I'm put off by the problems listed, specially the wobbly back wheel which I would think is feckin dangerous and can't believe no one can feel this when riding. I still love my 990 and it's all usable,unlike a lot of litre plus bikes where you never change up to the last couple of gears. And for the 1290 owners who never experienced the 990, they've missed out big time. Hopefully the facelift model in 2016 will have the problems sorted and be the bike I'd have hoped it would be.

On one hand there is a lot more activity on the forum, should be a good thing in the long run. This place is still the best there is, IMHO. The 990 Super Duke has been around long enough to attract a following of characters who I think are a totally unique breed, and hopefully that will eventually carry over to the 1290.

I do notice a little lapse in some of the irreverent banter posts that I love so much, maybe because everyone is out riding. I will do my part and try to think of something inflammatory.

@jmann this site will always be about the brotherhood, as we've all come to love that beast that most feel is a little bit too nuts for them.

Fair enough, there have been recently a few who don't want to participate in the comaraderie, but I'm sure they'll move on soon enough. But there have been a fair few newbies who have stepped up to the old philosophy that it was like before, like your example with TJ. Plus theres always going to be remnants of the old, that have now become part of the furniture


Edit* I like how bic opened this can then dissappears And before you say it Nerd, he did/does have a point, rather than just casting a line.

Thanks for the nomination mate, chocolate I can cope with, but rim tape always sounds like something a doctor would prescribe for managing hemorrhoids, so I'll give that one a miss.

Shadowman is right, been traveling down round the Spanish coast line for a while now, think this is the fifth week but I can't remember, it's all starting to be a blurr. I only know what day it is because accommodation rates go up at the weekend. Got all three kids with me and Amy though so it's full on hard work all the time, Spanish time/life is crazy, everything shuts between one and five and they all go out for dinner with small kids at ten o'clock at night.

Wish I was on the SD here though. I will definitely come back with the bike, leathers and a small pack and just ride. Ever since the Pyrenees mountains the roads have been amazing and every single town seems to have a race track with names that are legend to me, Cartagena, Valencia, Almeria, Jerez. I'm stuck in my Ford Galaxy in 35 degree heat with no sat-nav after my three year old threw a metal toy and smashed the screen weeks ago. I spend all the time driving dreaming I was on a bike!

I've got my Crashfest Tshirt with me and every time I wear it some guy comes running over talking Spanish at me which I can never understand but the gist is always that they are bonkers for KTMs and all have supermotos or SDs and we are immediately best mates.

I suspect that Nerd has hit on something in his assessment of recent forum events. The original SD was always a rather odd, niche offering. First road bike from a dirt bike company, unknown track record and never destined to turn the boy racers away from their Japanese IL4s nor tempt the rich brigade to turn their backs on their Ducati, MVs and other exotica. It took a certain type of rider to discover the delights and start the cult of the SD and drag it into the place it has occupied for the last 8 years. Those riders tended to be older and done quite a bit of different types of riding with different bikes so they knew what they had found when they experianced a stonking, (and not fragile), Vtwin packed in a headbangers chassis with sharp steering and sophisticated suspension. In the right hands it was devastating and the press helped cement it's reputation as a hooligan tool. Those original owners stuck with their bikes because they knew what they'd got their hands on. Sure there were improvements to make and this forum evolved to spread the word and share everyones wisdom. I think those original, hard core fans were the type of people who also were passionate about life, as well as riding, and a lot of them were up to talking about other things outside the SD, especially about their philosophy and approach to the world. SD ownership and forum life seemed to show that there's a lot in common between the people who ride these bikes, whatever country they were from or what background got them there.

But the new 1290 is a new breed of KTM. Much has been written and discussed about the new company, the new marketing approach, the new bike. I won't bore you all with the arguments and views, you know them all. But it has undoubtably attracted a completely different rider and more importantly a wider spectrum of people.
KTM managed to position the 1290 as a serious contender for "most powerful, most loony, most trick" bike of the year and the hype attracted many customers who would probably never have considered a KTM in the past.

And there's nothing wrong with that. It's what I would do if I was KTM. But I also lived in a Warehouse in Shoreditch from 1989 till the mid '90s. It was edgy and exciting but it was also grubby, crime ridden, and mostly boarded up windows and derelict buildings. Now it's the epitome of uber cool, retro-hipster heaven. Safe, clean and overrun by middle class graduates pretending they invented something new. Dominated by branding and clever marketing selling pretentious lifestyles to gullible punters too busy looking in shop windows at how well groomed they look to even know they are being taken for a ride.

It's the way of the world and known as "progress" but I tend to move on and do something else when this happens.

As a post script to the above analogy, (because as I was having a piss before going to bed I realised it will upset some who take it too literally and it wasn't my intension).

I flew back to London for an interview ten days ago and had to stay somewhere for one night. So I chose to stay in Shoreditch and spend the night there meeting up with some old friends. Wow, it's changed!!! Some bits I could hardly recognise and others had been face-lifted so much I had to really think hard to remember them like they were. It was vibrant, life, noisy, exciting, and full of interesting people. Music, great food, diversity. Had a brill night and staggered back to my hotel at about 4 in the morning without a worry about being mugged or scammed or finding the place burgled.

Is it better or worse than it was twenty five years ago? Neither, it was just different and I am a lot older. Both were great for me at each time.

I just couldn't afford to live there now! Ha ha.

Been on here for a few years now and although a later commer to the 990 I am pretty sure when this place first started up it was full of issues with the 990.
Not much to be said that has not already been done to the 990 and will undoubtly be the same way for the 1290 eventually.
I enjoy the banter and ramblings here and it is good to see a lot of new blood coming in but like any group it takes a while to fit in. A few of the new bloods get upset and take there bat and ball and fook off (Nerd probably accounts for a large portion of that) but a good few are settling in and add worthwhile contributions to the place.
If anything it has breathed some new life into sd.net.

Five weeks in Spain with the kids

I have watched the evolution of the bikes and the forum for some time. I find great pleasure in reading some of the technical aspects of the sorting of problems and the search for more power and ergonomics. Much of the jargon goes way over my head and am very impressed with how educated and bright many of the members are. I rarely have input about any of these items as it is just about all I can do to grasp much of these posts. I have also enjoyed reading about some of the members that have fuzzy coconut balls to race their Superdukes in club racing. I would venture to guess that Nerd is a bit off the mark in supposing that the quality of ownership in regards to the new 1290 members or their lack of motorcycle prowess and real soulful participation in the Superduke experience is any less broad than most who have come before.
I am interested in this site as community and I feel it has supplied many tangents and facets that have expanded the motorcycle life experience and societal awareness far beyond my expectations. As an example, I am more concerned right now about bic's interview for employment and Exitmans new build than micrometer readings from abc's big shaft, but will continue to read them all.
I say I have watched, that may be a bit of an understatement. Just today I was logging in and I got some error message and I immediatly went to the facebook page KTM Superduke to see what the trouble was.
No it is not the same and neither are any of us members. We have all walked into this project and the project may never be completed and that is just Super with me. It is called SuperDuke not humdrum mediocre motorcycle.
Until Jehad Joe starts making regular appearances again, I feel it my duty and honor to supply this site with the dribble.
Carry On.

I agree with your comments about the 990 but here's is the difference between the solutions then and now.........

Crap fuelling was really down to emissions requirements and owners worked out that removal of SAS and a remap solved most of the jerky throttle. KTM did nothing and no one went to them for help anyway.

Restricted breathing was cured by removal of airbox designed for an adventure bike and replaced with an aftermarket option. Best one designed and manufactured by a forum member along with several others in the early days. KTM did nothing and no one went to them for help anyway.

Remapping requirements supplied by KTM to complement their exhausts were too rich and hardly anyone used them. Forum members embraced the Power Commander and Tuneboy and later the TunePC and had better maps made and shared them on the forum.

Clutch slaves cylinders are weak points on many bikes so along with 99% of adventure riders owners just swapped out for a better component. KTM did nothing and no one went to them for help anyway.

The oil filler position and method of level check-up is a flawed design so owners either added a dipstick cap or a remote filler.

The battery position and access is a travesty so owners fitter extended charge up cables that were easily accessible.

The expanding tank is a material specification flaw and most owners have adopted one of the many ways to circumvent the problem. or fitted replacement hinges made by same above forum member. KTM have famously done nothing and aggressively defended their right to do nothing about this problem.

So yes, there were many problems that were eventually all understood and solved.

But the 1290's issues do seem more about manufacturing, quality control and cost. Mirrors that snap, frames unpainted, leaking gaskets, ill fitting parts, frustrating electrics, useless steering dampers, dubious rear brake hydraulics. So far all the solutions appear to be go back to the dealer and see what they can do - which in the majority of cases will be to refer back to KTM who are doing very little to resolve anything, if even admitting there is a problem. There's not a lot one can do to solve many of the above except accept the faults or wait for help.

It must be really frustrating for owners afflicted with any or these 1290 problems. Which is why I originally posted up that it makes sad reading.

Just a few teething problems to be expected, just a bit of a lump in the throat to swallow when you pay a premium price and get a second rate service from KTM

I reckon if they improved the communication from nothing to at least recognising the issues and offer some form of resolution it would go a long way, ignoring your fans (they brought your bike) will eventually mean the end for any company as they are constantly chasing the new buyer.

Returning customers that keep returning make good business sense

bic and jman, if you are through valencia and have time let me know and we could meet up.

i agree with what Bic has said, i have had the ktms from 2008 onwards now and include the 08 sd, rc8, smr 990 and now the 1290 and what i have noticed is a change in direction of the ktm way of marketing and thinking and in general terms the service has suffered as a result.

i have a good dealer and they support me and others all they can but they are limited by ktm spain who in turn are limited by ktm austria.

an example was that the ktm spain had been in austria for the recent meeting were they may or may have not spoken about the hub issue on the sd1290, when asked the ktm spain reply was "wow what hub problem", for me this is not correct.

when my valve went bang on my 08 sd with only 1000kms the dealer and ktm spain were both very quick and in two weeks the bike was ready and this involved sending parts to ktm austria.
my rc8 had varios items fixed under warranty and all sorted out by ktm and the problems were spoken about.

anyway i just hope to get the hub replaced and the bike fit for use, i have another track day soon so hope it doesnt take too long, i have to say that so far with 6400kms on her it has given me more pain in the ass moments than i expected and this i say fully knowing what ktm products are like, ie not the most reliable.

would i buy another ktm product in the near future, sorry to say but NO. problem is what else would i buy that is fun, a well sorted sdr990 hahahahahahaa

Looking on the bright side at least the lack of used 1290's has, thus far stopped Weeksy getting one cheap and coming back on here to

a, spend 3 days telling us how great it is and how he never should have sold any of the last dozen he briefly owned
b, spend the next week trying to become a moderator, organize a meet up, track day and BBQ that he wont attend.
c, Try to sell it for loads more than we know he paid
d, Lose interest in the 1290 and write a million posts about how great 950sm /R1's / gpx750's are and how he never should have sold any of the last dozen he briefly owned.
e, start his own forum about the bike even though he doesnt own it anymore
f, join, or more likely, rejoin the owners forum for whatever he now has and try to take over
g, repeat steps a -e ad infinitum.