Prospective SD buyer needs advice

g'day all from sydney, australia!

in a couple of months i'm looking to buy a second hand weekender bike for the following reasons...

- hitting the twisties for fun! fun! fun!
- general fricking about on at the weekends and in the evenings
- taking the missus pillion on it for night rides around the city and along the coast (reigniting the passion!), stopping at restaurants and pubs. not for long haul touring!
- odd day commuting if my commuter bike breaks down.

the idea is i'm also gonna get a GSXR600 for track days and keep an old shit tip for daily commuting. i mentioned 'the need for three bikes' to her the other day but so far i don't think she's buying it. so if needs be i'll use the gixxer for commuting too. but the weekender bike will be the newer one, my 'pride and joy', so this is a really important decision for me as i want this one to be a keeper.

i haven't demo'd yet just want to get some feedback on the SD with some particular concerns i have. i'll list them below please let me know what you guys think.

- her indoors being a pillion. this ain't likely to happen too often so it's not an overriding concern, but still, its important to me. i will get her to pillion when i demo it but as a heads up, how do you guys find it 2 up? will she be OK for a couple of hours ride in the evening? will i need to replace the stock seat etc? can i get grab rails?
- relaiability? whenever i look on the bikes for sale websites i can never find SD with high mileage for sale? and yet if i search for e.g. speed triple theres always ones with 100K miles on there. why is that? is the SD engine etc. robust enough to cope? do you guys have high mileage ones?
- throttle snatchiness at low speeds. is this something i need to be aware of?
- differences between the year models 2005 - 2011? any particular recommendations?
- anything else i should inspect before i buy e.g. common part failures etc?
- finally i have a tuono, speed triple and a MT01 also on my list. how does the SD compare to these?

sorry if this is a loaded question and some of these things have been asked before. thanks for any advice!

First of all, welcome in!

My advice? Buy one!!!

Pillion comfort depends on how big (or small) she is. Not a lot of room back there, but doable for short blasts as you said.

Reliability? Take care of it & it'll take care of you. Peruse the forum. It is a WEALTH of info on anything and everything Superduke-related. There are plenty of folks on here with 40-50k or more trouble free miles, and some not so much....

For your intended purpose, the Gixxer would be a fine choice.

But the SD is THE choice. This bike makes me grin like an idiot each & every time I ride it. And it just keeps getting better. Literally! Another member on the sites bike is making MORE power at over 40k miles than it did at under 20k. Very stout packages, these bikes.

Find it. Buy it. Ride it. Love it!!!!

First off, welcome to the forum.

As for your questions:
-I myself haven't carried a pillion, but know a fair few members have. I believe the general consenseous is yes she'll be happy, as long as she is a medium/smaller lady and if it isn't for long journeys (guessing from what you have said, it won't be long ones). Others will be able to shed more light on this though.

-The engine is a very strong one. It's the same as they use in the Adventure . I'm thinking that the reason you don't see many high milage SD is because anyone who has one is keeping it to themselves as they know what a hoot it is.

-On new/unmodded bikes it's not uncommon for there to be a fair bit of snatchiness on low RPMs. Some bikes have never suffered it. There are a fair few mods to sort this out, some more effective than others. It has been known to be able to totally eradicate it. For more info you are better off using the search function as there have been many topics on this subject.

-'05+'06 models had sharper turning ability and a more "fiesty" engine. This is what caused a lot of press to call it a nutters bike. The styling isn't to everones taste.
'07 onwards had a restyle in the looks department, but also they softened the suspension a bit/changed the steering angle and retuned the engine slightly to try to sort out some of the criticizim about the earlier model.
In '08 they brought out the R which had a single seat, stiffer suspension and steeper steering angle. '09 on the R had the engine tuned to give about 12bhp more than the standard. (If you want to take out your missus, don't get the R)

-I think the only rather common failer is the water pump seal/shaft. This normally only effects older/high milage ones. Apart from that it's only the normal things on a bike to look out for.

-I see from your short list that you're going for a certain type of bike
There are a few ex-Triple riders amongst our mist, they would be the best ones to tell you about the comparison between an SD and S3.
With the MT, well , if you like it then thats your choice, but I've never seen one on the road.
The Tuono, i believe, is just like the SD, you either love it or you don't. I know a few people who own them and they won't swap them for anything, just like I wouldn't with my SD.

Your best bet is to go try out the bikes in question and see which you personally like to ride the most. But whatever your choice you make I hope it makes you happy in the long run.

Super Dukes are awesome machines, but if passenger comfort is important then this isn't the right bike. Barely padded pillion seat with hard key hole in the middle, jams the rider forward into the tank, strictly short term accommodations IMO. At least with American girls

I just sold my aprilia to get my Duke.I also looked at the triple.As far as the triple the 11 is all new very differant from the 10's They are nice bikes.For me lack of dealers was a problem.I had the same problem with aprilia great bikes but no dealers.If you are thinking aprilia check the forum the one from AF1 racing they are good guys and will tell you about the dealer network. also with most aprilia's you can not remap them or interface with the ecu. Trust me you need dealers when you own an ape.I love the fact that I have several dealers close. I take mine in for it's first sevice this week.With the duke you can do things to make them better.You can buy a cable that lets you plug your ecu with your laptop.I love my duke have all kinds of upgrades on or on there way.Plus the guys on this forum really know these bikes that really helps.In some cases they know more than the dealer.So you know when the dealer is giving you a load of crap.I was lucky in the states the dukes are affordable because we only have 08's ktm did not bring in any 09,10 etc.So there are some great deals out there.I wanted one in 06 just could not justify the price.I have several bikes.You will love your duke if you get one.My other bikes are collecting dust.All I want to do is ride my duke. what ever you buy good luck check their forums nothing is better than the info from the guys that ride them everyday.I have learned so much from these guys.The saved me from making rookie mistakes this is my first ktm.Go for the duke you won't be sorry grinfactor of 10

they crash well

Ive done about 60000 miles on superdukes. Mileage is no problem.

Some pillions have issues with exhaust fumes swhrling up behind the pillion in an updraught and making them nausious...have her smell for it on test ride. Also, no grab rails or handles....just you to grab on to mate.

Ive been out with an MT01 following my old slower SD amd he proper cooked his brakes with just a single rider. Avoid.!

As for the other two....depends on what you want....

Top speed, heavier with slightly less resale value and reliability (subjectively).

Slower steering, less aggressive looks, British tradition and Ace cafe friendly burger n chips appeal

Or fast, great handling, more unique looks, slightly poorer dealer network than Ape and much worse than Trumpet but an addictive package and smiles per mile.

SD really is a great bike - just makes you smile. It's generally well engineered and refined from front to back - form really does follow function. It doesn't look like a frickin hedgehog with bits sticking out of it like an after thought. Engines are strong if looked after. Two up - not too much padding but comfortable enough. My wife is 8.5 stone & 5' 8" & fits well. Yours - if she doesn't know already, will need to use her legs - grip your arse with her knees to stop pushing you into the tank - this will counter no grab rail. Compared to your gixxer it's not as smooth - power pulses and all that, but that'll be the same with any twin....and low speed throttle is on/off so feathering the throttle in town isn't particularly relaxed as you do need to work at it harder than on a four. I now ride with my 1st finger over the brake lever to steady my hand...which isn't a bad thing anyway. You do get used to dealing with it so don't let it put you off. All in all....it's brilliant !!

.............as said pillion comfort is dependant on size....smaller and lighter they are the happier they/you will be.......up against a sports bike its luxury (my other half says its great......)

The throttle puts people off ...a bit harsh (more of a problem trying to go slow to be honest ...constant throttle hunting)

......maybe thats why you see low milage bikes.....they.....sell it before they have sorted it........you can sort it completley ...............it makes me laugh out loud ..every time I ride it

Try one.....make apoint of riding it on the most badly surfaced roads you can find ....with lots of bends....thats when you will see the difference

hi guys

well, its been a while since my last post, but i cant get to the computer every day, and thanks for all your replies, really, really helpful.

ive decided that the answer to the pillion problem is 2 buy 2 bikes. fook it. you only live once. i explained at length to the missus how this would work out more economical in the long run. i cant remember what i said exactly. it was so much bullshit. if i'd been pinochio they's have been stopping traffic on the other side of the city. i don't know how i managed to pull it off, but i did - she's given the green light!

the new plan is to get a 600 (ish) for commuting, something reliable, easy to service, good for filtering, easy to manouevre in traffic, and fairly comfy for a pillion (she's is only small and slim), with a nice wide back seat and grab rails. was looking at the ER6, let me know if you have any suggestions.

this leaves me free to pursue a more exciting 'weekend' bike too. can't take the plunge for a couple of months now. have decided not to bother with a speed triple. but have narrowed down to a superduke or a triumph daytona 675. close call so far. very excited cant wait to get two wives instead of one (getting rid of the old bike)!!