Unreliable bikes?

Hi.. I'm new here, and I have been browsing the forum for many hours now, lurking in the darkness.


It seems to me, that the KTM Superdukes are pretty unreliable, or is it just because I stumble upon a lot of threads with problems?


Problems I've seen people have, over the last week:

Starter problems on 05 models, some torque thing have to be changed
Engine uses oil
weak gaskets all over the engine, also in the water pump leading to oil getting into the water-
stalling when braking hard
carbon fiber tank leaking
a lot of different leakings, oil leaks, fuel tank leaks, expansion tank leaks, oil preassure sensor leaking etc..
Flat battery, dropping voltage after driving long drives or leaving the bike for some weeks. you have to keep a charger on the battery all the time etc.


Am I wrong? Is it just because I read all the wrong threads, or are there a lot of problems with the Superdukes?
I just bought a 2005 SD and found the old owners profile in here. I can see that the engine has been leaking, the bike has been stalling when breaking hard etc.. I'm sitting here getting scared that I have made a bad choice.
I've had problems with the bike twice allready, maybe due to a faulty battery, maybe because of a stupid alarm/imobiliser unit.. but I'm sitting here wondering if I just threw $25000 us dollar out the window on an unreliable bike

(and yeah, it's not a typo, the price is correct. 25k usd is cheap for a used SD here in Denmark, a new one costs $45k and the SD-R is $51k .. stupid taxes)

I've had a Kawasaki zx9r for 26000km, it's driven 50000km in total, and it's never made anything wrong. Just turns on everytime I push the botton, I never charge the battery the 5 month winter and it just starts in the spring.. I have this bad feeling in my stomach, that the KTM is going to be all trouble and high repair-shop bills, instead of fun
Please tell me that I'm wrong.

You're wrong

you always get a lopsided view on forums. People aren't going to post threads saying "my SD just spent a day with its balls to the wall and didn't go wrog once"

people only post when they need help. Or look at it this way - maybe 50 people on here with oil leaks - how many were sold worldwide??

My point is, people only talk about the bad times, not the good

chill winston

I wouldn't fret too much man. Go to any forum for any bike under the sun and you're going to start seeing threads left and right about problems owners have had. I think part of this is due to the fact that these days we can run to a forum as soon as our bike makes a funny noise and ask for help. A lot of members sign up for a forum for the sole purpose of getting help. I have put about 5k miles on my 07 Super Duke with zero problems. 25k is a lot of dough for a Super Duke but I'd have paid it! (If I had that much lol) Get on that sucker and ride it!

It's a bit late to worry now isn't it?

You're wrong !
I'm on my 2nd SD,nothing exept a flat battery,trickle charged sorted.
Best bike in the world, even its raw snatchyness !
Love it.

thanks guys.. I can sleep better now..

and yes Ducati Pete, it's a bit late, but I made an.. "impulse buy" if you can say that in English.. saw the bike, and didn't really think that much hehe.

I really like the way it drives, the way I sit on the bike, the handling and braking, and the look.. I fell in love with the bike when I first saw it!
But I just can't stand if there's anything wrong with any of my stuff. Usually I give things 2 chances, and if they fail I just sell them, and move on to something less good, but more reliable.

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