Bike Six: KTM Superduke 1290GT

[black-k1]

If my bike ended up on the back of a tow truck two things would happen, first I would get it fixed next it would be up for sale.
I need a bike I can have total faith in, but that's just me, other points of view are available.

I'm mostly with you there, Rae. Things do go wrong, but when it's so far from home, it would definitely colour my opinion too, although I can imagine something similarly innocuous could happen to a K too. It doesn't take much to immobilise a modern motorbike - switchgear goes faulty in a much hotter country for example, and so on.

The other thing that happens, and it's mostly in the mind IMHO, is that you get one problem and you live with it. But get a second problem, and that's it - that bike is on borrowed time. You grumble, you fix, you sell.

Of course the next owner doesn't have that mental baggage (Birkin or otherwise - see above ), and their faith is solid in their newly acquired bike. And they're probably right. And so it goes on.

I'm not sure its quite as black and white for me, or for any long term K1?00R/S/GT owner for that matter.

I think a lot of if depends on what has failed, what impact it has and why it's failed. If the issues with Matts KTM regarding starting, warning lights etc. can be addressed by an uprated battery then that would not be a major issue for me. Likewise, replacement of the clutch slave cylinder, a known weakness on those bikes, as long as it's not hugely expensive.

Compared to switch gear, radiators, flaking paint, short life ball joints, hot start issues, and a few more, the issues with Matts KTM seem pretty minor.

[Grumpy jase]

If my bike ended up on the back of a tow truck two things would happen, first I would get it fixed next it would be up for sale.
I need a bike I can have total faith in, but that's just me, other points of view are available.

Don't run an old Aprilia then.  My Tuono has done the Ride of shame twice on the back of a tow truck, and once broke down on a track day with the same basic issue (charging), although always manifesting in slightly different ways.  I take it as part of owning an Italian bike, and just have to take the rough with the smooth.  I still love it, can't imagine parting with it, and did 10 day holiday in Wales on it last year, but my breakdown cover is very good  .  I also live in hope that the last upgrade has sorted it for good, it is the hope that gets you in the end.

[raesewell]

Don't run an old Aprilia then.

I don't 
I want a bike that goes and stops when it's supposed to, and I have one 

[Matt]

Don't run an old Aprilia then.

I don't 
I want a bike that goes and stops when it's supposed to, and I have one 

Aha you ride a Japanese bike so your high expectation are most likely always met . As the Macedonian mechanic told me, "you should buy Japanese!"

Next: Sorry Rich, Martin, I think because I have another shot of Martin near that bike I went to auto pilot.

David: Shush, I need excuses to buy not objective sensible reasons to stay
Tom: please carry on for the same reason as above

Bike update: I left it on charge for an hour or so and it was back to normal. I then rode it 10 or so miles and started and stopped a couple of times, all ok. We'll see. Is it possible the water ingress caused a brief short? Or would I have heard sizzling?

@David: I've not heard uprated battery suggested as a solution before to the gremlins, so i'm assuming (danger danger) that it isn't as easy as that. I may or may not do some googlefu with the appropriate words .

Oh yeah. It needs its 18k valve clearance service. £719. Maybe slightly less when they remember they did an annual service 2 months ago.

[TomK1300s]

Matt just part ex and put the £719 towards the new bike, I am looking at the new R1300GSA later this year.

[black-k1]

My uprated battery suggestion was nothing more than a guess. That said, the reason I suggested it is that I have known of situations where the starter draw on the battery is enough, particularly on a slightly older battery, to lower the voltage to the point where the ECU starts getting confusing signals from the various sensors. I had something similar which turned out was the positive connection to the battery had not been done up tightly enough. Half a turn of a screwdriver solved the problem. Modern high compression engines, particularly a big twin, will need the battery to be in tip top condition to turn them over quickly while still giving a decent voltage to the rest of the bike. The more CCAs you batter can muster, the better the chances of that happening.

As for a replacement bike ... you liked your K1300S, so what you want is probably the spiritual successor to the K1300S that is reliable. If only such a thing existed ....

PS I'm about to place my order for my next bike, to be registered in spring 2024. Guess what I'm ordering???

[Phmode]

Did I miss something? Why the piccie of the bike on the back of a truck. What happened?

[Belco100]

... I've not heard uprated battery suggested as a solution before ...

So many of the KTM niggles are down to low battery voltage. I was talking to a KTM old timer when I first got mine and it left me stranded one day, his advice was:

• Turn it on
• Count to 10 to let it boot up and then start the bike
• Never leave the ignition on or adjust suspension etc without the engine running

My 2019 Super Adventure, and now my new one have had Anti-Gravity Lithium batteries fitted. Stupid price, but works for me. They tend to sit at a slightly higher voltage than lead acid, and I had it tested in front of me at 410 cranking amps while the standard on is marked at 220. Starts great everytime.  And the Anti-Gravity (Restart) also has some great electronics built in, if it drops below a certain level it turns itself "off" until you push a button on it to turn it back on, and then it has enough power for a couple of starts - so you are unlikely to be left stranded with a flat battery again.

There are all sorts of Pros and Cons for them, but I have not had an electrical error since following the guide and fitting the Lithium battery.

[Matt]

Hey Belco. Sounds good!

I just popped back to this thread to list my ongoing/previous issues for future reference mostly by me if/when I get rid of it and forget why:

1. Ongoing. Oil temp sensor is under reading. The dealer has seen and acknowledged but 'can't' replace it even under warranty because 'we need an error code and it isn't showing one'. So presumably the mother ship thinks a micro climate follows me around.

2. Previous. Ongoing. Oil leak. Front of engine where some cables exit via what looks like a lump of silicone. They fixed that but now when sufficiently dirty a damp patch shows up again.

3. Ongoing. Clutch system getting airy. Needed recovery in Albania.

4. Previous. The day it refused to even turn the screen on. Luckily I can remove the seat with the key on this model and get to tools. On the new SAS at least, it's a button, only active when that screen is on.

I think that's it for actual real issues.

Things I don't like/want to resolve with next bike:

A. The stupid ass luggage. Not only is it too small (ignoring cavernous uggo top box with its own key) but the locking mechanism is such that if stuff is squashed in a bit and the lid is "under pressure" it prevents the hooks from disengaging and so you can't open the things. Without smacking them and using the vibration to hopefully release it. Oh and as they heat up in the... heat, they get more difficult to close. And wtf decided to just glue on those KTM soft metal badges that catch on trousers or anything and bend away: great work you pretend Austrian.

B. The battery thing. Yeah maybe something else will solve it, but none of my previous bikes have been so gitty. And the recent rando voltage drop was worrying. Also leaving KTM it was very hesitant to start. And that was after riding an hour up there then it sitting for 1.5 hours. An almost 3 year old battery that lives in a dry garage and is almost constantly on a tender or wtf that actually maintains.

C. Long motorway trips are uncomfortable for me. Maybe mostly my dodgy shoulder, but I also want better wind protection. For quiet mostly. Mine is pretty decent but not quite there. I have a stupid Puig with spoiler.

D. Stupid flipping orange wheels clean yourselves you idiots, I hate your face!

I rode the 23 1290 SAS a couple of days ago. Felt nice, less aggressive posture obviously which made it feel less wizzy wizzy, which was fine as it was still stupid quick. Engine was much more flexible at low rpm than mine. I could be in 4th at 30 and 6th at 60 and accelerate without it trying to shake itself out of the frame. The Mitas tyres... well, I'd swap them immediately. The bike only had 7 miles on, and 60 when I finished, but I managed to have a few scary moments. I've had new tyres before :/. The semi active suspension has moved on and now has an auto mode (which I think is probably similar to the GS auto mode it's had for years) which adjusts on the fly. So whilst it also has a crap ton of fork and spring stuff to adjust on the fly, auto actually made it smooth when going down slow country lanes, and right when flinging it along a roads. Impressed.

I then tried to try a GSA low but failed to find one. Need to sort that out soon before I forget the SAS feelings.

The End!

[Matt]

Oh bonnet de douche I forgot this bit:
Subjective things I like:

1. The noise. My 20 plate with a short Pipe Werx (black, that hasn't corroded) can sounds lovely (baffle in). Although I did complain to Martin as we came down the millionth pass that the 'burble-burble-burble' was getting tiresome! But overall, it makes me smile and laugh when I open the throttle. Even pulling away in first gear the V sound is satisfying. (The 23 SAS was so quiet it had lost all its aural character as stock. I think it gained yet another cat just before the end can, in some bulbous bit of pipe) Cushty.

2. The torque. It never ends really. It makes exiting corners very satisfying. Lovely jubbly.

3. I can make this one go round corners. I think it's mostly a function of the bars. I found the GS equally if not more easy to get on its side. In fact I remember being worried when I'd had the KTM for a few weeks that I'd gone too far back to K1300S ergo. I was no good at making the K go round corners/be agile. This was and is purely a me issue. Give me wide bars and I'll keep up with you. The KTM feels great when flinging round corners, loading up the suspension. Cosmic!

4. I think it looks nice. But then when I caught the K at the right angle on the trip I still thought/think that looks incredible. And yes! I think the 1250GS and especially the Adventure look awesome too! Pot pourri!

Oh wait, I remembered something objectively crap about the KTM: The nav. "Ok so we made a nice big TFT screen, let's pay that homeless guy to make the navigation app and then charge people a monthly subscription. Import GPX files? Sod that, surely nobody on a KTM wants an adventure, they're just going from A to B right? What, the BMW App allows GPX import? And logs fun stuff like where you've been, and lean angles? Nah, old man tech! We'll just make it occasionally not work. Because young people don't like technology... yeah." Fools.

5. As David mentioned about his bike, this similarly has a lot of under seats storage. I have a compressor, two puncture repair kits, the very complete ktm toolkit under the rear seat. Then the two fairing cubbyholes up front have visor cleaner and two cloths. No taking rear fairing panels off to strap a puncture repair kit to the subframe here! This bike has an alarm too, so it's not like i've cheated to get space. The 23 plate SAS has slightly less space from initial observations. But then in adv sector an external toolbox becomes acceptable, bolted to the pannier rails. Bain-marie!

6. The paint is largely staying on the bike. The only place it isn't is on the exhaust heat shield. A black painted bit of curved metal that has a bit of peeling. But the engine, you know, the heavy bit near the front, still has all its paint! Even the bit that gets smacked by whatever comes off the front wheel. (Oh and that rads are either side so don't get splattered) The swingarm is also fine, though there's no... what was the word... mating surface where the paint etc just ends in a raw cut. I've also yet to notice any fairing/cowling paint chips. The orange wheels, yes, whoever fitted my tyre in Croatia took a nice 6 inch bit of paint off :/. And there are a few of what appear to be stone chips on the rear wheel. Chateauneuf de pape!

[black-k1]

I have to agree Matt, the sound is wonderful. Likewise, I found the SD1290GT much easier to chuck around with quick and easy changes of direction compared to the K1300S. Although, I think the front end geometry combined with the shorter wheelbase has as much to do with that as the width of the bars. Roger found the H2 SX (similar bar width to the K1300S) MUCH easier to chuck around than his previous K1300S and he was no slouch on that.

[TomL]

Hey Belco. Sounds good!
1. Ongoing. Oil temp sensor is under reading. The dealer has seen and acknowledged but 'can't' replace it even under warranty because 'we need an error code and it isn't showing one'. So presumably the mother ship thinks a micro climate follows me around.

The diagnostic system will not be clever enough to indicate that a temperature sensor is not reading correctly therefore it will never put up a fault code for this problem.

[Matt]

Yep, my thoughts too. Disappointing.

[Phmode]

WTF thinks you can only fix something if the bike throws up a fault code? What happens when your fault code indicator stops working or your engine falls out? Where is the fault code then?

[Matt]

See this is the stuff making me edge towards the flipping GSA! And my KTM dealer - who said the above - is rated as one of the better ones.