...so I go to my KTM dealer yesterday to look at the new 1290 SuperDuke and hopefully get a test ride.
Bit surprised when I get there - no f'ing SuperDukes - WTF

Turns out the dealer was allocated 10 bikes for the year, they've already had 6 delivered which were already sold and expecting another 4 at some point this year (no date) and guess what they are already sold as well. Oh and no demo bike...

So KTM build a really good bike, have a really good 2 year marketing campaign / build-up - but guess what - you can't buy one.

I'm not buying a £14k bike without a testride, so I now have to wait until 2015 and even then I'll probably be down a list.

Oh well, got an invite to BMW's S1000 Naked launch today, so I'll go and have a look at that; with BMW you no a) they will have a demo bike and b) you'll be able to buy one !

I have not test ridden any bike I have ever owned, I already knew they would be good before I bought them.

It's going down as the biggest cock-up in biking history! I have no sympathy for KTM. They take the longest time to design and build a successor to their original SD, (in reality over four years of having the basics to do it with the new engine and RC8 learning, but not the desire). Then they totally over-hype the,"beast" concept with a few prototypes and teaser campaignes spread out over a year. Then launch the bike in winter with not enough distribution and availability for viewing at even major KTM franchises and the staff of most of these know nothing about availability, delivery dates or even the basic stuff like the price it's going to sell for. And there are no demos available except at a very few places.

It's an absolute farce. I'm sure they must know this. It's embarrassing to be in a position to sell bikes but not have any for sale. By the time they get their supply sorted most of the new wave of people interested in the next big thig will have moved their fickle eyes onto other exotica that offer even more trickery and bling. I suspect that history will show that the BMW and maybe even some of the other super-nakeds emerging will out sell the 1290 which has also turned out to be overpriced in this market.

Sorry all you 1290 owners but you paid too much for a bike that is built down to a certain cost. Suspension, switch gear, damper, certain aspects of the electronics. They are all budget and need to be upgraded before it justifies it's premium price.

I think you are being a little harsh Bic. They released the bike in winter because the Milan show is in winter. Pretty much all the new bikes were released then. They probably didn't build up a big stock of them to ship out because it costs money to do so. Also it's far better to have too few than too many of a product or they would have had to drop the price. I'm not saying they couldn't of had a few more bikes available than they have but it's still a fragile market out there and I'm guessing they aired on the side of caution. It is too expensive though but so was the Aprilia when it was released. I would imagine we will see a price drop next year like we saw with the Aprilia but they are still selling as many bikes as they can make so for KTM it's still a win. Developing a new bike isn't cheap. Rumours had it that developing the V4 almost ruined Aprilia it was that expensive. Anyway some people don't care that it's £1500 more than the competition, they have the dosh and want the bike and with limited numbers to sell KTM knew they would still make money.
Yeah they hyped the bike to death but they knew they were facing stiff competition with all the other nakeds coming out. With a software update I'm sure it could be exactly what they promised. No preload on the forks is a bit lame but it's not like they are the only manufacture to go this way either.
And as for the demos, how much is it the case of no bikes available or the dealer not wanting to buy one to use. KTM Centre seemed to have no problems getting one.

You wouldn't believe how bad supply of bikes is to the UK, all the manufacturers have the opinion that the UK is such a small market it hardly counts.

Even the might of Honda gets it wrong, there is ONE guy who is in charge of what we get in the UK. He fooks it up so much its unreal. An example being last year Honda gave the press CB1100's as long termers, they got great press and we had 2 for stock all year.

This year we get the lovely (if expensive) SP Fireblade and we get Two Mid summer they run out of best selling 500 series. The list goes on and on.. New VFR800, CB650 and CBR650 delayed til June..

Kawasaki is having a test ride weekend in a couple weeks and we can't get a ZX10R or the new J300. Yamaha has just released the MT07 which is ace and they can't even supply ANY accessories for it.

KTM need to pull their finger out, their market share is terrible. They have possible the best naked bike around and they have grossly overpriced it and can't supply. Terrible but just as bad as all the other manufacturers.

Totally agree with what you said bic and don't think it is too harsh, just fact. As an existing ktm owner I feel I'm being pushed to look at other marques, which I find slightly offensive and not a good way to sell bikes. My last 3 bikes have been ktm so have nothing against them but they really need to step it up a bit.

I was told that KTM UK dropped the ball on it.
They were asked how many 1290s they wanted and they drastically misjudged demand.

This is the point about aggressive marketing and supply and demand. You do one and then prepare to deliver. Even just following this forum over the last few years I could have told KTM that they were going to have a LOT of interest in the new SD, just look at the thread, it's the biggest subscribed thread on the whole site.

KTM marketing team could have taken a look, or even come out of the closet, joined the site and actually asked how many 990 owners would consider buying a 1290. This is how Norton pre sold all their Domiracers, they just held a drinks night and invited all the people who had bought a Commando from them and sold all 50 in one go. How nice would that have been to be contacted by KTM UK and offered a chance to own or test ride a new 1290 and be rewarded for all the years of loyalty we have showed to the SD. I'm not being unrealistically romantic about this, they could have done it and then ordered sufficient bikes from head office. To hear that they 'underestimated' demand is a travesty and the person in charge should be fired IMO.

I think Orpheus's comment above about being overlooked by KTM is true and the new 1290 was just targeted at a new generation of customers without a moments thought to us lot.

However, reading other threads it sounds like the US is now having similar problems with availability and supply so maybe it's a global cock- up.

Unloved by ktm

And it's not just one dealer, i rode over to a different BMW dealership in the afternoon, same setup except they had 3 naked bikes (in each of the colours) and a barbecue instead of sandwiches!

However, in the quest for motorcycling nirvana, in amongst all the new bike hype etc I'm beginning to think I'm setting on it already...

The problem of supply appears to world wide however to some degree the problem also resides with the dealers. They were asked how many they wanted and will be supplied with that many according to the original schedule. In his respect it is also the dealers that are at fault as they have clearly underestimated the demand. They could have sold as many as they could get their hands on after the initial hype. What happens in a year or so is anybodies guess. My guess is that the dealers will be nervous about ordering too many so this will become the biggest biking cock-up in recent memory.

It is interesting that nobody from KTM or from any dealers seem to subscribe to this forum. If they do they don't seem to identify themselves which is a shame as they would have a certain degree of cred. I guess they'd also cop a fair bit of flak. I guess if anyone does put their hand up we we should have a written rule that we are not allowed to shoot the messenger.

Well I'm not suggesting that we would make membership a marketing opportunity. Don't we have somebody here that sells oil? But I am suggesting that shooting the messenger is not going to be very productive - I don't see that as hypocrisy. In what way? Are we supposed to have "us versus them" mentality?

Indeed, I didn't think we'd get Stefan Pierer as a member but, if lucky, maybe somebody further down the pecking order. In practice, it might be somebody from R&D or perhaps marketing that could feed back what the feeling is here without having to take the flak for what others have decided.

Your view on this would certainly scare me off. Why would I bother to contribute if all I got was attacks regarding stuff that I couldn't control. Why would I devote my life to dodging bullets?

I would have thought it's inconceivable that KTM do not know about this site or never peruse the forum's content. Every company that I have as a client recognises the ever growing importance of the power of consumer groups, forums and viral marketing campaignes.

Whether the responsibility belongs to the sales or marketing teams there is always someone monitoring what's going on out there in consumer land. They have sophisticated search engines just looking for any mention of key words and phrases that might appear on the web.

I also wonder, and have often thought it strange, that they have not been more open and forthright about their presence and interest in the site. As everyone knows it was set up and run by enthusiasts of the SD marque and there has never been, to my knowledge, any acknowledgement, (or appreciation), from KTM about the enthusiasm and knowledge that is generated and freely shared here by so many people across a large part of the globe. Whether they care to admit it or not I think that SDNet and the UK - KTM Forum have surely played a part in the rise of the Superduke from obscure/niche bike into its present semi-cult status. This forum is almost always mentioned in any magazine article on the SD models and I for one may not have got so much out of the bike, nor stayed as an owner for so long without the support and comradeship I found here.

KTM must know about its existence. If not they really are naive.

What I've got from this forum was not a KTM brand value, it was a reflection of all the people I found here. I think KTM are a lucky manufacture to have us lot. )

It is me. Sounds like a game of Cluedo it was Stupid Luke in the downstairs shitter with an orange toaster. I am KTM's UK grass, everything that goes on here is noted and reported back. That is why there is already a hit squad waiting in Europe should Motoronin move there. I am like a 5th columnist or that fella out of Smileys People.

I knew it was you Stupid Luke. But did you know that we knew it was you all along? We have been feeding you bullshit for years to pass on to your masters.

Yes brilliant Luke. A sense of humour - there should be more of it