My first "new" bike for more than ten years...



Saw this on eBay and fell in love with the looks. It's a 2011 bike with a mere 1900 miles (!). Drove from one side of the UK to the other and just bought the hell out of it. My first ride (yesterday) was unfortunately a HUGE disappointment. It was on wet greasy roads and lasted all of ten minutes so the "results" are somewhat inconclusive. I don't know if I really nailed it through the London traffic because I was so unfamiliar with the bike and the controls were all over the place but it felt slow and cumbersome. The on/off throttle response was horrible.

Throttle is so loose and there's so much free play it almost feels broken, I've ordered a new G2 alloy tube. Suspension appears to be rock hard and probably never been set up so that's this mornings job.

I hope I can bond with this bike, I really want it to become my main ride. So here I am, a new member, hoping to get to grips with this alien bike which is so unlike anything I have ever owned.

Screwdriver.

Welcome comrade screwdriver. Yup the problems you describe can occur but are fixable. Sounds as though just taking some of the slack out of the throttle cable might help but ultimately you'll need to read about surging Etc. Try using the search button to see what other have done. There's a stack of information available.

Does it have a PCIII? Has it ever been tuned? Getting it tuned will help sort a lot of those issues, also getting rid of that throttle cable slack will help a lot as well.

City traffic isn't the natural environment for an SD, especially an R. All the problems you mentioned are things that can be addressed, when sorted it's the most "fun" road bike I have ever owned.

If you are into your track days then think about coming to the annual get together "Crashfest" which is at Cadwell Park in August. Plenty of details on here.

Welcome.

As the guys have already pointed out, your problems are normal and can be fixed. Loads of info in the search button.

I commuted everyday on a 990 for 2.5 years in London. It's doable. You quickly learn how to properly ride with the clutch.

I have to agree after only the one quick hack through traffic - it's one of the best. One thing I noticed is how easy it is to do feet up keepy-uppies. The slow speed balance is so good on this machine and it has a generous enough steering lock that manoeuvring through right angle gaps is a joy. Squirting it into gaps is slightly fraught because you end up being very fast when you get there.

One thing I still need to do is to soften the suspension even more to cope with the dodgy roads around here.

I'm still (probably) selling it though. It's too valuable to use for commuting and if I were to park it anywhere in London, it would be "gone in sixty seconds"!

S.

For me, SDR is best commuter I've had but then my other one was/is 996S........if you have to commute every day, best to leave and arrive smiling but have to expect regular 'issues' and, agreed, don't park it street and expect it to be there when you get back.

Just sounds like yours needs usual fettling to sort.

I had a 990 SDR and after a little fettling it was transformed:

Rottweiller Air Box
SAS Removed
Dyno set up (this sorts out the snatch and makes it run super smooth everywhere)
Suspension set to Standard or even Comfort mode is ideal for the roads - on sport it's super stiff.
Set your tyre pressures nearer to 30psi front and rear or you'll be skipping across every corner.

A more expensive although ultimately more rewarding solution is to buy the 1290 SDR. The electronics and ergonomics are just wonderful and with the full Akra and map the addition 50+bhp is addictive - It's called The Beast for a reason..

Keep at it - these KTM twins are wonderful.

Well I am afraid ownership of this machine has so far been an unmitigated disaster.

I took it to a dyno place I know of where the owner used to run a race team. Four hundred quid later and it still had the same problem, variable idle, stalling and I wasn't happy with the power. I saw the dyno results: 122bhp stock and 122 bhp with air box mod, SAS removed, remapped, rev limit increase. WTF? Curiously, they weren't able to send me a full set of dyno results because there was a problem with their system.

When I rode it next day, the tank panels were badly refitted and the others left loose. One of them fell off. The oil light kept coming on, all the time despite the oil level being correct. Then it developed a coolant leak and blew a hose the next time I rode it. I had to take it back to the same place because they still had to fix the idle/stalling issue. I suggested they fit some SAS plates which I sent with the bike because it wasn't running properly and had developed a weird "soft" backfire. I note they had the SAS pipe clamped during the dyno setup but simply took the clamp off.

Anyhow, next time it came back, I noticed some chips taken out of the frame. They had already melted the front spoiler by fitting it up against the exhaust (which they replaced) and the old guy who moves these bikes around kept grabbing the flimsy tailpiece which has now crazed the paint on that too (which they haven't). Oh and they refitted the tank panels incorrectly AGAIN despite my telling them what they were doing wrong.

They took it back (again), resprayed a section of frame and redelivered it two weeks later. This time I noticed they scratched the swing arm and scuffed the tank! I hardly dare ride it until I had all the damage inspected, I guess I'm going to have to sue, my insurance company doesn't want to know. But I did take it for a quick blat and it runs as flat as a pancake. It will wheelie in first gear but thats about it. I'm not a stunt monkey but I expect my fire breathing dragons to have a bit of oomph.

Apparently he "cured" the idle/stalling issue by swapping out my very expensive map, and copying over the original dyno offsets. So now the bike hasn't even been set up on a dyno but has a copy of a set that the guy tells me was corrupted!

So really, this whole episode has bee a total nightmare. I have ridden the bike about 1 or 2 hundred miles tops and it's been in my possession probably less than a week since my first post above. It now has 2600 miles on it and is beginning to look secondhand.

It breaks my heart really. What was a minty immaculate bike has been ruined by careless handling and poor servicing. I don't know if I'll ever fall for it to be honest.

Rant over. What would you guys do?

S.

Happy to go through the bike with TuneECU, seven years experience of SDR commuting into London, etc if you want to bring it out here or talk it through in London.

Take it to No.47. He knows a lot more than he lets on (just check his post history). Bring a case of Guinness.

And Gitanes.

Hi No, 47, I'm in London (Ealing) so I'd be more than happy for a second opinion. I'll ping you my mobile...

Screwd.

You don't mention where you went for all this work. If you really need the bike sorted then take it to HMRacing down in Edenbridge. They totally know what they are doing with Superdukes and will set up the fuelling and mapping for way less than £400.

Real beauty, congratulations. Can't believe how clean it is

Take 47 up on his offer. You'll get some peace of mind and a good idea of what your next move should be.

No offence or disagreement but if you're power wheeling in first it doesn't sound as if it's that flat. That's pretty much what they'll do.

I'll happily help get stuck into a case of Guinness and a box of smokes if you guy need that kind of assistance...