Hi everyone, a proud new owner of a 1290 SD (Orange) checking in. I've had the bike for two weeks, commuting to work with it, today I went for a short "fun" trip up to a town called Wickenburg in Arizona, went the back way of course. I had a 990 SD back in 2010, since then I've had a Royal Star Venture, a Husqvarna TE310, a Husqvarna TR650 Terra and most recently a Honda Goldwing F6B. Now I'm back on a naked and loving it. Quick story, when I bought by new old stock 2008 SD on my first ride out of town in the middle of nowhere the bike stalled and would not start, I hiked 8 miles back into civilization to get help, turns out when the mechanic put in a new battery since the bike was sitting on the showroom so long, he failed to connect both power leads on the battery, resulting in no fuel pump after the battery drained, which bad for me was in the boonies, anyway, so I'm on my ride today, once again in the boonies, when the service light starts flashing........please not again, this would be a 30 mile walk back....just kept riding to my destination without issues, come to find out thanks to this forum it was only the 1st service warning which was mistakenly set at 500 KM's by the set up mechanic.....and what traffic sign brings a wide smile to us bikers........


Ride safe everyone.

Welcome, thanks for the pics

Welcome to the madness.

The 1290 is a great bike. I too own a Black (my favorite) 1290 an live in Arizona. I'm assuming by the back way, you mean Vulture Mine Road?
Funny you mentioned riding outside of civilization. I mentioned that as a concern of mine when looking into getting a KTM, that most places I ride are in the middle of nowhere with no cell service. My bike has not left me stranded, but is experiencing "growing pains". So far a leaking rear valve gasket, leaking fork seals (left fork seal is leaking again), rear hugger rubbing shock and had the clutch cover " housing " replaced because oil was leaking through the casting. The last thing is what has me a little concerned as it was completely dry for 5,700 miles before it started leaking. And even though the new one is dry, just make me wonder when and if it will ever start again. A couple of guys on here have had the exact same issue and are already on their 3rd cover! I'm hoping it's an isolated issue and mine is ok from here on out. I can say of all the motorcycles I have owned, around 28 or so, this is on the top of my list as favorites. That's even taking the issues into consideration, just hope everything is ironed out. Or at the very least, I hope that since I ride a lot, I get all the "growing pains" to show themselves before the warranty is up, so they will be addressed by KTM.

Yes, you guessed it right, the back way, or at least the easiest way for me to get to Wickenburg since I live in Buckeye is Vulture Mine Road, sort of boring until you get a dozen or so miles south of Wickenburg, then that road gets fun. I'm sorry to hear about the small problems popping up with your SD, I was fully aware of the issues before buying the bike, I figure KTM was good to me when I had the 990 so if any issues come about they will take care of it as they should. I stopped counting my new bikes after 30, and I would agree with you as this is my favorite of all........so far.

Ride safe, be heard, be seen.