roll up roll up , here she is another way to empty our pockets http://newatlas.com/2017-ktm-super-duke-1290-r/46326/

i love the look of the new SD

I'm surprised there has not been more chatter on the tinternet about it with the changes regarding QS etc

I think it will be expensive when you have to pay for the add on's like track modes, QS+ etc

I'm definitely going to look at it for my next bike depending on price and feel compared to the Tuono 1100 (factory)

That headlight actually looks ok, the earlier spy shots made it look fugly. The engine and electronic upgrades are appealing, the weight gain of 8-12kg is not. KTM are quoting 203kg wet without fuel, so approx 220kg wet. My 2014 supposedly weighs 208kg wet, although others here have weighed theirs at 212kg wet

Will be worth a look regardless, although I won't be busting at the seams to get one; it's incremental improvements on an already brilliant bike. I think I now know how you 990 guys felt when the 1290 was launched: Meh.

The analogy is more like the feeling that the original '06 Superduke owners had when the new '07 model was introduced. It had a few significant upgrades including radial brakes, larger tank and some minor cosmetic changes but the '06 lot were forever trying to justify their bike was 'better' more 'raw' and generally always carried a chip on their shoulders because the later bike was an improvement (although not really much better). The same will be for this new model and the resentment it will cause in the original 1290 camp. Already I can hear the disenfranchised bleating on about how their bike is lighter and 'harder' with the new model being 'tamed down with more aids'. Anything to maintain their own egos at peak. Some will continue on like this for years. Others will just be forced to trade in their old model for the new one to keep their egos intact and even more will sell up their one year old toy and move onto the next 'top dog' in the motorcycling world - maybe a Yamaha or the new generation BMW.

For me this is looking like the 1290 KTM should have made in the first place. Better looks, proper adjustable suspension, quick shifter, etc. But also they have done all their experimenting with cheap suppliers, cost cutting and new manufacturing facilities and the 1290 mark 1 with all it's faults like the rear hub bearings and water retaining swing arm have been ironed out. In retrospect it's very rare that the mark 1s of any manufacturer are the best of the marque, over years it's true that many bikes get tamed and softened and end up less than they were at the beginning but it's usually the mark 2s and 3s that stand the test of time.

And then there will be those owners that don't give a feck about the new model being better/different to the previous one and just enjoy what they have - that is one option that you didn't explore in your assessment bic_

That's the world we live in with tech advancements happing so quick and completion trying to out do each other which results in good and bad for us the consumer.

oh the simple days when you when you didn't know what you were missing out on... Blame the internet for that

Love the new bike. It looks amazing.(love my 2015). If I had a chance to buy the 2017 over my 2015 for the same price Id be all over it. But that aint going to happen.
I can add QS & improve my suspension. I can live with the PITA electronics. & I can strip my bike down this winter & paint the frame. Im glad I seen a picture of that.

Where do you think the extra 8kgs have been added?

Looks like the new bike has a bigger radiator, exhaust valve on the opposite side of the can. In the frame next to shock.

Bigger CAT, collector box?

I cant see anything else to add to extra weight...

Any idea of what they've changed to allow a QS as an option now?

Just back from motorcycle live!
I got to see the 2017 in the flesh in both Orange and White and the black!For me the current model is a nicer machine!!
The headlight on the new machine looks way too "skinny" from the side and too "flat" from the front!!
This is not a case of "my bike is better looking" BS as I'm selling up anyway!!
Bad move KTM!!

The overtly orange 1290 is just too much orange for any people, (not just me). The orange/white/black combo is so garish that it just puts off so many older road riders - it's not a motocrosser so why does it try and look like one? KTM have always eventually brought out a more muted grey or black version of their bikes and they always prove to be as popular, if not more so than the orange branded versions. There's room in the world for both.

But the Metallic orange SE edition is truly terrible IMO and I would only buy one because it was discounted knowing that I'd have to swap out all the hideous bronze bodywork for black at a later date.

I love the orangeyness. I've even toyed with the idea of repainting my subframe and tail section orange and getting the orange wheels. Though if I was going to lash out on wheels I'd really want carbon.
Agree white and bronze isn't a good look. Reminds me of my least favourite liquorice Allsort.

I've been wanting to buy an 1190 Adv to replace my SMT. I like the grey silver ones but I don't like the bronze orange. I do like the black and (proper) orange of the 1050 though. Its a nod to the style of the 990s SMs of old and I think it works. Shame they never offered the 1190 in those colours.

The orange SE model looks like someone ordered the mods from China

A few pics from the NEC -









Would it be my imagination making it feel a little more cramped than the original? I could feel something in my hip as I sat on it.