Hi guys.
4 years has past since i sold my 990R
Had couple of cool bikes since that.
But something had me on the new 1290 after i rode my buddys.

Good to be back

Welcome back to the brotherhood

All great bikes.

Im doing the same 990R 2008 - a modded TL1000 S/R Hybrid in between - test rode Tuono and SDR1290 and as good a bike as the Tuono is im on the lookout for a 1290

I've got a bit of a story to tell you.

When I was a 13 or 14 y/o young lad, back in Ireland, I realised my wiener was for more than peeing. Man I could not leave that thing alone! Morning before class, afternoon when I came back from school, night before going to bed. Damn I used to spank my monkey. It felt great so why not do it?
Most of my friends were 1 or 2 years older. At that age, 2 years is a lot. They used to tell me that they had hooked up with girls and were having sex. I had a buddy of mine that asked me to smell his fingers after a night of passion with his girlfriend and I thought to myself - I don't have a car, I don't have money, I can't ask a girl out because I can't take her anywhere - So life went on, making my socks stiff nightly until one day, I picked up a girl, one thing lead to another and after a few dates: SEX. Holy shit that was so much better than Wanking! DAMN!. There were titties, and ass, and tongue, and sucking this and that. THAT IS AWESOME! I thought.

Welcome to the 2018 SDR1290.

Yes, a 990 and a 990R are great bikes. They accelerate, they brake, they turn. They have LOTS of soul!. But you know when you go from Wanking to sex?. From having to get up to change the TV channels to having a remote control? Or when you had to crank down your car's window to having electric windows? You get the idea. This is similar.

I rode approximately 80 miles today, I left my house at 8 and it was 80F and when I returned at 10 it was already 89F

I love the up/down quickshifter.
the mirrors DO NOT vibrate
I'm only able to rev up to 6500prm until 600 miles or so.
gear indicator in the TFT display.
yeah, riding modes, ABS, TC, slipper clutch they call it (MSR - Motor Slip Regulation), self canceling turn signals they call (ATIR - Automatic Turn Indicator Reset)
It has a USB port for charging below the seat.
It has 2 different ACC1 and ACC2 ports (One set below the seat and one inside the nose mask)
You can set up the MY RIDE and connect your phone and headset, so if you are doing navigation, the screen becomes a map and it can give you turn by turn directions.
And that engine. Holy mother of god. Pulls clean from 3k, like I've read here before 6th is pretty much useless unless you're going really fast and want to save fuel.
Computer trip with speed averages, fuel consumption, cruise control, tyre Pressures on your dashboard! Keyless engine start. keyless fuel cap and steering lock.
KTM has gone above and beyond with this one.

I am SO guilty of having given 1290 owners a hard time. I was a the dealership yesterday about to sign paperwork thinking I was going to catch shit from you guys.

After only 80 miles, I'm highly impressed. I hope the bike keeps impressing me for years to come.

Judas

Like me, you'll probably be coming to this forum a lot less often now. There's real hostility by those old geezers on their 990s that are set in their ways and piss on anything that is outside their experience and skill level. Some time ago, I made the ungodly suggestion that perhaps this forum's home page could show a photo of a modern iteration of the Superduke. Sacrilege!

Sarasota Steve. Radical analogy expressing your transformation to the 1290 but I appreciate the effort! ha ha. I too was impressed with the 1290 when Intest rode it. Just cant justify the price to get ownership and I love my 990 too much still.

No More Twins. Mate, I don't think there is 'hostility' towards the 1290 owners here, maybe a bit of good natured banter that maybe also has a bit of underlying envy but that is all. What was pretty irritating many of the 'old timers' was just the lack of any good contribution from the new Superdukers for a long time. All they seemed to be interested in was what KTM accessories they were buying into. It seemed like there was just a different mind set to these new 1290 owners compared to the 990 ones. Less mechanically minded and into doing mods and sharing good info and more into rim tape.

I only resent you telling me I am Wanking off riding my 990.
I have no hostility toward the 1290 but I'm also new to KTM (last October).

There's nothing wrong with a good wank!

Or the fat guys who instead of losing a few lbs decide to spent all kinds of money to shave ounces off their bikes.

As I am in a committed long term relationship I find myself going backwards and enjoying a good wank when the opportunity arises.
My bikes tend to be doing the same and going backwards whilst still going forwards.
I took the SDR out for a much need ride today and fook me it was a hoot. I have been getting a fair bit of saddle time in the SA the SDR has sat a little neglected. The extra KG's and 30HP less is fairly noticeable but the engine on the SA is still sweet.
Not riding the SDR was like not rooting you super model girlfriend because you dont want to wear her out for the next bloke.
Right were's pornhub.com, the missus has gone to bed.

Like Steve I’ve crossed the divide, collecting a new 2018 1290 yesterday (I haven’t yet sold my 990 road bike and still have a 990 track bike so I haven’t left the 990 fold entirely).

I’ve done 220-odd miles since collecting it yesterday and have to echo pretty much everything that Steve said about his new toy (without resorting to an analogy about teenage Wanking). Aside from the electronic toys (and spending ages trying to get the display to show me what I want to see - hopefully I’ll get the hang of it at some stage) the bike as a whole needs some praise. It looks the biz (I chose a white one) and it’s amazing to ride, agile and responsive to turn into corners, and really planted - I thought the 990 was good but this is like 990+ which is pretty much exactly what it is; the 990 dna has evolved into this bigger and more ferocious beast that carves great lines and dismisses traffic with contemptuous ease. I’m looking forward to seeing what it’s like once the first service is out of the way and it can be used as intended.

I know that I’ve already taken a big depreciation hit on it, but I wanted to be the first owner of a bike I see as a keeper, in years to come the depreciation will be irrelevant and once the warranty is over I can start to add a few more goodies to those I selected from the PowerParts list (Ti Akrapovic silencer, seat, tail tidy, track pack (to over ride the anti-wheelie) and alarm/immobiliser (mandated by my insurance company)) - probably an airbox and associated breathing tweaks and a full Akrapovic system will be the first upgrades...

I’m totally made up with it, top bike

Scotty,
Congratulations man.
I also bought the white/gray/orange bike (the faster color).
I’ll have the bike serviced next weekend (14/7) and be able to open it up proper through the gears. Can’t wait.
Enjoy!

Cheers Steve, I am enjoying it, rode it into work this morning, getting that first service mileage racked up. It hoisted a nice 3rd gear wheelie over a crest on the way in, one where the 990 could never really lift it properly (and all keeping below 6.5k rpm so the tacho didn't go all red and angry on me hehehe).

Why the hell not have a pic with both bikes on the front page. How hard is that?

Can someone comment on the agility/flickability of the 1290 v 990? That is all I care about really. I know the 1290 has a slighly larger rake/trail stearing head angle and wheel base that on paper would indicate slightly less agility in the really tight stuff. Asking because my sport riding is almost exclusivly on very tight roads with speed limits of 45mph but most normal riders can only go about 25-35 mph before they crash. case in point, my riding friend on his RSV4TF LE or what ever comments on how I change directions so fast and Im always slamming on the breaks frantically when entering corners when I am behind him.

I’m going to say the 990 turns quicker than the 1290.
In my case, I did have the 990R with the handlebar set in the most forward position and the 1290 is in the comfort setting. Also the suspension was a lot stiffer in the 990R than on the 1290 (I have it set up to standard, not soft or hard).
Maybe if you made those changes to the 1290 it would quicken its flickability. I’m enjoying the comfort for now instead trying to tame the bike every ride like the 990R was for me.