Good people

I have a very nice 59 plate 990 but after a recent bike trip to France with some S1000RR's, my lack of straightline speed left me fighting very hard (but normally succeeding) in the twisties to regain parity.

So whilst wanting to remain on Austria's finest I went searching for a 1290 upgrade but was surprised to find very few in the UK used market

Is this lack of numbers imported, owners keeping hold of them due to their competence or other factors ?

Your views would be greatly appreciated

Aside from the initial issues and slow response to solve them the 1290 remains a fantastic bike.
I actually don't know why people would sell one unless forced by non bike related reasons.

It tours well, it is fast and handles well, more comfy than sports bikes, easy to maintain...what's not to like?!

Comrades: Unfortunately I have to agree with Guy

Well, here in the states I would post "Lack of serious buyers of used 1290's". I've had mine listed 6 separate times on Craigslist, and most recently on Ebay, I've had the inquiries asking "what is your best price", for which I reply " advertising a bike for 6,000 US less than I paid a year ago, plus a Pitbull rear stand isn't enough of a discount?" I've had 35 bikes in my life, I've never had such a difficult time finding a serious buyer for a bike as this one. I am in no hurry to sell it, don't need the money to buy a house, already have one, just don't ride it enough, have put 2600 miles on it in a years time, and we ride year round here in Arizona. My price is 13980.00 US currently which I would consider quite a steal over buying new. Nothing wrong with mine, never dropped, raced, wheelied, or abused. Here in Arizona you also don't pay any tax on private sales of motorized vehicles, whether car, truck or motorcycle. Mine also comes with a 4 year warranty that transfers to the new owner for 25.00 US.

A dealer local to me is selling one with akrapovic and a couple other nods and only 1800 miles at 14000 I think. What I'm saying is people aren't buying your bike because you are asking too much. All the fees and taxes you paid don't get included in how much you are discounting it when selling used. Just my .02

The problem is he keeps talking about the extra fees and taxes. You ate those prices when you bought new. They don't calculate into the used market equation. You need to drop that line of thinking if you really want to sell your bike

This seems like a screaming deal on a 1290 in San Jose, CA $14,500 http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/mcy/5173460310.html

It does!

Hope it works out OK for you - I'm still unsure whether I go Tuono or 1290 - the 1290 still seems to have many issues despite being out for over 2 yrs !? Don't know if I can deal with KTM's crap custom service again especially after being fleeced for 14k...

I'm in the same situation- a tough choice, though a good one to have If you read the Aprilia forums, there are some issues with the Tuono as well. I'm drawn by the torque, comfort, and ease of riding of the KTM, but also by the V4 and "Italian-ness" of the Ape. Curious to see how you decide...

You read about all the problems on forums but the reality is that most of the time you will only read about problems on the forums because that's where owners come to vent/ask for help when they have one. They wont come to forums saying how everything is perfect and their light unit didn't break or their clutch cover isn't leaking oil. There must be loads of good solid bikes out there with happy owners who have not experienced a single issue. I know, because I'm one of them.

I traded my 990 for the new Tuono. In hindsight, should've got a used 1290.
The Tuono is a nice bike but they've had to make some choices to bring it to market at that price. What sucks on the Aprilia-
- Suspension bits don't have much range.
- No Marchesini aluminium wheels.
- Basic cable operated clutch.
- Lights are pure rubbish.
- Super thirsty means u're getting gas every 120 miles.
- Electronics like wheelie control is overly restrictive even when set to '1'
- Brake levers, mirrors etc feel like "budget bits"
The pluses are ...
Price / Awesome v4 / Sounds great even w/ stock pipes


Open to ideas on improving the lights

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Hindsight is a wonderful thing but the list of Tuono dislikes compared to the plusses would worry me

Hope you get the answers you are looking for to ease the disappointment