These are 4 emails from my buddy Rick in Orlando. He sent them to the local email list and I thought I would share his experience with this forum.


Rick Says ....

Got a call from Deltona Jerry last night. He wants to ride both days
this weekend and wanted to know if he could twist my arm into doing a
Saturday ride to breakfast and onwards thing. Well, anyone who knows me
at all knows it takes very little to persuade me to go for a ride even
less when there is food to had! )

So I met him this morning at the Osteen Diner, one of our favorite spots
for breakfast. Rolled in on the Ninja and as I turned into the parking
lot, I spied Jerry at the far end next to a splash of ORANGE color!
Turns out, I find that Jerry, grinning like the Cheshire Cat, is
standing next to a brand new 2015 KTM 1290 Super Duke. Just knew it!
He could no longer hold out against scarfing up that fire sale price on
it he told me about a couple of weeks ago.

So, after breakfast, a fast ride is in the offering and little ol' me
gets to ride a 1290 Super Duke.....EGAD!!! My face must have been
cracking from the size of my grin when he offered to let me test ride
it. Yes, I was certainly tippy toed rolling it back out of the parking
lot space but it is way lighter than my Ninja, lighter than my SV and a
mere 25+ pounds more than my flyweight FZ09! Yeehawww.........monstrous
power to be had!

Ride evaluation and race report to follow..............as Dave
used to say............more to come!

Rick in Orlando

2nd email

As we slow rolled out of the diner's parking lot I noticed immediately
how easy and light the clutch action is. Guess the assisted slipper
clutch design is well thought out. The ergonomic triangle, seat-bar-peg
relationship was very comfy and even a short arm/leg guy like me is not
out of easy range, seat height notwithstanding. The wide handlebar has
a welcoming naked bike position, the grips feel natural and in the right
location. The only nit was shift pedal position was too low for
shifting without paying attention to the placement of my small foot.
That lever is very adjustable in position and Jerry decided at our first
rest break to reposition the lever up higher, even though his foot has a
longer reach than mine.

Surprisingly, with ride mode in "sport" setting, the throttle response
is very easy to deal with. No herky jerky on/off transitions here, just
smooth up/down throttle response regardless of the big or small amount
of grip twisting done. I am VERY impressed with the fuel management and
throttle response. It is very smooth and has no glitch anywhere that I
could try to stumble upon.

Granted, I was not pinning it, but anytime I opened it up, it just keeps
pulling harder in a linear fashion as the rpms rise with no sudden
"monster stepping out of the closet above 7K rpm" stuff. It just pulls
and pulls and never quits! My kind of V-twin! Its 75 degree motor has
non-intrusive, low frequency pulses, so like my little red Hawk, that I
felt right at home on this 3.5+ times more powerful motorcycle.

The suspension is firm without harshness even over really bumpy stuff.
No kidney bruising here, just firm compliance. The seat is firm, while
not a touring saddle, I would estimate a comfort range near the 100 mile
mark so no complaints there either.

The Brembo brakes are really easy to modulate, very powerful yet without
a big initial bite so getting your fingers "calibrated" takes little
time. The steering is nicely responsive as a naked bike should be and
the steering damper keeps everything well controlled without being noticed.

This bike has a fine stealth exhaust (not too quiet) rides as hard or as
docile as you want, sticks like stink in the corners and is smoother
than a non 90 degree V-twin ought to be. What's not to like?

Street Race Report next................more to come!

Rick in Orlando

Email 3

Turned off the main highway on to the wildlife reserve. Its long, very
straight, virtually no traffic and no side roads making it a perfect
place for Bogus Dave style roll-on testing!

Now the power to weight difference between Jerry on the Super Duke and
me on the Ninja is a bit less close than I would like but I figured it
was gonna be fun to see how it happened, not that I had any expectations
of winning a round.

We started in 2nd gear. To be honest, with much lower stock gearing,
the Ninja has a small advantage which was accentuated by my
unintentional jump starting the first run. I got a bike and a half
length lead, held it into third gear and then (of course) the superior
power of the KTM made it the victor. Still, he had to use all of the
upper mid-range power to make it work.

Next run in 3rd gear. We that the start-out timing correct now, "one,
two, three, GO!" I had a wheel out front for a few feet and his lead
continued to increase as we spooled up the throttles. He didn't walk
away hard, but he did walk away.

4th gear now. It was a complete trashing of the Kawi by the KTM. Even
with lower gearing, now he just begins to rocket away almost as if I was
still riding the Bandit 1200.

I coaxed him into another 2nd gear blast as I wanted to see it with an
even roll-out start. This time I got the lead again but only halfway
through 2nd gear. When we shift into 3rd, he easily begins to pull away
with a steady rate of increased separation. My bike having lower stock
gearing is the only reason I could be competitive on launch. 122 vs
150+ rear wheel horsepower makes up way more difference than the "over
40 pound" weight differential between the riders.

So once again, I am a game player but merely just gamey as I keep my
lockdown on a second place finish. As Dave would
say.........."That's how they ran today in central Florida."

Rick in Orlando

email 4

Sunday Ride - KTM Rules

Met KTM Jerry and Ninja Jonathan at the usual time and place for a
Sunday Scenic Tour. Didn't tell Jonathan about Jerry's new 1290 Super
Duke but as Jerry approached the light before turning in to the gas
station, Jon noticed right away that Jerry wasn't on an FZ09 this time.

Jerry being the kind, trusting, soul he is, (knowing Jonathan is a good
rider) let Jon test ride the KTM. We headed out for some of our
favorite twisty bits. Gotta say that it was big fun leading and chasing
them here or there. After about 60 miles, we stopped for a hydration
break and to discuss all the interesting merits of a 1290 SD.

Back on the road for more corner strafing. This time Jerry is on his
V-twin as I politely declined the invitation to ride it again. I don't
want to tempt myself as it is too expensive and too tall, so it saves me
from myself as I really, REALLY, do like that motorcycle. My SV may be
getting middle aged but it still runs great and makes me smile every
time I ride it.

We circled back around to the south side getting us into Tavares and a
Sony's BBQ lunch ahead of the "church is out" crowd. A fine feast
ensued followed by some more corner carving on our way back home.

Today's highlight was barreling around a long, blind sweeper, to
discover an old white van just crawling along. Good thing I left a bit
of reaction time margin so a quick squeeze on the brakes was all that's
needed. Being out front means YOU get the surprise, the others get
tipped off by your reaction.

A fine run and another 203 miles on the clock. Another great "adventure
in motorcycling" in my never ending quest for motorcycle satisfaction.

Hope you all have a good week and hope to see you on a ride soon!

Rick in Orlando

It's too tall for me too, so I deal with it by not stopping often. Love it to pieces

Good read, what was the Ninja? ZX10r?

Rick owns a Ninja 1000, SV 1000, FZ 09 and a Hawk 650.


Sarasota_Steve
08 990 SDR