I'm not near a dealer, can anyone compare seat to peg distance on the 1290 to the distance on the 990? I'm thinking of buying one unseen but I don't want to be any more folded than I am on my 990, which is nice and comfortable for me.

My first feeling stepping from the 990 to the 1290 was that the seating /riding position was very similar, you will defiantly find the 1290 more comfortable.

The 990 and 1290 felt like that had an identical seat to peg distance, however my knees where a little more bent on the 1290.

The bars are a lot closer to you on the 1290 as well so you don't have to lean forward as much.

Thank you for feedback.

Do you find the 1290 handles better?

Never actually rode one.

Just impregnated the seat with my farts for the new owner to enjoy.

Thanks KTM guy. I'm assuming the finding them similar does not include the power! Does the 1290 go like heck compared to the 990?

I found the riding styles to be very similar, easy to hop straight from one to the other without any difficulty. If you are comfy on one, you should be the same on the other.
The 990 is a little taller than the 1290, the 1290 feels a little more planted and doesn't feel as light on the front end under hard acceleration.
The 990 is no slouch but the 1290 is in a totally different league when it comes to power delivery
Having said that the 1290 is also has better fuelling and is easier to tonk around through traffic. Although my 990 had a bit of a rawness to it that the civilized 1290 can't match.
Both are awesome bikes.

This may help, as someone w/ knee replacements I visit this site often.
http://cycle-ergo.com/

Wow, Soarsore, that's is a cool site. Thanks for copying and pasting the diagrams.

So, after delaying the dealer day after day, I sent the money last night, so they'll be getting it prepped and I'll get 6 weeks or so riding in fall weather here before it's too cold for me to want to ride. Pipes will wait until next spring.