You know me all to well Grn....

* Last updated by: Kruz on 5/21/2015 @ 7:49 PM *

From all the reading I've been doing, these bikes have very few issues, loose rear wheel hubs were mainly confined to early release '14 models in Europe and KTM moved quickly to correct the problem.

The owners I've talked to love the 1290, it has unique styling, massive engine thrust at any rpm , fantastic brakes, nimble handling and good suspension. Components are first rate as is build quality. As a plus, fuel economy is excellent for a big twin.

Downside is price, KTM doesn't import a lot of these and the dealers are not going to deal much, if I can get a couple hundred off the MSRP, I'll consider myself lucky. This is going to be a $20,000 motorcycle. The big question is do I really need this machine?

Not quite ready to pull the trigger yet but am going to go back to the dealer and snag a test ride.

IDK Kruz..'do I need this?"...well...not really.But if you can afford it...and you have yer heart set(I think you do)..why not?Definitely a VERY cool machine.I say...get it.Ride it first,then decide.I think with your riding experiences you'll really love this new bike.They're getting VERY good reviews.Kind of a departure from sportbikes...so I think it'll be just the ticket for ya.The fun factor looks like it's topping the charts;)

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 5/21/2015 @ 8:01 AM *

Agreed, doesn't sound like I can expect much help on the drive out price though, like the H2 it's limited supply, so going to carry a price premium.

I'm gettin one.

Really Hagrid? you're not just teasing me are you?

If you get one, I'm definitely going to pull the trigger.

You going with the black or the orange?

* Last updated by: Kruz on 5/21/2015 @ 7:54 PM *

That Cat's gotta go Kruzer...first thing;)

Yea that Akra looks nice and I'm sure threre's a nice power boost.

Gotta save my pennies but the black one will be my next scooter.

Here are few kick around riding debriefs a friend experienced all in one day. Me? No full leathers so I just sat on the bikes and felt their weight between my legs. I was taking in what he was saying, what the next rider coming off the other bike and what he was saying. I formulated enough of a ride thru him and the other rider, so here is how I see it.

First is a 2015 ss with all the auto-rev, plush suspension modes, sport/rain/open, etc. He came back in and said the electronics were in that linear seam kind of connection. It was fast, but not as fast as his warmed over suz. Then the hesitation and a change of mind where he said, maybe the seamless speed propelled you up there, can catch you off guard, look down at the speedo, view the needle at deceiving was my guess.

Well, not exactly a needle, but more the digital panel. The ergo at the switches were better thought out, because there are a lot of mode switches. Smart way to remove a start button was to toggle the kill up and it's off; toggle in the middle it's on; push down on the kill switch and it starts the motor; release and it homes to on. And then a few switches are around and the main Mode is the right hand switch. On the left switch, jump over a switch to the right to move to another program setting on the fly. The other thing you can do is Kill the engine but not by key or you wipe the RAM. So with key on, watch your tilt data as you toggle thru things like; see your right and left degree angles, other data. You can even download the data off a thumbdrive and view it on your computer.

There is another bike there so the rep it telling me about both front and rear shocks are electrically programmed, but I think the right shock was a manual rebound? Rear I never looked or asked. It was easy to see no wire harness sticking out the top of the fork cap like the other. I'm sure that's down the road. He's telling me to push down on the bars to move the front end up and down. Here I'm saying to turn the key on so I can test the speed of the processing, but the fuck if he know what I was after. I'm not saying anything but kept moving the motion. Fucking thing was (key on) instantly fast acting. No delay each time he turned the key while changing modes. Has a mode setting for 2-up riding and shows on the display.

The lever has 2 shift rod positions so swing the rod fore and it's 1st gear down. Swing the rod aft or past the foot shift shaft, you are now gp gear select with 1st up and the rest down. So simple a move if the rod is at that position. A thumbs down on the auto-rev [he said] and I forgot the explanation why. Maybe he's thinking of running a normal physical blip out there, maybe did it instinctively one time, pushed him thru the turn, who knows, it's the bike's doing now to get used to. I haven't tried either, but I could get the hang of both in the adapting of the foot to hand to head input-output.

Next was the R1. If I remember, he said it had less than a thousand miles on it. I was sitting on another 2015 r1, but it was a private owner's who was parked next to us. When I compared both bikes, first thing was how impressively light the r1 was vs. the rr. Immediately found out how rough and harsh he was comparing the rr's processor's vs. the yam. Said the rr would take the yam, but I see two different torque curve settings and how they are applied. I have no clue of the hp of the yam?

I'm thinking how he meant that so I figured it's more a power delivery. Because as he was filling me in, he said the yam would wheelie, whereas the rr was running the electronics in said position and wouldn't. The next thing was, when it did wheelie, it would pull to the right. Now, he added a few things like the prep of the bike being new and that all that pre-delivery, who knows, I didn't ride it either, nor was around to see the bike he was on.

If I'm looking at both as a money is no object, of course the more bells and whistles would take it.
If I'm looking at both as in, I am blindfolded and swish the bikes between my legs; it goes to the yam.
If I'm looking at both as price matters, fuck both of them and chase a leftover 2014 rr with 2 less bells and one less whistle upgrade give or take. Frame wise, they revamped that too. Not sure when, so it would have to be looking at a leftover next to a new one and flip-flop the eyes back and forth at the frames.
If I'm thinking of swapping ECU's and that's the upgrade, its a no way without the rest of the harness, fork,shock,shit.

Someone had the situp bar bm and between both of those, the rr was lighter [it felt]. Ah, the owner mentioned buzzing at the bars, but the bar ends were a helper and I think both have cruise? He says he can shake his hands with the cruise. Figured as much with the sound of that noisy engine. The cruise mode was one click is 2mph increment, then he says to push it farther; and you feel both the 2 and 5mph changes at this one switch. Kind of a new way to approach h/bar switches. That rr engine was kind of noisy mechanically like I said. The yam was more hearing the puff-puff out the stock pipe and that rumble of a tumble.

What's next is neither one for me. Not even a leftover rr for 12k. Back to the drawing board, aka; dealer show.

Naaa Hub, you don't want the RR or R1, nuclear reactor between your legs is the R, 1290R , torque is down low and everywhere, always on line, no waiting on the engine room to respond to your call.

I looked up the fuel volume.It's got a bit more than the H2.I was hoping(for you Kruz)that it'd have at least over a 5 gallon tank.I can say with mine...at 100-135 mph moderate distance riding...it will drain my tank in about 110-120 miles.Course,that's throwing in some very high bursts as well.But throttling down to around 65 in 6th..I can pull out about 40+MPG.Sometimes a bit higher,or lower...depending.With that twin...it may get very good mileage.I hope so.She's a very cool machine.I'd have something like that(for the torque and all)BUT...I like to be able to rip past 160 or so whenever I want.I think it's a fine bike Kruz.Get your test ride yet?

I suppose you could get the rev limiter and all raised.Ditch that Cat...get a nice free flowing exhaust on there...yep...sweet.

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 5/22/2015 @ 11:55 AM *

Nope, maybe a cat delete exhaust and flash tune and leave it alone. Top end on this bike is reported to be 163 mph by CycleWorld, that's plenty fast for an upright naked bike. This bike is all about twisting the throttle at 3500 rpm and feeling the earth move. Should be a blast on my twisty loop, my ZX-6R is way too fast for that run already. This bike is a hooligan, switch off the TC in revel in instant wheelies.
No test ride yet, it's about 45 miles to the KTM dealer in Dallas. Remember I moved out of town awhile back.

Well...okay then...no flash.It's cool.Not that it needs it.Just hurry up with your decision will ya?The suspense is killin me;)

Wow that colour combo is flat out mouth watering awesome. (1290 r? (Something^^^^). Folks who have 2015 early release models will be remiss when they see the above and even more when they realize they missed this one by a few months. Just gorgeous. I would just order the plastics.
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* Last updated by: Wolfman on 5/22/2015 @ 6:20 PM *

As a cool secondary naked bike. Good choice. Replacement for the 14r please don't make me laugh!

Well...okay then...no flash.It's cool.Not that it needs it.Just hurry up with your decision will ya?The suspense is killin me;)

Sorry Grn, taking my time on this one, I've pretty much decided this is the one I want, it's just coughing up 20 grand that has me hesitant. Stopping by the stealer again tomorrow to take another look and see what his idea of "working with me " on the price means.

Do you realize that over the past 6 years on this forum , every time I've started one of these threads I ended up buying a new bike? Don't regret any of them though, was out on my old '07 CBR1000RR the other evening hitting the twists and I was thinking the old girl can still dance....lol!

Hold your groin on this one. I did not sit, but rather a lift off the stand. Both bikes were on the showroom floor, I had to see for myself. I narrowed down the bike to two, and maybe three. That third one better not bite like my last two bmw's that had a short fuse for trans bushing failure and seals that take special tools and a book procedure to install.

So a leftover bm, the fz 09 and the beast. I walk up to the left side, take my right hand and pull the beast up to center. Helmet in left hand I shuffled between wheels and fenders, helmet raised, and my right about ready for more weight training.

I took the left grip in hand and my nuts about dropped, my cheeks wrinkled, my eyes squinted, my teeth dried out by the time I hit the door walking out. That 09 was way too heavy, waaay too heavy. Beast wins hands down.

Hub the beast stands tall on long travel suspension vs typical sportbike, plush is the word I've heard used. Former MotoGP ace, Jeremy McWilliams rode one and said leave it in sport mode, TC off and it's unruly, I'll take his word for it. Sport mode allows long low wheelies before intervention so that's kinda cool, TC off and all bets are off, you loop it, you buy it. TC and wheelie control are integrated, all or nothing. ABS has Supermoto mode that disengages the ABS intervention on the rear only if you prefer to back it in. The beast is a velvet hammer, ride easy and it's a pussycat, pull it's tail and it is one angry feline. Still have not test ridden one yet, that will be the deciding factor for me.

* Last updated by: Kruz on 5/26/2015 @ 8:18 PM *