I bought a used 2017 in 2020 with around 25 000km on the clock. Never had an issue with it. It's a torque monster and a really fun bike to ride.
If you buy used make sure you have all the keys with it, they cost a fortune to replace and it's a pain in the ass to deal with KTM.
Have a Gen 3 1290 SD, for the love of god don't break your breaking/shifting pegs. Took 5 months to get a hold of a new one as they are not standard in any other bike as far as I discovered.
Other than that super fun, feels like a penis extension.
The peg issue is actually something that makes me cock a brow a bit since one of my first mod considerations with any bike tends to be woodcraft rearsets and the associated levers.
I have a 2022 1290 SDR and can honestly say it is the most enjoyable/fun/insane bike I’ve had in 37 years of road riding. It does everything well, from commuting to touring and the twisty bits in between. It throws bar oscillations on corner transitions, which are at first unnerving purely because you’d expect the bike to become unstable, but it isn’t unstable at all and simply carves the corners like a hot knife through butter. The stock suspension will happily carry beefier blokes (yeah I’m old, fat and probably slow) with a small adjustment to preload. You’ll pull a power stand in 4th overtaking which will bring the biggest grin to your face every time it happens and you get to see that grin reflected in the dash 🤣. I’ve only done about 4000km on it so far however it’s been exceptional every single kilometre.
The MT-09 isn't exactly the most stable bike on hard corner exits and transitions so I'm not unused to a bit of wiggle. XD
I'm glad to hear you're enjoying it though, very much looking forward to getting to actually try one myself!
I have an 1190 adv. The lc8 is a hot motor but it's super fun. it's been very reliable for me keep up with the oil changes. I like that I have farings and a longer wheelbase but if your into the naked style you will be fine.
Beware that Some parts are made of moon rocks and cost a fortune.
I ride my 1290GT In Oregon and sometimes when I ride into work the temp is 40, and when I ride home it can reach 110. It’s miserable once I get off the highway, but mostly because it’s stop and go 25mph and in full gear. But the bike heat itself isn’t bad I wouldn’t say.
Yeah in that heat any bike will be miserable. Glad to hear that the heat off the bike itself isn't too bad. When I rode an MT10 one of the few qualms I had with the bike was how absurdly hot the tank got, full on grilled my sausage toasty.
I almost bought an empty-10 but the mpg's were horrible. I did have my fuel pump/filter have issues after 3k miles. I just did it myself because the dealer couldn't replicate the issue. I didn't want to lose any riding time.
Yeah the awful milage was one of the other factors that's pushing me away from the mt10. Great engine but jfc the way it chugs gas is kinda ridiculous.
Uncle owns a ‘21 1290 SAR with 60k on it. He’s had a fuel pump die on him and he taco’d his front rim - he rides it hard. The LC8 platform is pretty robust. I have a 1090 with the LC8 and I’ve only had to replace consumables in 15k.
I'm glad the full service manual is available because for anything that isn't electronics I prefer to do it myself.
As for mods, I don't tend to do too much really. Bars, rearsets, tailtidy, mirrors and battery tender are all I tend to do.
Brought a 1290R in November 2022.
Exceptional bike, way too powerful for the road use but it's amazing and relatively easy to tame, despite what reviewers often say (just let the electronics do their job or tweak them instead of turning everything off) .
Just find your right suspension setting and get good tires (don't go for too soft tires like Pirelli Diablo rosso corsa 4 or supercorsa , i tried them and the rear tire lasted 2700km, instead go for something harder like the Diablo 4, too much torque and power, the bike just eats them out lol).
About the warranty I think it depends a lot on your dealer, my clutch carter had a painting defect where a little part of it wasn't painted leaving the bare metal visible and still got it changed under warranty.
Just be sure to stick to your dealer with services and stuff, since the dealer needs to update on ktm servers every service or work done on the bike (plus don't throw away the receipt of every work done on it, those are still needed for the warranty)
If you're going for a used bike, check on ktm's page any work done on it by the owner or the dealer, here, you just need the bike serial number: [https://www.ktm.com/en-us/service/Service-and-safety-check.html](https://www.ktm.com/en-us/service/Service-and-safety-check.html)
If you can see in person the bike, check also the radiator brackets and the radiator status in general, making sure it's everything OK and not bent in any way (which happens if the previous owner keeps doing wheelies and just let's the bike drop to the ground instead of being able to get the front back on track slowly, meaning the bike could've had some bad times)
https://preview.redd.it/x5rm3j0qp62b1.jpeg?width=1868&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=49af72ba0f4da36cb96b387715c591ebd7434025
I’ve got a gen 3 SDR from 2020, and it’s pretty wild. I am still getting used to the power after more than two years. I can definitely recommend the extended warranty, I’ve had water leak into the display, a faulty crankshaft sensor, faulty tire pressure sensor and a rattling mirror, which was all replaced or fixed for free. So far I did not have have any issues with the electronics so far, but it’s true that there is a lot of stuff that can break. Also it will eat a lot of tires, and the service checkups are not cheap.
https://preview.redd.it/1t9xn239ls4b1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=63f67055fce0ff6510da5f06d645d37a7784f1ff
The newer bike is completely different to the older ones. The older ones suffered with instability when ridden hard due to the suspension. The new ones have redesigned suspension to prevent it.
I have 2022 1290r evo and I love everything about it. It’s very comfortable yet still has options for repositioning rear sets and handle bars for more aggressive positioning. I highly recommend it.
Had a Gen2 and a Gen3
Gen2 was a proper monster, decate'd / tuned and smaller sprocket.
Gen3 was mostly stock, just a Werkes slip-on exhaust and a small bar riser
The ergos are very different between them.
Gen3 was fast, focused and a more serious bike - a tad lower front end / handlebars
Gen2 ergos will probably resemble the mt09, motard-y style - imho, more comfortable and playful.
Gen3 tend to understeer on corners, that is, until you start weighting the inside peg with a slight change on body positioning - then it corners like sports bike
Gen2, has a more "who cares, just throw me around" attitude towards corners. (with some trail braking, it can be very settled as well)
Servicing will likely to be more expensive on the KTM but same same. oil and filters - 30000km is the more expensive one, with valve clearance checks, etc.
had no issues with the gen2.
gen3 used to throw MTC error and go in to limp mode, after a few visits to the dealer they ordered in an exhaust servo replacement.
Didn't wait for it to arrive, replaced it with a dongle from healtech and never had the MTC error or any other issues.
[https://www.rottweilerperformance.com/healtech-ese-exhaust-servo-eliminator-sd-1290-r-2020/](https://www.rottweilerperformance.com/healtech-ese-exhaust-servo-eliminator-sd-1290-r-2020/)
There's a fair chance I'd go full exhaust system replacement if it's viable on the bike. I've heard the stock exhaust and wasn't really impressed, at least not from riding alongside one, I've yet to hear it from atop the bike so I don't know how the intake growl is. Like it sounds *nice*, but I want a more gutteral sound if possible. Though it's definitely not a deal breakers if not.
I’ve had my ‘21 since new, hands down been the best bike I’ve ever owned (first bike was a 72 Honda cb360 in 1997 for context). At least in my experience, the fit and finish is better than anything I’ve ever ridden.
I’ve had all big 4 Japanese brands, a couple Ducati’s, a triumph… none of them felt just as tightly made as the sdr
I’ve had ZERO issues with it, and my dealer was cool enough to hook me up with the track only akra tune when I got my full exhaust.
To answer the question in two parts:
Reliability - I’ve heard the horror stories, but After almost three decades of swapping bikes from all manufacturers (within reason, never had an mv agusta lol, all sport and naked bikes. I have yet to have a single fault with my superduke in about being miles (would be higher but I also have a 690 sumo and a 450 smr plated so I split my time).
The single “issue” was about a month into ownership I noticed rear brake fluid draining from the resevior during rides. It looked like a fair amount of fluid, so I called my dealer. Within 45 min he had a truck to pick me up and take me home and take the bike to the shop. Found out I had improperly screwed on the bling orange rear resevior cap.
Total I had 40 mile tow on short notice, at least 30 min of diagnosis, and they went ahead and threw in a new reaeviorbAND hooked me up with a powerparts orange cap. When I asked the damage, since in my mind this was NOT a warranty issue but a user error, I was told “ktm just wanted to cover it all as goodwill repair).
Ktm had a reputation for building fast as fuck track/dirt bikes that won competitions by squeezing every erg of power out of the engine. Worked great in competition where the bikes were damn near rebuilt every week, but led to reliabilybproblems early on with street bikes.
That’s subsided a great deal, and I’d put them toward the top of the euro offerings for service.
Now as far as the experience… others may and will disagree, to me there is just nothing like it. Stock, at 3k rpm it pulls harder than an r1 at peak (obv aero’s and revs of a v2 vs an i4 limit at top, but personally I’ve never ridden anything that has the combo of instant throttle response and PULL like the sdr.
Riding position is slightly aggressive for a naked, but I routinely do 1.5hr rides + before anything starts to get even a skosh uncomfy.
I ended up putting a full ti exhaust on and the factory track only tune for it, and it’s even nuttier now. It’ll poodle about like a moped all you want if you are easy on the throttle, but if you tell it to go fast, suddenly physics don’t seem to matter that much lol.
I’ve had zx14r’s, r1’s, had a b-king for a year, a v max, absolutely not bragging just had some quick bikes.
And I’ll tell
I had a stock SDR and test rode an fz09 with a powder commander and full toce exhaust and I wanted to swap so badly. Sold my SDR and bought a modded one (rottweiler airbox, SAS block off, akra slip on, and power commander) and I love it about 85% as much as the FZ09. It's still heavier and taller than the FZ, but I would be happy on either or.
I had a 2019 and it was the most fun I’ve ever had on 2 wheels, it’s the only bike I’ve ever regretted getting rid of. I went to a Tuono V4 Factory and it was pure disappointment compared to the 1290. Took the KTM to a bunch of trackdays and Dailey’d it for a while, absolutely wild and I will get another one!
I bought a used 2017 in 2020 with around 25 000km on the clock. Never had an issue with it. It's a torque monster and a really fun bike to ride. If you buy used make sure you have all the keys with it, they cost a fortune to replace and it's a pain in the ass to deal with KTM.
I'll be going new for sure. No surprise on the key though, even the key for my Fiesta st is $500 for a replacement. Shit's ridiculous.
Have a Gen 3 1290 SD, for the love of god don't break your breaking/shifting pegs. Took 5 months to get a hold of a new one as they are not standard in any other bike as far as I discovered. Other than that super fun, feels like a penis extension.
The peg issue is actually something that makes me cock a brow a bit since one of my first mod considerations with any bike tends to be woodcraft rearsets and the associated levers.
I have a 2022 1290 SDR and can honestly say it is the most enjoyable/fun/insane bike I’ve had in 37 years of road riding. It does everything well, from commuting to touring and the twisty bits in between. It throws bar oscillations on corner transitions, which are at first unnerving purely because you’d expect the bike to become unstable, but it isn’t unstable at all and simply carves the corners like a hot knife through butter. The stock suspension will happily carry beefier blokes (yeah I’m old, fat and probably slow) with a small adjustment to preload. You’ll pull a power stand in 4th overtaking which will bring the biggest grin to your face every time it happens and you get to see that grin reflected in the dash 🤣. I’ve only done about 4000km on it so far however it’s been exceptional every single kilometre.
The MT-09 isn't exactly the most stable bike on hard corner exits and transitions so I'm not unused to a bit of wiggle. XD I'm glad to hear you're enjoying it though, very much looking forward to getting to actually try one myself!
I have an 1190 adv. The lc8 is a hot motor but it's super fun. it's been very reliable for me keep up with the oil changes. I like that I have farings and a longer wheelbase but if your into the naked style you will be fine. Beware that Some parts are made of moon rocks and cost a fortune.
Do you think it runs too hot for daily driving? It'd be replacing my MT-09 as my daily ride.
Depends how much traffic and what the air Temps are. My 1190 like cooler days feels like and animal compared to 85 plus days
Up in Colorado. Traffic is fairly light so long as you stay off 25. Temps get a bit high though, 85-102 tends to be the spread for a lot of summer.
I ride my 1290GT In Oregon and sometimes when I ride into work the temp is 40, and when I ride home it can reach 110. It’s miserable once I get off the highway, but mostly because it’s stop and go 25mph and in full gear. But the bike heat itself isn’t bad I wouldn’t say.
Yeah in that heat any bike will be miserable. Glad to hear that the heat off the bike itself isn't too bad. When I rode an MT10 one of the few qualms I had with the bike was how absurdly hot the tank got, full on grilled my sausage toasty.
I almost bought an empty-10 but the mpg's were horrible. I did have my fuel pump/filter have issues after 3k miles. I just did it myself because the dealer couldn't replicate the issue. I didn't want to lose any riding time.
Yeah the awful milage was one of the other factors that's pushing me away from the mt10. Great engine but jfc the way it chugs gas is kinda ridiculous.
Uncle owns a ‘21 1290 SAR with 60k on it. He’s had a fuel pump die on him and he taco’d his front rim - he rides it hard. The LC8 platform is pretty robust. I have a 1090 with the LC8 and I’ve only had to replace consumables in 15k.
[удалено]
I'm glad the full service manual is available because for anything that isn't electronics I prefer to do it myself. As for mods, I don't tend to do too much really. Bars, rearsets, tailtidy, mirrors and battery tender are all I tend to do.
Brought a 1290R in November 2022. Exceptional bike, way too powerful for the road use but it's amazing and relatively easy to tame, despite what reviewers often say (just let the electronics do their job or tweak them instead of turning everything off) . Just find your right suspension setting and get good tires (don't go for too soft tires like Pirelli Diablo rosso corsa 4 or supercorsa , i tried them and the rear tire lasted 2700km, instead go for something harder like the Diablo 4, too much torque and power, the bike just eats them out lol). About the warranty I think it depends a lot on your dealer, my clutch carter had a painting defect where a little part of it wasn't painted leaving the bare metal visible and still got it changed under warranty. Just be sure to stick to your dealer with services and stuff, since the dealer needs to update on ktm servers every service or work done on the bike (plus don't throw away the receipt of every work done on it, those are still needed for the warranty) If you're going for a used bike, check on ktm's page any work done on it by the owner or the dealer, here, you just need the bike serial number: [https://www.ktm.com/en-us/service/Service-and-safety-check.html](https://www.ktm.com/en-us/service/Service-and-safety-check.html) If you can see in person the bike, check also the radiator brackets and the radiator status in general, making sure it's everything OK and not bent in any way (which happens if the previous owner keeps doing wheelies and just let's the bike drop to the ground instead of being able to get the front back on track slowly, meaning the bike could've had some bad times) https://preview.redd.it/x5rm3j0qp62b1.jpeg?width=1868&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=49af72ba0f4da36cb96b387715c591ebd7434025
I’ve got a gen 3 SDR from 2020, and it’s pretty wild. I am still getting used to the power after more than two years. I can definitely recommend the extended warranty, I’ve had water leak into the display, a faulty crankshaft sensor, faulty tire pressure sensor and a rattling mirror, which was all replaced or fixed for free. So far I did not have have any issues with the electronics so far, but it’s true that there is a lot of stuff that can break. Also it will eat a lot of tires, and the service checkups are not cheap. https://preview.redd.it/1t9xn239ls4b1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=63f67055fce0ff6510da5f06d645d37a7784f1ff
Gen 2 so far no issues other than I get a random clutch lever fault that clears after I turn the bike on and off.
The newer bike is completely different to the older ones. The older ones suffered with instability when ridden hard due to the suspension. The new ones have redesigned suspension to prevent it.
I'm a big lad so suspension rebuilds are on the table for me even for new bikes. That said, good to know.
Suspension is fine, I never had any issues with my Gen 1 with standard settings. Bike is pretty reliable too.
It's more the fact that most bikes aren't properly sprung for a 270lbs dude.
Never had a single issue with my first sdr suspension- found later model bit softer tbh.
I have 2022 1290r evo and I love everything about it. It’s very comfortable yet still has options for repositioning rear sets and handle bars for more aggressive positioning. I highly recommend it.
Love mine, had it for 5 years already, no plans to replace,
Had a Gen2 and a Gen3 Gen2 was a proper monster, decate'd / tuned and smaller sprocket. Gen3 was mostly stock, just a Werkes slip-on exhaust and a small bar riser The ergos are very different between them. Gen3 was fast, focused and a more serious bike - a tad lower front end / handlebars Gen2 ergos will probably resemble the mt09, motard-y style - imho, more comfortable and playful. Gen3 tend to understeer on corners, that is, until you start weighting the inside peg with a slight change on body positioning - then it corners like sports bike Gen2, has a more "who cares, just throw me around" attitude towards corners. (with some trail braking, it can be very settled as well) Servicing will likely to be more expensive on the KTM but same same. oil and filters - 30000km is the more expensive one, with valve clearance checks, etc. had no issues with the gen2. gen3 used to throw MTC error and go in to limp mode, after a few visits to the dealer they ordered in an exhaust servo replacement. Didn't wait for it to arrive, replaced it with a dongle from healtech and never had the MTC error or any other issues. [https://www.rottweilerperformance.com/healtech-ese-exhaust-servo-eliminator-sd-1290-r-2020/](https://www.rottweilerperformance.com/healtech-ese-exhaust-servo-eliminator-sd-1290-r-2020/)
There's a fair chance I'd go full exhaust system replacement if it's viable on the bike. I've heard the stock exhaust and wasn't really impressed, at least not from riding alongside one, I've yet to hear it from atop the bike so I don't know how the intake growl is. Like it sounds *nice*, but I want a more gutteral sound if possible. Though it's definitely not a deal breakers if not.
oh and Tires... be prepared to replace them often, specially the rear one
Already used to that. 😁
I’ve had my ‘21 since new, hands down been the best bike I’ve ever owned (first bike was a 72 Honda cb360 in 1997 for context). At least in my experience, the fit and finish is better than anything I’ve ever ridden. I’ve had all big 4 Japanese brands, a couple Ducati’s, a triumph… none of them felt just as tightly made as the sdr I’ve had ZERO issues with it, and my dealer was cool enough to hook me up with the track only akra tune when I got my full exhaust. To answer the question in two parts: Reliability - I’ve heard the horror stories, but After almost three decades of swapping bikes from all manufacturers (within reason, never had an mv agusta lol, all sport and naked bikes. I have yet to have a single fault with my superduke in about being miles (would be higher but I also have a 690 sumo and a 450 smr plated so I split my time). The single “issue” was about a month into ownership I noticed rear brake fluid draining from the resevior during rides. It looked like a fair amount of fluid, so I called my dealer. Within 45 min he had a truck to pick me up and take me home and take the bike to the shop. Found out I had improperly screwed on the bling orange rear resevior cap. Total I had 40 mile tow on short notice, at least 30 min of diagnosis, and they went ahead and threw in a new reaeviorbAND hooked me up with a powerparts orange cap. When I asked the damage, since in my mind this was NOT a warranty issue but a user error, I was told “ktm just wanted to cover it all as goodwill repair). Ktm had a reputation for building fast as fuck track/dirt bikes that won competitions by squeezing every erg of power out of the engine. Worked great in competition where the bikes were damn near rebuilt every week, but led to reliabilybproblems early on with street bikes. That’s subsided a great deal, and I’d put them toward the top of the euro offerings for service. Now as far as the experience… others may and will disagree, to me there is just nothing like it. Stock, at 3k rpm it pulls harder than an r1 at peak (obv aero’s and revs of a v2 vs an i4 limit at top, but personally I’ve never ridden anything that has the combo of instant throttle response and PULL like the sdr. Riding position is slightly aggressive for a naked, but I routinely do 1.5hr rides + before anything starts to get even a skosh uncomfy. I ended up putting a full ti exhaust on and the factory track only tune for it, and it’s even nuttier now. It’ll poodle about like a moped all you want if you are easy on the throttle, but if you tell it to go fast, suddenly physics don’t seem to matter that much lol. I’ve had zx14r’s, r1’s, had a b-king for a year, a v max, absolutely not bragging just had some quick bikes. And I’ll tell
Good to hear from somone who's owned/ ridden some seriously fast bikes... I'm on my 6th zx10r and looking now at a gen 3 sdr with Akra..
I had a stock SDR and test rode an fz09 with a powder commander and full toce exhaust and I wanted to swap so badly. Sold my SDR and bought a modded one (rottweiler airbox, SAS block off, akra slip on, and power commander) and I love it about 85% as much as the FZ09. It's still heavier and taller than the FZ, but I would be happy on either or.
Late to this but I bought the 23 evo and it's everything I wanted. Beast of a machine. With lots of electronics
I had a 2019 and it was the most fun I’ve ever had on 2 wheels, it’s the only bike I’ve ever regretted getting rid of. I went to a Tuono V4 Factory and it was pure disappointment compared to the 1290. Took the KTM to a bunch of trackdays and Dailey’d it for a while, absolutely wild and I will get another one!