My question is how the heck would you be able to stop yourself from driving all over the place like in the first video with the 690sm??? Those sm bikes look like they would be waaaaay too much fun and get a person into a lot of trouble. I can hear myself now "hhhmmm I wounder what it would be like to ride this over _______(use your imagination)??!!"
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If God had wanted us to be vegetarians why did he make animals out of meat?
My question is how the heck would you be able to stop yourself from driving all over the place like in the first video with the 690sm??? Those sm bikes look like they would be waaaaay too much fun and get a person into a lot of trouble. I can hear myself now "hhhmmm I wounder what it would be like to ride this over _______(use your imagination)??!!"
who are we as human beings to deny ourselves the small pleasures in life....
By more maintenance what do you mean exactly?? Major stuff??
I've been lucky... Just have to keep an eye open for any probs and slightly more frequent maintenance intervals. From what I've read/ or been told (and correct me if I'm wrong) KTM uses "harder" steel in its bolts which tends to make them vibrate loose more quickly..
Oil changes involve more filters and screens... etc. My 690 SM has two filters and two screens to replace/ clean at every oil change. If you stick with models that hold a decent amount of oil the intervals aren't that much different. They just aren't designed with the degree of "convenience" in maintenance that the Japanese bikes can boast. Parts can take a while to get- but its gotten better.
By and large, if you keep the valves in speck and stick to their recommended schedules, they are pretty robust. Just seems to be a couple here and there that give their owners a bad time. Just ask Jet about his last one.
read about that 990 super duke... that thing is mean mean mean... bout 120 rwhp... and bout 410 pounds..wet!!! that = fun...
Went to the local KTM dealer today to look at the 690 SMC and 690 Duke. No SMC, but they did have a couple Superdukes. By chance the dealer had a demo and was happy to let me go for a good test ride. I'm pretty sure he will have a customer soon. The bike sat up higher than my 599 which was a huge plus for me. It felt like a big kids bike. The torque was mindblowing, as were all the components. I rode for about 25 miles with the biggest smile on my face. All that and I just wanted to sit on a bike or two and drool a little. Not sure if I can scrape enough together for the 990 too soon though...
Went to the local KTM dealer today to look at the 690 SMC and 690 Duke. No SMC, but they did have a couple Superdukes. By chance the dealer had a demo and was happy to let me go for a good test ride. I'm pretty sure he will have a customer soon. The bike sat up higher than my 599 which was a huge plus for me. It felt like a big kids bike. The torque was mindblowing, as were all the components. I rode for about 25 miles with the biggest smile on my face. All that and I just wanted to sit on a bike or two and drool a little. Not sure if I can scrape enough together for the 990 too soon though...
I am jealous. Tell us more. I want a full ride report. Please
I'm diggin the katooms too.
If I was gonna get a half bike, gimme a 690 duke,
plus it's just so cool to say--the duke
too bad the vid for it sucked.
The 690 sm vid where the guy goes over the rotary ? Excellent !
Loved the Jap vid where the old dudes are doin' tai-chi. That killed me.
I am jealous. Tell us more. I want a full ride report. Please
It won't do the bike justice, but here you go...
The looks: Oh my, this bike is hot! The lines on the bike are super aggressive. Everything from the oversized tank to the headlight make this bike like nothing I've seen on the roads, esp. around here. I looked at the black R version, as well as the all black base model (The model ridden and talked about below). Some of the plastic looks borderline cheap, but damn it looks good on this bike. The base model still sports a ton of high quality parts, especially the fully-adjustable suspension.
The feel: This is where I about lost it. The bike feels like an extremely comfortable supermoto bike rather than a supersport. It's a more upright seating position with plenty of leg room, which I like. Leaning side to side even while standing still is effortless. The bars are nice and wide, not too high and not too low.
As soon as I started the bike I knew I was in for a treat. It had a nice low rumble that sounded great when twisting the throttle a few times. I like to play with the clutch a little whenever I get on a new bike, just to get a feel for when it starts engaging. Even letting out the clutch with no throttle, this bike wants to pull! The dealer was located on a busy highway, so I had no excuse not to give it a little gas right off and see how it goes. The throttle response was like nothing I've ridden. The bike is so torquey and well put together that at first even hitting small bumps in the road caused my hand to move ever so slightly, a feeling that did not go unnoticed by the throttle. The bike felt unbelievably light and effortless to turn. The suspension was much firmer than I'm used to, again a very good thing. It ate up the road and was truly confidence-inspiring. The brakes were incredibly responsive and made my stock 599 feel like it couldn't hardly come to a stop after!
The one negative was that it was a breezy day, and getting up to highway speeds (80 to 95) meant getting blown around a little. Well worth it though.
I can't say enough about the ride. I never thought I'd feel like this about a bike. Granted it's a huge upgrade from my 599, but if I can swing it I may try to step up into this bike within the next 6 months.
The next bikes on my list to ride: Aprilia Tuono, Shiver, and Dorsoduro, as well as a Speed Triple. Oh, and the KTM Duke and 690 SMC. I want them all...
The next bikes on my list to ride: Aprilia Tuono, Shiver, and Dorsoduro, as well as a Speed Triple. Oh, and the KTM Duke and 690 SMC. I want them all...
It's only money and you only live once....twice if your lucky!
My apologies, but someone else started it. I'm blaming them. I have contacted a dealer in my state who says he will give me a brand new 2008 Super Duke for $10,800 plus tax. Oh no!
KTM is running a promo... varies from model to model but the Superduke gets a steering damper and some other stuff... $1500 value
They have two different packages on the Super Duke. The race package you speak of, and another package that comes with some different street accessories like carbon fiber parts, a softer seat, a tank bag, and some other goodies. I know that I don't need that much power, but it was so nice to ride around town in first or second gear and not even have to worry about shifting much. I don't know what I'm going to do.
Im on another 
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