hi all last year got my self the new ktm 1290 14k bike, fun to ride but full of probs,, now got the blade 2015, anyway the ktm 1290 from new, the rear wheel loose on bearing , had it to dealers but say ok lol , was loose when cold and worse when hot, scared to ride to far , then after first service 600 miles , got to 800 miles engine starting getting loud on rear engine , dropped oil and filter, and the filter was all flattened and collapsed , dodge oil pressure or summet , got new filter from ktm and oil, told them , and they said was a bad batch of oil filters , fitted new one with fresh oil,still noisy engine , had it in to dealers , they changed rear cam tensioner and another oil filter change, got it back still same, but they left the rear rocker cover loose so oil leaked on rear pipe got them to tighten it , also when i collected the bike , oil hand prints all over my mint frame and engine , 1000 miles on bike so far , they told me to ride it like this and it will prob need more looking into lol , but after loads of trips and phone calls to dealers with no help, i got rid of it , so dont buy a 4 stroke ktm they fall apart i had oil leaks electrics not working rear wheel trying to come off paint flaking off in places rear hugger was catching on the rear shock the brake fluid turned black within 600 miles ? the seat digged into the fuel tank and took paint off front brake binded realy hard, so hard to push when not running there was more probs i had but i just had enough of it, 14k bike and this much trouble with less than a 1000 miles was a joke , but the bike was very good and fun to ride and fast as , but with the probs and local dealers would not help and did not even no wat they was doing with this 1290 was a joke , warrantry meens nothing all with ktm, , very smiley and happy when you hand over 14k, but soon as your out the door hows your look , time of work sorting bike out , oil leaks all over garage floor... prob boring you all, but saved along time to get a good bike and this was not it, now got another cbr and love it , smooth power , and engine , handles well , love it honda all the way for me,, why the f l uk i got a ktm i never now lol never again
Well KTM still haven't sorted their reliability issues out then. Such a shame as they make some mental bikes. KTM and Honda are 2 very different end of the spectrum. I hope she does you many years of trouble free service
I was so close to buying the RC8, but stuck with Honda and bought my second blade. This suggests I made the right decision.
you had a good escape then , you would of been in the dealers more than riding look here its a joke, even the new 15 plate ones still have probs , oil leak and rear wheel main ones ,its seems the bikes get to 1000 - 1200 miles and realy start playing up, ive noticed more used ones up for sale with 1200 miles on them http://www.superduke.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=23945 also seen lot of clutch issues , and ktm says that the wind blows against the clutch lever causes drag on the clutch wat makes it slip lol dont get me wrong if they made the bike as it was advertized they would of had a very good bike on there hands, as it was a very good fun bike and fast , but ktm 4 stroke quality is still C R A P , ktm owe me 3500 that i lost in total buying this bike
read this bout the rear hub most ktm 1290 owners have this was of the superduke forum lol Took my 1290 to the dealer to complain about the wobble in the rear hub. They took guidance from KTM and measured the amount of wobble using a rim run out gauge. KTM said the acceptable amount was up to 1mm of play. I scored 0.6mm so they told me to piss off with my complaint and ride it. They measured it while it was cold (exactly as I told them not to) so the wobble was at it's least. When the bike is back from a ride i can hear a klunking sound if I wobble the wheel - there is NO WAY this is acceptable. I am to say the least disappointed - I have never owned a bike that had any perceptible wobble in the main bearing. The dealer says they can only follow KTMs orders. Anyone got past this impasse? I read about a guy who emailed a senior BD guy and got action in the early days before they had this 1mm acceptable tolerance. LOL LOL 14k and rear wheel bearing loose and also if you ride it in the rain the rear swing arm fills with water and make the bearing rust from inside ,most owners are getting round this by drilling a hole in the bottom of the swing arm to let the water out,then filling the swingarm with exspandinf fom , 14k and drilling holes on a brand new bike OMG ,,wats going on ktm
Hmm doesn't sound great does it.. Brother In-law just traded his 2010 blade for one! Picks it up tomorrow..
hope he as good luck with his, prob be ok ,he will have fun nice bike to ride , but i would advise him to get a scott oil filter in it ,steel one ,as lots using them now, easy to swop or get dealer to do it on first service ,the ktm oil filters are rubbish seen loads of faulty ones also i used castrol power oil in mine and it was well smooth, gear change was good too , the motorex in my opinion breaks down to much when hot, i noticed small fine air bubbles in the view screen when my filter started to fold in on its self ,as oil could not get round proper , they have prob started to sort out the probs now thow ?? i let dealer service mine at 600 miles and all was ok ,? but i started having engine noise probs at 800 - 1000 miles , watch this
if i was your bro i would cancel the deal as im still reading peps having probs with them , but aslong as dealer close by, he will be ok if they look after him
That's not good - I really like the SuperDuke as well. I've been surprised at the number of low mileage ones for sale - so maybe others have had similar problems. I've got an RC8R - I've only done around 1000 miles on it and its been fine. I bought it second hand with 5k miles on - the previous owner hadn't had any problems with it.
nice just change oil and filter regular you should be ok , i like the rc8 too , but i will never have a tm again, but just before the 1290 starting play up engine wise, i just got a 2015 ktm 300 exc factory of them another 7k spent with them, but still treat customers like s h i t lol the 300 2 stroke is fun thow ,only 3 hrs on it thow, ? nothing wrong as yet lol ,,, but im selling it as i dont want any ktm;s ever again
I would assumed that their top spec bikes would be good but reading this i am too glad i bought a blade when i was looking for a sportsbike. Awkward or what?
The bike buying public are indeed a funny lot. I considered a super duke R earlier this year but went a different road for my second bike. I probably would still buy one tho. I bought my blade back in 2005 when there was no end of scare stories about the crap paintwork. I new about it and still bought it and no problems since. There are also people going out and buying ABS blades despite all the bad reports. Unfortunately manufacturers are wise to this and will do the bare minimum regardless if it's KTM, Honda or whoever. They are all the same.
My mate traded his 2012 Blade for a 1290 KTM. He promised himself this bike as its his dream bike. I'm not a fan of KTM stuff personally, but he doesn't tell me of any issues with it. Perhaps he has a rare sorted one or something. Such a shame as KTM have a good range of machines.
Well, went naked and I went for the BMW S1000R sport in the end. A great, great bike but just didn't love it like I loved my blade (rip). Kept thinking about the way the lunatic superduke made me crack up on the test drive....and have chopped the s1000r in for one. Phenomenal machine. No major issues yet but early days. Got a full akra system on order for another 12bhp [emoji12]
I know this is an old thread, but I thought it worth mentioning this... Anyone who gets a duffer from new should, if the circumstances warrant it, reject the bike for potentially a full refund or a new bike. Go with your gut and don't f*ck about and don't let the dealer f*ck you over. A new act came in during the Autumn last year (2015) empowering consumers to be able to reject products/motor vehicles for a full refund within thirty days of the purchase date. After this period a vehicle can still be rejected but the dealer must be given the chance to rectify the problem (two chances would be expected) before rejection is requested. As stated, after the the thirty day period and up to six months, it becomes more difficult to demand a full refund upon requesting rejection and negotiations may need to take place to get the best possible outcome for yourself. It may still be possible to reject a bike after six months depending on a whole host of variables relating to your ownership of said bike. As with all things like this, you give yourself the best opportunity to achieve a satisfactory outcome if you keep communications regular with the dealer and your contacts are recorded (email is probably best) and are supported if necessary by photographic imigary.
