Reliability and that gubbins

[OscarIndia]

Looked at a 2006 990 Adv on Saturday. Mates seem determined to claim they break. Do they?

 

[Nice 'n' Fat]

06 was the first year for F.I. and therefore reputedly the one with the worst throttle action of them all

I've seen quite a few high mileage examples around most in better condition than an equivilent year GS

 

[Whele]

I had a 2007 for 5 years, it was one of the most reliable bikes I have ever owned.

The FI needs a £25 part with a different cam profile for the cable to fix most of the fueling issues, a small 4mm hole needs to be drilled in the rear of the swinging arm, to let water out, thus not corroding the chain adjusters in place. a £50 relocation bracket for the side stand prevents expensive damage if you drop the bike on the left side.

Aside for those minor thing, I just rode it, hard.

 

[Poucher]

Mates seem determined to claim they break. Do they?

Any of your mates actually had one ????

I've ran an SMT for 16,000 miles and two friends have adventures with over 40,000 miles on them.

The Adv's have been used on and off road and have been bombproof.

No problems with any of them and the finish and build quality is far better than GS's of a similar age

 

[PDiddy]

16K hard miles on my 950 Super Enduro and it never missed a step -

 

[OscarIndia]

Thanks gents. Very encouraging. Rode one this week (990 FI), gonna ride another on Sat (950). We'll see.

 

[OscarIndia]

So, test rode a 2008 990 EFi for an hour or so. Interesting. Had nice extras, including Akris and a gel seat. Initial thoughts were that the riding position is great, very comfy but the fueling is an absolute joke. Who made the FI system, ****ing Hoover? Judder, jump dive - sure it settled down after about two seconds on a given throttle position, but in heavy, slow traffic that's not much use. Presume there's a ECU fix?
Anyway, that annoying element apart I liked it a lot. Not fast, but fast enough and definitely gets better the harder you ride it, which I guess it the KTM mark.
I suppose my main issue here is not the bike but the buying process. This one's at a KTM main dealer: 15,000 miles, loads of really good extras and £6995. But all you get with it is a three month warranty, same as buying a £250 MX125 off a crappy lot. No used-approved system at KTM which leads me to wonder what the point of paying the dealer mark-up is? Might as well hit eBay and save myself £800 if I decide a 990 is the answer.
Anyway, there we go.

 

[Timolgra]

So, test rode a 2008 990 EFi for an hour or so. Interesting. Had nice extras, including Akris and a gel seat. Initial thoughts were that the riding position is great, very comfy but the fueling is an absolute joke. Who made the FI system, ****ing Hoover? Judder, jump dive - sure it settled down after about two seconds on a given throttle position, but in heavy, slow traffic that's not much use. Presume there's a ECU fix?
Anyway, that annoying element apart I liked it a lot. Not fast, but fast enough and definitely gets better the harder you ride it, which I guess it the KTM mark.
I suppose my main issue here is not the bike but the buying process. This one's at a KTM main dealer: 15,000 miles, loads of really good extras and £6995. But all you get with it is a three month warranty, same as buying a £250 MX125 off a crappy lot. No used-approved system at KTM which leads me to wonder what the point of paying the dealer mark-up is? Might as well hit eBay and save myself £800 if I decide a 990 is the answer.
Anyway, there we go.

You can buy a brand new one for £8k

As for the fueling...get a 950

 

[Poucher]

Or buy yourself this one and save enough wadge for a "bonding" holiday in France on it :-

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=345900

Fuelling on my 2011 SMT is pretty much spot on, but I think that's a trait of the later bikes.
One thing that helps a lot is to have absolutely zero play in the throttle cable, taking this free play up is what makes the bike jerk when your getting on the gas again mid corner.

A mate who has an S1000rr BMW asked me for a ride on the SMT this weekend, after this short spin he got off my bike and said "makes you wonder why we bother with these - ( sports bikes ), he also said that he noticed how really cramped up his was when he got back on it!

 

[OscarIndia]

You can buy a brand new one for £8k

As for the fueling...get a 950

Well, yes. But as 24% of that goes straight to George Osborne....

 

[OscarIndia]

Or buy yourself this one and save enough wadge for a "bonding" holiday in France on it :-

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=345900

Fuelling on my 2011 SMT is pretty much spot on, but I think that's a trait of the later bikes.
One thing that helps a lot is to have absolutely zero play in the throttle cable, taking this free play up is what makes the bike jerk when your getting on the gas again mid corner.

A mate who has an S1000rr BMW asked me for a ride on the SMT this weekend, after this short spin he got off my bike and said "makes you wonder why we bother with these - ( sports bikes ), he also said that he noticed how really cramped up his was when he got back on it!

Looks interesting, despite the blackness. Thanks.
Re sports bikes - absolutely. If you can't stand up and steer with the pegs in the fast lane then it's not proper.