990 SM-T - what should I know...

[Windblown]

Change the oil and put on some sliders to insure that you will never need them!

Sounds like you are having some serious FUN these days- good for you.  

Why oh why did you have to say that!

I've got sliders and engine guards on order. Ain't gonna say more cause I'm trying to not jinx myself, LOL.

[Sport-Touring]

[mugwump58]

Keep us posted on how you like the SM-T.  Looking at it but just did a slimey crud rud run this weekend on a rented Tiger 800 and was pretty impressed.

Side note, test rode Ducati's new hyperstrada and hated it.

Test ride and no report? Spill the beans

[Windblown]

Test ride and no report? Spill the beans

Seconded. I almost went to look at the new Duc but decided not to.

[vulcanbill]

time keeps on tickin tickin tickin...

[Windblown]

Well the KTM and I survived a trackday.  As RDoug mentioned the stock fueling/ignition map makes for a very twitchy throttle.  In the short 100 miles I'd ridden it on the street I thought it would not be an issue I couldn't work around, but in a track enviroment it meant I had to run at least one higher gear in the corners than I would have liked to have in order to soften the throttle response. It also demanded a lot of my attention throughout the day which when combined with a considerable amount of rust on my riding skills made for some piss poor lines and other issues.

But enough with the bad! The bike is a dream in all other respects. Great handling, suspension, & stability. Soooo easy to ride.

I had the camera mounted on the rear of the bike and the front facing video was pretty useless (and showed of my lazy form...) so I threw together a short vid from when I had the camera rear facing instead.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKBznhWQSC4

[Shinobi13]

Windblown,

Glad you pulled the trigger on the SMT.  As expatbrit posted earlier, the sh*t-eating grin I've had on my face hasn't gone away since I purchased my SMT last month.  I did put on some Leo Vince 8414's and remapped the ECU, so she's minorly uncorked and lost about 22 lbs of weight from the exhaust change.  The twitchy throttle does take some getting used to...  there are available throttle cams that will minimize that effect, however, I decided to try and change the smoothness of my throttle hand first...  Hopefully that will translate to being smoother with my RC-51 on the track...

Congrats!!!

Lee

[Silverbird]

It's going to have less torque at every point in the rev range than your FZ1.  


FZ-1:


Sm-T:

I just wanted to throw out there how irritated I am by this post.  My SMT feels significantly more torque than an FZ1 unless you are ringing the hell of the FZ1 motor.  Dyno may tell a different story but seat of the pants is all that matters and I almost reconsidered buying an SMT remembering what a dog the FZ1 is below 5K. JMHO

[Windblown]

I just wanted to throw out there how irritated I am by this post.  My SMT feels significantly more torque than an FZ1 unless you are ringing the hell of the FZ1 motor.  Dyno may tell a different story but seat of the pants is all that matters and I almost reconsidered buying an SMT remembering what a dog the FZ1 is below 5K. JMHO

Seat of the pants is all that really matters unless you've got money on the line. It also helps that the KTM is 100lbs lighter than the Gen1 FZ1.  I never notice the KTM feeling weak on the street, lot's of pull everywhere.

The vid I posted above was on a fairly tight track and I wasn't having any trouble keeping sport bikes with like skilled riders at bay even though I wasn't pushing my luck (The bike only had 100 miles on the ODO at the time). Since then I've run it at a more open track and found that on longer straights it's not quite as fast as it feels like it is once you're well into triple digits.  It matters not though. It's a brilliant bike that I can ride all day long, and damn near perfect for what I bought it to do.

[Hotbrakes]

I demo'd a dust colored SMT at MFI last week.  Perfect bike.  I still love the sportier feel of a Super Duke and the touring capability of my VFR, but if I had to have just one bike, the SMT would be it.  ABS takes the fun out of it though...

[Windblown]

ABS takes the fun out of it though...

Yeah, you can turn off the ABS but it resets when you turn the bike off back to the default, which is on.  It would be so cool to be able to turn it on or off on the fly with a simple switch. Some folks splice a toggle switch into the line to keep it turned off without having to go through the disable process during each start up.

[Epyon]

I know this is digging up the past but how have your SMT's been?  It's a bike that is on my short list to try.  I demoed one and I was underwhelmed by it.  Maybe it was just that unit.  Are the valve checks really every 9500 miles???

[miles]

I just wanted to throw out there how irritated I am by this post.  My SMT feels significantly more torque than an FZ1 unless you are ringing the hell of the FZ1 motor.  Dyno may tell a different story but seat of the pants is all that matters and I almost reconsidered buying an SMT remembering what a dog the FZ1 is below 5K. JMHO

It's a free country and you're perfectly within your rights to believe in falsehoods.  

[Windblown]

I know this is digging up the past but how have your SMT's been?  It's a bike that is on my short list to try.  I demoed one and I was underwhelmed by it.  Maybe it was just that unit.  Are the valve checks really every 9500 miles???

I sold it recently. Miss it from time to time.  It was an exceptionally fun bike to ride but between a few niggles inherent in the 990 design and my evolving riding habits it no longer fit my desires as well as it once had. It's spot in the stable has been taken by a less exciting but more capable  multi-surface all-arounder - a Triumph 800 XC.

[Hotbrakes]

I sold it recently. Miss it from time to time.  It was an exceptionally fun bike to ride but between a few niggles inherent in the 990 design and my evolving riding habits it no longer fit my desires as well as it once had. It's spot in the stable has been taken by a less exciting but more capable  multi-surface all-arounder - a Triumph 800 XC.

I already rode with it lol.  That was one of my friends who bought it.  The SMT presence is strong in the RVA, there's 5 of us now with them.

[Hotbrakes]

I know this is digging up the past but how have your SMT's been?  It's a bike that is on my short list to try.  I demoed one and I was underwhelmed by it.  Maybe it was just that unit.  Are the valve checks really every 9500 miles???

Underwhelmed??  Mine wheelies almost overwhelmingly lol.  

The pair we got last year has been great.  I've personally put over 15k on it since March bringing the odometer to just over 32k.  Wife's SMT is about the same.  The gear position seal has started to weep oil occasionally, leaving a puddle in the garage from time to time but it's a $2 O ring I'll swap out next oil change.  Otherwise they've been great and we've added SW Motech boxes and done a lot of camping.

I can't say I've heard of a 990 that required valve adjustment prior to 30k miles, valve checks are supposed to be at 18k I think.

[Windblown]

I already rode with it lol.  That was one of my friends who bought it.  The SMT presence is strong in the RVA, there's 5 of us now with them.

Hope your friend enjoys it. 5 in your group now? Dang. Y'all going to have to come up with a patch! LOL.

[Epyon]

Underwhelmed??  Mine wheelies almost overwhelmingly lol.  

The pair we got last year has been great.  I've personally put over 15k on it since March bringing the odometer to just over 32k.  Wife's SMT is about the same.  The gear position seal has started to weep oil occasionally, leaving a puddle in the garage from time to time but it's a $2 O ring I'll swap out next oil change.  Otherwise they've been great and we've added SW Motech boxes and done a lot of camping.

I can't say I've heard of a 990 that required valve adjustment prior to 30k miles, valve checks are supposed to be at 18k I think.

I know it was amazing that I thought it was so tame, base on dyno charts and what people say about it I should have been foaming at the mouth for it.  Alas they are still out of my price range so maybe the next bike after this one they will be in my range.  I still love the white and black ones  .  I was surprised to read the 9500 mile valve check but that can't be right, its not a Desmo heh.