KTM Bust

[Jofang]

When your profitability goes down the pan you've got to be brutal and fix it. I'm 9 years retired but I can remember myself and 2 other directors on 2 occasions having no income for 4 months during the bad times in order to secure wages for our 26 employees.

 

[Vansflyer]

I have had a 390 Duke, 790 Duke & 2 x 1290 SAS bikes in the last six years. All were great to ride and the 1290 power was incredible but.... the constant discount on new models & lack of warranty support killed it for me. I sold the 790 in August just as the chocolate cam issue was getting traction and now have a Honda SH350 in the Moho garage, boring but reliable. It is sad if they go under for the employees for sure but the arrogance of the management was disgraceful and sadly it trickles down to the dealers.

 

[Richard n Ann]

I have had a 390 Duke, 790 Duke & 2 x 1290 SAS bikes in the last six years. All were great to ride and the 1290 power was incredible but.... the constant discount on new models & lack of warranty support killed it for me. I sold the 790 in August just as the chocolate cam issue was getting traction and now have a Honda SH350 in the Moho garage, boring but reliable. It is sad if they go under for the employees for sure but the arrogance of the management was disgraceful and sadly it trickles down to the dealers.

I've still got the 390, bought it 7 years ago when they suddenly dropped the price to £3099 brand new. Imagine all the angry customers that had just paid £4500 for it the week before. Not to mention the second hand price collapsing.

I'm hoping the 390 engine is of a good design, been great so far, just the odd engine management light but it goes off after 3 cold starts

 

[DandJ]

I've had an Africa Twin for 7.5 yrs and 35k miles. Nothing has gone wrong on it. Utterly reliable...but I fancy a change. Was looking at all sorts of stuff as a bike should be bought from the heart, not the head...right ? The Mrs then said "If you're stood at the side of the road, no phone signal, broken down bike (again) will you be extolling the virtues of 'character'?"
Good point, well made.....another Honda it is then....

 

[Vansflyer]

I've still got the 390, bought it 7 years ago when they suddenly dropped the price to £3099 brand new. Imagine all the angry customers that had just paid £4500 for it the week before. Not to mention the second hand price collapsing.

I'm hoping the 390 engine is of a good design, been great so far, just the odd engine management light but it goes off after 3 cold starts

The 390 is the only KTM I would consider buying again unless I "feel lucky". Bajaj made so pretty indestructible and does a great job as a small bike / van tender. Will see how we get on with the boring scooter for a while first

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[PORKSTER]

Good point about the discounting on KTMs. The off road race bikes also come in say 24 model then 24.5 model the factory edition of model then sometimes a rider model. Then few months before new model. 20% discount advertised as vat free

 

[David and Sally]

I was told by a mate that's connected. I then Mr Googled it. Plenty of info on there.

We know they are in trouble, but have they actually gone bust?

 

[Richard n Ann]

I've had an Africa Twin for 7.5 yrs and 35k miles. Nothing has gone wrong on it. Utterly reliable...but I fancy a change. Was looking at all sorts of stuff as a bike should be bought from the heart, not the head...right ? The Mrs then said "If you're stood at the side of the road, no phone signal, broken down bike (again) will you be extolling the virtues of 'character'?"
Good point, well made.....another Honda it is then....

Yes absolutely, I looked at the 790 and 890 duke's and ordered a Honda 750
I drive the car as little as possible in the summer.

 

[Richard n Ann]

The 390 is the only KTM I would consider buying again unless I "feel lucky". Bajaj made so pretty indestructible and does a great job as a small bike / van tender. Will see how we get on with the boring scooter for a while first

I went the other way, had the 110cc scooter on the back for 9 years.
Now using the Duke, it's fantastic fun but the capacity to carry shopping and stuff to the beach is dire
I've bought a bigger box for the back (SH40 cargo) and fitted some cut down width panniers for next year

 

[bobnick]

We know they are in trouble, but have they actually gone bust?

According to a sreport on Google yes

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[bobnick]

Just spent hour n arf cleaning mine after the 5 hour ride yesterday. Never seen one of my bikes so dirty.

 

[Wh05apk]

Just had an ad on Facebook for vat free!
Think it will need to be a lot less than vat free to tempt me.

 

[Vansflyer]

I went the other way, had the 110cc scooter on the back for 9 years.
Now using the Duke, it's fantastic fun but the capacity to carry shopping and stuff to the beach is dire
I've bought a bigger box for the back (SH40 cargo) and fitted some cut down width panniers for next year

We had the Shad 58X top box and soft panniers on ours, loads of space
Two hats in the top box and jackets / beer / wine / food in the panniers.

 

[Vansflyer]

According to a sreport on Google yes

Loads of reports saying "in trouble" but none saying they have gone under, any chance of a link please?

 

[David and Sally]

I can’t see any reports of them having actually gone either

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[bobnick]

Have to admit i just read the headlines. Prior to that a mate called me to say they had.

 

[68c]

The Southampton Harley dealership has just closed suddenly, blaming bad weather, forced overstocking, price etc. I suppose they have saturated the local market, not many youngsters interested or can afford it. Used to be the bad boys bike, now as the old Honda advert used to say " You meet the nicest people on a Harley". I am not anti HD, I have a '65 kick start 883 Sportster I bought back from Pakistan thirty odd years ago.

 

[bobnick]

The Southampton Harley dealership has just closed suddenly, blaming bad weather, forced overstocking, price etc. I suppose they have saturated the local market, not many youngsters interested or can afford it. Used to be the bad boys bike, now as the old Honda advert used to say " You meet the nicest people on a Harley". I am not anti HD, I have a '65 kick start 883 Sportster I bRought back from Pakistan thirty odd years ago.

 

[Silver-Fox]

I’ve owned several KTM Adventure bikes for leisure and commuting, 990, 1190, 1090, 1290 in both S and R guises. In my experience they were no less reliable or in need of more maintenance than the BMWs which preceded them (other than the 990 may have had shorter service intervals and the chain v shaft drive related lubrication/tensioning/replacing difference etc).

Fair play to you, but comparing to BMW?

I chatted to a few BMW riders on the adventure type bikes, they weren’t very impressed with reliability either.

How does KTM stack up against the Jap bikes.

I’ve no axe to grind just wondering

 

[Vansflyer]

From the horses mouth..

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[RowleyBirkinQC]

Fair play to you, but comparing to BMW?

I chatted to a few BMW riders on the adventure type bikes, they weren’t very impressed with reliability either.

How does KTM stack up against the Jap bikes.

I’ve no axe to grind just wondering

It’s so long since I had a Jap bike I can’t really make a comparison. The last couple of those I had were a Honda Hornet 900 and a Yamaha FJR1300 many years ago, neither of which were used as much or stood out particularly, apart from Yamaha forgetting the 6th gear and both being a bit cramped for my 6’2.

 

[Vansflyer]

More info here. https://www.autosport.com/motogp/ne...y group has,to continue operating beyond 2024.

 

[Silver-Fox]

It’s so long since I had a Jap bike I can’t really make a comparison. The last couple of those I had were a Honda Hornet 900 and a Yamaha FJR1300 many years ago, neither of which were used as much or stood out particularly, apart from Yamaha forgetting the 6th gear and both being a bit cramped for my 6’2.

I’ll bet the Hornet is still going

 

[RowleyBirkinQC]

I’ll bet the Hornet is still going

If I could remember the registration I’d look it up for you.

 

[Vansflyer]

Fair play to you, but comparing to BMW?

I chatted to a few BMW riders on the adventure type bikes, they weren’t very impressed with reliability either.

How does KTM stack up against the Jap bikes.

I’ve no axe to grind just wondering

I purchased a new 1250 GS in July last year and apart from a broken SOS switch it has been great for 8000 miles. My last 1290 SAS had a rubber band fitted to the dealer, 12 months and 10k miles later I said enough. Loose exhaust, oil cap left off on PDI, clutch rattle so got changed, brake discs rusting after 6 months etc etc. The 790 lasted 3.5 years and was great for the first 3, then fork seals went (OK could be consumable ), rocker cover pissed oil out and the coolant key overflowing for no apparent reason. 9k miles in 3.5 years so it went.. My winter bike is a 20 year old Honda Dullville, it starts first time, has minimal corrosion and all just works fine but it is likely to blow the regulator and fuel pump as they all do. None of them make them like that anymore... it is all about making more profit for less quality items... just the same as new cars and Moho's, they ain't building them better.... just cheaper for them. Rant over ;-)

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Silver-Fox]

None of them make them like that anymore... it is all about making more profit for less quality items... just the same as new cars and Moho's, they ain't building them better.... just cheaper for them. Rant over ;-)

Unfortunately it’s the way it is now, lots of manufacturers living on past glories and quality

 

[bigtwin]

Fair play to you, but comparing to BMW?

I chatted to a few BMW riders on the adventure type bikes, they weren’t very impressed with reliability either.

That may well be the case but the big difference seems to be that BMW are very good at dealing with warranty issues so they score very well on customer service. This seems not to be a KTM forte.

Ian

 

[bobnick]

Tour Europe and how many BMW's does one see?
Can they all be wrong.
I've had a lot of BMs over the years, i cannot remember a serious issue with any i've had.
But i do prefer my Honda's.

 

[DandJ]

Tour Europe and how many BMW's does one see?
Can they all be wrong.
I've had a lot of BMs over the years, i cannot remember a serious issue with any i've had.
But i do prefer my Honda's.

If you look at pretty much any reliability table, the Jap 4 are always top. As someone else has mentioned, BMW are generally very good at dealing with issues (courtesy bike, voucher to spend etc etc) They went from being a bit of a quirky manufacturer to overnight stars back in c 2003 when Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman blagged bikes and cash to do their round the world (supported by a few trucks/fixers etc...still a great series) Until then, they were a left field choice. They've gone from strength to strength since then.....

 

[TheTwoOfUs]

That may well be the case but the big difference seems to be that BMW are very good at dealing with warranty issues so they score very well on customer service. This seems not to be a KTM forte.

Ian

They must have improved then. Over the years they had a problem with centre stands rusting from the inside which you knew nothing about until you came back to your bike on it’s side.
Not BMWs fault.
Then there was the instrument binnacle which filled with condensation.
Owners resorted to drilling a small hole through the screen because BMW refused to accept that there was a problem.
Just a couple of the none fault faults that I can remember.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}