I talked to my dealer today and he said that KTM told him that he should be getting the bikes by the end of next week.
Who will be first in the USA to receive the beast? My bet is someone on the east coast side? My small dealer in NC has taken deposits on several. I'd imagine they'll trickle in a couple at at time. If it were to take much longer.....say into June, buyers will start jumping ship...it's not as if KTM is the only choice. Aprilia, the new Ducati, of course BMW....even the Kawasaki 1000 looks to compete with the orange bike. I am addicted to the orange cool aid and am planing to wait it out.
I have gotten very picky over the years, so the 1290 is the only bike that really interests me. I like the combination of big v-twin power in a lightweight package. The best v-twin bike I ever had was my old RC51. I loved those gear driven cams! My 990 SMR was fun but the engine always disappointed me a little, so the 1290 should remedy that. The Tuono is great but for whatever reason is not interesting to me.
Not a V-Twin but if I were in the market it would be a hard toss up between the 1290 SD and the BMW R nine T that just came out. Obviously big difference in style and performance but both these bikes just call out to me in a fierce way. Maybe this Venezuelan lottery I just won will pay out soon, then I can buy both. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Funny thing I thought I just won the Venezuelan lottery, and those two bikes are also on my would love to own list.
I had a false alarm with the 1290. The mc show last stop was in Seattle, and apparently I90 motorsports was going to buy the lot of the KTMs in the show, so the dealer was planning on selling me that orange one soon after the show was over. KTM put the brakes on that, since the bikes in the show were nowhere close to being legal to ride in the USA. Probably for the best, since now I will get one that is not a show mule.
Bingo. Seeing it at the NYC bike show made dredging through the blizzard to get there totally worth it. I'm very particular about ergonomics and I found the 1290 to be remarkably roomy and comfortable (I'm a hair over 6' with a 34 inch inseam) and it's obviously one of the most badass bikes ever.
I'm close to you in size (just a bit taller), and that's what I'm counting on. The cycle-ergo site and pictures can only tell so much, but at least I can see that the passenger peg brackets aren't in the way of my heels (like TOO MANY bikes now are. )
East coast for sure gets the first bike. I was going to buy this bike until I bought a Pani. The SD will definitely be more comfortable. But slower.... No replies? I was hoping to stimulate some good conversation. I have to admit that Pani wears me out with the aggressive seating position - I suspect the SD will be very comfortable.
Looking to stir the pot, huh ? No argument from me, the Panigale is lighter, and given equal riders on the track, the Panigale should come out on top. However, very little of my riding is done on the track anymore, and my knees can't take a full sport riding position for any extended length of time. Didn't you have an RC8R ? That corresponds better to the Panigale anyways.
I would never intentionally stir the pot..... Yeah I traded the RC8 on the Pani, and sure enough the Pani is a more aggressive riding position. I doubt I will ever track the Pani so it is a very expensive toy. Will probably keep it a year or so then take a huge loss on it! Looking forward to folks getting time on the SD, and will certainly consider one down the line.
That was one thing that had me considering the RC8R - it has so much adjustability in the ergonomics. I'm just glad that KTM decided to do the 1290, before forcing me to find out if the RC8R would work for me.
Bored with all this 1290 talk - so I took this one home after work tonight ....... Sometimes I just love my job !
Sorry, all I see is a sunset. Where is this supposed cool motorcycle you're talking about? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The Ducati bikes and KTM bikes were next to each other at the motorcycle show and I have to say that the KTM bikes were way cooler, but the Ducati girls were very very nice Some of those Ducatis have me wondering what exactly the designers were thinking! I test rode a Diavel and loved the engine, but not the rest of the bike. I was thinking the ideal bike would be the Diavel engine in my 990 SMR chassis, which is more or less what the 1290 is only with an even better engine!
