500mi 2023 1290 Super Duke GT Impressions & Thoughts

[jthayer09]

As mentioned in another thread, I traded in the Tracer 9 GT for a 2023 SDGT, here are my initial thoughts and some comparisons to Yamaha & the Tracer 9 after 500mi.

Engine

• Power everywhere, first day of riding it was sometimes hard to hold onto the bike. I learned that the goofy gas tank shape and the weird handlebar curves are designed so that you can actually properly full tuck behind your fairings, belly on tank and all.
• It's surprisingly "agricultural" at lower revs, it does lope around below 3,000rpm. Still has some shake to it when hard on the throttle until after 5,000rpm. Not a vibey bike by any means, but nowhere near the smoothness of the CP3 around town.
• Not much going for it on the intake noise, exhaust sounds great but quiet; have a Leovince LV-10 on the way. Definitely miss the CP3 intake roar.

Transmission

• This is objectively worse than Yamaha's current quick-shifter and clutch. This isn't so much of a negative mark on KTM as is a positive for Yamaha who are widely stated that they have the smoothest quick-shifter on the market. QS on the KTM has a bit of a clunk at lower revs going both up or down, I'm finding myself just pulling in the clutch below 4K when going down gears. Going up requires you to be on the throttle quite a bit to make shifts smooth. This is applicable in all gears, I only had an issue on with Tracer 9 QS going down from 2nd to 1st - big clunk, smooth everywhere else at all revs.
• Neutral is easier to find coming down from 2nd rather than up from 1st. Neutral sensor is a first service item though so maybe this will change.

Suspension

• KTM's WP suspension is in a word: fantastic. It is phenomenally compliant (slightly biased towards stiffness) and crushes the Tracer 9's KYB suspension.
• 3 levels - Comfort, Street, Sport. All solid and do exactly what they say, Sport might even be overkill for most roads, it's very stiff and chattery for basically 100% feedback. Because they're all biased to stiffness you can even ride decently hard in Comfort mode and not bounce around everywhere.
• I think Yamaha would do well to offer an Ohlins package for the Tracer line like they do for their "SP" trims on MT09 & MT10.
• Preload has 4 presets - Rider, Rider + Luggage, Rider + Passenger, Rider + Passenger + Luggage.
• No tools required, all suspension is adjusted through the TFT.

Electronics

• ILLUMINATED SWITCHES!!!!!
• The interface is easier to read than the '21-'23 Tracer due to max brightness and the angle, but the 2024 got a new screen so I can't comment on that.
• Navigation and menus is different but not better or worse, on the SDGT you have to go into menus to view and change some settings. The Tracer has everything basically up front which is nice, but in the end it's the same amount of button presses to change or view most data.
• Heated grips only have 3 settings - low, med, high. What the hell? Optional factory heated rider and passengers seats are available which is cool.
• Sensors everywhere on the bike, you can basically view anything you want.
• Traction and slip control are hugely adjustable, 9 degrees of fine tuning. This requires you to put the bike in Track or Performance mode, you then can adjust nearly everything on the bike rather than using presets.
• Headlights are genuinely good, though the loping at lower revs means your beam bounces up and down around town a little bit.

Aero/Fairings/Chassis

• Tracer aero has always been... lacking, so no surprise here the SDGT is better. 
• SDGT turn signals are integrated into the front fairings, so are the cornering LEDs. These are oriented lower than the Tracer 9 but are about the same brightness to my eyes.
• Fairings have small glove boxes on each side for storage - pleasant surprise, USB charger is inside the left box. Good storage under passenger seat, but less than Tracer 9, probably 30-40% less. 
• Stock windshield is short, but angled well so it's actually pretty damn good - I still ordered a WRS touring screen for cold riding. Windshield is adjustable, uses a tension cable system that's easy to operate.

Brakes

• Brembos certainly feel better than the Tracer 9's Nissin set, the initial bite is pretty intense. Don't think total braking distance is any quicker though. Physics dictates stopping distance based on wheelbase and center of gravity, shorter wheelbase unfortunately doesn't help with braking distance. 

Misc

• Shorter wheelbase than Tracer 9 (58.35" vs. 59.1") makes it feel slightly sportier in curves. It's not the curve crushing monster that the Gen 1 Tracer 900/FJ-09 (56.7" wheelbase) was, but it does feel like a sport bike that can tour; the Gen 3 Tracer 9 always felt like a touring bike with some sporty ability to me, which is why I never loved it like I did my FJ09.
• Service intervals are 9,300mi if you're using the Motorex oil, cool.
• Saddlebags are literally the exact same SHAD system on the Tracer 9, don't come with the bike though, ordered separately.

Barring any catastrophic reliability issues I think I'll be very happy with this bike. I do miss the FJ09 still, but this might be the closest modern equivalent. Maybe the BMW S1000XR or Suzuki GSX-S1000GX would've been fun, but in my experience an inline 4 would feel a bit "sterile" compared to a V-twin or the CP3.

[betoney]

Thanks for the write-up.  Curious in differences or how the larger motor affects your normal rpm operating range compared to the smaller CP3.  The 1200cc V4 motor on my VFR1200X is slower revving and comparing gears for certain speeds, everything happens 1,000 rpm lower for a given speed, it definitely feels more like a touring type of motor compared to the Yamaha.

Some riders always want more but after riding my 1200 for a few years, its big and comfortable but there is so much of the motor that I don't use, KTM has gone from 1290 to 1390 and rumors around of bumping up to 1490... how much of the power do you truly anticipate using?  I personally would like to see KTM make a GT version from the 890 or 990. 

[skipperT]

Glad you like the bike. 

Next time you bring it in, ask them to re-program the quickshifter settings. This requires XC_2 so it’s not something you can do yourself, but it may smooth out some of your shifts. 

The 1390 is a beast. It also adds fine control over suspension settings depending on mode selected and purchased acc. packs. The new shift-cam tech in the cylinder head smooths out some of your complaints WRT around town low rpm cruising. 

-skip

[jthayer09]

2 hours ago, skipperT said:

Glad you like the bike. 

Next time you bring it in, ask them to re-program the quickshifter settings. This requires XC_2 so it’s not something you can do yourself, but it may smooth out some of your shifts. 

The 1390 is a beast. It also adds fine control over suspension settings depending on mode selected and purchased acc. packs. The new shift-cam tech in the cylinder head smooths out some of your complaints WRT around town low rpm cruising. 

-skip

Thanks for the tip, I'll definitely ask for the QS reprogramming; it's had a false neutral 3 times now when going from 5th to 6th when using the quick shifter, so something needs adjusting. I've also read the 1290 engine runs lean at lower RPMs which impacts the QS smoothness; shift-cam on the new 1390s probably helps this too. Also, my front forks seem to be pointing about 2-3 degrees to the right when the wheel is straight so I will have them look into that. Apparently it's a common problem with the 1290 GTs that the steering bearing nut is loose from assembly.

3 hours ago, betoney said:

Thanks for the write-up.  Curious in differences or how the larger motor affects your normal rpm operating range compared to the smaller CP3.  The 1200cc V4 motor on my VFR1200X is slower revving and comparing gears for certain speeds, everything happens 1,000 rpm lower for a given speed, it definitely feels more like a touring type of motor compared to the Yamaha.

Some riders always want more but after riding my 1200 for a few years, its big and comfortable but there is so much of the motor that I don't use, KTM has gone from 1290 to 1390 and rumors around of bumping up to 1490... how much of the power do you truly anticipate using?  I personally would like to see KTM make a GT version from the 890 or 990. 

It's definitely slower revving than the CP3, but not pushrod engine slow; and like you said it settles about 1k-1.25k rpm lower than the CP3 at any given speed. Tomorrow will be my first ride outside of the break-in interval so I will rev it out higher and see the differences to the CP3, dyno charts look like a pretty straight linear progression up to 9,000rpm though.

And yeah, the power is excessive. I don't really understand the chase for more displacement on KTM's part, I doubt I'll ever really use even 90% of the SDGT motor unless I take it to the track. Also, manufacturer marketing is misleading on the displacement numbers, the 1290 is 1301cc but the 1390 is 1350cc... what gives? Yamaha is guilty of this too with the CP3 engine: 847cc originally then bumped to 890cc for gen 3, but of course marketing with "900" and "9" would lead you to believe it's 900cc. I also feel like some of KTM's reliability problems in their middleweight segment are possibly coming from swapping molds/casts so often to get displacement bumps every 1-2 years.

My riding buddy has a 1290 Super Duke R and he claims he uses "90% of the bike" despite the fact that he couldn't keep up with me on the Tracer 9 on the twisty roads 🙄. I'm actually riding with him tomorrow and he doesn't know I have the SDGT yet, that'll be fun.

[2and3cylinders]

Use it in good health!

[miweber929]

Great write up, thanks!!! 
 

The SDGT has always been on my short list of bikes I’m interested in but I’d been told so many horror stories of KTM reliability I’ve shied away from them. After buying my 500EXC-F I get their designs and philosophy a bit more and wouldn’t be as quick to dismiss them as I was. Also spending 5 seasons with a temperamental Ducati taught me the finicky European ways and how to deal. 
 

I liked my ‘20 Tracer a lot but never hit that love, and that’s where I’m at with my new Street Triple RS, a strong like. If it doesn’t grow any further the SDGT might be a contender to replace it. 

[Ride365]

Great honest write up, hope you stick around the forum, if ever around central Ohio or passing through......send me a PM. My buddy had many of your same impressions with his previous 1290 Adventure, very spot on about the quick-shifter, suspension comments......and that brutal engine. He's glad he had the 1290 for a spell but just never bonded with it, he's a BMW GS guy through and through, and that R1250 GS is one helluva damn near perfect motorcycle in his mind, and I am inclined to agree. There are many happy KTM and BMW owners out there, I have 2 good buddy's in that category. I had a week long lusting with a Duc Multistrada, almost bought that beast too. LOL

Edited June 2 by Ride365

[jthayer09]

On 6/2/2024 at 10:10 AM, Ride365 said:

Great honest write up, hope you stick around the forum, if ever around central Ohio or passing through......send me a PM. My buddy had many of your same impressions with his previous 1290 Adventure, very spot on about the quick-shifter, suspension comments......and that brutal engine. He's glad he had the 1290 for a spell but just never bonded with it, he's a BMW GS guy through and through, and that R1250 GS is one helluva damn near perfect motorcycle in his mind, and I am inclined to agree. There are many happy KTM and BMW owners out there, I have 2 good buddy's in that category. I had a week long lusting with a Duc Multistrada, almost bought that beast too. LOL

Trying to plan out a 555 loop currently, lining up peoples' schedules is tough. I'll definitely stay around the Tracer forums, there's enough gear, news, trip planning, and other bike discussions to have good time here.

Decent riding yesterday, as the dyno charts show it is a very linear progression as you wring out the throttle. No surprise "warp speed" effect, just predictably building speed.

Was a good group yesterday, the Speed Triple 1200RS rider could keep up with me fairly well so we linked comms and rode together to lead. My buddy on the Super Duke Evo had to eat some humble pie and hang in the middle of the pack. Honda RC51 rider (yes you read that correctly) has skill but some backroads were still wet so he hung back with the 3rd Super Duke rider (don't know his story but he is very slow - like new rider afraid of his bike slow) to keep him on the correct route.

[Ride365]

That's a nice gaggle of bikes!! I am not a fan of 555 unless it's the EXCELLENT section that is off 78 running to the river, the rest starting from Zanesville is a bit treacherous and has never tickled my fancy even though have ridden many times.

[2and3cylinders]

4 hours ago, Ride365 said:

That's a nice gaggle of bikes!! I am not a fan of 555 unless it's the EXCELLENT section that is off 78 running to the river, the rest starting from Zanesville is a bit treacherous and has never tickled my fancy even though have ridden many times.

My heart bleeds for you all... 😎

I don't like riding with more than one, maximum 2 other people because I'm so comparatively. Slow to my normal riding Buddy, who races but's older than me!

And then There's the roads

which he knows like the back of his hand

While being a retired police chief he won't pass on a double yellow, he takes risks I can't afford to take in my condition.   He's supremely confident but the roads we run are often blind. Much worse are the farms, trees and wildlife. I'm just not able to push myself with any zest.

Hey, I'm training myself to smell the roses as often as possible.  That's literally the best thing about riding, smelling the many odors while feeling the temperature variances.  All heightened by the intriguing images your eyes focus on as the world speed by...

[jthayer09]

On 6/4/2024 at 12:02 PM, 2and3cylinders said:

My heart bleeds for you all... 😎

I don't like riding with more than one, maximum 2 other people because I'm so comparatively. Slow to my normal riding Buddy, who races but's older than me!

And then There's the roads

which he knows like the back of his hand

While being a retired police chief he won't pass on a double yellow, he takes risks I can't afford to take in my condition.   He's supremely confident but the roads we run are often blind. Much worse are the farms, trees and wildlife. I'm just not able to push myself with any zest.

Hey, I'm training myself to smell the roses as often as possible.  That's literally the best thing about riding, smelling the many odors while feeling the temperature variances.  All heightened by the intriguing images your eyes focus on as the world speed by...

Nothing wrong with going slow, some of my favorite roads I slow down on to smell the scents and watch the animals run around and take in the sights. I'm the fastest in my friend group, either I wait at pull-off points or arrive to the destination first to secure our group a parking spot and table. If we have brand new riders they go in front so the faster people are forced to take their pace; if this is unacceptable or our group is larger than 6 we split into groups based on skill. The only time a problem comes up is if someone has ego they can't let go of like they want to be in the fast group but can't actually keep up.

Ride your ride, if you're with good people they will wait or take your pace.

Quick update on the Super Duke GT:
The dealership definitely missed some things on prep: bad battery, front alignment not true, air vent hose clearance not checked (making contact with header pipe, this is actually a recall on the Adventure models - replace plastic cap with metal cap and route the hose higher for more clearance), factory muffler has a small leak.

I showed these issues to the master tech when I dropped it off at the dealership for first service interval yesterday. Dealership is going to make everything right at no cost to me; they also knock off service cost of if you do any work yourself - because I did the oil and filter change they knocked off .5 hours of labor so I'm paying 1hr labor total for the remaining 1st service items (mostly inspections + diagnostic tool check). They log the maintenance you do yourself into KTM dealer.net for warranty compliance too as long as your provide the receipt that you bought Motorex fluids and a KTM filters - I don't think it has to be Motorex oil, but it has to be API SN or newer.

However, apparently KTM warranty in the US is garbage. It's slow and they will fight almost everything, master tech has a 390 Duke sitting in their shop waiting for KTM to approve warranty work going on 4-weeks now. Forums corroborate the same thing, calling US corporate seems to be the way to get your warranty case moving after dealership submits the claim. Master tech mentioned if I was going to get an aftermarket exhaust anyway it might be worth letting the factory muffler issue go in the interest of getting me back on the road faster.

Bike is great, KTM experience so far is subpar.
 

[jthayer09]

1,900mi thoughts:

The bike itself might be the best bike I've ever spent money on, it's that good. It runs a bit lean at lower RPM for emissions but that's barely noticeable as you can just pick a lower gear. Some tuner will hopefully crack the ECU soon for this generation and we'll get something easy like a fuel dongle to plug and play. Unfortunately Booster Plug has announced they won't be making products for EURO5 and newer bikes so it'll be a bit of a wait for fueling stuff.

But, the KTM experience is really not great and the company doesn't have a good rep so I don't think it's gonna get any better honestly; their response to their latest reliability problems on the middleweights is astoundingly bad.

I've had 3 different KTM parts go on backorder in my month of ownership. 2 of them have no forecast for when the part will be available in the US. The stock muffler came with a fairly large leak that was causing quite a bit of backfiring, tried to warranty it but radio silence from KTM so I just used RTV to seal it myself.

The dealership did give me a new battery free of charge as I mentioned before, and they properly routed airbox vent hose; but, whatever they did to try and align the front end didn't work so I did it myself and found that many bolts weren't torqued to spec, most importantly the steering head nut which is a bit scary.

So I can't honestly recommend KTM in the USA unless you're buying offroad or their top 1290/1390 bikes that are still made in Austria. Even then, all things considered I think a boxer twin from BMW would be better in 90% of scenarios. As for myself, if the 1290 SDGT wasn't on close-out pricing I likely would have bought a used BMW R1250R.

 

[betoney]

3 hours ago, jthayer09 said:

So I can't honestly recommend KTM in the USA unless you're buying offroad or their top 1290/1390 bikes that are still made in Austria. Even then, all things considered I think a boxer twin from BMW would be better in 90% of scenarios. As for myself, if the 1290 SDGT wasn't on close-out pricing I would've likely would've bought a used BMW R1250R.

 

I have to agree, I have only owned one KTM which was a 250MXC 2-stroke dirt bike.  It was fantastic until it wasn't, the only bike I have ever had to have the bottom end bearings replaced... not once but twice in 3 years.

If I ever end up owning any Euro bike it would most likely be a BMW R1250RS.