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I fear that the bug's got me again

Cyst

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Back in 2005 when the Husqvarna SM 610 came out I was only 23 , single and had no kids.
I remember reading a news article about the husky and thought to myself that I definitely needed that bike, so I bought it for the purpose of using that instead of a car - at the time a 1.3 city golf shuttle.

It was great. In my eyes it had loads of power and I rode it everywhere. The front light looked like shit, but the rest of the bike was crazy good looking to me.

Because I had this bike, my B.I.L. invited me to go to track days at Swartkops and ride his R6. What great fun that was!
He even let me ride his CBR1000 at Pakisha and it was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life.

Unfortunately I was pretty irresponsible and had a few minor crashes and narrow incidents with the bike and for some reason I just stopped riding it as often as I wanted to.

Eventually I let the bike go when I decided to swop that and the golf in for a bakkie.

I got married and now have two beautiful kids a mortgage and two cars that I pay off - one for me and one for the lady of the house. The responsibilities stacked up and the idea of having a bike went out the window. Every time I would bring up that maybe I want to get bike again, I would get shot down and that would be the end of the discussion.

Still, in the back of my mind, hidden in a very dark forgotten place, there was still the memories I had of the open road, the track days, the camaraderie of what it felt like to ride my own bike.

Well, those memories grew and I think it awoke the bug that I wanted...needed a bike again.

I remember 8 years ago I saw the launch video of the KTM super duke 1290. The one where the bike comes out of a hangar. I remember thinking, one day I will be big and responsible enough to have that as my bike.
It was my dream bike, even when the Ducati Diavel came out ( which I thought was one of the most bad-ass beautiful machines ever built ), I still had the super duke as my dream bike.

Last weekend, when I woke up on Saturday morning, for some inexplicable reason I started watching videos of the super duke. I have been keeping away from anything bike related for so long, so I was out of the loop on what new bikes and models were around.

To my surprise, KTM has been updating the super duke and was now on the 3rd generation of this bike. Apparently more powerful and more refined. It was a thing of beauty still!
For the last week I've been watching review after review after comparison between that and the rest of the hyper nakeds. The more I watched these videos, the more I realized that this bug is not going to go away any time soon.

I've gone so far as to look at what the best gear would be if I got this bike.

Now I'm at the stage where I'm afraid I might actually start planning on buying this Beast 3.0.

Please tell my why I shouldn't get this bike, or any bike for that matter.

I've been thinking about the reason I want this, the only reason I can think of it to break away from the monotony of working every day and taking care of the kids over weekends. Paying bills, making sure I send my water and light readings in every month. Book the cars in for services, renewing licenses and making sure my insurance covers me properly. It's getting old....

I would just like to once in a while, take a ride to pretty much anywhere for an hour or two to clear my mind and feel the freedom of the road again. I really enjoyed going balls to the wall on the track, so that would be great too. I'm NOT looking for a superbike at all.

The Super Duke is what I'm looking at. I've been thinking about maybe getting something else, something smaller, but then I just get depressed about doing this half assed.

IF I do decide to ignore the comments of people saying I will die in a horrible crash or lose a limb and actually buy a motorcycle, I guess there's nothing else I will be happier with other than the pure beastness of that 1300cc v-twin hyper naked.

Also I'm a bit heavy what with my lockdown bod, +-130kg and about 197cm tall, if that helps. I'm not heavy because of a boep, I just have a large frame, with a medium boep.
 
lol

First of all gen2 had a slight power bump. Gen 3 is a different frame and refined a bit more. There is a RR version coming out sometime but I would just avoid that as it looks like they are just tacking on everything from the extra's catalog with a bit of carbon fiber and charging an extra R100k+ for it.

I'm probably the wrong person to be saying anything about whether to get a bike as I would tell any person regardless of who they are to shove it if they tell me I shouldn't ride a bike for what ever reason BUT then again I don't have kids or anything like that so meh.

The KTM 1290 R is a great machine, I owned a gen2, massively powerful and the twin has oomph everywhere. I have somewhat boycotted KTM because of their service but the bike itself is great.

There are other bikes that are just as bonkers if not crazier. The 1200 Monster, Kawasaki ZH2, Streetfighter V4, BMWS1000R, Yamaha MT10.
Any proper naked is going to make you hold on and grin :)

EDIT: I have ridden a couple of them 200hp superbikes and they are a totally different ballpark. I wouldn't suggest riding the likes of them. It will make anything else feel slow :p
 
Eish, dude, I can relate on having a bug for a vehicle upgrade. The way I usually squash it is to do a nice sitdown with my finances and then doing a WANT versus NEED comparison. Take into account all current known and expected monthly expenses (loan payments, monthly bills, expected upcoming costs such as family holidays) compare that with my salary.

If there is positive leeway for the upgrade then consider the accompanying caveats of making the purchase, will I need a loan to afford it and the monthly payments involved (loan payment + insurance, etc). Usually this gets me close to or over my budget limits which makes saying NO easier. I usually also use the cost of a new vehicle in my planning when trying to dissuade myself from a purchase.

If still tempted at this point, I start looking at the costs of the needed loan and what the damage the interest on the loan will be over its term. The combined loan and interest cost is always an eye opener then that tied with the fact that it is a depreciating asset... Well that saying NO, becomes even easier.

Also, compare the needed loan payments against any existing loans you have, eg home loan. Taking the expected monthly payment payment for the new loan and compare with what would happen if that cash was instead paid into the home loan? The reduction in time in settling the home loan and the interest to be paid also helps me say NO.
 
There are other bikes that are just as bonkers if not crazier. The 1200 Monster, Kawasaki ZH2, Streetfighter V4, BMWS1000R, Yamaha MT10.
Any proper naked is going to make you hold on and grin :)
grin ? You only grin ?
I drool like a fourteen year old looking at his first set of boobs as soon as I hit 8000RPM
 
I need more people like @D3TTOL in my life!

The financial aspect of this is not an issue for me. I've been super lucky, or worked smartly or whatever you can call it to do this thing for myself. You can pay off as much shit as you want and still live a boring unfulfilled life.

I'm more afraid of being 50 and have paid for my house with no excitement in my life than I would be of paying off my house at 45 or 40.
That's what YOLO should have been, not what the teens of that time took from it and then got themselves in shitty situations.

And I get the thing about how dangerous bikes are and I understand it's not always the biker, but also the other road users. I would hate to leave my children and wife alone without me, but life is unpredictable and I can pass away in a car too. Shit, I might pass away in front of the TV from an aneurism for that matter. You can't live your life in fear. There's a shitload of old dudes still riding bikes.

The other nakeds might be stronger and faster and more refined, but they aren't tickling my fancy parts the same way the duke does.

I think this will end in a passion purchase more than a calculated one in regards to output figures and serviceability.
 
@Cyst


Haha, Not quite sure you'd want me in your life :p though it looks like you've made up your mind already.
Go for it if you have decided on it.

I will say one thing regarding the "dangers" topic. Yea it's dangerous, you will take that risk anytime you go out for a ride.
what I think about these "short sighted" peeps, I don't disagree with them. They are choosing not to ride for the safety of their family but they seem to have a "stick up the ass" mentality and I could also say that they should quit smoking, give up drinking entirely and avoid all sweets as they also increase your chance of an early death but that's an entirely different topic and I'm getting too invested in it now, so lets move on.

I like the way you think about the dangers of it, you know there is a risk but you also know you could die tomorrow to something completely unrelated to bikes.

Bikes like that are a passion purchase, it's 100% something you want not need.
 
Another thing that didn't help at all was when I looked at this forum and saw you guys going on rides together.
How dare you make me feel like an outsider for not having a motorcycle!
 
Get a bike, any bike that makes you get a squishy feeling when you see it. Forget the specs and what other people think.

On that note of don't worry about what other people think il give you some of my 2C too haha

Wy not look at an ADV bike, you can have so much fun on it, it's 'safer' as you spend most of your time offroad (wife selling point no1), you can happily get your wife involved. Even if you trailer the bikes to ADA or a cool off the beaten track village somewhere and both of you ride out.
 
I've been thinking of the "safer" ADV bikes, but then again, in my mind, it's like choosing to get a station wagon instead of a GTR because it's a smarter choice. Sure there are pretty good looking station wagons with lots of power and bigger engines, but it's not the same as a GTR.

I think I'm going with the squishy feeling I get when I think about the super duke. If I buy anything else, I'll keep thinking of what it would be like on the super duke and have regrets.

I'ma wait a couple of weeks of sleeping on it before I pull the trigger though.
I need to get a new license first though.
 
@Wacko_ZA , please tell this man how shit the 1290 is, and how much buyer's regret you have. :D

Anyhow, as for your request;

Reasons not to buy a bike: (non comprehensive)

- Your wife will remain the man of the house.
- Whenever your children see a dad with a bike, they will instinctively know you are a lesser dad.
- Your vagina will stay fully in tact. (Depending which bike you buy, this might not change.)
- Heavy machinery will remain difficult to use.
- You can comfortably listen to your Abba/Taylor Swift playlist in traffic.
 
/snip

EDIT: I have ridden a couple of them 200hp superbikes and they are a totally different ballpark. I wouldn't suggest riding the likes of them. It will make anything else feel slow :p
Can confirm. My S1000R went from a batshit crazy German woman to a timid, compliant lady.
 
Reasons to buy a superduke:

Grunt, lots of it...even to lug a fatty like me around.
Its rude, obnoxious, and stupidly fun.
It looks as bad ass as it sounds!
It drops @PandaAttack1 and his 1299 Ducati on pull away (dont let him tell you otherwise)
Gen 2's are SERIOUSLY cheap for what you get, at sub 200k you can get a like new machine, with all the bells and whistles. ask me, I did it 2 weeks ago.
DO IT!!!
BUY IT @Cyst
Otherwise please forward your address so we can send on some manpons.
 
What's the service schedule like on the 1290?

Wife and I test ride the 790 R and S ADV for a extended canals loop (+-200km) and although they decent bikes the service costs are insane.

Can't remember the exact amount r for r but it was like first service 1800, second 4000 and third was 20K... So at 30K km you have spent +-25K on service only. This was pricing given to us at RaceWorx.

It just put me off, but honestly that 790 gearbox is just blegh! Overall it's a decent bike but I feel the competition is better ( T7/Tiger 900/Africa Twin).
 
What's the service schedule like on the 1290?

Wife and I test ride the 790 R and S ADV for a extended canals loop (+-200km) and although they decent bikes the service costs are insane.

Can't remember the exact amount r for r but it was like first service 1800, second 4000 and third was 20K... So at 30K km you have spent +-25K on service only. This was pricing given to us at RaceWorx.

It just put me off, but honestly that 790 gearbox is just blegh! Overall it's a decent bike but I feel the competition is better ( T7/Tiger 900/Africa Twin).
It's hard to disagree. There's too much competition in that class for KTM to put that price tag on the 790 adv.

I am in the market for an adventure bike, and I keep migrating back to an old 1200GS or 800 Tiger. I can't fault the GS, but the Tiger looks very appealing to me. I'd love to get a 1190, but maintenance is holding me back. I want to ride stuff like the Sani pass etc, the 300 fulfills the other off road thrills.
 
It's hard to disagree. There's too much competition in that class for KTM to put that price tag on the 790 adv.

I am in the market for an adventure bike, and I keep migrating back to an old 1200GS or 800 Tiger. I can't fault the GS, but the Tiger looks very appealing to me. I'd love to get a 1190, but maintenance is holding me back. I want to ride stuff like the Sani pass etc, the 300 fulfills the other off road thrills.
Says the guy who has a desmodromic engine.... they are definitely cheap to maintain right?

Reasons to buy a superduke:

Grunt, lots of it...even to lug a fatty like me around.
Its rude, obnoxious, and stupidly fun.
It looks as bad ass as it sounds!
It drops @PandaAttack1 and his 1299 Ducati on pull away (dont let him tell you otherwise)
Gen 2's are SERIOUSLY cheap for what you get, at sub 200k you can get a like new machine, with all the bells and whistles. ask me, I did it 2 weeks ago.
DO IT!!!
BUY IT @Cyst
Otherwise please forward your address so we can send on some manpons.
Yea, Loads of grunt. Sounds awesome. I just had an unfortunate experience with them.
 
What's the service schedule like on the 1290?

Wife and I test ride the 790 R and S ADV for a extended canals loop (+-200km) and although they decent bikes the service costs are insane.

Can't remember the exact amount r for r but it was like first service 1800, second 4000 and third was 20K... So at 30K km you have spent +-25K on service only. This was pricing given to us at RaceWorx.

It just put me off, but honestly that 790 gearbox is just blegh! Overall it's a decent bike but I feel the competition is better ( T7/Tiger 900/Africa Twin).
I got to ride the 790 when we did the middle weight shoot out for MRW. what a beast man. the new one with quick shifter etc is absolutely amazing! it was SOOOO close between that and the 765RS triumph...
148071238_10159296633928336_4472768569122941544_n.jpg
 
Back in 2005 when the Husqvarna SM 610 came out I was only 23 , single and had no kids.
I remember reading a news article about the husky and thought to myself that I definitely needed that bike, so I bought it for the purpose of using that instead of a car - at the time a 1.3 city golf shuttle.

It was great. In my eyes it had loads of power and I rode it everywhere. The front light looked like shit, but the rest of the bike was crazy good looking to me.

Because I had this bike, my B.I.L. invited me to go to track days at Swartkops and ride his R6. What great fun that was!
He even let me ride his CBR1000 at Pakisha and it was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life.

Unfortunately I was pretty irresponsible and had a few minor crashes and narrow incidents with the bike and for some reason I just stopped riding it as often as I wanted to.

Eventually I let the bike go when I decided to swop that and the golf in for a bakkie.

I got married and now have two beautiful kids a mortgage and two cars that I pay off - one for me and one for the lady of the house. The responsibilities stacked up and the idea of having a bike went out the window. Every time I would bring up that maybe I want to get bike again, I would get shot down and that would be the end of the discussion.

Still, in the back of my mind, hidden in a very dark forgotten place, there was still the memories I had of the open road, the track days, the camaraderie of what it felt like to ride my own bike.

Well, those memories grew and I think it awoke the bug that I wanted...needed a bike again.

I remember 8 years ago I saw the launch video of the KTM super duke 1290. The one where the bike comes out of a hangar. I remember thinking, one day I will be big and responsible enough to have that as my bike.
It was my dream bike, even when the Ducati Diavel came out ( which I thought was one of the most bad-ass beautiful machines ever built ), I still had the super duke as my dream bike.

Last weekend, when I woke up on Saturday morning, for some inexplicable reason I started watching videos of the super duke. I have been keeping away from anything bike related for so long, so I was out of the loop on what new bikes and models were around.

To my surprise, KTM has been updating the super duke and was now on the 3rd generation of this bike. Apparently more powerful and more refined. It was a thing of beauty still!
For the last week I've been watching review after review after comparison between that and the rest of the hyper nakeds. The more I watched these videos, the more I realized that this bug is not going to go away any time soon.

I've gone so far as to look at what the best gear would be if I got this bike.

Now I'm at the stage where I'm afraid I might actually start planning on buying this Beast 3.0.

Please tell my why I shouldn't get this bike, or any bike for that matter.

I've been thinking about the reason I want this, the only reason I can think of it to break away from the monotony of working every day and taking care of the kids over weekends. Paying bills, making sure I send my water and light readings in every month. Book the cars in for services, renewing licenses and making sure my insurance covers me properly. It's getting old....

I would just like to once in a while, take a ride to pretty much anywhere for an hour or two to clear my mind and feel the freedom of the road again. I really enjoyed going balls to the wall on the track, so that would be great too. I'm NOT looking for a superbike at all.

The Super Duke is what I'm looking at. I've been thinking about maybe getting something else, something smaller, but then I just get depressed about doing this half assed.

IF I do decide to ignore the comments of people saying I will die in a horrible crash or lose a limb and actually buy a motorcycle, I guess there's nothing else I will be happier with other than the pure beastness of that 1300cc v-twin hyper naked.

Also I'm a bit heavy what with my lockdown bod, +-130kg and about 197cm tall, if that helps. I'm not heavy because of a boep, I just have a large frame, with a medium boep.
I've had a few bikes (not as many as others here).

Personally I keep mine on the race track now as it's a way more controlled environment.

I've done thousands and thousands of KM of commuting. I've always lived at least 50km from work... more often like 75km - 80km from work. With how pent up with rage people are and how busy the roads are and their condition I prefer to avoid it.

You can really enjoy the bike out on the track... and when you hit up Phakisa (MAN I NEED SOME TRACK AGAIN) you can make a weekend of it and forget "life" for a bit.

I couldn't behave myself on the road and would prefer to misbehave where the consequences are a little less.

Each to their own... some peeps love their breakfast run and stuff... and those things are fun... but man the measuring stick comes out fast and that very easily leads to drama.

The biggest problem with breakfast runs isn't the speeds as such it's more a thing of some guys ride every day and others every second, third or fifth week... Now someone who rides more will most likely be calmer and react better to "stuff" compared to a dude that rides 1 out of 6 weekends.

When you ride outside your comfort zone it's MUCH more likely for things to go wrong... and when pack riding if it's not a disciplined bunch of people the faster guys zoom along (maybe just inside their comfort zone so they still have margin for error), the 1 in 6 weekend dudes have to push themselves to keep up... and they do their best because "jislaaik ou, why you ride so slow you pissie!" is a thing.

If you want to ride on the road, train.... train emergency stops... go for courses... go to the track... AND pick the right peeps to ride with... people that will support you as you grow your skills. If you want to push each other, go do it on the track. Ride at like 75% "skill level" to give you margin for error when the pedestrian steps out or the car that shouldn't be there suddenly is.
 
We are on the exact same tip. Except I am itching for a Harley breakout.

Was messing around on olx saw a beauty of a GSXR 750 right in the crosshairs ... the realized I got a 2 year old ... my mind says I'm a ninja this older body... not so much ...

Reality is mate, we not as testo as we once were and hear me out here ... that does not mean we can not do superbikes, it just means not in this country. This place is FULL of idiots Taxi's and cars alike. Over confidence is the number one cause of drowning in the ocean.

Overseas = hell yeah ... a lot safer. (Not buletproof) but much better odds.

Track days - Pull the trigger now ...

2 hour joy ride / Suicide.

Anyway heart wants what the heart wants. You know the one million reasons not to. It's that one that brought you to carb for final validation.

Just be sure to up the life insurance make sure the family is well taking care of.
 
I got to ride the 790 when we did the middle weight shoot out for MRW. what a beast man. the new one with quick shifter etc is absolutely amazing! it was SOOOO close between that and the 765RS triumph...
148071238_10159296633928336_4472768569122941544_n.jpg

Awesome! I can't speak for the 790 Duke but the ADV just didn't feel premium in any way. What gets me is paying 200K for a bike with a quick shifter built in and then having to pay to have it unlocked, it's Kak to do that.

The 790 ADV R I tested got a few false neutrals, really hard to get a feel when you're in a gear as it just lightly slips in which gives you no feedback when you're on dirt.

I got MTC and some other failure on my ride on a bike with 2K km. I was also warned though another mate with 2 790 Adv R's (couples) that he had gone through 4 OEM heated grips in under 1.5 years. As much as I love this bike it doesn't feel premium or give off a reliable vibe. This is completely my experience only but it was off-putting.

Il be testing the T7's this weekend, organised 2 through Mike at Linex Yamaha l. Will do the same route as the 790s.
 
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For me its simple, once my youngest leaves the house then I will buy a bike again

That is kak far away though
 
I'm actually glad this thread died down for a while and then suddenly exploded with posts!

So since we last spoke I've actually ..how can I say it... exhausted the itch by watching too many videos and reading too many reviews that I started growing tired of seeing a picture or read about the superduke. I was interested in the 2020 gen.3 version that's apparently a lot easier and a bit "tamer" than the gen 1 and gen 2 bikes.
Anyways, that doesn't matter anymore because I started using my head and not my heart and I realize now that the superduke is probably not for me for various reasons. Also, wtf with 25Gs on services, are they fucking insane?

This doesn't mean that I'm completely off the "get a bike" thing. I still want one. Now I can focus on what I SOULD be looking for instead of what I think I wanted.

I see Husqvarna has a Svartpilen 701 but I don't know if I want a thumper again. It was cool for a week, but I missed the smoothness of a multi cylinder engine after long rides.
 
For me its simple, once my youngest leaves the house then I will buy a bike again

That is kak far away though
Same here, I miss it a lot. Also don't have space for a track toy.
 
The service prices mentioned apply to the 790 ADV only, i cant say that's the same for any other KTM offering.

@Cyst Think about what you will be doing as a daily on that bike as well as maintenance costs. A lot of guys opt for the ADV bike as it gives them a lot of options besides commuting; they are generally not as high strung as a SBK so have longer service intervals and in general are better on running costs.

Don't underestimate how good a ADV can be on track, i've heard of guys on Tiger 800's giving some SBK guys a whipping! its all about skill and balls lol (Obviously an exp rider on a SBK will get better times).

My advice, look at your budget, get maintenance quotes (0-60K), if commuting (fuelly for avg consumption) and then most importantly get your butt dyno out and say to the dealer i need at min a full day. I collect on Sat closing hours and return Monday first thing that way i get to experience the bike over a couple of days to really get the feel of it. Comfort, quirks, likes and dislikes in an non rushed environment.
 
.. and then most importantly get your butt dyno out and say to the dealer i need at min a full day. I collect on Sat closing hours and return Monday first thing that way i get to experience the bike over a couple of days to really get the feel of it. Comfort, quirks, likes and dislikes in an non rushed environment.
Do dealers actually let people do this? I've heard a couple of times that they stopped letting people take bikes for test rides like this. It would be amazing to be able to test it for a full day though. I assume it's only if they have demo models though.
 

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