I just bought a Honda 450L. My buddy has KTM's and of course he tried to get me to go with one. I am a big fan of Honda. In fact the ST was the first bike outside the Honda company. I rode the 450L and it fit me better than a 500 or 501. I had heard about quality issues with the KTM/Husky products (the dealer even warned me about the camshaft issue. He had both bikes.) Sure they are a bit lighter but they vibrated more, didn't have much torque until it was revved (which makes sense for a racing machine) and that's not where I planned on using it most of the time. I wanted torque and with the Taco MotoTaipan ECU with the AIM switch it has a lot of torque. Titanium Graves exhaust also dropped 9 to 10# off of the bike so it is not far off of the KTM weight... and that KTM weight is dry not wet and Honda is wet so now you are very close to equal. So with that and Honda reliability I had to go Honda... plus it was used and heavily farkled so I had to save money by buying it. Wife didn't see it that way though!
KTM in trouble
- Thread starter bimota
- Start date
Cantab
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Mate had all intake valves replaced at 15000km service (22' 790R) last week because of the Airbox seal issue KTM paid up for those parts etc. He asked dealer
to inspect cams and they were good this is way earlier than schedule. The airbox fix is to use silicone to seal up, wasnt the first bike there to have valves replaced.
Mate does 5000km oil/filter changes.
Cantab
Well-Known Member
Cant be that bad they're still running MotoGP teams including GasGas.
KTM In Financial Trouble; Seeks 100 Million Euros For Staying Afloat
KTM finds itself in financial trouble, with a significant slowdown in US and European sales among other things.www.ndtv.com
rob
Spose Redbulls propping them up ?
Dirt_Dad
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Replacing the S10 with a KTM felt like a huge risk for me. After all, i always valued reliability above all else. Lord knows, I read the horror stories and they had me feeling uneasy.
Well over 4 years and 40K+ miles later, I'm glad I took the chance on KTM. My experience has been overwhelmingly positive. With build quality and reliability superior to my 4 Super Teneres, I've been won over. Experiencing KTM's commitment to supporting a traveler with a dead stator in a foreign country was hugely appreciated.
I understand there are others with less positive experiences. But my first hand ownership experience does inspire me to always want a KTM option available.
Well over 4 years and 40K+ miles later, I'm glad I took the chance on KTM. My experience has been overwhelmingly positive. With build quality and reliability superior to my 4 Super Teneres, I've been won over. Experiencing KTM's commitment to supporting a traveler with a dead stator in a foreign country was hugely appreciated.
I understand there are others with less positive experiences. But my first hand ownership experience does inspire me to always want a KTM option available.
agree, but that will and i hope not soon get effected, with the money that goes there with development to
rob
Bridgee13
Active Member
Seems to me adding the latest technology to bikes has made them too expensive for most of us.
Bikes should have safety aids ofcourse, but so much is so unnecessary and has pushed up new prices so much, they can't sell them.
That's why showrooms are closing and KTM are in trouble?
Bikes should have safety aids ofcourse, but so much is so unnecessary and has pushed up new prices so much, they can't sell them.
That's why showrooms are closing and KTM are in trouble?
yep theres been a motorcycle dealer 1 mile from my house its huge, honda, suzuki,moto guzzi, etc etc THIUNDEROAD MOTORCYCLES closed liquidation they were part of the complete bike franchice that have closed alot of big shops this last month
rob
Bridgee13
Active Member
My first bike in 1980 was a Honda MT5 definitely no tech haha and 30 bikes later my 2013 XT doesn't need anymore tech than it's got.
cyclemike4
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I have kept an eye on the motorcycle industry my whole life. I love motorcycles and even bikes I know I will never own I still like to read about them and look at them. I have followed KTM since they were just mainly providing dirt bikes for mostly the European market. It was fun to follow them into a world leader of innovation for motorcycles. I certainly hope they pull out of this mess and the employees they have to let go can find a means of support or can continue to work in the world of motorcycle manufacturing. My oldest son bought a KTM 300 several years ago and that was a well built motorcycle. We really had no issues with it at all. Not only that it pulled like a monster. when it hit the top end you would swear you were on a CR 500.
seems to be this paradigm that if it is on cars it should be on bikes……adaptive cruise? Electronic adjustment suspension? Cornering lights? The list goes on. IMHO many modern features lack the marginal utility to justify the cost….they are sexy though but so is a high priced hooker
3 digit milllion loss?? YEOW!
-=clinton=-
Active Member
Agreed. I had a 2015 Super Adventure Touring. Bought it with 4k miles in 2018 or 2019. Put 14k miles on it in 14 months and it was amazing. Quirky, but amazing. The cruise switch was on the right hand bar, and the cruise accelerator and decal was kinda iffy. And if you left both the heated seats on for 9 hours straight you'd get a general warning, warning. And once the speedo needle got stuck after the start up sweep. But the electronic suspension was the best I've ever had on any bike and the 135 HP at the rear wheel was hard on intoxicating but hard on tires. All that being said, I couldn't get over the back of my mind fear of a break down. I had a fuel filter issue in western Kansas that was remedied by changing to a guglatech filter/pump combo and didn't interrupt my trip, and I removed all Evap crap like everyone else does. If I had know then, what I know now, which is all the electronics were made by Bosch. Bosch started the ABS/Electronics game. I wouldn't be concerned. The 1290 LC8 motors are tried and true, a friend put 90k miles on a super enduro and he wasn't nice to it. In fact I've considered another SA-T. I hope KTM gets it straight. But they won't because the CEO has to much power and has surrounded himself with yes men. In my experience, that @sshole that you work with that tells you you're wrong, is usually the one who ends up saving the business.
~TABASCO~
RIDE ON ADV is what I do !
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Im not touching on the passion that KTM customers have for the brand, but strictly numbers & business........ They are in a bad place and on the edge. Will they ultimately disappear? Probably not but will be acquired on the International market by aqusition investors. And at that point its 100% money making turn around then to flip the company.(drastically change overnight so the books look profitable) Most of the time it's all down hill from there, and there are a million examples. Just look at Hoonigan, but there are so many examples in so many different business segments.
Ive recently read that RedBull are floating them for some of the remaining racing stuff (and probably staff). Also they are shutting down one factory, laying off another 300-400 people and turning another plant off for two months. All while introducing a hand full of new models for 2025. From 35,000 feet, it's not looking good (as we all know of KTM today).
but as always - I could be wrong
Ive recently read that RedBull are floating them for some of the remaining racing stuff (and probably staff). Also they are shutting down one factory, laying off another 300-400 people and turning another plant off for two months. All while introducing a hand full of new models for 2025. From 35,000 feet, it's not looking good (as we all know of KTM today).
but as always - I could be wrong
There are a million riders out there that would love to have something around a 250 cc bike to just ride around town and hits some trails, but the $5K to $8K price won't let them. I've said for years Honda needs to build an XL250 similar to what they did in the 80's. Build a steel framed XL250 with twin rear shocks, steel rims, 20HP and sell them for $2995.00. They could sell a million of them and put new riders on bikes they can afford.
Around here, I've been seeing more E-bikes. The kinds with pedals. No helmets, registration, insurance, or license required. This is another thing that's killing the motorcycle industry. And the ones around here are going to get killed. Bicycles are required to follow the rules of the road just like cars. The numbnuts I've been seeing just go where they want. And they're doing 15-20mph through parking lots while not making a sound. When I was kid and rode bicycles, I acted as if nobody could see me. It was up to me to not get splatted by a car. I saw one the other day looking at his phone while cruising down the road.
OldRider talks about a cheap $3k motorcycle. The E-bikes start at $500 and top out well below that.
OldRider talks about a cheap $3k motorcycle. The E-bikes start at $500 and top out well below that.
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My nephew who is a freshman at college texts me last night to ask my opinion on a Honda Ruckus he found for sale. Here's the abbreviated conversation:
Me: Why do you want a Ruckus?
Him: I'm going to be living off-campus next year, and me and my roommates are all buying them so we can commute in since the bus is inconvenient.
Me: Don't be a dumbass and go take an MSF course and get licensed before you even think of buying that. You can die just as easily on a 49cc bike as a 1000cc bike.
For those who don't know 49cc and below you don't even need a motorcycle license to ride them. Which is probably why him and his buddies are all looking to buy scooters.