2012 Ktm 990 Smt Review
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Discussion Starter · #1 · (Edited)
I just bought a 2010 smt with 2,100 km on it. Had to wait for a fews days until the rain stopped and the sun came out. But finally it did and today I took it out for the first time. Before I get into it, Ill let you know that Im more of a dirt bike guy as I have had off road bikes my whole life. the only street bikes I have riden are a ZX-7, and R-6, a KLR 250, and some Suzuki 500 piece of garbage.
I got 4 hours of riding in. the roads were wet for the first hour but the sun was out and dried them up. (10 degrees C outside temp)
The bike was so easy to get used to. Im not sure how to describe what this bike is. Im not sure if the bike knows what it is.....at first it felt like a dirt bike that was trying to be a sport bike, but other times it felt like I was on a enduro thumper......
The rinding position was good, comfortable and natural. (5"11, 180lbs)
The engine was unreal.....Ive never been on anything like it (well I did date this stripper for a while.....but that is another story...) The engine had tons of low end grunt and pulled strong through the entire RPM range. A little scary at first as this was my first go with a big V-Twin. But after an hour or so it felt like I had been riding it for years.
I had set the suspension to the "sport" settings which are the firmest settings and it felt "right". It soaked up the bumps but the bike was right with me in the corners.
I will say that the seat lets you know that this really is KTM as after about 3.5 hours my butt was getting sore. However, this was my first ride in 3 years so maybe thats just me not used to motorcycling.
The brakes did squeak which seems to be a theme with these bikes.
So easy to control at slow speeds, I live in Burnaby BC which is a part of Vancouver and some of my ride was right in the city. It really feels like a dirt bike with street tires. Until of course you hit the throttle and then you quickly realize that this is no 250 cc motocross bike. This bike really wants to go fast.
On that note I do understand why people say that the throttle feels "jumpy" or "jerky" in first gear. I did get a bit of that but I have ridden so many 2-stroke dirt bikes in my day I felt at home and it didnt bother me at all.
I had it up to 130 km/hour on the freeway and the small windscreen did help protect my stomach and chest but my head and shoulders were taking the wind full force. A touring windscreen would be a must if you wanted to go on any extended trip. The tranny felt sharp and solid but I did have several missed shifts going from 1st to second....I hit neutral more than I would have liked.....but again that may have just just been me being rusty.....
On the totally superficial side.... I got looks from everyone and several "thumbs up" and "hang loose" hand signs from both girls and guys. The bike was an eye catcher for sure. (I have the orange/black one)
If you take one thing from this review, take this......GO GET ONE. Totally worth the money. It is easy to ride, yet still a little scary, and the total package is high quality, unreal technology, and most importantly......I have had a smile on my face all day.
Cheers
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Discussion Starter · #3 ·
Ive been out on it a few more times since I wrote that and it impresses me more and more each time I ride it. I do not regret that purchase one bit. totally worth the money.
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Great write up!
Makes me want one too.
Source: https://www.ktmforums.com/threads/990-smt-first-ride-review.5412/
