I think i have finally decided after a mega ROAD TEST !!

[Blimey]

We just back from the festival and a big up to Albion for letting me loose on their KTM 990 Superduke for an hour was only ment to be half but we had a bit of fun.

Man the bike is fecking awesome. Took a while to get used to the upright sitting position and for dealing with a 999cc twin well that deffo needs more practice.

Was all sorted on buying one this morning from Albion but some bugger beat me to it. It was a 2006 with only 820 miles on the clock. Gutted to hell. Didn't want to share it with everyone untill the deal was clenched and i had a proper test ride on it.

I think this is the bike this time. Got my sights and heart set on it. I just had sooo much fun on it today and after 18 months of searching and intensive test rides and talks this one just fills the emptyness i keep feeling.

So i am in search of a 990 Superduke with twin Akropovics and R&G crash bungs and the bike has to be in Black (all black) and take my RR in as a trade in.

If i can't find a great second hand one then i will just waist money on a new one and take for ever paying for it on the never never

[r1dave]

Well m8 if you like it that much buy one on the never never at least you will have it instead of waiting

[Rsv4Col]

Have you tried the Aprilia Tuono

[deej]

i can completely understand where your coming from mark as i had a simailar experience today

me and a mate took out 2 ccm r30's and had more fun in one afternoon on them than 3 years + riding sportsbikes on the roads,ever since ive done trackdays road ridings been no fun but today that all changed.
speed wobbles flat out at 95, front wheel in the air,loads of stoppies,wore a way a set of toe sliders in a afternoon. what cracking little bikes,som much more fun than a sportsbike and the benefit of not putting yourself in a licencse losing position either,the only negative thing is the 160 rear section. i loved it so much i'll be on ebay tonight looking for a crappy little thing to rag around the south west

mark,i think the superduke is a good way to go as it has more top end but what about the 990 supermoto ? if your after fun it could be a awesome bike,if you want something bigger for touring/top end then the duke could be the perfect bike for ya

[Blimey]

Have you tried the Aprilia Tuono

I havn't yet no !!

Not quite sure on it really do like but don't. Test ride would prob sort that but one reason i want to change is being able to work on bike without removing 2 hours worth of fairing and just keep it all simple really. Tuono still looks too complex and tight in that area. Don't get me wrong fab looking bike and just the thing i would like but everything still sort of crammed in there.

Looked at the test ride everyone else is going on but the Tuono is booked at the time eveyone else is riding can get a 10 0'clock slot thou

Does anyone feel KTM is over priced ??

Oh and Deej the front end wobble was what i was having trouble with. The front is just sooo light with that much torque to play with But i still loved it. The bloke who came out with me said you enjoyed that didn't you and i said I FEEL LIKE A F*CKING HOOLIGAN MORE MORE MORE

[deej]

K keeps
T taking
M money

that might give you a clue mate

for a unproven bike it does seem over priced,also after watching them at thruxton bsb i was disappointed with how slow they looked and the akra's werent too loud either,the 125s seemed more interesting. im sure on devons finest roads it would be a different story though

[CvPiper]

Nice bikes, but one hell of a shock going from a Honda to a KTM. Build quality is not something they have heard of.

[graham22]

K keeps
T taking
M money

that might give you a clue mate

for a unproven bike it does seem over priced,also after watching them at thruxton bsb i was disappointed with how slow they looked and the akra's werent too loud either,the 125s seemed more interesting. im sure on devons finest roads it would be a different story though

It's a proven motor - used as a 950cc in many a Dakar rally & in the Adventure model for a few years now.

The whole bike is pretty well engineered with alot of attention paid to the finish and electrics - pretty much to Honda standard.

Speedwise, with the 2007 spec gearing (1 tooth lower on 2006 gearbox sprocket - very much a common mod) will see 150mph and do a 10.6 1/4 mile. Last weekend outdragged a RSV to 130+ from a roundabout and beat a 950cc Blade on the 1/4 mile - even surprised me. The motor/whole bike is much more urgent compared to a TL1000 I recently rode.

Riding position is not that up-right as the risers & bars are quite low - TBH the higher bars on the SM & Tuono put me off of them as you felt a bit remote to the front end after years of sportsbikes/clip-ons.

Mine is my first non-jap bike, my last being a GSXR1000, it has the same giggle factor as a single cylinder super-moto but the legs of a normal sports bike.

There have been a few for sale recently on e-bay, also look on http://www.superduke.net (you'll need to register as a user to see the for sale section), don't worry about getting one with standard exhausts as few people are doing pipes now and the main dealer will up-load the appropriate fuelling map for you).

Personally I had better service from JD Racing compared to Albion (Albion sold their demo bike quite early on so expected their customers to buy a brand new bike without test driving one - madness considering the market the SD is pitched at).

As you can guess, I'm still raving over mine and have no intentions of selling it.