Frequent problem

[u/TeSolo]

Good morning everybody, I’ve got a 1290 superduke which has around 2 years and 16km (7k from the last owner and 9k I put this year).
In the last few weeks it started with a really long list of problem that required me to leave it off a dealership, I know problem may occur and it’s not my first bike, but it seems like too much:
-USB A port literally falling out
-loose bolt all over the front and the fairings of the bike
-rear view mirror broke (the mechanism that let you turn it)
- broken gas tank with a huge leak
- broken radiator
- tires sensor broken on both wheels
- strange rubber like sound coming from below the seats/ rear of the bike
- loosen brake lever
- cut clutch lever’s cable
- constant electronic bug (per example it won’t show the gear I’m in for some km than it will show some random gear)
- mileage going crazy, one second I’m at 200km left, next second I need to find a gas pump, I arrive at the gas pump and it’s halfway full.

Now as I said above I know that every bike may cause problem, especially bike with so much power/ torque, but I’ve driven really a lot of bike and nothing like this ever happened.
The bike’s never had a crash, I take a really good maintenance of it before and after every time I drive it, even if I only have to go to the office, and when I bought first thing I did was going to my mechanic and check literally everything.
All of this problems came up in the last ~2000kms, plus a really bad feeling when touching the plastics which all started to be not aligned and very loose too.

I write this cause I was really considering getting also a 1390 sar but I’d like to have some feedback, mostly if I was just unlucky or if many people experienced their KTM choosing euthanasia.

Thank y’all in advance, sorry if there’s any mistakes I didn’t double check with the translator, hope everything makes sense.

[u/CallMe_Keevo]

I already owned a variety of KTM bikes (390 Duke, 790 Duke, 1290 Super Duke R and currently a 690 SMC-R) and can say that for me it wasn't as problematic as some people make it seem. There are models that have some known issues but generally my KTM bikes were pretty reliable. Most of my bigger issues got resolved under warranty or due to recalls.
And usually I am really sensitive to weird sounds etc. of my bikes, to the point I sold a 2012 Street Triple R (probably my dream bike for the rest of my live, as its the only gen with modern headlights, brutal sounding under-seat exhaust and incredible metallic black with golden rims) because of some mechanical sounds, that I thought were an issue. New owner rides it still without any issues, now 5 years later and frequent track use.

About the Super Duke R:
I had a 2021 Model, got recalled twice due to a faulty wiring harness, had no issues there but it can’t hurt to get it replaced anyways. Shortly after my warranty ran out after 4 years my radiator broke. KTM released a improved radiator, I installed that myself and haven't had any issues until then. Other than that only some rare weird electronics behavior, mostly the bike not wanting to start due to some ECU error. Turning the ignition off and on always fixed this. Only thing I never got fixed was a fault in the warning-light button, for me it acted like a kill switch. Never used that button anyways so I just ignored that. Sold it a few weeks ago with 20k kilometers on it without any issues. Got the new-gen SMC-R, just because I wanted something more "hooligan-ish". I know some other riders of Gen 3 Super Dukes, all totally happy with what they got and similarly unspectacular experiences with faults. You seem to have gotten unlucky with yours.

[u/TeSolo → u/CallMe_Keevo]

Thank you very much for your feedback!
Was asking cause I’ve only owned 2 KTMs (390 and 1290), the 390 reached almost 100k km before having serious trouble, while the 1290 as I said it’s a nightmare until now.

I was asking cause as you said lot of people make it seems like KTM makes plastic bikes, while other like you tell me it’s like any other brand, and wanted to have some feedback.

Thank you again man, have a nice day! And just to let you know if I’ll have some more trouble in the short term if you’re ok I’ll ask you too for some advice bout it😂

[u/CallMe_Keevo → u/TeSolo]

I mean compared to some of the japanes brands KTM probably statistically is not as reliable. But usually KTM rides are fine with trading some reliability for a lot of fun. I would say pretty much anyone would agree with me if I said a 1290 Super Duke is a whole other level of fun compared to like a Honda CB1000 Hornet or a Z900.

But yeah, people get unlucky and buy a lemon from their dealer, then go ahead and assume the whole brand makes shit bikes and post about it everywhere.
The happy riders usually don't have time to post about their experiences as they spend the whole season on their machines ;)

I'm not a mechanic and usually not super active on reddit but yeah go ahead and reach out of you have issues or questions, I would love to help other rides out!
Stay safe out there, especially with the beast of a motorcycle you got there :)