Hi all , just trying to get the post count up so i can get to start posting pics so here is a review of a KTM i did in July last year , ill add photos of the bike when i have permission ..enjoy…or don’t

Wes

KTM 990 sm review

KTM 990sm ..town names and speeds have been altered to protect the innocent

Lately I’ve been thinking of getting rid of the blade, trading it in for something special or just something upright and slower.

Ducatis have been creeping into my thoughts, a hyypermotard but recently a 999 has taken my fancy.

The realisation I have no money to help pay for a new purchase and the fact I don’t get out that often put paid to having a ducati in the garage.

My mate had a loan of his cousins Ktm 990 sm for three weeks, so upright and slower presented itself, so. .

Weather: dry, very dry 25 degrees

Footwear: Oxtar summat or other I got for free tucked under Dainese leathers.

First impressions, it’s tall, taller than me, and orange, more orange than me.

Little chit chat with my mate , it’s a 2008 with only 3800 kms on it, he was out on it all day in the rain yesterday, it normally lives indoors and now the clocks have water inside and the idiot lights are working intermittently. Is it starting? Yes…then fuck the clocks give me the keys.

Throw a leg over, sorry, attempt to throw a leg over. Stand on peg, throw leg over, tippy toe and try get the stand up, no gromit to assist getting it with your foot so it’s awkward but I manage it.

Leave his estate, nice and easy, kids on paths parents in gardens, don’t confirm you’re a prick.

Main road, cold tyres, accelerate and the front comes up, just a little, I’m shit at wheelies, I can’t actually do them on purpose, the next 80 minutes have more single wheel action in one spin than I’ve had in my previous biking lifetime.

Out of town, I’m heading to a particular stretch of road which I’ll travel up, and back on, a mix of twists, turns, long sweepers, bumps, bridges, nice tarmac and shiny worn roads. It’ll test what I want tested on this machine. To get there I head through “someplace” a kind of gated area with an open golf course, fishing lake, back roads and large hilly roads. Oh and sheep, lots of sheep that can and do get on the road, the bark from the SC project cans and the popping scares the sheeheight out of them and they scarper away from me.

The bike is tiny in the middle, and the wide bars just let you throw it around, there is no weight whatsoever. The engine braking is that strong there is barely a need to use the brakes, but I do, mostly the rear to settle it into bumpy bends and switch backs the engine braking and rear is enough to warrant not needing the front brembos but deliberately I lash up to a corner and slam on the front anchors, I want to know how they react, how the front suspension and tyre reacts. . .

Solid and savage, the tyre sticks the forks feel like they barely move soaking up everything and giving controlled feedback and the brakes are ossum. ..

Out into a certain town and head through it, heads are turning outside pubs, eyes looking for what’s causing the burble. Pity the drivers aren’t paying as much attention. They are dispatched with a whiff off throttle, I’m on the road I want, easy passed the cyclist and nail it.

I’ve already hit the rev limiter in first leaving my town, now I’m ragging it I want to keep an eye on that. Coming over through the certain gated area place I didn’t really need to take it out of 3rd.

Now ragging it I’m using all the gears but I’m wary of banging it down the box too much as the engine braking is that strong and I don’t want to lock the rear, new bike..not my bike.

It’s great, I come across this road on the blade and it’s fast,this is fast but I’m upright, bars helping me just lean, pull push. I can see further over hedges so I can go even faster than normal.

The front end is light over bumps and under acceleration at certain revs, I keep making my foot aware of the rear brake pedal location, but I’m actively pulling on the bars going over bumps and bridges.. Why, you are shit at wheelies. And then, getting a wriggle on I am putting weight on the bars, pushing them down through fast bumpy sweepy sections.

I like this, I really like this. Get to the end of the road, turn around and let’s go again, this time the sun is in my eyes, angle head and attack.

Coming back there is a lot of worn, shiny road. Going into one left hander the front and rear ends are sliding, i make a note and carry on, treating the sections of similar road on the return with a bit more caution… Just a little. I’d made a note of the tyres, pirelli scorpions.. Never heard of them, if bike was mine I’d put summat fast and sticky on.

Edit: the tyres were still the originals so should have been binned by this stage.

The rest of the journey was similar roads, braking accelerating, jumps bumps and tiny wheelies. When I got to another town I noticed none of the idiot lights were working, the high beam and indicators had been working on my spin, now not, I decided to take a further extended route home. Well I can’t break it any more than it is.

Back to mates and I’m impressed, I’m giggling. It’s like going on a bike again for the first time. And getting onto the blade again felt awful. It literally felt like I was laying on my stomach my arms out straight in front of me and my knees pulled up to my ears

A change to something upright is (was, not anymore ) seriously on the cards.

So the problem is, the ktm or similar solves the upright problem, however the slowing down is not helped by the fact that on the ktm you can go fast everywhere because the bike is a completely different animal,the ergonomics the suspension and the torque right from the off as opposed to waiting longer on the blade.

As mentioned earlier , i had hit the limiter in first leaving my town, i also hit the limiter in 5th ragging it out in the sticks somewhere.

There was a fluffiness to the power at about 4500 rpm, which cleared at 5….pow ! and again about 6800rpm and cleared again at 7k and the fooker just cleared off down the road.

The throttle, very very light, mid corner bumps would move my arm, move the throttle far too easy and instant response from the engine. You have to watch it, work on the finesse on the throttle control again. On a closed throttle at certain revs there was a type of “surging” maybe that’s not the right word but high revs, closed throttle there was still, for a split second the feeling that you were still being pushed forward with acceleration, it dissapeared quick enough but was noticable.

Obviously not made for motorways , I was still surprised at the wind protection, No real wind in the helmet up to about 120kph, only onto and lightly onto the chest , at Ha ha kph i didn’t notice anything, maybe i was just concentrating , at Oh no no kmh , the highest i seen on the clocks and probably the fastest i went on it for the whole ride , on a back road i definitely didn’t feel owt as i was definitely concentrating. But no real bad wind pressure, i once had a 620 multistrada out and at 120kph it was like the wind was hitting me from one side, then the other when you closed the throttle.

My mate said at awooga kph on the motorway it was definitely hard work but i’m smaller than him and i don’t think i’d do those speeds on the motorway on this type of bike, if you need to you wouldn’t get away, best leave that jazz to sports bikes.

There were no vibes to be felt, no numb feet or sore bum. It was just a great machine to ride.

Getting back onto the fireblade afterwards the tyres felt deflated and the suspension collapsed, i was going to book it all in for a service and a setup for my weight this week, about €300.00 worth, i don’t think i’ll bother now …unless im keeping it.

(edit: this has now been done and it feels Grrrreeat!)

i think ill have to somehow, try a Superduke and then a triumph of some sort to check out a triple engine.

But yeah, very very nice machine.. Too easy to go too fast , and that’s what i’m trying to get away from , but that’s what i enjoy.

Hmm