Nutz's 990 Superduke
Posted: 24 Apr 2017, 09:45
I was going to post this last night but after getting back and sorting stuff out I was too knackered..
After some quick deliberation over bikes, I decided that a drop in cc wasn't really going to do it for me. I've got used to the power and delivery of a litre vtwin and I really enjoy it. Wanting something a little more upright, but still with the handling abilities of a sports bike, leaves only a few bikes to choose from. I've always liked the looks of the KTM, and the reviews backed up desire for handling etc...
Yesterday was the first real ride of the bike, with a last minute descision to "pop" up to Birmingham to meet Kwacky and have a gander at some new bikes. The meet point was Stow, which for me was perfect as it's a well ridden route with some of my favourite roads. This gives me a chance to focus on the bike rather than the roads (if that makes sense)
My initial concerns where the SD's reputation for being a bit of a handful, coupled with the fact it is shod with supercorsa's and it wasn't exactly warm. The first concern was laid to rest very quickly, as coming from a litre vtwin, the engine and power delivery felt perfectly natural. The power delivery is stronger than the RSV and the throttle response is a LOT more direct, this will take some getting used to. The other thing that felt a little alien after years on sports bikes are the very wide bars. The supercorsa's just don't seem to be the right tyre for the bike, even in the afternoon when it had warmed up quite a lot, it was virtually impossible to get an real heat into the tyres. They also feel very skittish on bandings or any break in the road surface, and there is also a distinct lack of feedback at lower speeds. I'll live with them for now but they won't be replaced.
The route up to Stow is a nice mixture of fast flowing A roads with a few narrow bumpy back roads thrown in. The SD dealt with everything we came across with out breaking a sweat. It's quick to turn into corners and feels very agile for a large bike the seat is comfortable and the riding position make is easy to see over cars and hedges. The suspension soaks up all the bumps easily, by may need to be a little stiffer on the front to suit my weight and riding style. The brakes are fantastic, as a pheasant decided to "help" me test them by running across the road in a national limit.
After meeting Kwacky at Stow we headed on up to Brum and I got the first chance to see how the bike coped with urban riding. This used to be the hardest part of riding the RSV. The SD, like the RSV, has a hydraulic clutch which I never liked on the RSV. However the SD has a very light clutch and the tall riding position and wide bars make it really easy to navigate the bike round tighter turns. Filtering and taking quick changes of direction between cars is frightening easy with a quick squirt of power.
After checking out some KTM's, Kwaks, and Trumpets Kwacky dropped me back off on the M42 (so I didn't get lost). Again the protection from the little screen makes motorway blasting relatively easy, with the few junctions I needed to cover being done in no time at all. Then back onto some fast and flowing roads back to Stow and then home. The ride back was a little more restrained as there where a lot of bikes about, and a hell of a lot of police.
Did find one nice little feature on the clocks. When the fuel warning light comes on the display automatically switches over to a special trip counter that shows the distance since the light came on. Very useful if you didn't notice when the light came on. I also got 125 miles out of a tank which is a hell of a lot better than the RSV.
The final part about the bike is the sound track. The twin akra's make a beautiful noise when you crack the throttle open, but are restrained enough with the baffles in not to annoy the rest of the world. The pops and bangs you get on the over-run are enough to make you giggle like a child. I've almost worked out how to make it pop on demand
All in all, best part of 230 miles covered yesterday and every one of them I had a stupid grin on my face.
The shopping list at the moment is quite short, and until I've ridden the bike more I don't know the order in which to buy yet.
* Number plate, already ordered
* Wider gate so I can get the bike in the garden without having to undo the mirrors.
* New seat cowl (unless someone finds the one that went missing between Stow and Brum )
* Full service (probably with valve clearances)
* Adjustable levers. I can't get the biting point of the clutch where I want it and I like a shorty for the front brake.
* Tail tidy.
* Rearsets. Not 100% convinced these are needed, may just get some replacement pegs as the position feels good
* Fluid pots.
* Tyres with a more road bias (M7's maybe) research needed.
After some quick deliberation over bikes, I decided that a drop in cc wasn't really going to do it for me. I've got used to the power and delivery of a litre vtwin and I really enjoy it. Wanting something a little more upright, but still with the handling abilities of a sports bike, leaves only a few bikes to choose from. I've always liked the looks of the KTM, and the reviews backed up desire for handling etc...
Yesterday was the first real ride of the bike, with a last minute descision to "pop" up to Birmingham to meet Kwacky and have a gander at some new bikes. The meet point was Stow, which for me was perfect as it's a well ridden route with some of my favourite roads. This gives me a chance to focus on the bike rather than the roads (if that makes sense)
My initial concerns where the SD's reputation for being a bit of a handful, coupled with the fact it is shod with supercorsa's and it wasn't exactly warm. The first concern was laid to rest very quickly, as coming from a litre vtwin, the engine and power delivery felt perfectly natural. The power delivery is stronger than the RSV and the throttle response is a LOT more direct, this will take some getting used to. The other thing that felt a little alien after years on sports bikes are the very wide bars. The supercorsa's just don't seem to be the right tyre for the bike, even in the afternoon when it had warmed up quite a lot, it was virtually impossible to get an real heat into the tyres. They also feel very skittish on bandings or any break in the road surface, and there is also a distinct lack of feedback at lower speeds. I'll live with them for now but they won't be replaced.
The route up to Stow is a nice mixture of fast flowing A roads with a few narrow bumpy back roads thrown in. The SD dealt with everything we came across with out breaking a sweat. It's quick to turn into corners and feels very agile for a large bike the seat is comfortable and the riding position make is easy to see over cars and hedges. The suspension soaks up all the bumps easily, by may need to be a little stiffer on the front to suit my weight and riding style. The brakes are fantastic, as a pheasant decided to "help" me test them by running across the road in a national limit.
After meeting Kwacky at Stow we headed on up to Brum and I got the first chance to see how the bike coped with urban riding. This used to be the hardest part of riding the RSV. The SD, like the RSV, has a hydraulic clutch which I never liked on the RSV. However the SD has a very light clutch and the tall riding position and wide bars make it really easy to navigate the bike round tighter turns. Filtering and taking quick changes of direction between cars is frightening easy with a quick squirt of power.
After checking out some KTM's, Kwaks, and Trumpets Kwacky dropped me back off on the M42 (so I didn't get lost). Again the protection from the little screen makes motorway blasting relatively easy, with the few junctions I needed to cover being done in no time at all. Then back onto some fast and flowing roads back to Stow and then home. The ride back was a little more restrained as there where a lot of bikes about, and a hell of a lot of police.
Did find one nice little feature on the clocks. When the fuel warning light comes on the display automatically switches over to a special trip counter that shows the distance since the light came on. Very useful if you didn't notice when the light came on. I also got 125 miles out of a tank which is a hell of a lot better than the RSV.
The final part about the bike is the sound track. The twin akra's make a beautiful noise when you crack the throttle open, but are restrained enough with the baffles in not to annoy the rest of the world. The pops and bangs you get on the over-run are enough to make you giggle like a child. I've almost worked out how to make it pop on demand
All in all, best part of 230 miles covered yesterday and every one of them I had a stupid grin on my face.
The shopping list at the moment is quite short, and until I've ridden the bike more I don't know the order in which to buy yet.
* Number plate, already ordered
* Wider gate so I can get the bike in the garden without having to undo the mirrors.
* New seat cowl (unless someone finds the one that went missing between Stow and Brum )
* Full service (probably with valve clearances)
* Adjustable levers. I can't get the biting point of the clutch where I want it and I like a shorty for the front brake.
* Tail tidy.
* Rearsets. Not 100% convinced these are needed, may just get some replacement pegs as the position feels good
* Fluid pots.
* Tyres with a more road bias (M7's maybe) research needed.