Today ended up being a test ride kinda day. I've been oogling KTMs for years, but never ended up on one. Last one I test rode was an 1190 Adv and it didn't really send me. I ended up with a Triumph instead that day some years back. Before I bought the Multi I sat on the Super Duke R and GT, but they were a bit small/tight for me at 6'1", and the dealer I stopped by didn't do test rides. About a week or two later I went to my regular shop and brought the '17 Multi. Fast forward to today, and a local shop told me they had a 2018 KTM SA-S in and I could try it. I had originally thought about swapping my GSw for one, but more recently was thinking maybe it would replace the Multi as my "sport bike". Got down to the dealer, went through the whole paperwork nonsense (basically had to write up a deal and do a credit check to take a test ride). Finally got onto the bike and did their short loop. I was expecting to be blown away. I came away underwhelmed, and they were shocked when I got back, handed them the keys and said, "no thanks." I didn't crank on the motor since it was new, and I could tell it had grunt. But the bike felt...kinda cheap. Just didn't really feel as "put together" as either my GSw or Multi, and was rather devoid of personality. I was so happy to climb back on the Multi and head off for lunch. I"m sure the KTM can be farkled into a very nice/fast bike, but I didn't bond with it at all. So I ended up stopping by my regular shop which is at the base of Angeles Crest, a regular ride for me. One of the salesguys had been pondering a new GSw as he was offered a screaming deal and likely could move his older PP so we had been talking bikes the last few weeks. He said he rode the new 1260 but wasn't sure how different it was than the current bikes as he didn't have a lot of hours on the DVT bikes (his PP is a '12). Asked me if I wanted to ride it and give him my opinion, I said sure. One example of the difference between shops - I didn't even sign anything, he just handed me the keys. Of course I've bought 4 bikes from them . Anywho, to the 1260. I was expecting to be underwhelmed. Instead I was blown away. To the point where I had him calculate what I'd have to pay to swap my '17. Why? Engine. The 1260 just works. It pulls hard pretty much everywhere (though I wasn't anywhere near redline), and there is none of the "turbo lag" feeling that I have in certain spots with the 1200. It was totally tractable around town, and was great on the freeway. It's the right motor for the bike. Quickshift. My GSw has it, and it is so-so. The one on the Multi is much better, almost as smooth as my MV was. Upshifts were reasonably smooth, downshifts had the nice rev-match. Once you ride with a QS you get used to it pretty quickly. New display. Mixed for me. Part of it is being used to the old one, but I find the old one fine. I'm not convinced the new layout is so much better as just different. One thing - we could not find TPMS display on the bike. Not sure if this feature is on the US bikes, and the salesguy was going to ask the tech about it. It is listed in the brochure but there sometimes are features on the Euro bikes that are listed and not on the US bikes. Also the new display seems to be mounted on rubber mounts and it vibrates some while riding. Didn't really bother me, but I was a bit surprised as my display doesn't move. Handling. This was where I figured I'd be let down. The longer wheelbase was a red flag to me. But handling is more than just the wheelbase, and while I wasn't fully flogging the bike, I found the bike was great. It is a bit slower handling - more of a ballroom dancer rather than a tap dancer. But it also rails in turns where the current bike can get a little unsettled. I didn't ride 2-up but I'm sure that is probably a bit better on the new bike. Intangibles. It is a Ducati. It has Italian flair and character. They didn't dumb it down or neuter it. It is a bit more civilized and a bit less work to ride, but it still is a snarling bike with a hammer for a motor. Just a bit less high strung than my '17 with the full Termi. Will I trade my '17 in? Depends on what happens after we do tax returns . It kinda comes down to me spending $12K for the QS and new motor. Not sure if that is a "value", but mostly I can say that when the time comes to change bikes I'll have no hesitation getting a 1260. Of course then they'll probably put the V4 in it
Thanks for creating a problem Nostatic Called at my local dealer (Stealer more like) and they wanted £8,000 to swap for my 2016 3,0000 mile S, I can't see me justifying that amount to change, even when I have a test ride after the weather improves
Unless you are a " I must have the latest, newest no matter what the cost" then the best way to be is, is the new bike an £.... better bike than the bike I have?
Thanks for the write up. Interesting read. Same as me, 2017 bike with only 3800 miles on clock. To change will probably give me heart attack with the part chop offer.
I took one out yesterday, 130 miles at pretty much the same opinions as above, although not blown away due to a few niggles... 1. Cruise Control set to 70 = actual speed of 75mph?? In fact this was the case at all speeds. 2. A real bitch to get into neutral, on several occasions had to kill the engine before i was able to get neutral. 3. A strange surge when overtaking in 3rd gear, just after i rolled off? Wasn't the day for testing speed of direction changes and outright performance due to poor road conditions, but definitely more stable, less flighty with a much stronger engine and definitely quicker than my current 1200s. I'd say that the Healtech QS on my current DVT is almost as good as factory system on upshifts, with factory being ok on downshifts from 6th to 3rd, 3rd to 2nd was a bit clunky and i didn't try 2nd to 1st for this reason.. I'm also looking at the KTM AD-S, but think the lure of the Multi will win over as long as they can sort out the issues above.
fwiw my '17 was a pita to find neutral (had to do it while rolling) when new, now is fine. I didn't try the cruise control so no data points for me on that. I find it fine on both my Multi and GS. I didn't notice a surge but I didn't have a real long ride on it. I don't think any QS will do 1-2 or 2-1 very well - for me that is always a clutch shift even when I had my MV. My GS is ok but variable 3-6, pretty good 6-3. The 1260 was better than the GS 3-6, and on-par 6-3. Definitely check out the ADV-S, different personality bike. I know there are a lot of ex-Duc riders on some forums that gush about the KTM. But they also complain about the Duc in ways that make me scratch my head sometimes, and they are tolerant of a fair amount of nonsense on the KTM bikes. I think the reality is that any modern high performance bike is going to have a certain amount of "issues", and it comes down to what you're willing to put up with. I know my short test ride kinda cured me of my orange lust - which is odd because it should have been a perfect bike for me. Just goes to show that humans (and bikes) are unpredictable.
My '17 with 7K miles is worth $12K in trade. That is an S with touring package and full Termi so about 50% depreciation in 5 months . I could get more selling private party, and I don't blame my dealer as they are sitting on unsold new '17s so values are in the toilet. After sleeping on it I'm just going to ride the piss out of my '17. I kinda like the more edgy character, and in the right spots the engine is as fast as the new one. Riding it hard just takes a bit more effort and thought and that probably is a good thing to help keep me sharp as I drift into older age
I'm just trying to work out depreciation on used bikes. If a new 2016 s cost £15,595 including VAT it would there have cost £12,995 + VAT or thereabouts(so the VAT man takes £2,600 of what you paid) So when a dealer is valuing a used bike, the dealer is going to be valuing the bike at its pre VAT original price. If I'm right in my thinking? (happy to be corrected) So if they offered you your bike plus £8k for a new 1260s, am I right in saying they offered you about £9k ish for yours. Meaning a depreciation of 4k over 2 years as the VAT is no longer a factor? It's not great but all new bikes/cars etc lose a big chunk in first couple of years and the VAT man who took a big chunk when the bike was first registered, doesn't help! Ducati's are damn expensive that's for sure but that's why you don't see them daily, which makes us all rather special
Not bad on your calculations @Bodie, believe it or not they offered me £10,200 on mine but still wanted £8,000 to swap. What my thinking is though, and is the thing which is putting me off is, when I P/X'd my TS for the DVT, it only cost me £5,000 to swap, now it's up another 3k on top of that again in roughly the same time scale, I expected a little bit more due to inflation, but not that much. I knew I'd take a knock on it when buying new should I want to sell or P/X but I didn't expect to to be shafted as well as being robbed. The problem is that their selling new 1200 DVT S model's for £14,000, so knocking my P/X price, and who's taking the knock on that price discount then, the dealers or Ducati themselves ? My dilemma now is, do I think the 1260 is that much better and bite the bullet and pay up, or do I attempt to emulate Longwayhome and try to get 82,0000 miles out of my bike and give up on buying a new Ducati ever again .
As we discussed Gareth, it's feckin ridiculous, may even be better waiting for new old stock to all get sold, if there are no new ones at 14k, you may find your pex prices rises, that's what happened with KTM. But there's no way I'd pay 8k on top, that is bollox mate.
Nope. Its not just me. It sits hanging for ages so I hit reply again. Thing is, if I don't hit it a second time and come off the page, it loses what was posted. No site but this one. As many other things here, this site doesn't work too slickly
