Eyes-on impressions at the dealer

Treachery

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Eyeballed one yesterday. My dealer got three in; two spoken for, one damaged in transit that they hope to put in demo. One of the "spoken for" ones is "mine." :cool:
At least they kept referring to it that way...

If you haven't seen one in person, it's an impressive little bike. The fit and finish is impressive. I know that the introductory reviews griped about the welds on the trellis part of the frame, but jeez. They're robot welds, so you know they're precise, and they look pretty well-finished to me. It's not a fillet-brazed bicycle for cryin' out loud. The top triple clamp and the switchgear are simple, but not cheap looking.

The gauge cluster looks good; I think I'd like it better if it was hard-surfaced instead of rubberized, but this is probably part style and part weather resistance. When you scroll to different views, it doesn't "stay" on the new info very long. The font is fairly small, too. As others have said, fuel economy is listed in miles/liter instead of MPG. This should be a software fix. But, there is a screen/option that appears to show miles to empty. That's the only one that'd matter to me, so long as there's the combination of a low fuel light and MTE.

The grips were a nice little surprise. Good grip, with a slight bulge in the center section, kind of like a race version of the old granturismo grips. It's equipped with what look to be pretty good bar-end-weights.

I don't mind the signals on the fairing. They're integrated well there. I might save up for the Euro market LED bits, just because they're smaller, but the US versions aren't bad looking.

The LED running light things in the beak are pretty subtle in broad daylight. I didn't back off very far to see if they aided in conspicuity, but they're kinda neat. The headlights are pretty bright; only one is on at a time. I figure somebody will hack a way to have both on for high beams.

The rear fender is a beast. But it's only an eyesore at the first. After that you sorta forget it. Until you walk away and come back, then it's an eyesore again. It's a very substantial piece. I'm already shopping for the R-G tidy.

The engine/exhaust/chassis is very cleverly built to keep everything compact. The exhaust chamber is very close to the shock; so I suspect that racers will do something like the Fuel exhaust that eliminates that chamber, then wrap with exhaust tape to try to limit heat to the shock.

Seating position is surprisingly roomy, as the reviewers said. I don't need that much room, but still, should make it comfortable.

Overall, very impressive. Now, if I can get my truck fixed and find the trailer to bring it home (I don't like to highway drone on a new bike) AND if I can get my F800 sold, I'm in bidness!
 

rc_Guy

New Member
thanks for the rad review... you didnt mention anything about the slipper clutch... i take it the first batch of the RCs arent coming with them?
 

Treachery

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Dadgummit! That question was in my head until I laid eyes upon the bike. I'll ask. Sorry!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Motor32

New Member
I just got back from the dealer where I got to ride one for about a half hour. The bike looks and runs great and has a lot of torque. Buzzy especially the right footpeg. Ran hot with the fan coming on. A cool day (55*) here in the Chicago area so will only run hotter. NO SLIPPER clutch and I asked about it he said there was no bulletin from KTM about it coming with one. Dragged a knee X2 but didn't want to keep pushing it but clearly handles well. Feels very light. Mirrors SUCK. $6,900 out the door.
 

Treachery

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Hm. What was the issue with the mirrors? They appeared to offer a wider view than SWMBO's Ninjette, my F8R, and my previous 675...but I didn't ride it yet.
 

guzz46

New Member
Hm. What was the issue with the mirrors? They appeared to offer a wider view than SWMBO's Ninjette, my F8R, and my previous 675...but I didn't ride it yet.

Your arms bisect them, at least my arms did, they're nice and wide, but your arms are right smack bang in the middle of them.
 

Motor32

New Member
To see behind you I found myself having to think about tucking my arms in instead of just glancing at the mirrors. Too bad, they look cool but just fail at the function off helping you see.
 

Treachery

Moderator
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Huh. I guess I needed something else in the background to make the judgement. It appears that almost all fairing-mounted mirrors suck, unless they've got exceptionally long stalks. SWMBO's Ninjette's mirrors are pretty useless; worse for me than her; neither one of us is all that big or wide, either.
 
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