Did mikedbike get his KTM?

[Tetge]

Nice pic when I clicked on it and it got bigger. It appears to be very ready for serious action with bi brakes and nice tires, etc. And, it even came with a tail box. But, what is that funny lever thing in the picture? It almost looks like a kick starter, but, modern big singles don't have kick starters, do they? Also the seat looks sort of thin, but, I realize that you are tougher than I am and the seat might be comfortable for you.

When will you be riding to Leona Valley again? I could trail along at my new found leisurely pace, sticking strictly to the posted speed limit, but, I know the way, so you and the other fast guys would not have to wait up, and, maybe they have a liquor license by now? It is still a good ride, even at sane speeds.

[xbacksideslider]

Sweet, congrats Mike. Looks similar to my carbureted 2003 EXC.

[mikedbike2002]

I wanted a bike with more get up & go as I end up riding the DRZ at full rpm all the time. But it had to have electric starter & the KTM has both. Yhe seat is thin because the seat hieght stock is VERY,VERY high. Too high for me to get on or off safely! So I modified it thinner but widened it and it actually more comfy. I'm going to leave the kick start lever on for a while but will probably remove it. I took all the kick start stuff out of my DRZ. So far I love it! Lisa is driving down Saturday & Sunday we are going out to Adams in Riverside for an moto open track day. Since she isn't bringing a bike down we'll be taking turns on my CRF150RB thats converted to a super moto track only bike.

[xbacksideslider]

I'm told that the stock seats are boards. There's an upholstery shop in Sunland which does bike seats, my bike came with one of their creations, never notice the seat so it must be comfy.

I suspect that my bike was lowered a bit, by a suspension guy, also in Sunland, again, done for previous owner, Terry Dorsch.

I'm curious about your bike's fuel injection vs my bike's pumper carb. Dorsch tweaked the carb; wired open a part of the pumper ramp/snail assembly and jetted it for the pipe that's on it. Big tank too, and of course, I got all the stock parts and extra fenders, etc.

[Tetge]

I knew that Mike ran his DR-Z at max revs and throttle all the time, from trying to follow him on my DR-Z. The only thing that helped a bit was that he ran tall gears as he needed to run 90 (his customary cruising speed) on the freeways. Somewhere, from way back in the early days, there is a video that has me and Brakelate pulling over during a breakfast ride, and I am commenting to Brakelate about the pace that Mike is setting on the race, I mean ride, from the 7-11. And, with the DR=Z's, the pace was always nice and, if anything, a bit too brisk. So, it would be interesting to see why Mike actually needed "a bike with more get up & go", since he did not appear to have any real difficulties with that on a DR-Z? It was Mike that was the lead bike the day the CHP motor officer with no chicken strips got him in Bouquet, and there were a lot of big powerful sports bikes ( I think 12, or so) strung out behind him that day. But, maybe if he had had some more power, that CHP top gun on the BMW might never have caught him?

[xbacksideslider]

He had big bore and cam I imagine so that poor old DRZ was working hard

[Tetge]

He had big bore and cam I imagine so that poor old DRZ was working hard

HA! If it could be modified for more performance, Mike had done it. You forgot ported and polished and the big carb and the pipe and who knows what else to go with the +10% big bore kit and the hot cam. I am not sure what ignition he ran, since the early ignition allowed another 500 RPM before the rev limiter hit and had a better curve, and, of course, you can bet that he bumped up the compression. Even geared taller, if we couldn't get in his draft he easily could distance us as his bike pulled mine like I was broken in a side by side roll on leaving the restaurant in Leona Valley. And, my DR-Z ran OK. So, Mike has building DR-Z's down to a science. And, I know one thing from my past experience, and that is that you can never really trust the good old boys who say that their bikes are practically stock because they don't go around revealing their secrets. They roll out a vintage Commando, for instance, and then, if you know, you can visually see a ton of mods of all sorts that fix and or improve the performance. And, there will also be mods that you can't see. So, the ancient relic all of a sudden becomes a pretty stout performer. But, that's just an example.

All I know is that you can't fake fast, and Mike has owned a few really good running DR-Z's that also were set up for handling and had good tires, etc.

[mikedbike2002]

My DRZs were set up well & handled great. I was amazed at how well the motor stood up . I can ride the KTM a bit easier motor wise & go as fast or faster then the DRZs did. I bought the 500 Husky & found I wasted my money as I couldn't get it to handle like the DRZ. Sold it & got my 2nd DRZ. but I'm really liking the KTM!!

[Tetge]

Funny but my KTM doesn't handle at all like a DR-Z. Its curb weight fully fueled is almost exactly the same as my DR-Z's but, when I first got the KTM, I nearly crashed when turning in as the KTM was so telepathic due to its low CG and, I suppose, chassis geometry. This is not to say that the KTM is not a good handling bike, but, I am still adjusting to the fact that it responds instantly to input, while the DR-Z was slow, stable, and solid. After a year with the KTM, I can now hold a line fairly well but, its non adjustable suspension, which is tailored for about a 160-170 pound ready to race, fully suited rider, starts to pogo and bump steer, at lower speeds than the DR-Z, if I pick up the pace past about what I'd call 85%. Since my 100% is about 60% of the really fast guys, that locks me down into a somewhat staid pace. I have already pulled over in my lane and waved bikes by, but, at least I have a cool looking orange frame. So, I am like, I could totally run with you if I wanted to, but, I am just out for a cruise.

So, if I had to compare the KTM, stock suspension for stock suspension, with the DR-Z, it would be difficult. Hard to say which bike, overall, I could ride faster? It depends upon the road to some extent, because the KTM is a Hayabusa along side the DR-Z, and the KTM has a far superior braking system. But, the DR-Z has better suspension control front and back when it comes to dampening. All I can say is that the DR-Z is a really competent handling machine considering what an inexpensive, elderly design, humble, parts bin from a dual purpose machine, relic that it is. And, it is practically a maintenance free ride as well. The KTM is a more modern approach and perhaps the anti lock brakes make the switch worthwhile? It also is delivered with premium rubber, and, I have to admit that 690cc's are >~400. My insurance company also believes that 690>400 as they tripled my premium.

But, I can see how KTM riders can have confidence in the handling of their bikes as KTM apparently got things pretty right as they handle almost as well as a Suzuki. I also expect that if I could afford to set the suspension up, or pop $3000 to upgrade to the R parts, my bike would handle much better. But, I am too poor to modify an already pricey KTM, so, I will just take it easy and stay under my 85% pace.

[Brakelate]

You guys notice that my other, favorite KTM owner / Youtuber just sold off her 690 Duke?

Who knows what she will come back with next. https://youtu.be/ww6P6lz5hOA

Her web / YouTube Channel is; https://youtu.be/7AQkTUvkO_o



Hey Mike, you think anyone would say anything if I showed up at Adams with my 1290R to chase you and Lisa around for a few fun sessions?

I'm not going to change coolant or tape up shit. Just offload it, get whooped up on by some 150's as I wheelie the length of the straights and hope the ABS is dialed in enough not to let me run off into the grass, the stacks of old car tires or hay bails. I would have to leave all the Nannies full-on so as to provide some small virtual safety net for me. That would make some insane footage for my YouTube Channel, no?

I don't think Adams cares, as long as they are getting paid. Apex Motorsports Park is a whole different animal, as was that group out of Qualcomm that mixed shifter karts and Supermoto / Auto-X on pretty much the same track layout. Apex had a good reason; they had a good racing surface. Qualcomm is a worn out, crumbling old parking lot, that is like racing on a bed of loose pea gravel than anything, so what could a stock, non-slider equipped bike's handle bar end or foot peg possibly do to damage it? I get that the Anti-Freeze could stick around a while and hold things up, if puddle on the racing line.

But if they gave me a bunch of grief, I could just swing by Grange Circuit on my way out of the state, and do a photo / video shoot up at his super clean, neat looking facility with the Super Dukie R. I think the 1290R would make a fine limited suspension travel type of 'King Supermoto'. Just put some Supermoto Racing Rain tires on it, and go for it. It already has the wide, flat bars, a metal belly pan / skid plate, is of light and narrow design with minimal bodywork and I have a set of forward trellis framed 'Case / Cylinder Savers' for it. It obviously would be a handful on the short, tight , technical places like Adams, but at HTM, Buttonwillow or Qualcomm (if they let you run it, once they saw the speed it was capable of in the straights) it could be a whole lot of fun me thinks!'

Even just circulating Grange by myself either going to or from Los Angeles (it is on the way, right off the I-15 near Victorville) taking it easy on the once infamously known to be overly slick surface (perhaps it has been 'broken in' now, with some good amount of rubber and heat put into it over the last few years) would be a total blast. Just to get a quick, ultra-concentrated introduction to the machine, and it's over all 'feel and character', as well as scuffing in a new set of tires and shooting a few minutes of GoPro Footage to put up on YouTube would be Awesome! I am sure there is little, if any ultra-tight, technical footage of someone 'flicking' the SDR around, while trying to keep the front end down, the brakes from locking and yet exploring some cornering speeds. Of course, then I could always extrapolate the lap times or do an overlay of the old footage I have on the laps I made on the one, good, properly set up Team DDR Yamaha 450, or my mad lapping on the bone stock DRZ400SM when I first got it (oon the stock snotty Dunlop 208's even!) against that sharp kid (forgot both his REAL name and screen name) on the then-new Yamaha WR250X just to compare them just for kicks. I am sure a constantly flat-out DRZ at throw it away speeds would outpace a very conservative 'point and squirt' bike and rider preserving effort time obtained on the KTM Super Duke R. Though, as with more familiarity, and the ultra compressed lessons in learning the feel and limitations of the machine on such a track, it would be interesting to watch as the pace became more furious , and even with a HUGE dose of ignorance, bravery and balls out riding, what it would be like to see it pull off several 'fully warmed up laps, while cut loose from the safety chains preventing full on WOT wheel spin on corner exit, endless wheelies and then the howling and fishtailing antics of it, when set in the 'Supermoto" mode of ABS (totally disabling it on the rear wheel, while leaving the front alone) , OR just turning it ALL off entirely, and letting it all hang out. Even with no other riders around as a visual 'yard stick'. It would make for some amazing footage to be viewed world wide, no doubt.


Boy that sounds appealing at the moment. Once there, all fully suited up, sweating out, with my knees knocking together and a bit of urine dribbling down my pant leg and my hands shaking, I bet that would be a whole different, incredibly intimidating story. But, if one could just try it, and slowly build up to a hallway decent, comfortable pace, after becoming intimate with both the track once again, and the bike for the first time, I bet it would be something to witness. It may not dazzle the stopwatch, but I am sure I would be a quivering jellyfish by the time I decided to end the session and come back in. Hmmm. Me likey this Idea. I just need to find a place to mount the new, fresh DOT race rubber ASAP and a way to get it out there , loaded and unloaded without ripping what is left of my rotator cuff / tendons and ball in socket loose on that right shoulder. As it is, it gives the painful sensation that it Is hanging by a 3lbs test section of fishing line. Ughhhh.

Lots to think about here.