I have had my trusty SV650S for 2 years now, and it is time for an upgrade! I would like some suggestions of what to go for next, so I don’t test ride every bike in the showroom.
Requirements
Fairly upright - got a bad back.
Reliable
600-1000cc - looking to be more powerful than my SV
No more than 200-250kg
Am 5ft 9 so nothing overly high.
I have a car for day to day transport. The bike is purely for fun.
Budget is ideally 3k although I can be swayed to put in extra if I really like the bike to 5k.
Hold on hold on - so you don’t have to test ride every bike in the showroom… Your missing a trick here - that’s the best bit!!! Plus its the only true way to know what is right for you!
different opinions and requirements mean any recommendations are right for that person who may/may not have a bad back and consider fun differently from you!
Test ride them alllllllllllllll i say!:D:P
Hmmmm, for a 10-11 year old bike it does seem rich, but the mileage is very low and if it is mint then it’ll probably sell, I doubt they will take less than 2k
the ktm is a bit of a wet fish. personally i like to go fast so a sm isnt for me. its a good bike in its own respect… i just have to figure out whats that is:/
i think they jave no power at all against an sv.
ride it to find out
The superduke is 990, it’s the duke that’s 690… the superduke is incredibly good fun
If you want a KTM for fun, then buy an EXC for offroading (incredibly good fun) and convert to SM for road fun. Though if you have a bad back, KTMs and offroading might not be for you. They are not known for comfort, especially the old Duke you were looking at.
Or you could go to a more reliable, less service heavy WR450. You can get them pretty cheap used, if you can find one.
BTW that DUKE price looks ridiculously hight to me…
KTMs won’t get you going fast top speed but the way they get there is pretty nice. SMs (and fake SMs like the Duke) are all about very tight twisty small lanes… you can have a lot of fun but expect it to be a completely different riding style than your SV. One you will have to adapt to.
Hi thanks for the replies guys, I’m looking at the superduke the 990 cc - my only concern is that it will be too much to handle… I only have a few years experience so want to be careful.
I have ridden a KTM 690SM and really liked it… decisions…
you might get a superduke for your budget, and most known issues would have been sorted by the previous owners by that age. Good build quality though, apart from the niggles.
nothing to be afraid of, but its got a bit of a hair throttle. A very good fun road bike, and as for top speed, should top out around 150mph i believe
Ok I think that for a good condition SD, should be fine though a slightly older one.
For (again) slightly older EXCs easily enough money…
Servicing… on EXCs can be in the older models 1000 miles or less. But it’s dead easy once you do it once and they only take 1L of oil, 1 spark plug etc. SD, no idea SM, no idea either but I don’t think they would be less than 3000… you might want to do it twice a year though
Can I say again, there is nothing for fun like offroading
So if you only do 3,000 miles a year… do 3,000 offroad miles a year
SD 990 is better than the 950. The 990 hauls ass! but its rideable. terrible for commuting though. Too snappy for that. Thats coming from owners. For commuting, I’d say get a 4cylinder. Even a hornet has more power than the SV but not too much more. Id agree on a z1000 or cb1000, gsr750 and the like
Plus its the only true way to know what is right for you!
