KTM "Road-SMs"

[MC Bodge]

I've always liked the idea of a supermoto-type road bike.

KTM are the obvious manufacturer.

How do the Duke 640, (early and later) Duke 690 and 950/990 SM, Super Duke etc. compare for riding enjoyment and for varying use? I'm more into throwing a a bike around than uber straight line speed.

They are all getting on a bit now. How are they holding up and what is parts availability like?

[TimmyMallett]

I think those are more naked (except the old 990/50 SDR/SM) but theyre a bit lardy comparatively, but they'll be a lot cheaper at that age. It's the 690 SMR that you would want the experience from. It seems the consensus is that they're a lot of fun in short doses.

I took out an old SDR many years ago and couldn't stop laughing

Edited by TimmyMallett on Thursday 9th June 11:32

[KTMsm]

640 don't compare to 690 especially at current prices

690 is great for a big single - personally I prefer the Duke (up to 2010) although the 2016+ Dukes are smoother and faster but a different bike to ride

950 / 990 are a much bigger / heavier bike (I have all 3) I use the 690 for an hour or so blast and the 950/990 for longer distances - essentially 690 for B roads, 950+ for A roads

But if you want the full on SM experience buy a 525 EXC which is a different beast and the most fun bike I've ever ridden

Superduke isn't an SM but a very good naked bike

Parts / reliability is good but make sure to buy a good one - water / fuel pumps go as do rectifiers but the basic bikes are sound

[Freakuk]

MC Bodge said:

I've always liked the idea of a supermoto-type road bike.

KTM are the obvious manufacturer.

How do the Duke 640, (early and later) Duke 690 and 950/990 SM, Super Duke etc. compare for riding enjoyment and for varying use? I'm more into throwing a a bike around than uber straight line speed.

They are all getting on a bit now. How are they holding up and what is parts availability like?

Hopefully I can answer this as I previously owned a 950SM and current own a Gen3 SDR.

Obviously the 950 and the SDR are much bigger bikes than a single cylinder SM, and they're also heavier as you would expect. However, of all of the bikes I have ever owned for the road those 2 stick out in my mind as the most fun you can have on 2 wheels by some margin. The 950 is certainly more flickable than the SDR (although the SDR is very flickable) but you sit quite high on the 950 and the seat, even the comfort seat off little in the lines of comfort after a few hours, it's clearly very MX/SM focused. If anything that would be my only negative towards the 950. You can easily keep up with faster/more capable bikes on the twisties which I used to do quite a bit to much confusion from the R1/GSXR riders back then.

The SDR has nearly double the power of the 950, the 950 had just shy of 100bhp whereas the SDR is knocking on the door of 180bhp. And that's the thing the engine in the SDR is everything, it just rips your arms out of their sockets at every twist of the throttle. The engine is a peach, buttery smooth for a twin throughout the rev range, and can switch in an instant from pootling around town to a hooligan. I regularly do 200+ mile days on mine with little discomfort, the standard seat is good, you can move the pegs and bars to suit, I've tinkered with this and got it iin my sweet spot.

It's a heavy bike to move around with your feet, but as soon as you are moving that vanishes, it drops into corners like a sportsbike and handling isn't too far away from them also, it's the ability to cover ground at great pace is it's killer strength though. Worth pointing out the Gen3 is an all new bike though, new frame, swingarm now has a linkage which the previous generations didn't, so if you're budget won't stretch to a Gen3 probably worth riding them first.

Only thing to add is you need the tech pack on the Gen3 to unlock all of the goodies, which is a bit of a con as everything is there it's just a software unlock, no additional hardware.

[MC Bodge]

Thanks.

I know it isn't a SM, but I was thinking Superduke 990 rather than the 180bhp version.

The early Duke 690 appealled when it was first released and still looks good.

The 950SM is possibly my ideal bike.

[TimmyMallett]

MC Bodge said:

The 950SM is possibly my ideal bike.

I rode both back in thr day and if I'd had to pick one I'd have done that too.


I was referring to the old 990 sd (I shouldn't have added the 'r'

[KTMsm]

MC Bodge said:

The 950SM is possibly my ideal bike.

It's certainly a good "do it all" bike

I'm about to sell 2 as I moved onto the 990SM

It's not hugely better but it's a bit better in a few ways and I'm more at home tuning injection than carbs

[scorcher]

Quite a few Parts for the 950 come up as no longer available on the parts fiches. The newest ones are now 14 plus years old. Tanks suffer from bloating from ethanol and can be be a pig to get back on. Mine was about 3/4’s of an inch out and needed a big bar to get it anywhere near its mounting point. You’ll be hard pushed now to find a decent tank or plastics for one, but with a bit of work the later 990 tanks fit if you modify them to an external pump set up. But saying that the 950 one of my favourite KTM’s along with the 690smcr. 950 responds well to the X bikes treatment ( open air box, filter and rejetted carbs and suspension set up. Apart from the tank swelling, clutch master and fuel pump problems ( easily rectified) I don’t think they bring many reliability problems.

[MC Bodge]

scorcher said:

Quite a few Parts for the 950 come up as no longer available on the parts fiches. The newest ones are now 14 plus years old. Tanks suffer from bloating from ethanol and can be be a pig to get back on. Mine was about 3/4’s of an inch out and needed a big bar to get it anywhere near its mounting point. You’ll be hard pushed now to find a decent tank or plastics for one, but with a bit of work the later 990 tanks fit if you modify them to an external pump set up. But saying that the 950 one of my favourite KTM’s along with the 690smcr. 950 responds well to the X bikes treatment ( open air box, filter and rejetted carbs and suspension set up. Apart from the tank swelling, clutch master and fuel pump problems ( easily rectified) I don’t think they bring many reliability problems.

Thanks. Useful info.

[fred bloggs]

I hate the things. Waiting 6 weeks + for overpriced parts is not a good thing.

[scorcher]

fred bloggs said:

I hate the things. Waiting 6 weeks + for overpriced parts is not a good thing.

Until covid I have never waited more than 3 days for parts but there is a global shortage of parts at the moment, not just ktm. Always found most parts on par or cheaper than competitors.

[MC Bodge]

Cheers, folks.

I think that the 990SM would probably be the most suitable for me.

The tank (and age) issues with the 950 would be a pain.

The 690 would be good if I lived in the Black Forest, Vosges or mallorca