Gen 1,what to look for ?

[Gazxr1000]

Hi,This seems a real friendly place,10x better than the ktm forum i am on at the minute,my ktm is for sale and for the money i will be looking at a gen 1,i have one in mind with only 3000 miles on it,just wondering what to look for on a test ride and what are the differencies between gen 1 and 2,it will be a sport se so does it have an up/down quickshifter,Thanks for any input.

[Antares]

Hey, welcome to the forums, did see your 890 listed over there.

In the UK you'll be hard pressed to find a non Sport SE model.

That said Sport SE will have everything, Gen 1 is the same 2015-2019, in 2017 they became Euro 4, couple mild internal changes but otherwise identical to 2015-2016 models.

Up down QS, electronic suspension, all rider aids lean sensitive are standard on Sport SEs (so basically all you can find)

Things to look for that aren't immediately obvious:

There are Low and Standard suspension height options and it's pretty 50-50 on the market. check which you're getting, I prefer a full height and have no real issues at 5'11 but there is not a huge difference in handling, you definitely feel like you sit more "inside" a low height though. Along with ground clearance concerns I'd go with a full height if you can handle it comfortably.

Only other hidden option is the anti theft alarm, imo it's brilliant and if you can have it definitely go for it, it's an integrated system that is very fuss free to use, if the auto activation is on, it turns off 30 sec after ignition is turned off, and if the ignition is turned on using an authorised key it goes off, it also has motion detection to go off that's sensitive enough to be useful without being so sensitive that it goes off at a small wind or leaning on the bike. It's not possible to tell form the outside if this is installed so you have to take the seat off and look for the alarm box near the tail section.

Mechanically they are sound, very rattly by default so don't be put off if it sounds rough. Start up there is a very loud rattle with the stock hydraulic cam chain tensioner until it gains pressure, most replace it with a manual one.

47k miles on mine without any real issues.

[Gazxr1000]

Great thanks,really helpful,you would not get that answer over on the ktm forum without sarcasm or swearing,can't wait to change,there is a vibration between 5 and 5500 so i'm told,i have rode the latest one and it's gone,does going up 1 tooth on the gearbox to 18 help.

[Antares]

Originally Posted by Gazxr1000

Great thanks,really helpful,you would not get that answer over on the ktm forum without sarcasm or swearing,can't wait to change,there is a vibration between 5 and 5500 so i'm told,i have rode the latest one and it's gone,does going up 1 tooth on the gearbox to 18 help.

I wouldn't worry about vibrations, I forgot to add,

Rad guard is a must, same with bar ends, evotech do some heavily weighed bar ends for about 40 quid that almost completely eliminate vibrations. My 1290 GT certainly vibes way more than the XR, not something I'd worry about, it's unfortunately a case of unconscious bias. If you're told you'll look for it, when really it's not an issue majority of the time.

Also you can't really go 18T on the front, there is basically no clearance left, some have done it but I'd be much more inclined to go with the much more common 42 teeth rear sprocket over the OEM 45 if you're inclined that way.

Re KTM forum, yea I went there from here, certainly a different breed of people, I guess the brand stereotypes fit the users lol loads of fun though!

[Gazxr1000]

I used to have a GT,the same colour as yours.

[RyanGTXR]

You certainly need a good sense of humour for the KTM forum 

If you're looking at a 3K miles bike there shouldn't be much to look out for, it's barely ran in.
Vibes - some bikes suffer some don't, checking engine mount bolts are torqued correctly and heavy bar ends do the trick on most, it's only for a short rev rage anyway but I've also changed my bars for GS ones and that helped too.
Only thing I'd say is to listen out for noisy top end, it will sound like a bag of spanners for first few seconds, they all do, but if carries on possible soft cam issue which has affected S1000 models. Normally shows up at fairly low miles so if sounds normal after few seconds then should be fine.

You'll certainly find it different to the GT, needs revving to go but it does go, more relaxed riding position that you sit in instead of on top. Both great bikes but reliability issues on the KTooM does put a spoiler on it.

Gen1/2 difference, Gen 1 '15-'19 Gen 2 '20 on, all a bit softer (power delivery, suspension etc,) few more toys (TFT, Auto preload), styling (though I prefer the gen 1 looks) and better pannier attachment system than the gen1's scaffolding.

[Gazxr1000]

Bought the GT new but had so many things go wrong with it in the first 5 months,it had to go,now have the 890 adventure,really good bike but as it's my only bike need something with more power and iv'e fancied an xr ever since they came out,only fly in the ointment is i am currently jobless so i am selling a 7 month old bike for a 7 year old bike,that's ok but need to buy one as far away from the 18k service as i can get because there is no way i will ever be able to afford that so this one at 3k will do me fine,just need to sell mine.

[Gazxr1000]

Originally Posted by Gazxr1000

Bought the GT new but had so many things go wrong with it in the first 5 months,it had to go,now have the 890 adventure,really good bike but as it's my only bike need something with more power and iv'e fancied an xr ever since they came out,only fly in the ointment is i am currently jobless so i am selling a 7 month old bike for a 7 year old bike,that's ok but need to buy one as far away from the 18k service as i can get because there is no way i will ever be able to afford that so this one at 3k will do me fine,just need to sell mine.Iv'e noticed most for sale are around 15k you can see why so i don't want to miss out on one that's done 3k.

[RyanGTXR]

The 18k service should be around 7/8 hundred quid so depends on buying price, if for example paying 2k more for a very low mile bike it's cancelled out.
On the other hand, low mileage is always nice to buy as just feels newer :D

[Antares]

Originally Posted by RyanGTXR

The 18k service should be around 7/8 hundred quid so depends on buying price, if for example paying 2k more for a very low mile bike it's cancelled out.
On the other hand, low mileage is always nice to buy as just feels newer :D

Besides it's piss easy to do on this bike compared to other I4s, doing it yourself you can save massive cash.