KTM Show up and Ride @ MidOhio

[that dude]

wow that seems like a shit ton

[Kosmo]

Great that you guys made that OK....awesome.....is anybody paying anything for crashing...if not I will be on the look out for future events...haha:D

[c7fx]

Too bad the weather was such a big roll on the day. But I still had fun.

I was able to practice scrubbing in tires since most bikes had less than 10 miles on them with nice shinny tires.

I felt KTM did a great job running the day.

They kept the bikes ready to go and like I stated earlier these bike for the most part were all brand new. I think I saw a couple with 1-2 thousand miles on them.

The first session was a little squirrely with new tires green track and a very soft suspension. My first impression was this sucks. But I asked the one KTM guy if he could tighten up the suspension which they actually did to all the bikes. I guess I wasn't the only one.

Second session was much better the bike was fun to ride and the power was very easy to control. With the wide handlebars I felt my arms a little more than I'm used to for track riding. Plus I had to figure out how to hang off this thing. A few people commented on how the bike felt twitchy and needed a damper. I didn't feel that at all. The bike for me was very stable but did notice rider input was amplified which could lead to that twitchy feeling. Did I mention the lack of wind protection...Wow

Things I wish I could have changed during the day was the shifter position. I had to lift my whole foot off the pedal to get 5th and 6th gear. Higher pegs to keep my toes from dragging in the corners, and a shorter throttle. I think I had to re-grip three times to get to WOT. (sarcasm)

This would be a great street bike. I think I heard that comment more than once during the day!

Its too bad that the last session we had all those crashes but the sky just opened up from being dry going into turn one to rain at the end of the back straight. Even with the debris flag waving and the control rider checking up way early, We had one guy drop it at the end of the straight. Too bad because the front just seemed to go away with no warning.

From what I heard, all the bikes crashed very well meaning little damage. Thankfully no one was seriously hurt which is the most important thing.

Also it was great seeing people from the web. Keep me posted when you bring the SV to the track Justin

Edited May 28, 2009 by c7fx

[Moto-Brian]

Interesting comments on the Dukes... We've been riding them all last year and I think the WOT is true, but nothing terrible. The twitchy throttle response is weird but I think a lot of guys do not understand twins that much. You honestly cannot chop the throttle completely off and then roll back into it. You actually need to add a little when entering turns. Otherwise, it falls on it's face and gives that herky, jerky effect. A hiccup...

Handling wise, yes, you drag pegs, but shouldn't drag too much toes if you are up on the toes like you should be. But, I have drug the right side case cover before so, you can drag a toe even if you are up as high as you can go.

Twitchy on the front? The thing is so heavy it really doesn't seem to come into play. I really twist bikes and jerk on the bars to change direction so much that I never got that feeling from them at any point. I make it get upset and it behaves like a heavy bike would... Now, I would say it has a chatter issue, but I think that is due to hitting the limits of the stock components more than anything.

Braking is actually pretty good. For street pads and the weight, it is actually very well mannered when braking and very stable.

You have to watch stiffening it up too much as you can make the front go WAY vague and not work as well as it needs to be. I think I only adjusted sag and rebound in the rear on the one I rode and it did well enough.

Bike is a sleeper and can be ridden to a pretty fast pace. I was typically stretching the limits of the bike when getting it into the :37s and faster, but it will run high :38s easily and w/o too much fuss. I think with a little more rear ride height, better suspension and rear sets, it can easily pace out at what a 600 can typically do there. Not as easily in terms of rider input as say an R6 that is very easy to ride fast (light and nimble), but even though a little more effort, it can embarrass a few true sportbikes...

It's a fun bike and a great piece. A few things that are weird in terms of bolts, the way you work on it, etc. But, she's a great bike and would make a killer street machine.

One of our staff members had the R version and it is truly a better bike in many regards. Pulls harder, has better suspension and seems to run a bit better. Can't wait to try it out after he's messed with it. I only got maybe 10 laps on a stocker, but it was still a lot better than the regular version.

Glad everyone had a great time and hopefully, I will be at the next one with KTM.

Otherwise, we'll hopefully see some of you Monday.

[Disclaimer]

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=62822478&albumId=2825827&authKey=tQqghU%2fB%2bK5l2oex4rjNUrVsPfTvFOaOAn0Or6IXYw4ZYO9BwdV9PlCW%2fkDL5%2b5rXyRWAlB%2bRCuAf0M7CJla3HaEsZyUc7oc7VsWBDEvInI%3d

There's where the pictures are. Samples:

[Kosmo]

I like the picture and among the others in your space....some guy scratching the helmet or is he the control rider.....

[Disclaimer]

Yea, about that... that was my signal to my girlfriend / photographer for the weekend that it was ME! She couldn't tell me apart from the other guys in black leathers.

You can only tell it's me because I have white Spidi gloves and my Shark helmet was different than the others.

I appreciate her effort, but she gets a 'D-' on her photography skills.

[c7fx]

come on Justin be nice they aren't that bad