2014 Ktm reviews

I give KTM a horrible review. My bike which is a 2014 ktm 350sxf only has 20 hours on it. It's like new. When I was riding it recently one of the nuts that attaches to the head stud had rattled loose and came off the stud and fell down into the timing chain and snapped the cam chain and also broke 2 valve levers in the process. I replaced the cam chain and I reached to ktm to see if they could help me out with a couple or valve levers since they are $100 each. They said there is nothing they could do for me and that was it. Horrible customer service and a head nut should not be rattling loose and falling off with 20 hours on a bike. Especially a ktm. I'm so disappointed in my bike and with ktm as a company. I will never buy another one. Show less

I love this motorcycle. I've been riding for over 50 years and had about a dozen bikes, mostly smaller dual sports. I'm retired and don't commute, or ride to get from A to B. I ride for fun, for the thrill of coming out of a corner on a lightly traveled country road at 30 and accelerating to 90 in about 4 seconds and a couple hundred yards. It has (almost) sport bike power and handling, but an upright, comfortable seating position. KTM claims 148 HP; the Cycle World Road Test Dyno showed 129; they reported a 10.68 quarter at 129. I don't care to go anywhere near that fast, but they showed 0-30 in 1.2; 0-60 in 3.2, and; 0-90 in 5.0. That's the range in which I use and appreciate the motor. It's also relatively light for a big bike - about 500 pounds with a full tank - although I've added an OEM skid plate and crash bars, and have OEM panniers which I don't use unless on a long trip. KTM marketed the 1190 Adventure (they now have a 1090 & a 1290) as a dual sport. I'll go down a dirt/gravel road, but even if I had the 'R' model, which has stiffer suspension, dual purpose tires, and a few other offroad features, wouldn't take 500 pounds very far from pavement. What don't I like? The headlight was anemic. I replaced it with a much brighter LED, and added auxiliary lights. The stock seat rendered it almost unridable for any distance; thus an aftermarket solo seat was required. Reliability? There's often something minor that's not quite right. For example, the ambient temperature indicator currently isn't working on my bike. 2014 was the first year for the bike and I think KTM went overboard with "state-of-the-art" electronics, ride modes, combinations of ABS, traction control, etc., without fully debugging everything. We KTM owners will gripe about these little things and inevitably our friends, or forum participants, ask, "well why don't you get a Japanese bike?" The answers vary, but all, in one way or another boil down to: "Are you crazy? And not ride a KTM?!?! Cause when this bike is right, and that's most of the time, it's the most delightful, exciting, fun, euphorogasm machine I've ever ridden, let alone owned. (And I just made the last payment.) Show less

It has great power and can lug low to get through trails in the trees and when the trail opens up, instant power is available. It also starts easily no matter what the temperature is. Show less

We all know the price of off road motorcycles in the new age of 4-strokes has risen to ridiculous heights and technology has gone thru the roof. It gets harder and harder these days for anyone to afford the cost to buy one and the hiring of a mechanic to work on them. I'm a 37-year-old 250 B rider who started racing motocross in my early 20's and continued to do so heavily in to my early 30's. Being frustrated with the issues above, I wanted to buy something that I knew how to work on and was relatively inexpensive in comparison to the 4-stroke money bomb. Although hesitant at first, I knew KTM was leading the charge in the 2-stroke world so I made the decision to switch knowing that the transition may be a bit of a challenge. Now eight hours on the seat, this gamble proved to be the most successful gamble I've ever taken on a motorcycle. I'm not even saying that it took eight hours to fall in love with the bike. What I'm saying is every additional minute I put on it is the most fun I've ever had on a motorcycle! It takes a while to get used to the power band but it's incredibly powerful. If you want to know how lazy 4-strokes are, ride a 2-stroke and wheel! This bike is extremely light weight, and corners awesome! I was also amazed by how well this thing is built and the attention to detail. If you're a Honda guy like I was and you thought they had the best front break in the world, think again. The front break on the KTM is flat out ridiculous! The stopping power is phenomenal! Who needs engine breaking when you have the brakes...REAL BRAKES! The front brake especially! If I had anything negative to say about this bike it would be suspension. As of now it is completely stock. I do need to note though that I have not really had it set up yet for my weight and it's quite possible my body weight may require stiffer springs. I've been adjusting the clickers and have got it feeling pretty good but it still feels a bit soft and spongy. The tracks I've ridden on thus far haven't had huge jumps but have included a variety of jump faces and landings anywhere from mellow to steep jump faces and up to 60 feet jump distances. After about eight hours in the saddle on the KTM 150 I took a spin on a 2013 4-stroke and was bored - literally bored! Do yourself a favor if you want to go out and have fun. Buy a two-stroke! I also believe the bike will be equally competitive in a race scenario. Brauuuuup!!! Show less