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New ( to me ) KTM 690 sm 1500 mi review!

Well….as expected I was slower than I was on my Gsxr 750.
That said it was refreshingly easy weekend having a bike with a kickstand and no tire warmers.
The tires I chose for the street didn’t give me the confidence to push in the corners (B-stone S23’s) but that was as much me and my comfort level of the day.
Brakes were just fine as there is a lot of engine braking on this bike… a bit more than I would like to be honest.
The quick up/down shifting was awesome ( never had an auto blip before).
Yes, got passed on the front straight a bit but was not the slowest out there in B+ .
Look forward to servicing the suspension over the winter and mounting up some proper track day tires for next season.
Overall I would give the bike a solid 7 out of 10 on the fun -o- meter if you’re not chasing high speeds (saw 115 on front straight) or ultimate track times.
That said, I am not a fast rider to begin with.
About 2:10 on the 750 that a decent rider should be closer to two on .
DT
 
dtrides said:
Well….as expected I was slower than I was on my Gsxr 750.
That said it was refreshingly easy weekend having a bike with a kickstand and no tire warmers.
The tires I chose for the street didn’t give me the confidence to push in the corners (B-stone S23’s) but that was as much me and my comfort level of the day.
Brakes were just fine as there is a lot of engine braking on this bike… a bit more than I would like to be honest.
The quick up/down shifting was awesome ( never had an auto blip before).
Yes, got passed on the front straight a bit but was not the slowest out there in B+ .
Look forward to servicing the suspension over the winter and mounting up some proper track day tires for next season.
Overall I would give the bike a solid 7 out of 10 on the fun -o- meter if you’re not chasing high speeds (saw 115 on front straight) or ultimate track times.
That said, I am not a fast rider to begin with.
About 2:10 on the 750 that a decent rider should be closer to two on .
DT
Click to expand...
sounds fun to me! thanks for the rundown on your track day. :love
 
What tires are you thinking you'll use next time out on the track?
 
Maybe Pirelli SC 1 on the front and a SC2 on the rear?
 
Slicks? I thought you just said: "it was refreshingly easy weekend having a bike with a kickstand and no tire warmers."
I would suggest the Michelin Power Cup 2's. Very fast warmup, street legal, and they kept me running similar times on my Duke, last time I was at Thunderhill.
YMMV
 
Lonster said:
Slicks? I thought you just said: "it was refreshingly easy weekend having a bike with a kickstand and no tire warmers."
I would suggest the Michelin Power Cup 2's. Very fast warmup, street legal, and they kept me running similar times on my Duke, last time I was at Thunderhill.
YMMV
Click to expand...
Yes, but also didn’t feel I could push the corners. I will keep the kick stand though….;)
 
Holeshot said:
2F 1R for me...but yeah, the P's all the way.
Click to expand...
Maybe I got that wrong ? Ones are a bit softer and two is more intermediate, correct?
I just ran two’s front and back on my ol’ sv.
 
Holeshot, take on the Power cup 2’s vs slicks?
 
dtrides said:
Maybe I got that wrong ? Ones are a bit softer and two is more intermediate, correct?
I just ran two’s front and back on my ol’ sv.
Click to expand...

Yeah, a 1 front if pretty mushy, but more overall grip. Different feeling too...some love it, I never was able to make it work for how I rode. The 1 rear is phenomenal, albeit it less life than the 2. For Trackdays, the SC3 is a good tire, IMO.

dtrides said:
Holeshot, take on the Power cup 2’s vs slicks?
Click to expand...

Haven't ridden Michelin's in some time and when I did, I felt they were too stiff. That was 15 years ago tho...Pirelli's are just easy button IMO. But, I'm biased, as you know.

Lonster said:
Keeping in mind the street legal aspect.... and no need for warmers....
Click to expand...

Good point. The Super Corsa's heat up pretty fast, actually.
 
Well, having two sets of wheels will give me plenty of options for sure!
DT
 
Meanwhile, I have repacked the Arrow can hoping to contain some of the current bark..
 

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