[Geoff]

Hi everyone!

I'm from the north island of NZ. By way of an intro, I'm a 71 year old retired mechanical engineer who has been riding for well over 50 years. I currently own a GSX-S1000 and volunteer as a mentor and Examiner with the NZ branch of the UK Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM). I do the occasional trackday and used to drag race when living in the UK in my early 20's. As a nod towards my age, I'm moving to a lighter bike but still want performance so the Duke 790 presses all the right buttons.

I won't be buying until mid-year because I've got too many commitments until then but it gives me time to lurk and pick up the collective knowledge on this form before reaching for the wallet. The attached photo was taken yesterday at a dealership next door to where my wife was having her car serviced. A friend said the smile was a typical KTM owner's grin :devil:

Best,

Geoff

 

[anotheronetoday]

Hi everyone!

I'm from the north island of NZ. By way of an intro, I'm a 71 year old retired mechanical engineer who has been riding for well over 50 years. I currently own a GSX-S1000 and volunteer as a mentor and Examiner with the NZ branch of the UK Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM). I do the occasional trackday and used to drag race when living in the UK in my early 20's. As a nod towards my age, I'm moving to a lighter bike but still want performance so the Duke 790 presses all the right buttons.

I won't be buying until mid-year because I've got too many commitments until then but it gives me time to lurk and pick up the collective knowledge on this form before reaching for the wallet. The attached photo was taken yesterday at a dealership next door to where my wife was having her car serviced. A friend said the smile was a typical KTM owner's grin :devil:



Best,

Geoff

have you ridden one yet?
not sure you will want to wait 6 month if you do :grin:

 

[markjanemhan]

Welcome Geoff! Great to see riders of all ages taking to the 790! I'm 57, and will be taking delivery of mine this Saturday. No doubt the ear-to-ear grin will be etched on my face too!

 

[AMatu]

Hello and welcome!

BTW ergonomics on this bike are extraordinary!

 

[Roger]

Hi and welcome the 50+ keeps growing, if you can why not enjoy.

 

[LC8]

Welcome to the forum Geoff. Are you planning on trading in the GSX S1000 or will you be adding the 790 to your stable?

 

[KTMfan]

I have been in the same situation, coming from the liter world and wanting something lighter, in my case with more power.
Unfortunately the only liter that meets that criteria is a Ducati that costs well over $50k!

 

[Geoff]

Hi everyone and thanks for the warm welcome!

Anotheronetoday, no I haven't had a test ride and that's quite deliberate! My wife has a hip replacement in 2 weeks and I'll be head nurse and cook for a month while she recovers. I'd be in a whole world of pain slinking off for a test ride and buying one straight away. Then we're off to China which is basically a quid pro quo for getting the new bike :grin:. I'll happily fill in the time absorbing the collective wisdom on this form - safer too! BTW, I'm ex-Northants!

No, I'll be trading in the GSX-S or selling it privately. I bought it on a whim just over 3 years ago when I sold my Street Triple. It's a good bike with plenty of performance but although I like it, I've never loved it. I'm sure that everyone here has had bikes like that.

Great to see other errr... mature riders on the forum. It's what keeps us young!

 

[Geoff]

Hello and welcome!

BTW ergonomics on this bike are extraordinary!

Thanks! Sitting on the bike, it felt really comfortable. I'm 172 cm (5'8") tall and have some knee damage and was pleasantly surprised with the riding position. I fitted modified Buell pegs to my GSX-S to drop them approximately 20mm which made the world of difference in terms of comfort. I think the stock pegs on the 790 will be fine.

 

[anotheronetoday]

Hi everyone and thanks for the warm welcome!

Anotheronetoday, no I haven't had a test ride and that's quite deliberate! My wife has a hip replacement in 2 weeks and I'll be head nurse and cook for a month while she recovers. I'd be in a whole world of pain slinking off for a test ride and buying one straight away. Then we're off to China which is basically a quid pro quo for getting the new bike :grin:. I'll happily fill in the time absorbing the collective wisdom on this form - safer too! BTW, I'm ex-Northants!

No, I'll be trading in the GSX-S or selling it privately. I bought it on a whim just over 3 years ago when I sold my Street Triple. It's a good bike with plenty of performance but although I like it, I've never loved it. I'm sure that everyone here has had bikes like that.

Great to see other errr... mature riders on the forum. It's what keeps us young!

you clearly have more patience than me and a patient too :grin:
china business or pleasure?

 

[Geoff]

Hahaha! I'm not that patient but have got a few other interests to stay active. Enjoy a bit of sea fishing too. Heading out today!

Strictly pleasure for the trip. Have travelled a lot but never China.

 

[anotheronetoday]

Hahaha! I'm not that patient but have got a few other interests to stay active. Enjoy a bit of sea fishing too. Heading out today!

Strictly pleasure for the trip. Have travelled a lot but never China.

I have lived for over a year in china travelling to many many places, got myself a Chinese driving licence and drove and a lot, what an experience
if you have the opportunity to leave the huge cities and really see the place its totally fascinating

 

[Geoff]

I have lived for over a year in china travelling to many many places, got myself a Chinese driving licence and drove and a lot, what an experience
if you have the opportunity to leave the huge cities and really see the place its totally fascinating

That sounds pretty cool! We're travelling in the 3 Gorges region of the Yangtze as well as a few of the major centres. My old company has an office in Shanghai so I'm hoping for a bit of hospitality from them :smile: . I'm impressed that you were happy to drive over there! We were in Vietnam for a little over a month a few years back and hired a young English-speaking guide to drive us about for a very reasonable sum. I'd have been quite comfortable driving there but the guide knew all the places worth visiting which were off the normal tourist route. We'd never have found them by ourselves. I know it has nothing to do with KTM's and apologies for that but I've attached a couple of motorcycle photos from Vietnam! Two of my IAM colleagues have just returned from an organised motorcycle trip at the northern end of the country and were full of superlatives. They rode modern Honda CB500 XA's .

 

[anotheronetoday]

well it will be an experience of that I am sure

 

[cole]

You'll love the bike. I've had mine a few months. Doesn't have the top end that my GSXR1000 had, but I moved to the mountains so I don't need it. I race a Bimota DB5 and it feels similar to that.

 

[Geoff]

You'll love the bike. I've had mine a few months. Doesn't have the top end that my GSXR1000 had, but I moved to the mountains so I don't need it. I race a Bimota DB5 and it feels similar to that.

Thanks Cole! I'm in a similar position. I live in one of NZ's great areas for bikes with hardly a straight bit of road so it's the perfect weapon.

 

[Geoff]

Demo ride today in perfect conditions. Demo model had Battlax RS10 tyres - wonderful for a hot day to explore the performance envelope :devil:

Totally smitten and take delivery next week. Getting back on my Suzuki GSX-S1000 made cornering feel like hard work after the Duke!

Happy days.......

 

[eb125]

I believe you have shagged that rear tire Geoff. You know that was a good demo ride.

There is a demo day near me in about a month. Northern California won't be that warm but hopefully it will be dry and I can confirm my suspicion that this is the bike for me. Of course I thought the same about the Ducati Hypermotard a few years back until I actually rode it. Ended up on a 990 SD which has been great but since my R6 days (my last bike before the SD) I have wanted something small, light and as smooth as it is fast. And of course more comfortable than a pure sport-bike, of which the R6 cured me. The 990 doesn't make it on several of those categories but everything I've learned so far about the 790 Duke makes it sound as if the 790 is the one.

Looking forward to your thoughts here once you finally get one of your own. Enjoy your travels!

Ed

 

[Geoff]

I believe you have shagged that rear tire Geoff. You know that was a good demo ride.

There is a demo day near me in about a month. Northern California won't be that warm but hopefully it will be dry and I can confirm my suspicion that this is the bike for me. Of course I thought the same about the Ducati Hypermotard a few years back until I actually rode it. Ended up on a 990 SD which has been great but since my R6 days (my last bike before the SD) I have wanted something small, light and as smooth as it is fast. And of course more comfortable than a pure sport-bike, of which the R6 cured me. The 990 doesn't make it on several of those categories but everything I've learned so far about the 790 Duke makes it sound as if the 790 is the one.

Looking forward to your thoughts here once you finally get one of your own. Enjoy your travels!

Ed

Hi Ed,

The dealer fitted those RS10 tyres a few days ago because he's doing a KTM-sponsored trackday on the demonstrator this coming Monday. Those tyres are only marginally suitable for normal highway conditions as you could almost spread the rubber with a butter knife! They got a fair work-out but nowhere near as much as the photo suggests. NZ back roads tend to have a coarse chip and in combination with 30 degrees C air temperatures, it's really hard on soft compound tyres. I talked to the dealer about fitting Pilot Road 5's to mine from the get go as I ride in all weathers but he reckons that that the OEM tyres are fine for the area we live in. Pick up the black and silver version next week because my wife thinks that orange is too ostentatious for an old fart like me :smile_big:

Coming from a GSX-S 1000, a 675 Street Triple before that and a Honda Blackbird before the Triple, I didn't know what to expect but I was genuinely thrilled - both with the performance and that elusive "emotional appeal" . Will need to be careful though as it encourages immoderate behaviour :devil: .

Enjoy your demo ride!

 

[Geoff]

Hi again Ed,
I've had time to do a more extensive write-up of the demo ride and I hope that you find it useful: Confessions of an Ageing Motorcyclist: When ageing bikers go bad...... .

Cheers,

Geoff