[QCS]

OK, wait a second, hear me out...

Had a pair of warped Brembo rotors on the 1290. Look good, but pulsate. Tried to clean/de-glaze, but it did not help. Needed a change. I know that you should not save on brakes, but I looked around for good pricing on Brembos (they come OEM on the bike). Found some pretty good deals on eBay.

My eBay searches also brought up a lot of Chinese rotors but I wasn't really sure I want to go so cheap (I also told you guys I will NEVER buy Chinese braking components, so I did not want to become a liar...).

I also came upon a company called SFS. It's Turkish. Here is link for the rotors I eventually bought.

Turkish brakes? You ask yourselves... Are you crazy? Well, sort of... NOT. My background is automotive engineering and my career brought me to Turkey more than a few times. A lot of OEM manufacturers have plants in turkey. It is also a hot-bed for a lot of aftermarket spare parts for European cars. I am familiar with the quality and have never been burned before by Turkish production (not to mention that their Kebaps and Raki are to die for...).

Anyway, a few emails later and it became quite evident that I am not going to get detailed specifications from the guys. They just said: "It will fit your KTM SA 1290. Guaranteed".

So I decided to pull the trigger on a $240 set (L+R) with an additional $23 shipping.

How many weeks does it take to get rotors from Turkey, you ask? Well, not weeks. Days. I ordered on Friday and the rotors arrived on MONDAY!!! All the way from the beautiful city of Istanbul (and it is beautiful, believe me).

Opening the package, the rotors seemed of very high quality. I have used a lot of brands before, including Brembo and Galfer. These did not fall in quality from either. Laser cut stateliness steel on aluminium carriers.The real thing.

Will it also install right? Yes, it will...

But how does it stop? Well... pretty, pretty, pretty good. Coupled with FA244HH (our beloved Duke 790 pad) and fresh brake fluid, I went out to bed the pads. Very light squeeze on the lever of the Brembo M/C and this thing bites. Didn't take much to activate the ABS. Three rounds 15MPH, then 3X each 25, 35 and all the way up to 50MPH, as per Galfer's bedding procedure and we have liftoff. Kudos to the braking system these KTM engineers put on the 1290.

45 minutes later and I can't be happier. Adjusted head bearing clearance didn't hurt as well. All I can say is that it works. And very well.

So why am I writing all this in our Duke forums? Simple answer: I decided to reach out to SFS and see if I can get them to manufacture rotors for the duke. Maybe even 320's, like the 1290 rotors I purchased. I really think that they can be a winner. Performance and quality at a decent price.

So that's my story. Take it as you may. I am a believer.

güle güle

 

[YoungLion]

Thanks! Great info.

Any chance you weighed both sets before install?

 

[QCS]

I did not. Seemed to be about as heavy as the Brembo's, but thicker. in my hand they did not seem significantly heavier or lighter then the OEM. I will get the weight.

 

[QCS]

Reached out to SFS. Will be interesting to see if they get back to me.

 

[barbagris]

SFS do 1290 SD discs with 5 hole spacing. KTM 1290 Super Duke Front Brake Rotor Disc Set 2X Wave Type | eBay

Some good engineers in Turkey - they make some of the finest scope mounts there are.

 

[QCS]

I looked at the same thing. I don't think that they should have an issue with marrying a carrier and a rotor to fit the Duke.

 

[barbagris]

Or just fit the SDR discs and make up four 10mm spacers (schhhh - tell nobody else) and buy four KTM M10*65 bolts.
My guess is they keep costs down by NOT offering too many options - How many other bikes use 300mm discs?
I was actually hoping they did a NON-WAVE version - I would have jumped at that. Pondering the SDR discs.

 

[QCS]

SFS had both wave and non-wave options for the 1290. I will check what they have for the SDR, if anything.

Looking at the Galfer site, they show the inner diameter for the Duke to be 52mm while the SDR is 64mm. Both 5 bolts. Might I be looking at the wrong model years, maybe?

 

[barbagris]

It's the Pitch circle diameter that matters. 80mm iirc.

The listing says
KTM 1290 Superduke 2014-2019
KTM 1290 Superduke GT 2016-2019

Look at the 690 DR specs - Those discs are what are on the 890R - And Rottweiler do the Galfer 1290SDR discs in a set for the 790.

I would but my VPN wont let me see Galfer's online shop today.

 

[QCS]

I will look again. Probably missed something.

 

[Spunkmeyer]

Turkish brakes? You ask yourselves... Are you crazy?

So that's my story. Take it as you may. I am a believer.

How are these brakes going now after 9 months? Any pulsing or other issues?

 

[QCS]

How are these brakes going now after 9 months? Any pulsing or other issues?

Working very well so far. Nothing to complain about.

Checked what they have for the SDR. Both straight and wave. If you tell us the SDR install worked, I might consider trying.