1200 I Give Up! Hello Ktm My Dear Old Friend.

I liked that post but the other side of the coin is when something goes incredibly well its great fun, a joy to ride etc and doesn't effect your life/well being in any way. When it goes wrong it really f***s you up, especially if it is your means of commute etc. That's why we moan and flag the faults.

 

JH, I'm very late into this thread but can understand your frustration with the Multi, this just should not happen on a modern engine!

I can also understand your desire to go back to KTM, I ran a SMT for just over 2 years and 26,000 miles, barring one sensor fault, it ran like a train, my longest day on it was over 860 miles when I had to come back from a holiday in Germany due to a family emergency.

After the warranty was out I did my own servicing on it, no problems, just a bit too frequent at every 4,500 miles.
Not the most economical bike I've ever owned, even riding it like a vicar it wouldn't touch 40 mpg!



Eventually traded it in just cos I got a bit bored and fancied a change, wanted something a bit sexier in the garage, so bought this new in Sept 2014



She's no garage Queen, I've got almost 10,000 miles up now and on its 5th back tyre!

I hope I don't jynx myself here but it's been the most trouble free bike I've ever owned, I mean absolutely nothing from brand new running it in has given me any bother.
I ride with some very fast guys, 1000 Blades, S1000 rr BM's and XR 1000 BM's and the Ducati can more than hold its own, it goes like a stabbed rat!!

I considered changing the SMT for the 1290 Super Duke, but the Duke was just stupid money for what it is, its an £11,000 bike really and even then it needs another £1,500 thrown at it ( Exhaust, hugger, quickshifter etc ) for my part, I'm very happy with the Ducati experience as a whole, but would not blame you one bit after your problems for going back to KTM, in my opinion the SMT was the best bike they made, should never have been dropped from the range.

Good luck with your future choice!

 

All machines go wrong; the question is how often, how seriously, how easily/economically can they be fixed and how good will the manufacturer and dealer back-up be.
On those points I'd score an LC8 KTM over the Ducati and the Multi in every case.
The 990 KTMs are tough, simple - they were designed to compete in the Paris Dakar after all - the parts are inexpensive and I've always found KTM customer service efficient and responsive.

 

This is exactly the route that you need to be going down and with finance in place you have a "tripartite agreement" between you, the finance company and the dealer. In all of that the only thing that matters is the obligation that you and the finance company have with each other, as the dealer has an obligation to both of you and there is very little incumbent upon yourself in respect to the dealer. Essentially you cannot be expected to pay for something that is not fit for purpose, no matter how it is paid for. This is outlined in the "sale of goods" act.

Your part of the finance agreement will be that you take reasonable care of the bike and that you have it serviced and maintained in accordance with the manufacturers instructions. You've posted several times about completing various works yourself and I would only hope that the dealer doesn't highlight this as a potential issue as you would have a legal argument to contend with in respect of your competency.

Have you had any legal advise? It sounds like Blackhorse are doing what they should be doing but you would do well to prepare yourself for the next steps, depending on what info comes from the dealer. You've already stated what your intentions are, so I would develop a strategy and get some advise on just how viable your desired outcomes are. Don't be surprised if you have to let the dealer repair it and stick with the bike - but obviously you can just trade it once the issue is resolved. That leads me to the point I'd made elsewhere, where if you want to trade or sell your repaired bike for something close to it's book-value then probably best to be a little more circumspect about how you communicate your experience - not least because it could harm your case should you need the issue resolved in a court.

 

Nearly 2000 miles around France and Germany a couple weeks ago.
Wasn't sure I'd have as much fun as I would of on Multi.
I know it's no touring bike but if you don't have pillion, it's more than capable of getting you to the smiley stuff.
Have to say for me and my style of riding, it was fantastic, never put a foot wrong.
There won't be any pining from me.

 

At least if they pay for the strip down it might be worth paying to get it rebuilt (or the finance company doing this) and then you have a bike you can sell or trade in?

 

Well that all bodes well, and so if you're happy to live with the outcome that Blackhorse will deliver then that's great. I can speak from experience and can tell you that Blackhorse do try hard to bring these situations to a mutually acceptable situation as far as the law obligates them to. The last thing they want is you taking them to court when you've been paying for something that doesn't work and it can be demonstrated that they've not met their contractual obligation - because you're effectively paying them, not the dealer.

I know that you've got plans on a different bike going forward and so it might not be a bad idea to get some advise on what your options might be, even if it's only from the CAB.

Right now Blackhorse's priority will be to establish the nature of the fault and to get it repaired and back into your possession as quickly as possible. There's no point telling the dealer you want a different bike or discussing some other deal or option, because it's not up to them. In reality Blackhorse are the only party that can tell a dealer to take the bike back, but at the same time only a judge can make them take it back.

If the bike cannot be repaired (very unlikely) only then will they consider the options of replacing or refunding, and those options are totally at their refusal. There is no legal basis for you to insist on one of the other. The law dictates that all options for a resolution lie with the supplier and if the supplier accepts your refusal of the goods in question then they can choose which remaining remedial options to take.

I hope it works out and from what you're saying it looks like things are heading towards a conclusion so long as you're prepared to adjust your expectations. My advise is to focus on one thing at a time and deal with your next bike as a completely separate task.

 

The finance company paying for the exploratory work is nothing unusual. If they end up instructing the dealer to repair it under any warranty that they have in place then the cost will get added to that and reclaimed. Meeting the cost to strip an engine does not define liability or determine the path for remediation, it's just an understanding of the root cause and nothing more. JH has a finance agreement and shouldn't need to put his hand in his pocket for another rebuild if it can be demonstrated that the previous rebuild was not carried out to an acceptable level or maybe due to a previously replacement part that has subsequently failed. All of these issues need to be established so that liability can be established. Until that time you're not ready to discuss what the remedial action will be, or who pays for what.

 

It's a bit back in this thread, but I recently bought my GS from a BMW dealer that also sold cars, both BMWs and Minis. the service was excellent. Quite different to all my previous bike purchases which had been from bike only dealers, as the majority are. If the BMW ownership experience continues on a par with that provided to buyers of BMW cars, then I will be very happy customer.


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My mate's near-new WC GS is in for a new waterpump. he previously had a new engine. My new 1200 GS had a gearbox, final drive, new wheels, braking system and subframe before I got shot of it. Swings and roundabouts.

I agree their service can be very good though if you get a good dealer, and mine did the work under warranty without qualms mostly, though there was the odd "you're riding it wrong" comment!

Best of luck to the OP getting this sorted. The dealer should have been much more supportive.

 

Hi JH,

I've followed this for a while with interest and after this latest info had these thoughts:

a) I would insist that the inspecting garage is not the same garage that performed the engine rebuild. This is important from a point of neutrality and potential vested interest. You will need to ascertain your rights in stipulating this, but hardly unreasonable.

b) Worst case scenario you have to go to the same garage, I would make sure you have the written engineer's report so that your servicing cannot so easily be challenged. It's all about the writing.....not verbal :-( I would want this regardless.

Good luck!

 

when the bikes in bits buy the part cheap on intaweb get a van and take it to someone else to fix

i was after a 990 smt and was going to look at one at the dealers (inmoto croydon).
was a minter, was riding my old mutly ds at the time ,when the manager done me a great deal on my MTS ,thier ex demostrater , he knew i had test ridden it

but i fancied the 990 when u get it we should meet up

justice for JH !

 

So did you get the 990 or not :smiley: