Was The Ceo Of Ktm Onto Something?

fallenarch

THE SLOW RIDER
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A few years ago Stefan Pierer, the CEO of KTM shocked the motorcycle industry by saying quite emphatically that sport bikes were dangerous and didn't belong on the road and then announced the end of the RC8 sport bike. An astonished motorcycling world jumped all over him and the general consensus was that this was KTM tucking their tail and bitterly admitting they can't keep up with the (other) Germans, Italians, & the Japanese.

Fast forward to present and KTM street bikes are as fast and powerful as any and some of the most engaging bikes available to consumers today. But, as Pierer promised, they're not sport bikes. For most of motorcycling's long history racing bikes were modified street bikes. In the late 70's, the idea of selling race replicas was discovered and since then manufacturers have worked tirelessly to lessen the gap between track and street performance (with a pause to reload during the world recession of course). The race replicas were sexy, fast, uncomfortable, and great to ride at 150% for a 20 minute session. Some sport bikes were more friendly than others but generally, they were racers in spirit.

Today, the market wants naked bikes. Bikes that are comfortable, easy to ride with upright postures that optimize vision and leverage. The focus now is fun, practical motorcycles that are still plenty fast and powerful. Maybe the speed wars are over, and like nuclear weapons we've discovered light speed is a capability that is best not used in most circumstances. What does this have to do with the Hayabusa you may be asking?

Well with the Generation 3 Hayabusa due next year as a 20 year anniversary model there are all sorts of speculation about the "next level." I'm not convinced that the next 1300R will be the fastest missile you can roll out of a dealer's door. Maybe the Busa will target bikes like the KTM 1290 GT, Ducati Multistrada or even the MOTUS as excellent all purpose sporty touring motorcycles. I am sure a high speed, ultimate power weapon will be a very low volume seller, maybe even less than the current platform. Not sure Suzuki can afford the development costs on a class leading new model that has such a limited market.

I suppose time will tell. But the new Hayabusa is going to be a pivotal bike for Suzuki and speculating where they will take it is fascinating.
 
A few years ago Stefan Pierer, the CEO of KTM shocked the motorcycle industry by saying quite emphatically
that sport bikes were dangerous and didn't belong on the road and then announced the end of the RC8 sport bike .

An astonished motorcycling world jumped all over him and the general consensus
was that this was KTM tucking their tail and bitterly admitting
they can't keep up with the (other) Germans, Italians, & the Japanese .

Fast forward to present and KTM street bikes are as fast and powerful
as any and some of the most engaging bikes available to consumers today .

But, as Pierer promised,
they're not sport bikes .

For most of motorcycling's long history racing bikes were modified street bikes .

In the late 70's, the idea of selling race replicas was discovered
and since then manufacturers have worked tirelessly
to lessen the gap between track and street performance
( with a pause to reload during the world recession of course ) .

The race replicas were sexy, fast, uncomfortable,
and great to ride at 150% for a 20 minute session .

Some sport bikes were more friendly than others but generally, they were racers in spirit .

Today, the market wants naked bikes .

Bikes that are comfortable,
easy to ride with upright postures
that optimize vision and leverage .

The focus now is fun,
practical motorcycles
that are still plenty fast
and powerful .

Maybe the speed wars are over,
and like nuclear weapons we've discovered
light speed is a capability that is best not used in most circumstances .

What does this have to do with the Hayabusa you may be asking ?

Well with the Generation 3 Hayabusa due next year as a 20 year anniversary model
there are all sorts of speculation about the " next level . "

I'm not convinced that the next 1300 R
will be the fastest missile
you can roll out of a dealer's door .

Maybe the Hayabusa will target bikes like
the KTM 1290 GT, Ducati Multistrada or even the MOTUS
as excellent all purpose sporty touring motorcycles .

I am sure a high speed,
ultimate power weapon will be a very low volume seller,
maybe even less than the current platform .

Not sure Suzuki can afford the development costs on a class leading new model that has such a limited market .

I suppose time will tell.

But the new Hayabusa is going to be a pivotal bike for Suzuki
and speculating where they will take it is fascinating .

 
IMO there really isn't a place for the Busa anymore in today's motorcycle market....

How many people are buying "Sport touring" motorcycles?? Idk many.... they are either on cruisers or ADV bikes. People who want powerful bikes there's already a ton of options out there like a cycle buffet between the euro and Asian bikes. The Glory days of Suzuki are behind them. When's the last time you heard people mention GSXR and fast in the same sentence? Zuk has lost its luster and prestige and I don't see them reinventing the wheel on the Busa when they haven't even caught up to the rest of the competition with their other bikes.

Idk? Seems to me that there is soo much hype and anticipation for this new Busa that no matter what Suzuki unveils it won't live up to the hype. Doesn't help the fact Cowasaki just unveiled their Supercharged Sport Touring H2X. That's probably the nail in the coffin
 
Hey, Stephan Piere, F you buddy!
YOU don't belong in motorcycling.
More Liberal nanny nonsense.
 
Hey, Stephan Piere, F you buddy!
YOU don't belong in motorcycling.
More Liberal nanny nonsense.

Hey Six you should look at the bikes they are putting out before you say that. The 1290 is 175 hp and got around a track just .5 second behind a BMW S1000R! It's basically a stock gen 2 with wide bars and no fairing. That's with a comfortable seat, all day riding position and saddle bags on the GT! And you'll love that it's a wheelie monster. I'm not here selling KTM's, just seems like a logical direction in this day and age. Beside if they call a truce on the monster bikes now my Gen 2's value will go up!
 
Hey Six you should look at the bikes they are putting out before you say that. The 1290 is 175 hp and got around a track just .5 second behind a BMW S1000R! It's basically a stock gen 2 with wide bars and no fairing. That's with a comfortable seat, all day riding position and saddle bags on the GT! And you'll love that it's a wheelie monster. I'm not here selling KTM's, just seems like a logical direction in this day and age. Beside if they call a truce on the monster bikes now my Gen 2's value will go up!

Man I pulled up that 1290 and that is a cool looking bike and looks super comfy. I don’t feel like I need more power than I have right now, just a more upright position and saddlebags. I can add that to the busa, but would be nice to have something with all that off the showroom floor.
 
Hey Six you should look at the bikes they are putting out before you say that. The 1290 is 175 hp and got around a track just .5 second behind a BMW S1000R! It's basically a stock gen 2 with wide bars and no fairing. That's with a comfortable seat, all day riding position and saddle bags on the GT! And you'll love that it's a wheelie monster. I'm not here selling KTM's, just seems like a logical direction in this day and age. Beside if they call a truce on the monster bikes now my Gen 2's value will go up!

Naked bikes are a European thing, they have never taken off here in the US. It is either a Crotch Rocket, or a Harley, when we look at sales numbers. About Stephan Piere, he purchased Husqvarna a couple of years ago, closed the factory in Varese Italy, fired everyone and put Husqvarna stickers on his KTM's. He got away with it, shrewd business man. Try and get parts for KTM bikes when things go wrong here in the US. It is a nightmare.

About the Super Duke, a B-King will run circles around it due to torque, thing is was a naked bike, did not sell here.
 
Didn't the rc8 early-ish in it's career had chassis problems so bad that more than a few riders were killed in certain circumstances ? The naked 1290 Super Duke certainly is desirable IMO , seen them dominate their racing class these last few years . The rear wheel HP for the naked is often exaggerated , but that is common practice by manufacturers of course . A new naked Suzuki to compete in this size class ( 1300cc ) , along the lines of the latest GSXR1000S perhaps , but more so than the past B king ?
Can't say that I find the B king remotely attractive , I think it was a wasted opportunity by Suzuki to some degree because of this . A bloke I know swears by his BK though , and has dropped the motor out and re-cam 'd it and dialed them in . Dyno 'd at 189 bhp , same dyno as my 183 L2 , and he has taken it to Lake Gairdner Sth. Australia Speedweek and got close to 260 kph . Not Busa territory , but fast enough in real world and quick getting there I bet with right gearing .
If Suzuki restyled a Busa naked , fitted up the latest GSXR1000 forks and some other goodies , and still retain that 200hp donk , well I would for one would be interested .
 
Not
Hey Six you should look at the bikes they are putting out before you say that. The 1290 is 175 hp and got around a track just .5 second behind a BMW S1000R! It's basically a stock gen 2 with wide bars and no fairing. That's with a comfortable seat, all day riding position and saddle bags on the GT! And you'll love that it's a wheelie monster. I'm not here selling KTM's, just seems like a logical direction in this day and age. Beside if they call a truce on the monster bikes now my Gen 2's value will go up!


Nothing against KTM or their bikes.
Just the idiot mindset, that sportbikes shouldn't be on the street.
The planned future is all virtual, where we sit in chairs and stare at screens, so we can't hurt our precious selves. Our "safe spaces".
As mentioned, I'm sick of liberal nanny land.
My last trick was learning to wheelie with one hand...so I could give the bird to anyone I "scared" or "offended".
 
I have been reading the reviews on that KTM and thinking the Busa could be there with off-the-shelf Suzuki parts easy. Get the electronics off the GSXR1000 and basically merge the best habits of the B-king and Busa. Personally I think the inline 4 can be a smoother engine than the V-twin the KTM has too. Now if they were to build an 800-1000 cc blown parallel twin engine that was lighter than the 1340 cc N/A, that would be news.
 
Not
Nothing against KTM or their bikes.
Just the idiot mindset, that sportbikes shouldn't be on the street.

I don't think he was saying street bikes can't perform, he was just saying that sport bikes (the configuration of a race bike) give up important comfort and rider vision for speed and so are unnecessarily dangerous in a street environment. The current 1290 is basically an RC8 with the fairing removed and wide bars. Unlike many manufacturers, KTM doesn't detune their nakeds. This, I think, makes a lot of sense. If KTM was now putting out boring, slow bikes I would agree that the statements were idiotic. But KTMs are getting comments like "fun" and "hooligan's dream" in reviews. All this from a bike that only performs at Busa levels basically - all Suzuki needs to do is a little re-packaging.
 
I had a BKing for a couple years
ecu flashed as derestricted Busa, ram-air mod, exhaust, and 17/46 sprockets...and it was awesome.
I had no problem making it do whatever I wanted it to. Even with a high center of gravity, it didn't feel like a near 600lb bike.
But, I got tired of big, heavy bikes.
As I've said before, my next bike will another gsxr1k, with dirtbike bars on it. My friend put them on his 09.
Best thing I've ridden.
 
1. The Ktm CEO said sportbikes should not be on the street.
2. Nannys are all the electronics that help do things that most riders should be better at (myself included)
3. Liberals support safe spaces.
There, I spelled it out for you.
 
Saying sport bikes should not be on the street is a liberal thing?
I didn't read anything about nannys.
I'm assuming you believe banning sport bikes from the street has something to do with safe spaces?
Don't conservatives "support safe spaces"? :laugh:
 
Saying sport bikes should not be on the street is a liberal thing?
I didn't read anything about nannys.
I'm assuming you believe banning sport bikes from the street has something to do with safe spaces?
Don't conservatives "support safe spaces"? :laugh:

No, conservatives don't support safe spaces.
And, no, I'm not making this a political thread.
Yes, I belive banning sportbikes is the same line of thinking as safe spaces.
You interjected to argue over whatever you can, as we were just talking.
Enough.
Good night.
 
Rc8r I think is a bad ass machine I wanted to own one but they are hard to find and what’s more fun than a turbo busa?????

Who I think the rc8 didn’t last and why it’s not comp to the busa.

1. Price they were expensive and are Ducati price. In the dirt bike world there is no better name for dependability but they were nonexistent in the streetbike world.

2. Comfort everything I read about the bike was it is terribly uncomfortable.

And what the ceo said I kinda agree weak thing to say. But we will see what they will be doing in a few years they are build their street bike cred now.
 
No, conservatives don't support safe spaces.
And, no, I'm not making this a political thread.
Yes, I belive banning sportbikes is the same line of thinking as safe spaces.
You interjected to argue over whatever you can, as we were just talking.
Enough.
Good

You are making this a Political thing, it’s not. I see it as changing times. The mag. use to bitch that the UJM were not sporty enough, no clip on bars,rear sets in the wrong place, no good fairing. Now we have come full circle. I like sport bikes, I hope we don’t lose them. If people don’t like them,buy something else and leave my bike alone
]
 

No, I'm not making it political, because it already was.
It was compared to foolish liberal thinking. Know why??
Because, lets all agree with Ktm's Ceo. Lets agree that sportbikes shouldn't be for the street.
They won't "leave your bike alone".
Guess what happens if there are no street sportbikes...there will be no race bikes either! As there will be no street sportbike market to support it.
That's what pays the bills.
Get informed people.
 
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