The customer who owns this SMT, fitted with an Akrapovic full system, rode all the way from Surrey for his remap; he left it with us and we did a service on it for him too. Apparently, he’d fallen out with his local KTM dealer over pricing, and the fact that he’d taken the bike back and told them that it was unrideable in London traffic, and unfit for purpose etc. The dealer had a go at sorting it, several times, and in the end gave him the same story that most KTM dealers dish out – they’re all like that!
We did the service – using genuine KTM parts and oils for the sake of the warranty – then got on with the ECU remap. First, disabling the lambda sensors and emissions nonsense, then working through all the usual areas; MAP (Manifold Air Pressure) map, secondary butterfly valves, ignition and then fuelling.
We rode it after, and it was much better. He had asked us to drop the idle down from 1,470rpm, which we did, but he’s been on the phone and might well be having a ride back up to us as it’s stalled a couple of times in traffic. These KTM V-twin have minimal flywheel effect, that’s why the idle’s set so high, and we’d imagine that with a smoother power delivery the clutch can be left alone a lot more, which with a lower tickover might make the engine easier to stall.
"A hamster in a wheel has got more inertia than a KTM V-twin...!" Quote, M. Brewin.
