Jeff was thinking of changing his KTM and his wife refused to ride it… here are his thoughts after a full ECU remap
Dear Mark,
I am penning this email because I wanted you to know that I rode away from your Workshop on Saturday morning on a completely different bike.
On my ride up, I left Aylesbury at 6am on a very cold morning and did not enjoy the ride because at every roundabout and junction, I had to nurse the throttle at the lower rev range. Every bump upset the bike because it transmitted a small the movement to the snatchy throttle, however much I tried to be smooth.
All my bikes, bar one (and I have owned many) have been V twins, so I know how lumpy and vibey they can be, which is part of their character, but this 990 KTM had the worst snatchy throttle that I had ever experienced.
The bike had dealer fitted Akraprovic cans and Akraprovic map from new, and it went back to KTM many times for this throttle problem. My Wife, who has been riding bikes since she was six, refused to ride it as she said it was dangerous and it would only be a matter of time before the violent throttle would catch her out and spit her off!
The bike was mapped and re-mapped by the dealer with no appreciable difference and I was told that the were all like that, that it would get better when run in after 2000 miles and that I would get used to it. I think they meant “get over it”. As you know I contacted to you after reading the testimonial from MCN’s chief test rider, Trevor Franklin who had identical issues with his KTM 990 SMT.
When I road away on Saturday after the 2 hour remap, all the snatchiness had been ironed out and the power delivery was awesome throughout the entire rev range. I can now flow fast into roundabouts and power out of them with loads of confidence, so much so, this bike is now a joy to ride. The high tick over, which sat at around 1800rpm, is now normal (something that KTM said was not adjustable).
I can therefore say that this is the best £250 + VAT that I have spent on a bike for a long time, as I was seriously considering changing it. Thanks Mark – fair play to you – you certainly know what you are doing and suggest that you contact KTM and Akraprovic and offer them your mapping services as these bikes should be like this out of the box.
Thanks again.
Regards,
Jeff Emmett (now with a big smile on my face every time I take it out)
