I’ve had this bike for several years now and it’s either getting better as it gets older, or I’m just getting used to it.

Much like Ducati’s in the old days, KTM have gained a reputation for unreliability, but what are flaws to some, others just call it ‘character’.

I’ve found the bike to be reliable & predictable once you work out what it doesn’t like.

The first thing it objects to, is been ridden when it’s dead cold.
If you do this, it will cut out on you on a downshift at an intersection and then it will be hard to start.
If it also hasn’t been used for a while, the battery will struggle to turn it over, which will result in an error message on the LCD display and then it loses its memory, which means you have to reset the time.

The solution to this is start the bike, then put your helmet & gloves on to give it time to warm up.

The second thing it hates is commuting in traffic.
It’s hard to ride it smoothly as it doesn’t run well at low RPM with a light throttle. It’s also hard on your wrists leaning forward all the time and then just to make your day the radiator fan blows hot air at you, if your going too slow.

The solution is just don’t get caught in traffic…

The Third thing it hates is sitting around for too long. If it sits idle for more than a few weeks it’s going to behave as it does when it’s dead cold (as written above)

The solution is to ride it more often….

The things it does like..

Corners

This bike handles very well once setup.
The back suspension is on a middle setting. If it’s too soft, it wallows on fast corners, If its too hard, it bounces you out of the saddle.
It’s light on tyres as you would expect. the front lasted 15,000k, and I changed the back at 10,000k as it developed a square profile which affected the bikes handling.

Touring..

It actually tours quite nicely, it can do around 250 k’s on a tank (300k in thoery, I’m just not game to try it).
The seat gets to you eventually, but a coffee stop fixes this. I usually just bungee tie a small backpack onto the rear seat/ducktail for luggage.

Modifications..

The only bits I have done is put wing mirrors on, to get rid of the original mirrors that just give you a good view of your shoulders
(This meant moving the indicators onto the fairings)
I fitted Aftermarket brake pads for better stopping power and the motor is now running ice coolant to get it to run cooler.

This particular bike is from 1998, Yamaha first started making these in 1978, which means its a 30 something year old design.

It’s a typical bike from that era in that it does everything Ok, but doesn’t do anything outstanding.
Starting is by kick start only which is a bit of an anarchronism these days, but it only needs a kick or two to fire it up, even if it’s been sitting for weeks.

This isnt a bike that likes to go anywhere in a hurry, the gearbox gets notchy if you are impatient, it takes a while to build up the revs, and it soon runs out of steam if you head anywhere near the redline (7000 rpm).
It will however happliy chug along at 60k in top gear, which makes it an easy bike to cruise along with.

It can still be ridden surprisingly fast, the trick is to hold on to any speed thru the corners and avoid using the brakes.
The twin leading shoe front drum brake works well, but needs respect in the wet as it doesnt need to dry out like a disc brake typically does.

As a commuter it works well. it’s quite grunty down low and it is a pleasure to ride in heavy traffic.
It’s also notable that it carries a pillion passenger with ease and the seat is quite comfortable for them.

As a tourer it would probably be fine if you are taking your time, passing long lines of cars is out of the question, (actually passing any car needs a lot of pre planning). It goes onto reserve at @ 230K, so you would have to stop to refuel often.

On paper, it’s no match against a KTM Duke 390 or similar, for fuel economy, weight, horsepower, etc. It is a very easy bike to live with thou.