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On the early May Bank Holiday weekend Mrs Mango and I went out for a couple of rides in the Derbyshire countryside and generally had a splendid time. Weather was fantastic and the KTM performed far better than it had any right to, given that I was running in with a 6000 rpm ceiling and riding two-up with no suspension adjustments from as delivered.

The one complaint both of us had was that the seat (rider and pillion) was akin to a plank of wood. Hardly surprising, as the amount of foam used couldn't have been any more than 20mm in depth. All about keeping seat height low. So a week or so ago I removed both the seats and took them up to Tony Archer's place in Huddersfield. He'd re-profiled the seats on the Falco so that they were comfy all the way to the South of France and back, so I was sure he could do something similar for the Duke.

The seats arrived back yesterday and it's clear that there now is substantial padding. Even just sitting on the bike statically the extra comfort is obvious. Here's a pic of Tony's work:
Plumptious, baby! And another view...
Here's a view of the original rider's seat on the bike:
And the bike with its modified seats:
With a bit of luck the weather will continue fine tomorrow and I'll be able to give the rider's seat the all-important road test. The other thing I'll want to test out is the Scottoiler that I fitted last weekend. I bought the KTM-specific version (with the all-important orange detailing on the metering valve) and found an ideal spot on one of the frame spars. Here's a general photo:
They've intrduced a nifty little holder for the RMV which you cable tie to the frame tubes without clamping the RMV itself. The vacuum take off is via a tee-piece into a vacuum tube and the positioning of the RMV is well out of the way of my leg but easily accessible to adjust the flow rate (even on the move, should I so choose).

Here's a clse-up of the RMV fitment:
I had originally wanted to use a dual injector fitment, but the design of the swingarm ruled that out. In the end I used the single injector fitment supplied with the KTM-specific kit. No point in reinventing the wheel.

So, all will be revealed tomorrow hopefully...

Ah yes - the seat. That's what has always put me off KTMs. I've sat on a few at shows and have been convinced that the main material they use is provided by Blue Circle.
Seems that you've found a solution.

D-Rider wrote:Ah yes - the seat. That's what has always put me off KTMs. I've sat on a few at shows and have been convinced that the main material they use is provided by Blue Circle.
Seems that you've found a solution.

You are not wrong there, Andy. Talking to Tony Archer he confirmed what you said - 'they're all like that, sir'. It strikes me as a slighly cynical move, as in the extensive 'KTM Powerparts' catalogue they list a 'comfort seat' for rider and pillion. I paid Tony £120 to get both seats re-profiled and re-covered. Price of just the KTM rider's seat is a little over £120, and the pillion seat is about £85.

It's all about styling and keeping the seat height as low as possible, I think. The standard rider's seat actually has a sculpted edge to fit in with the styling. Tony has thankfully done away with that in favour of a rounded, well-padded seat.

Seat - sorted. 150 miles today and my arse feels fresh as a daisy.

Well, perhaps that's over-egging it a bit, but no aches and pains and I didn't really give the seat a second thought. And the chain is properly lubed, so that's a win as well...

mangocrazy wrote:Seat - sorted. 150 miles today and my arse feels fresh as a daisy.

.... shouldn't that be a Buttockup ...... ?

mangocrazy wrote: Well, perhaps that's over-egging it a bit ...

... and we really don't want to experience any eggyness that may emit .....

Good to hear that you are loving the new ride,along with the Fut pilots.
My falc has stayed in her stable for the last few weeks, issues with a neighbour complaining about hearing it for all of the 2 seconds it takes me to get past her badly parked car ( baffles in ).
I hope she falls off her fucking Unicorn and breaks her neck....
I didn't really mean that ( yes I did )

I really wouldn't allow any mean-spirited old crone to dictate whether I could use my bike or not. I'd be more inclined to remove the baffles and let rip as I went past... :)

It's more of a mean spirited uppity young crone but hey, ever the diplomat I give it a little leeway before I end up saying ' whatever I do will never be enough to stop you complaining so fuck off or I will shit though your letterbox'

I'm kinda halfway .. but the minute that you capitulate to these fuckers they think they've won and that you will never be entitled to as much as fart loudly ...

It's not as though you're leaving it warming up for 5 minutes before the off. i'm quite lucky cos both my either-side neighbours have never squeaked about my really rather raucous rumbler... The guy two doors up on the other side of the road however will poke his head through his hedge and scowl at me like he's just sucked off an angry wasp that had been soaked in PLJ ... I just wave and give it a bean or two past his driveway. Petty - yup.

Greg

Yeah, give 'em some slack initially but if they persist in their twattishness then let them have both barrels (or both de-baffled cans...)

The falc will be back in service as soon as these tropical storms go on holiday.
I have no more patience left for Unicorn owners