Are KTM cycles at risk?

As title, can’t seem to see anything in the news online, or is the bicycle business a separate entity financially?

I saw something about the motorbike bit being in trouble, but I’ve no idea how separate they are

Nothing of value will be lost

KTM cycles are made under license by a different company from the motorbike company.

That would be massive in the motorcycle industry. They make some nice cars too

the UK distributor is 4 miles from my house, they are still showing stock on their website

KTM bicycles are a completely different entity, Pierer Mobility don’t own it, GasGas and Husqvarna they own though and will probably disappear or be sold off.

That would be massive in the motorcycle industry

The response has been very muted. KTM were the dogs 10 years ago with their 1290, but, quality has dropped a lot, many bikes were took back for warranty issues, and they have a reputation now for unreliable, expensive bikes. The list price of their bigger bikes is ridiculous. They were offering some at £7k off list recently, and had a predictable annual sale, so of those who bought a new one, very few paid full price, most waited for the deals. My 390 was around £5k list, I got a pre-registered one for £3k, which was cheaper then the opposition.
Add in that the motorbike market is shrinking and getting older, so KTMs huge bikes, where they make the most money, are becoming less popular as smaller bikes become more attractive to older riders, price cutting by the other Makers (Honda are bringing out a CB1000 for £10k), along with bikes like the Triumph 400 are all contributors to the fall of KTM.

Alant – I was more thinking motorcross bikes where KTM are massive

Yeah, it’s been really interesting to watch the shift to smaller capacity motorcycles. It seems that after years of riders falling for the sales pitch of more bhp, acceleration, electronic bells and whistles, they’ve finally wised up.  Performance which can never be used, which then has to be tamed with wheelie control, traction control etc. All of which adds weight, servicing complexity and cost.

There does seem to be a real rejection of all that by a significant portion of the market, older experienced riders too, not just new riders. It may well inject a new lease of life into what was an ever shrinking demographic. Bikes had been getting so expensive and complex, it was acting as a huge barrier to new riders.

My next bike may well be a 400cc naked/classic single or twin around the 40 bhp mark.  For most of my motorcycling, that will do just fine.

100,000 unsold bikes and 3bn Euro debt apparently.  Painful…

Been a victim of the covid surge and over supply.  Motorbikes like they make are toys and with higher interest rates on finances and mortgages and there’s less money being spent on things like motorbikes

Given their response to the whole chocolate camshaft issue I would never buy one, and that seems a very common concern putting people off.

I have no issues that things may go wrong, but I expect the manufacturer to fix it when it does, not spend years denying there was a problem, refusing to fix under warranty and then when its too late and the damage to their reputation done come out with some very heavily caveated ‘goodwill’ gesture.

I was seriously looking at a 890 Adventure, but no way am I risking that.

Does it mean my KTM is now a limited addition classic and worth a fortune 🙂

I went to Motorcycle Live the other week. You had the KTM stand (the new 390 Adventure looking pretty cool) and then literally the other side of a wall you had CFMOTO which I believe are in partnership and make stuff for KTM and their bikes looked just as good for a fraction of the cost of having it in orange.

AlanL.

Do you have experience of ten year old kabooms

Do you have experience of ten year old kabooms

No, all my pals are well enough off to be able to change their bikes at 5 yo. I go out with a large bunch, maybe 50 altogetehr (not all at once, some just do Sundays, some Wednesdays etc), and 10 years ago the 1290 was one of the bikes to go for, exceptional power, great fun to ride, and finance deals (typically 0% on a discounted price) made them really attractive. Then they started to fall apart. One had the rear sub frame break, others had lots of electrical faults, so as trade-in time approached, they were not renewed with a new KTM, but usually a large BMW. Oh, and the short arses didnt go near them, you’ve got to be near 6 foot tall to get your feet down.
The small bikes are really selling well now. The Triumph 400 has exceeeded all sales expectations, Honda are bringing one out (may be out already?), but it costs more than the Triumph. Enfield are still selling well, which surprises me, slow, heavy, not really cheap, but some people love them.

The Triumph 400 has exceeded all sales expectations

Not seen any off road. Bit of a cafe latte scrambler imho, not comparable to Himalayan etc. No idea why they seem to keep getting compared directly with ‘adventure bikes’.

Oh I was not bigging KTm up btw

Quite the opposite though as I signed a gagging order from pursuing a legal claim…

I heard this news on another forum, the higher they rise, the harder they fall.

Plus good riddance.

Plus their stealerdealers are very much underhanded slime balls.

Rode Enduro from 1983 to 2005, had some of the last “white” KTMs then moved to TM. Know an ex KTM factory mechanic very well and the reality is the product/brand range (Gas Gas, Husqvarna and they took over Husaberg) is way to big/complex for the market. Quality is questionable and engine spares for the four stroke mx and enduro bikes are horrendously expensive. The irony is companies like TM, Beta, Rieju (they bought the old Gas Gas enduro range) and  Sherco are doing well. Now we have Triumph with new mx/enduro bikes coming into the market.