Epilogue...
So I wanted to wrap this very long (~18 weeks) story up with some final thoughts.
One is that no, I'm not angry with anyone about this. I mean, I'm the one who lost the key, right? I also bought a bike with no programming key or spare key. And yeah KTM has an odd way of getting to a solution on this but they didn't really let me down; it's just the system they set up isn't as good as it could be. I hope this story points that out so that they change it for others.
Another is that this is not the same kind of issue for KTM's newer bikes such as the 1190, 1090 and 1290, so don't worry too much about that.
The places I do reserve judgment for:
The first dealer I took it to should have known that without my original orange programming key (I told them I didn't have it) a new key wasn't going to fix my problem. They don't handle a lot of bigger KTM bikes and don't do lost keys that much so it just was an unfamiliar situation for them.
KTM can't defend taking six weeks to make and deliver a key then six more to send a new immobilizer. That's really absurd and no one ever explained why that was. I think it has to do with a third party company, Zadi, who makes the immobilizers but I'm not really sure.
KTM USA did reach out to see if they could help but no one from their customer service ever made an effort to follow through to see that this issue was being addressed. BMW has a special code for riders stuck in these situations that allow for elevation of priority as well as issue-tracking. This is CRM 101 (customer relationship management). KTM has been run by racers and engineers for a long time and they're hopefully getting better at this stuff. I know there are those on the inside trying so that's encouraging.
And those who deserve kudos for their good sportsmanship and efforts:
Eric Wager who loaned me his 950 to go ride with Thierry back in December
@Wolfie who loaned me his 690 to do my Baja ride in late December
@francotesta who loaned me his GS to scout trails for Taste of Dakar then later attend
Dennis Godwin as well for the ride he gave me to KTM Murrieta with my bike in the back of his truck.
SOS Diagnostics for doing such a great job on programming the keys with the immobilizer and the ECU and sticking with it until it was resolved. By all means use them if you find yourself in the same situation. As a matter of fact, I'd recommend you have them make you a spare key NOW if that's something you're concerned about. They'll do it very quickly for a good price. They do this for quite a few other motorcycle makes as well.
KTM of Murrieta (Sean) for being such a tremendous help in getting this first troubleshooted then in seeing it to the finish. They are a great organization with quite a pedigree so I shouldn't be that surprised. You should make them your KTM dealer of choice (or their BMW dealership next door).
KTM USA for inviting me out to help troubleshoot this and giving me such a cool tour of their US offices. Their help makes me glad I made a decision to purchase a KTM in the first place.
Don't lose your key now!