Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'Ktm'.
-
Losing your keys is never a fun experience. Being without transportation is a huge problem if you're a round-the-world adventure rider or even just a commuter or weekend warrior (like me). I actually did lose my key sometime back in November or early December and it's been a real nightmare. My hope is that you can learn from my experience. I'm also hoping KTM will re-examine their process for replacing keys as a result of this. The last time I used my bike was to ride to Marina Del Rey. I went to the gas station to gas up and found my rear tire was flat! I went back to the house and parked the bike in the garage and then put my gear back in the house before going back out to get in the car and drive to Marina Del Rey. Thierry (of OAA) came down in December from Calgary to escape the cold and go riding with me so it was that day, Saturday, December 7th I first realized it was gone. I turned the place upside down looking for that damn key but couldn't find it! I think what most likely happened was I had the motorcycle key in my left pocket and also put my car keys in there. When I pulled my car keys out, I think the motorcycle key probably got tangled up in them and then fell to the ground to be lost forever. I thought this from the start and that gained credibility as the same thing happened with another set of keys I had with my house key and garage key on them that were lost in the parking lot at Costco! So on Monday Dec 9 I called a local KTM dealer and told them I'd lost my key and would have to order another one. I was told $60 but it ended up being $80. I said that I had nothing; no extra keys, no "orange" key or anything. I'd purchased the bike from a guy who bought it at an auction and it only came with the one key and not the original orange key. They put in the order for what ended up taking six weeks to deliver! I got the key (finally) just this past Tuesday (Jan 24) and it did fit in the ignition and did turn the bike on but the bike is now immobilized! Turns out, I need the original orange key that came with the bike to program the bike's immobilizer to accept this new key! I told the dealer this up front and they should have figured out ordering the key wasn't going to get my bike started but they don't order keys that often and didn't know. Might KTM have asked them to verify this up front rather than assume I had the original orange key? Perhaps. So apparently KTM can't just send me another orange key. And apparently the dealer can't just plug my bike into a computer and program this new key to work. They told me that I have to pay another $451 to have another immobilizer with a new orange key and that it would take another three weeks! As you can imagine, my patience with KTM has run out so I'm taking the advice of another rider, Adrian Sanchez of Portland, OR, who used SOS Diagnostics to help him get his Ducati started after losing his key. SOS has a perfect 5.0 star rating with Google Reviews (24 reviews) and 4.9 stars for 8 reviews on Facebook and I'm confident they can get this resolved much quicker and for less money. I'll keep you updated on the results. Lessons learned? What would you do differently after hearing about this lost key business? I know I'll certainly be more careful with my keys in the future but I may also zip tie a spare key to the bike in some deep and hidden recess of the bike in case this happens again. I'd also hope that KTM will take a look at their internal process and make improvements as this seems like one of those "Charley & Ewan moments" where people are going to think twice about which bike they choose to take them around the world if it means being stuck somewhere for six weeks while they wait for a key to be delivered. BMW takes 2-3 days as does my own car maker, Acura. Six weeks seems like kind of a joke, really. I'm told the newer KTM's have different systems and it may not take that long but that's certainly the case for the 990's (right now).
-
-
From the album: XLADV High Sierra 2020
© Gregory Imagery
-
From the album: XLADV High Sierra 2020
© Gregory Imagery
-
From the album: XLADV High Sierra 2020
© Gregory Imagery
-
From the album: XLADV High Sierra 2020
© Gregory Imagery
-
From the album: XLADV High Sierra 2020
© Gregory Imagery
-
From the album: XLADV High Sierra 2020
© Gregory Imagery
-
From the album: XLADV High Sierra 2020
© Gregory Imagery
-
From the album: XLADV High Sierra 2020
© Gregory Imagery
-
From the album: XLADV High Sierra 2020
© Gregory Imagery
-
From the album: XLADV High Sierra 2020
© Gregory Imagery
-
From the album: XLADV High Sierra 2020
© Gregory Imagery
-
From the album: XLADV High Sierra 2020
© Gregory Imagery
-
From the album: XLADV High Sierra 2020
© Gregory Imagery
-
From the album: XLADV High Sierra 2020
© Gregory Imagery
-
From the album: XLADV High Sierra 2020
© Gregory Imagery
-
From the album: XLADV High Sierra 2020
© Gregory Imagery
-
From the album: XLADV High Sierra 2020
© Gregory Imagery
-
From the album: XLADV High Sierra 2020
© Gregory Imagery
-
From the album: XLADV High Sierra 2020
© Gregory Imagery
-
From the album: XLADV High Sierra 2020
© Gregory Imagery
-
From the album: XLADV High Sierra 2020
© Gregory Imagery
-
From the album: XLADV High Sierra 2020
© Gregory Imagery
-
From the album: XLADV High Sierra 2020
© Gregory Imagery
