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This is a little (well not so litte) story I am sending out to whoever will read it.  It is true.  I come from a family who has always had and enjoyed motorcyces so it is important to me to get this message out of how KTM screwed the better part of a child's entire race season and could not have cared less.


     My son who is currently 7 years old began his interest in motorcycles and racing at the early age.  When he was 3 years old we were watching a motor cross race on TV.  He asked us when he was going to get a motorcycle.  We told him when he learned to ride his bike with out training wheels.  Needless to say, within the week he was toting about on two wheels.  So, the following Christmas “Santa” left him a used Suzuki PW 50 under the tree.  That day I would swear that he was the happiest child in the world.  He rode that bike into the ground that year.  The next Christmas “Santa” brought him a new Honda CRF 50 and all of the matching gear.  Another exciting morning.
When he turned 6 we began to let him race in a few nearby races.  He did well but he was the only kid on the starting line with a bike that had a manual clutch.  As good as Honda is this was a disadvantage.   The following Christmas “Santa” made yet another stop and left him a flat black helmet with blue flames to match his new (used) Beta.  Racing was ALL he talked about for the next three months.
When spring arrived, he was able to race and be competitive.  He was having a great time and loved that bike.  Unfortunately, between practices and races it had seen better days.  The first weekend in May we entered our son in a race and the Beta failed to start.  He had to watch from the sidelines.  You can only imagine how he must have felt.  I sure know how we as parents felt.  
We decided it was time for another motorcycle.  We had considered buying used but in not wanting our son to watch anther race from the sidelines we decided new was the best route to take.  My son had his heart set on a particular brand and it is generally a very good bike.  It is made for the extreme and is suppose to be ready to race from day one.  At the end of May my husband took our son to pick up his brand new 2008 50 SX.  Our son claimed this was the best day of his life and he called almost every contact on my cell phone to let everyone know he had it.  He was confident and ready to race.  We now had the Beta for practice and the new bike for races.
My son was able to practice on the new bike only twice before his next race two days after we brought it home.  About halfway into a thirty - minute hare scramble I had to pull my son out.  The bike was smoking and did not appear to be running right.  It was later revealed that the clutch was slipping.  We were told this happens sometimes with the new 50’s.  It was no consolation to my son.   The dealer assured us that the clutch should fall under the thirty-day warranty but they wanted to be sure the manufacturer would cover it so it may take a little longer than normal to repair the bike.  In a very thought out decision after talking with our dealership and the parents of other 50 riders we decided to have a Tomar clutch put on the bike, this was not only a better clutch but, would get the bike on the track for the next race.   This bike failed to get our son across the finish line at his first race on it, so I was not about to have him miss a race because of it.  Two weeks later he was ready to race.  He shot out at the starting line in second and was holding the position.  Fifteen minutes into the thirty - minute hare scramble the engine seized. The motor was HOT, very hot.  This was the talk among many parents of the younger class riders.  This bike was new.  My husband was VERY attentive to the needs of the bike.  It had been ridden so little it still had the rubber nipples on the tires.  We, and everyone who saw this bike at the previous race and the current race knew something was not right.  It still had less than two hours of riding time.  My son may have been ready to race but this bike was not.
The following business day my husband called the dealership, which told him to bring the bike in ASAP.  They assured us that it was close but the motor still fell under the thirty-day factory warranty, which only briefly relieved us. My husband discussed with them what needed to be done to the motor.  They dealership agreed that as hot as the bike got it was a good candidate for a new motor.   Exactly one month later my husband received a call from the dealership to pick-up the bike.  Yes, one month.  The dealership was waiting on a part from the manufacturer.  When my husband arrived at the dealership, they told him that they believed the catastrophic engine failure was due to a cracked o-ring which they believe was defective from the start.  They also informed my husband that the manufacturer would   only authorize minimal work on the motor under the warranty.  Only the top end was touched.  That Friday evening when my husband returned home with the bike he let our son take it for a spin out behind our house.  It ripped.  Our son was a happy little guy again.  He could not wait until his next race in two days.
My son never did get to that race.  My husband went out to the garage the next morning after bringing the bike home only to find a puddle of oil under it.  A seal failed.  We knew that this was just the beginning of what was to come.  Continual premature parts failure due to the nature of the previous breakdown.  This all would have sat with us differently had the bike been ridden for a significant amount of time but, it wasn’t. When I told my son he would not be racing the following day he told me he did not want the motorcycle anymore it is always broken.  It had let him down.
The following Monday my husband decided that as great as our dealership was to us, it was time to deal with the manufacturer and they agreed.  My husband explained the entire situation.  A new motor was discussed but my husband was told that even IF the manufacturer approved this and they rarely do, it would take a couple of months.  The manufacturers representative did tell my husband that they would be willing to replace the seal free of charge as “good faith to the customer” but the bikes warranty was now up.   Basically they had done minimal repair work under the original warranty and now whatever happens after this was our problem.  This representative just poured salt on an open wound.  All my husband truly wanted to hear was that they would stand behind their product and make this right but clearly this was not going to be the case.
So, here we were.  Owing $3982.00 on a bike that had barely been ridden.  The bike had spent a TOTAL of only three and a half weeks in our garage between breakdowns and repairs and was sure to continue to suffer more premature parts failures considering the minimal repairs made to the motor.  It had yet to cross a finish line and my son now hated this bike.  We had already lost two full months of racing and were now going to lose more.  It had cost us time, money and points.  We had absolutely no faith in this bike and with good reason.
I was done.  This bike was going back.  We dropped it off to the dealership and they backed us up 100%.    They were sending the bike back along with another new bike that had been rejected, for the third time.  The following business day I called the representative for the manufacturer that we had been dealing with.  I told him we were done with the bike and I was sending it back.  I requested basically what is a void of contract on payment of the bike.  He told me that he needed to get the dealerships evaluation of the current problem before they could help us.  As far as I was concerned, they had there chance and this man had already made clear what they were willing to do for us.
A couple of days later my husband received a phone call from the owner of the dealership.  He told him that the manufacturer was prepared to cut a check to the finance company if that what was what we wanted.  However, he asked that we think this thru.  What, if anything could the manufacturer do to make this right.  My husband and I could have cared less at this point.  Getting rid of the lemon meant getting rid of the headache.  Our faith in this company and bike was gone but there was still our son who at one time wanted more than anything in the world to have this bike.  So, we did think about it.  What would it take to restore our son’s faith in this brand?  What would it take to restore his confidence on their bike?  What would it take to make up for a lost race season?  Two days later my husband spoke with the dealerships owner and gave him his answer.  They could   treat our son like he was important to them.  They could make him feel like he mattered and they wanted him on their bike crossing the finish line.  They could, just ONE time treat him like he was one of THEIR riders.  Just once, set him up.  Make him feel like he is really something sitting on their bike at the starting line.  Give him back his lost confidence.  Give him back an all but lost race season.  Make him feel proud.  Make him ready to race.   Whatever it takes to show him they will make this right.
The next day the dealership owner called back.  The manufacturer decided to take the bike back and cut a check to the finance company.

About now you may be wondering whom this manufacturer is if you have not already guessed.  It is KTM.  A company who makes claim that their product of a  “ready to race” bike is much more than just a slogan.  “Ready to race” is their doctrine – “you might say it’s our religion.”  They claim that high quality customer service is at least as important to them as how their motorcycles get across the finish line.
I have written this letter as my outlet for the frustration I am feeling for my son.  He worked hard and earned the right to race.  He has done well on the Beta despite everything but races have very much been limited.  As parents we have sacrificed all that we possibly could to make our sons dream of racing come true.  We are not the people who pull up to a race in a $150,000.00 rig with multiple bikes.  We are small.  We did what we were suppose to with the bike we purchased.  It was cared for meticulously.  KTM’s product was not what it should have been and that happens with ANY product line at some point, I understand.  It was the handling of events that burned us more than the bike itself.  It was truly shameful.  






From the first sign of trouble KTM was only willing to do the bare minimum to get that bike on the track even in knowing the bikes troubles were due to manufacture defect.  They were unwilling to take any means necessary to restore the bike to the condition that a new bike motor should be in.  KTM’s customer representative treated us as though we were clueless and “less than.”  We were shown that KTM no longer cares about the little guy.  They have failed to uphold the “ready to race” standard that they themselves set.  It is my intention to make others aware of what they may deal with if they too receive a product from KTM that is less than the standard advertised.  In speaking with our dealership and other parents we have found that we are not alone.  We are just one of the few who said “enough”.

It has been almost one week since we returned the bike to the dealership.  My son has not once asked about the bike, nor has he asked when his next race is.  Shame on KTM.  

Another reason why i HATE ktm!  
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2006 cr85 big wheel
Long live the 2-stroke

I hope you can get him a Cobra!  
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Nobody's gonna hurt anybody. We're gonna be like little Fonzies here. And what's Fonzie like? Come on what's Fonzie like?

Definately sounds poorly handled by a big company.

I bought a brand new Polaris Phoenix 200 Quad in 2005 for my GF. I brought back to the dealership 3 weeks later and told them it had a tiny leak at the cylinder base. The Dealer told me the engine was made in China (aeon). He called Polaris and they shipped me a brand new motor in 1 week and installed it the next weekend all on thier tab.

Thats what should have happened to u!!

Its sounds to me like u;ve been cheated.  

man that sucks i fell bad for ure son getting so happy to race and have a bike then the bike brakes and then he just watching kids have fun when he ant racing and ktm that just turned me away from them for wat they did to u and son and husband  

Is your son going to get back on a bike this season?  
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It takes a real man to say a 230 is a nice bike - Will12546

up up and away  
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Nobody's gonna hurt anybody. We're gonna be like little Fonzies here. And what's Fonzie like? Come on what's Fonzie like?

Sugarbear
That sucks!! I feel so sorry for your son, and for yourself and husband as well.
but at least you were able to get out of the deal.
some bikes have NO warranty whatsoever.  

          post count means nothing
06yz125,kx60(2)

thats suprizing that there was only a 30 day on it....its uswally like a year or 2  

thanks twist for the awesome pic

bringin it back for people to read.
good story  
When the power of love overcomes the love of power; the world will know peace

i still like ktm's......sure that does suck, but im just saying, its not like theres not a story like above... or worse on the end all be all yz250....just a "factory mistake"  

thanks twist for the awesome pic

I agree with chud.Get the little guy a cobra!!Just remember what goes around comes arond.Hope everthing works out.  
When in doubt.Pin it!!!