KTM Needs You To Buy Its New-Old Motorcycles. How Does Including Its Premium Warranty Sound?

KTM has had one glaring issue in recent years, and that's stagnant dealer inventory. At the height of the company's financial malfeasance, ultimately leading it to declare insolvency and its acquisition by Bajaj, KTM had over a year's worth of new-old motorcycles sitting on lots collecting dust. These were brand-new motorcycles that had never been sold, but were a year-plus old at that point. 

The reasons behind the mounting inventory were numerous, including high price tags, tacked-on extras, an economy that was sliding downward, and a host of quality control problems that made headlines within the moto world and likely caused many to forego the brand entirely. Camshaft says what?

But since its saving, KTM has made progress in reducing that inventory, with the group stating it had sold a good portion of it last year, and making inroads into getting out from underneath the burden and debt these unsold motorcycles represent. Clearly, though, it's still a problem, as KTM has announced that it will give anyone willing to purchase a 2025 motorcycle the brand's premium level 4-year warranty. Not 2026, which is this year, but last year's models.

The ones that the company didn't even start building until the latter half of the year. 

"KTM is extending the scope of its free KTM Premium Manufacturer’s Warranty, making the existing four-year coverage valid for all street-legal motorcycles* starting with model year 2025, across all segments and engine sizes within the street range," says the company, adding, "With the KTM Premium Manufacturer’s Warranty, riders can focus fully on the journey ahead — backed by reliability, durability and longterm peace of mind."

The extended warranty is clearly designed to do two things: Get folks to take the brand's old inventory off their hands, and hopefully dispell any thoughts of worry about reliability. The latter of which is something KTM has struggled with for years now. 

According to KTM, the new premium warranty coverage is good across the brand's entire lineup, including its Adventure, Dual Sport*, Naked, Supersport, and Supermoto lines. Eagle-eyed viewers will catch the asterisk on the Dual Sport line, as the warranty won't cover the EXC-F dual-sport models. Likewise, KTM said it also won't cover any sort of track-only and closed course competition models.

So that new 990 RC R Cup ain't included either. But is this warranty enough to entice folks to head to their local dealerships?

Honestly, I feel like KTM is looking at a long road back to profitability. The bikes themselves are fantastic, and always have been. But reliability issues, along with near financial death, have a way of sticking with a company longer than they'd likely want. Case in point, look at any Reddit thread whenever KTM news comes up and you're bound to see folks talking about both of those issues. That's a hard reputation to mend. 

I think if KTM is serious about returning to the land of the living, and not just survival, the best thing it can do is execute on reliability, maintain these warranties for a long, long while, and drop the price on a host of motorcycles. The last one I doubt will happen, though.