On The Fence - 2019 KTM SDR > 2021 MT-10

There are a few reasons. I appreciate the objectivity as I've been battling it in my own logic 

I'm ahead of the loan on the SDR and owe less on it than trade-in value. I can pickup a 2021 MT-10, two years newer than the SDR and have it payed off in the same duration.

I thought I would be a huge fan of the keyless system and I'm not. The RFID fob is (expensive &) slippery as hell and I've resorted to keeping it in my backpack to prevent it sliding out of a pocket during rides. It's range is short and any cellphone or beer can interference seems to cause an issue starting the ignition. I have to pull it completely out of my bag sometimes to get the bike to turn on.

I added the Performance & Track Pack before my last track day. Found out the Quickshifter is built-in to the bike and you need the Performance Pack license to activate it, which is B.S. IMO. That said, it's not as slick as I'm accustomed to on the inline 4 motors. It doesn't just bang through the gears like the FZ-09 or the S1000RR I've ridden with QS. The ignition cut during shifts is way longer than it needs to be and I can shift faster feathering the clutch down the straights.

Even in Track Mode, when you disconnect all the lights, the dash will bitch at you to no avail about lights being disconnected. Really annoying when you're trying to tow around a racetrack. My mechanic is certified KTM and he and I both can't find a solution to this.

Longevity and Maintenance. OEM DID Chain was spitting O-rings at 5-6K miles. Replaced the set before an upcoming trackday to avoid any issues passing tech inspection. I have a lift in my garage and do pretty well to clean/lube in between rides. My mechanic said it's the norm for a bike with that much torque and most of his 1290 customers eat their chains under 10K unless they're highway mileage gobblers. I change my oil every 2000 miles, it's about $160-$170 if you run the recommended Motorex 10W-50, change the filter and two screens. My experience with most Japanese bikes- they'll run almost any 10w-40/50 and a filter is $10

I like replacing tires and am happy to see anything over 1500-2000 miles on a rear. The last three rears have all spun on the rim. Just leads me to accept the motor is putting down more grunt than can actually be used. It sure is fun though.

Single side swingarm "looks" cool. Had to buy a special rear stand of course, and it's a bit of a pain in the arse to get that rear up, compared to swingarm spools IMO.

Keep in mind this isn't an inline 4. It acts more like a Vtwin/vfour with the cross plane crank. It's a bit rough on take off due to that. I'm tiring of the sound with an Akra cat delete midpipe as it's quite loud and "flatulent" at speed. I have a stock muffler, not sure if there's an aftermarket one that would help. They are supposedly about to redesign it/update date it, so I would think you should wait a bit. Maintenance is too easy to do yourself on Jap bikes, so definitely a lot cheaper there!