Ktm 950/990 tell me this......

serious3

I've the horn on me for a Ktm adventure.... anyone had one? Opinions?

goodlad

You want our opinions on our horns? :eek:

Oodoov

Better fun than any other adventure style bike but nowhere as reliable as say a DL1000 or Varadero.

serious3

goodlad wrote: »

You want our opinions on our horns? :eek:

Laughing my head off, I just re-read what I wrote........

serious3

Oodoov wrote: »

Better fun than any other adventure style bike but nowhere as reliable as say a DL1000 or Varadero.

Varadero? Reliable? Pfffffft

galwaytt

I now a guy who bought one from nearly-new. Loves it. Bought a 2nd one. Loves it.

Apart from the clutch basket falling off the gearbox shaft and wrecking the engine cases it seems to have been quite reliable

AgileMyth

Had one for a month. Good fun but was very happy to be back to my GS afterwards.

rustynutz

Haven't had an adventure but have had a Superduke 990 and currently have a supermoto 950 R, they both share engines with the adventure 990 and 950 respectively. I never had any reliability issues nor have I heard of them being particularly unreliable, there are a couple of know problems like water pump and sprag clutch but nothing too major once looked after. Personally I prefer the carbed 950 engine, while not quite as powerful as the 990 it has beautiful smooth fueling, the 990 has power delivery like an on/off switch which can be annoying around town. Id pick the KTM over any of the other alternatives mentioned, unless you are over 60 and have lost the will to live, then go for a beemer GS

AgileMyth

I bought an 1150 GS when I was 23. Still the best bike I've ridden by a long way. That's why every other manufacturer has been imitating them for the last 10 years.

But hey it's cooler if it's got KTM written on it. The lads will think you're deadly.

rustynutz

AgileMyth wrote: »

I bought an 1150 GS when I was 23. Still the best bike I've ridden by a long way. That's why every other manufacturer has been imitating them for the last 10 years.

But hey it's cooler if it's got KTM written on it. The lads will think you're deadly.

Ye Beemer riders have no sense of humour at all, the smiley face at the end of my comment obviously meant I was joking jeez...

Seriously though, if the 1150 GS is the best bike you have ever ridden, you need to book a test drive on a few bikes

serious3

I'm currently a BMW rider..... f650gs (twin) lovely bike but I'm never happy!

Hotblack Desiato

rustynutz wrote: »

Seriously though, if the 1150 GS is the best bike you have ever ridden, you need to book a test drive on a few bikes

S1000RR for starters

CaptainR

Makes me sad to see ye lads arguing over which is the best bike to ride when I'm stuck on a ****king ER5 for the next 2 years.

AgileMyth

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

S1000RR for starters

I've never lived anywhere that an S1000 would be anywhere close to appropriate. I also tend to put up big miles on my bikes. For me it's a completely useless piece of kit.

raven41

+1 on the 1150gs. Have had about 20 bikes so far (including some japanese - vfr800, zx12r) but i think the gs combines the best handling, comfort, reliability and real world power in one package. Ok, if just looking at the stats it doesnt seem to make sense on paper (only 85hp) but you get to use every one of those bhp's on the road unlike other inline 4s where they make all their power from 7k rpm and upwards.
Drove the 950 adventure and found the power delivery jerky at low speeds, but overall was a nice bike

serious3

AgileMyth wrote: »

I've never lived anywhere that an S1000 would be anywhere close to appropriate. I also tend to put up big miles on my bikes. For me it's a completely useless piece of kit.

Same as that! Connemara is no place for a s1000r (unfortunately) I like the 1150gs but they're long in the tooth now, as for the 1200.... I had one for a week in Romania and loved it but there was the nagging fear that it would break down and be very expensive

fleet

CaptainR wrote: »

Makes me sad to see ye lads arguing over which is the best bike to ride when I'm stuck on a ****king ER5 for the next 2 years.

You think that's bad?
I'm stuck on a Hyosung GV250 the last 5 years.
Can't sell the damn thing, nobody wants it, but it just won't break down and give me a reason to upgrade! :-)

listermint

raven41 wrote: »

+1 on the 1150gs. Have had about 20 bikes so far (including some japanese - vfr800, zx12r) but i think the gs combines the best handling, comfort, reliability and real world power in one package. Ok, if just looking at the stats it doesnt seem to make sense on paper (only 85hp) but you get to use every one of those bhp's on the road unlike other inline 4s where they make all their power from 7k rpm and upwards.
Drove the 950 adventure and found the power delivery jerky at low speeds, but overall was a nice bike

Dl650 Dl1000

Hotblack Desiato

AgileMyth wrote: »

I've never lived anywhere that an S1000 would be anywhere close to appropriate. I also tend to put up big miles on my bikes. For me it's a completely useless piece of kit.

There's an argument it's not appropriate anywhere really, except on a track, but meh, we were talking about excitement not practicality.

Oodoov

serious3 wrote: »

Varadero? Reliable? Pfffffft

Courier friend put 180,000 miles on his in 7 years working dispatch in Birmingham and nothing went wrong besides the usual wear and tear. Put 38,000 odd on mine in 4 years commuting and ditto so yeah i'd say they fairly reliable. I'm sure horror stories are out there as with every bike though.

galwaytt

CaptainR wrote: »

Makes me sad to see ye lads arguing over which is the best bike to ride when I'm stuck on a ****king ER5 for the next 2 years.

....quit yer bitchin' - I know a guy who has an ER5 and doesn't WANT to move off it !! :eek:

serious3

Oodoov wrote: »

Courier friend put 180,000 miles on his in 7 years working dispatch in Birmingham and nothing went wrong besides the usual wear and tear. Put 38,000 odd on mine in 4 years commuting and ditto so yeah i'd say they fairly reliable. I'm sure horror stories are out there as with every bike though.

One here I'm fed up of! Reg/recs, stator, cct, carb balancing, tps resets, fork seals.....list goes on!

CaptainR

galwaytt wrote: »

....quit yer bitchin' - I know a guy who has an ER5 and doesn't WANT to move off it !! :eek:

Its not even the ER5 per say, its the inability to choose anything else, for most people who window shop its a lack of funds that means they can only dream, for me its lack of funds and the law says im not allowed. The ER5 is grand, I'll definitely keep and run it into the ground even when I'm unrestricted.

Cienciano

I was looking at getting a 950 years ago. Carb one suffered from carb icing, but I think the later ones were fixed. And it was also supposed to be the most uncomfortable saddle ever made, lots of people swapped them out. Other than that, great bike. I went for the GS at the time, but I don't do the same milage now as I did then so I'd go for the KTM if I had to choose now.

Oodoov wrote: »

Better fun than any other adventure style bike but nowhere as reliable as say a DL1000 or Varadero.

I'd say the multistrada would give it a run for it's money in the fun stakes.