New bike
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chillidave
- Posts: 253
- Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2012 3:57 pm
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Re: New bike
I had my heart set on a GS1200. The reviews were great but the test ride there was something missing. I thought I was having a bad day but to be sure I slept on it before buying the bike.
I found out a KTM dealer had opened nearby and called in and they had a used 990 Supermoto in, I’ve always had a soft spot for but also read all the horror stories too which put me off owning one. I took it for a test ride and was hooked instantly. Yes, the engine hunted on a steady throttle but on the test ride I wasn’t going steady. On returning I bought it.
I sorted out the hunting on a steady throttle with a remap done via TuneECU with one of the many maps available from KTM Twins forum.
I had two problems with the bike. The water pump seal failure. A wealth of knowledge and help from the various forums and I thought I’d fix it myself rather than go to the dealers like normal. £100 in parts and a couple of hours work and job done. The rectifier went but again easily fixed. I started doing my own servicing and whilst the recommended Motorex oil is expensive the rest of the consumables aren’t and the bike is designed to be worked on by the owner. The owners manual actually tells you how to do most jobs instead of saying visit dealer. I had the bike for 5 years and regret selling it but the wife wanted to go out on the bike again with me.
I started looking for bikes again and checked out the GS1200. Again it didn’t thrill me, it does everything very well but in a dull way. I tried the 1190 Adv and it knew it was right for me so did the deal. I had also tried the Crosstourer and Africa Twin at the time as they had some great deals and I was a Honda guy before the KTM but neither got under my skin like the KTM did.
The 1190 compared to the 990 engine is much smoother due to ride by wire but also softer too. Don’t think Honda softness as it’s still a KTM with a beast of an engine just the edges are a little more rounded off.
My cousin owns a GSA and always wants a go on my bike whenever we meet up. He’s looking at getting the Super Adventure next.
I found out a KTM dealer had opened nearby and called in and they had a used 990 Supermoto in, I’ve always had a soft spot for but also read all the horror stories too which put me off owning one. I took it for a test ride and was hooked instantly. Yes, the engine hunted on a steady throttle but on the test ride I wasn’t going steady. On returning I bought it.
I sorted out the hunting on a steady throttle with a remap done via TuneECU with one of the many maps available from KTM Twins forum.
I had two problems with the bike. The water pump seal failure. A wealth of knowledge and help from the various forums and I thought I’d fix it myself rather than go to the dealers like normal. £100 in parts and a couple of hours work and job done. The rectifier went but again easily fixed. I started doing my own servicing and whilst the recommended Motorex oil is expensive the rest of the consumables aren’t and the bike is designed to be worked on by the owner. The owners manual actually tells you how to do most jobs instead of saying visit dealer. I had the bike for 5 years and regret selling it but the wife wanted to go out on the bike again with me.
I started looking for bikes again and checked out the GS1200. Again it didn’t thrill me, it does everything very well but in a dull way. I tried the 1190 Adv and it knew it was right for me so did the deal. I had also tried the Crosstourer and Africa Twin at the time as they had some great deals and I was a Honda guy before the KTM but neither got under my skin like the KTM did.
The 1190 compared to the 990 engine is much smoother due to ride by wire but also softer too. Don’t think Honda softness as it’s still a KTM with a beast of an engine just the edges are a little more rounded off.
My cousin owns a GSA and always wants a go on my bike whenever we meet up. He’s looking at getting the Super Adventure next.
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daveuprite
- Posts: 4790
- Joined: Fri Dec 28, 2012 10:47 pm
- Location: Limousin France
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Re: New bike
'read up on ktm faults'
And no other bike has issues, i bet if you googled '(insert any manufacturer here) common faults' into google you'd come up with just as many issues, even the new ones with as much tech on them don't have a mountain of issues stacking up so not sure where you got your 'facts' from?Oil change on KTM is easy to do yourself, Motorex is expensive but worth it.
No constant pampering required at all, mine get ridden hard and put away for a few weeks at a time with no routine maintenance other than standard servicing.
I've had 640sm, 950sm 3yrs, 990smt 3yrs, 1190adv 3yrs and not one of them has ever given me any grief to chalk up to brand failure.
