A Real Dirty Comparison Test

[Mr. Jones]

I think there might be some confusion here so I'll try to clear it up.

The dirty comparison test this thread is about is a one day event where three of us will be switching between the new KTM, the borrowed LC GS and the Super Tenere. At the end of that day, I will pick which of the three bikes I will buy based mainly on how the bike is in the dirt.

The big trip takes place later in the summer with my friends. I'll be taking my new bike on that trip and it is not meant to be a comparison then, just to have an adventure. The others on the trip don't care what brands of bikes are on the trip, as it's just about the challenge and adventure of such a big ride.

Anyways, it sure is going to be interesting to ride all three of the bikes back to back on the same day in the real conditions I want the bike for and compare them. Should be a really fun day and we'll learn things about about the bikes that probably will never been known by reading a traditional comparison test by any motorcycle publication or just taking a new Super Tenere out for a short pavement test ride from the dealer. Hopefully the results will be interesting to others here too.

Sid

 

[creggur]

Oh, I'm definitely looking forward to reading your results! I think it's gonna be cool to see what an experienced dirt rider with zero agenda other than picking the best bike for his mission.

For pure performance my money is still on the KTM.

I was simply saying if reliability was a determining factor I'd lean toward the Yammi.

 

[snakebitten]

But the easiest way to the top of the mountain is in a gondola. What's the fun in that? (other than drinking a latte while you ascend)

Easier doesn't always mean funner.

 

[RED CAT]

In that case. The KTM will win hands down. In the hands of a good rider, nothing will touch it in the dirt. ::26::

 

[emgee]

Also, ground clearance = 250mm on the KTM vs 205 on the XTZ, 21" front, etc. Something that can be addressed on the Tenere but not without significant cost.

Several peeps up in the PNW use Alex at Konflict Motorsports for thier suspension needs. Last year he and some buddies raced in the 24 Hours of Starvation Ridge. There is a reason they are all riding KTM.

Here's a link to the video. The Heavyweights - 24 Hours Of Starvation Ridge - 2013 on Vimeo

I love my Tenere and I have lots of reasons for choosing it. Dirt prowess is important to me and I think the Tenere handles it very well, but if that were my MAIN consideration, I likely would have ended up with a different bike.

 

[Fatallybitten]

Sid, having just moved from a KTM 990 Adv to a Super Tenere last fall, I can say unequivocally that the KTM is the bike I would take on a 15,000 km off highway ride. I don't care whether it is the 1190R, 990 ADV or 990 ADVR, any of them are going to be much better tools for the job than either the Super Tenere or the GS. Even the 1190 with its 19" front wheel is probably a better choice. I assume you also understand the need to make up your mind in time to add crash protection to which ever bike you choose as none of the bikes, except maybe a 990 ADV Baja edition, are properly set up for off road use fresh from the showroom. Sounds like a great year ahead. Enjoy! David

 

[Mr. Jones]

Reading here that lots of you are voting the KTM will be the winner. I'm trying to go into this with an open mind, so I might have to be sequestered for the rest of the week. I have ridden the KTM 1190R last year in Europe but it was only on pavement and it was on the stock streetish tires. It was seriously fast in the Sport mode but when I tried it in the Rain mode, it was much tamer. Surprised me with how fast it could be ridden in the twisty pavement there even with the 21" front tire. Not much interest in that though, I'm much more interested in how it and the others will go in the loose stuff. Like I said before, any of the three bikes will do just fine for what little pavement riding I will be doing.

I have confirmed that the Super Tenere has not had the flash thing done, so I will have to allow for that when I ride it.

We took the quads up and scouted the area we will be riding, lots of mud but there is still quite a bit of snow too. This week is going to be fairly mild so we're hoping for a lot less snow by next weekend when we do the test. We're going for it no matter what we find though, so it should be a fun day. ::26::

Sid

 

[snakebitten]

This comparison has been done. Albeit with previous KTM & GS.
But it's still appropriate, in my opinion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yohu0wuRTNE#ws

 

[Mr. Jones]

This comparison has been done. Albeit with previous KTM & GS.
But it's still appropriate, in my opinion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yohu0wuRTNE#ws

I hadn't seen that. Thanks.

I don't think there is much in that two year old comparison that is relevant today. Two of the bikes have been updated extensively so will the outcome be the same? The comparison ride next weekend will tell for sure.

 

[Berg_Donk]

Looking forward to the outcome.

FWIW, as much as we'd like to claim him as one of our own, Chris Birch is a Kiwi.
https://www.google.com.au/#q=chris+birch+new+zealand+enduro

 

[snakebitten]

Even 2 years later and with updated Eurosamples, I'm betting they finish in the same order for the same reasons.
Ironically, it might be fair to say neither Eurobike's newest example was a move towards being MORE dirtworthy than its predecessor. The entire genre is moving in the other direction. Not just my opinion, in fact.

 

[creggur]

Even 2 years later and with updated Eurosamples, I'm betting they finish in the same order for the same reasons.
Ironically, it might be fair to say neither Eurobike's newest example was a move towards being MORE dirtworthy than its predecessor. The entire genre is moving in the other direction. Not just my opinion, in fact.

Wouldn't it be funny if KTM's updates have made the bike less dirt-worthy and the Tenere is the new big-bore off-road champ?

 

[snakebitten]

Yea, but then you have to wake up eventually. REM sleep ain't permanent. When it is, they call it a coma.
I guess it would be true that Ramseybella's Tenere is far closer to the new KTM than our 19" Teneres are to the previous orange ADV. I'd sure like to ride such a Tenere just to see for myself.

 

[Langolier]

Wouldn't it be funny if KTM's updates have made the bike less dirt-worthy and the Tenere is the new big-bore off-road champ?

Careful what you wish for or we will be paying KTM\GS prices.

 

[Tremor38]

Interesting comment there...
If my main interest was off road like Mr. Jones, I would not want a shaft and 10,000 miles would take a looong time.

P.S. The Tenere handles its big fat ass off road pretty well for what it is and where it can go, but mud and sand will actually be the "deal breaker".

Well, you should cut to the chase and get the KTM if that's your deal-braking critera. 21" vs 19" front wheel puts the S10 at an immediate disadvantage before you even consider the weight difference. The outcome is so predictable I don't know why you would wait. The S10 is a handfull in mud and especially sand.

Sent from my SC-03E using Tapatalk

 

[wfopete]

True Grip, snakebitten & Tenerator12 are nailing it. Weight and suspension are key. Power is down the list for off road needs on these bikes. Also define off road. What is off road to one might be a mildly choppy forest road, to another it's a single track with step ups along the way, yet another would be a open desert trail/road.

In the end your dealing with a lot of weight and you need good off road pieces to make the best of the heavily weighted weight factor. Handling and suspension are paramount when dealing with any of these bikes off road. If you want to play the reliability card then factor both the bike's crash worthiness ('cause it's a off road test right?) & the human element too and see how they all fair after multiple get off's.

Me? When I'm playing in what I call mild off-road, wrestling with 600 pounds of poorly suspended motorcycle is not fun. It beats you up and I'm constantly on guard for the rock/washout/rut/sand/mud section that will ruin the ride. With these bikes its temping fate for both the rider and bike.

I'll take the single cylinder gondola every time. But the Tenere' is still a great commuter bike!

 

[snakebitten]

Yes it is.

 

[terryth]

I have to agree with those saying for mostly dirt something smaller would be best and a lot lot more enjoyable, even the 650 dual Sports which are not real dirt bikes either. I love my Tenere, but it is simply not a dirt bike. Sure there are those masochists that get satisfaction out of getting the behemouths through the tough stuff, but it is just so much more fun on something more suited to the terrain. I ride trial, enduros, and hare scrambles on real dirt bikes for fun and have had my ST in some tough stuff off road but it simple just too much mass to control to real let it go and have some fun in hard terrain.Unlike a real dirt bike, once it gets bent out shape you are just along for the ride and you better hope it doesn't pound you into the ground along the way. That said I have gone the other way and did the CDR ride on a DRZ400, 1400 miles to the Canadian border, 2800 miles to the Mexican border and 1200 miles back home in 11 days

 

[snakebitten]

I get your point terryth.
But, there is one aspect that continues to be missed when the debate narrows down to which kind of dirt bike is the "easiest" or "funnest".
Instead, for me, it's about which dirt bike you have available to ride when you get there to ride.

No doubt if I trailer 'd the DR400 to Colorado, it would have been a hoot to ride all over those mountains. And admittedly, I would draw the line on what I would and wouldn't do in a much different place.
But I RODE to Colorado. Approaching 2000 miles. Hauling camping gear and enjoying the heck out of getting there.
So, the 600lb dirt bike was the only weapon available. Thus the only off-road limits are those that I can't or won't try on it. And that just leads to pushing the limits on one of these amazing modern envelope pushing pigs.
For me, it IS as much fun as the "real dirt bikes". Not as easy. Not as capable. But certainly as much fun.
And when you finally run outta time and energy, you pack the mule and let it take you all the way back home.
Easier & better than those real dirt bikes can.

 

[RED CAT]

WELL PUT!