KTM 1190R Adv.

[Paulvt1]

Looks seriously sweet. Not sure i'd be brave enough to trade the Ten though..

 

[SpeedStar]

Awesome bike I am sure. I know I enjoyed my 950SM. Not sure I would want the other things that go with KTM ownership though.

 

[digitalmoto]

I rode the 990 before I bought my XTZ. It was too much and not enough at the same time. I expect the 1190 will be more of what I don't want and less of what I do.
That said, I'd probably love the new 1190 SuperDuke if/when it arrives on American shores.

 

[MrTwisty]

I owned a 950 Adventure for a while. Great bike, but it had too many quirks, and the 2 hour oil changes are a pain in the ass.

 

[greg the pole]

bike uk did an extensive review of the 1190 and the 1190r, whole separate print for it and all.
Tasty 150 hp in full setting, 100 hp in off road mode.
I really enjoyed how the KTM marketing guy spoke about the competition 'the tenere feels like a car, and drives like one, and it needs 2000 pounds to make it right' or something like that.
I don't know about you, but I spent time with guys on KTM's, when they work, they are great, when they go wrong, they really go wrong.

 

[bnjon]

bike uk did an extensive review of the 1190 and the 1190r, whole separate print for it and all.

I read that issue of Bike and I just wonder what KTM had to pay Bike since more or less everything said about the new KTM is extremely positive. I like the bike but I get suspicious if it's not good enough to speak for it's own sake...

 

[greg the pole]

I read that issue of Bike and I just wonder what KTM had to pay Bike since more or less everything said about the new KTM is extremely positive. I like the bike but I get suspicious if it's not good enough to speak for it's own sake...

yeah, it seemed biased to say the least, but then again it was a feature in the mag. I think it was more about
bragging rights, that BIKE was the only magazine to secure the story.
Who knows, I did think that the competition bashing was pretty low.
I'm biased for my yamaha. Yes it's not the fastest, not the newest, but it will rarely break, and goes
about it's job wonderfully.

I subscribe to BIKE but its funny how much attention they pay to the EU brands (bmw and ktm), rarely do they
mention the yammie, too bad really.

 

[Rasher]

I subscribe to BIKE but its funny how much attention they pay to the EU brands (bmw and ktm), rarely do they
mention the yammie, too bad really.

I think there is some patriotism, Euopeanism and in the case of BMW a propensity to "tweak" test bikes and massive advertising budgets.

I have seen a few Second Hand Buyers Guides on the GS where they fail to mention any of the FPC / EWS / FD / Fuel gauge / dropped valve / exploding gearbox problems that plague the bike, yet will hammer a Honda because of an occasional regulator fail, or a Suzuki because a few fasteners furred up after six winters use.

 

[JaimeV]

I really like the idea to make two versions, a road oriented and the off road version.
It's a pity Yamaha doesn’t do the same with the ST… not so difficult: 21” front wheel, good suspensions and ready! :

Next week I have a meeting in KTM Spain, hope they can give us some 1190 to try soon...

 

[RED CAT]

Had a KTM 950 Adv S. Great machine. Big grins but too many little things that bothered me. Was always worried about the reliability. Put on 30,000kms without problems though. Got a little of the Clickity Clacks which I couldn't seem to cure without starting to replace parts, so I traded it in and they sold it the next day. This new 1190 looks awesome. More road worthy. The windshield was one of my biggest peaves. Too far out front, therefore too noisey.
The new one looks better. If I wasn't so happy with my S10, I'd probably check one out when they become available. ::001::

 

[hANNAbONE]

I had an '04 Adventure 9fiddy.
Loved the mill and the drive train...could not manage the wind.
Low drumming in my ears drove me fargging nuts.!
I did windshield mods, mirror changed over to the SuperDuke *(plug n play*)
Nothing took it away.
Even different helmets.

Sold that bad boy to a guy from St Paul MiniApple

He drove the thing to the last inch of terra firma in Argentina.

Not a hiccup - it did need a valve adjustment by the time he got back (*I think he shipped it home*)

It took him 3 months to go that far. Crazee fella.

I think they're pretty robust - the simple oil change on these was a major take off eqpt nightmare.

You'd best have wrenching skills.

I'd own another one...prolly the SuperDuke or SMT

YMMV

 

[viewdvb]

I checked out the old Adventure before I bought my S10. Wheel sizes with only two makes of tyres, both off road, available in the UK so no go. The new Adventure has wheel sizes that you can get road tyres for, just like the S10, so it is a bit more road orientated plus it has a sensible two up seat layout unlike the SMT. Might have considered it if it was around last year. My big fear is the kind of aggravation you get with small volume European manufacturers. I had a gutful of that with Ducati. Nothing specific except they regard customers as their R&D department unlike the Japanese who try to get it right before releasing it. Still, at the risk of offending this site's regulars, I bet it's more exciting than the S10. But excitement doesn't reliably get you home from a long trip. Neither did the Ducati!

 

[Kelvininin]

I traded my 2010 KTM A990 for the S10.

The KTM was a fun bike, very capable, fast, and that's where the excitement ended. The bike was quarky, uncomfortable, and a bitch to maintain.

Oil changes where a 3 to 4 beer job, then you had to tend to the chain. Oh and god forbid you didn't replace one of the gaskets when doing a oil change. Once the leak was found, have to take all the left side crash protection, upper fairing, left tank off just to get to it. Then drain the oil, replace the gasket and put it all back together. Filling it back up with oil even had a special procedure.

I tried all kinds of stuff to make the bike comfortable, but the maintenance got the better of me and I traded it for the S10. Not thrilled with having a bike payment again, but thrilled with the bike!

 

[viewdvb]

I think there is some patriotism, Euopeanism and in the case of BMW a propensity to "tweak" test bikes and massive advertising budgets.

I have seen a few Second Hand Buyers Guides on the GS where they fail to mention any of the FPC / EWS / FD / Fuel gauge / dropped valve / exploding gearbox problems that plague the bike, yet will hammer a Honda because of an occasional regulator fail, or a Suzuki because a few fasteners furred up after six winters use.

Re-reading this thread, I think the real beef with almost all road tests and reviews is that they comment on the riding experience (as they see it or are paid to see it) but never on the ownership experience. Why would or could they? They get loaned a machine long or short term and thrash it without any concern for the outcome 20-30,000 miles down the road or any experience of servicing or the factory's interest or otherwise in solving prolems. The bike they get is looked after fastidiously by the supplier, snatched back and fixed at the first hint of a problem which probably doesn't happen anyway because it was not just straight off the production line like you and I get. What do they care if the rear drive trashes itself at 50,000 miles. When they do experience a major breakdown even on a brief test, they make very little adverse comment. Motorcycle News tried to film a Lands End to John O'Groats (length of Britain) test including a BMW but it never even left Land's End before it needed BMW to recover it. You'd expect a real tongue lashing over their wasted time and the bike's poor showing but they barely made a harsh comment. They often don't even bother to read the owners manual and then bitch about some feature they have set wrong or could have changed. I've even seen reviews that described the wrong number of gears - that's how witless they can be. I owned an all electronic Ducati Multistrada and was amazed to read road tests that complained about settings that were infinitely adjustable or the lack of features that I knew were fitted. Trouble is - the most important thing to us buyers is that we will own the machine and what wears out or breaks down is as important to us as the riding experience, perhaps more so. The only road test I would trust is something like Nick Sanders' American odyssey on a Super Tenere. If it covers 51,000 miles with nothing worse than a fork oil seal replacement - I'm impressed. Now I will be interested in his or anyone else's impressions of the riding experience. But not a group test that complains of insufficient power but doesn't mention two power settings or appear to know which one they were using for the test!

 

[Rasher]

::026:: Ahmen

I suppose they can only judge on the time they have, and not whip out a crystal ball and see the future reliability, but yor right they could RTFM and get basics right, and should mention issues, I remember another MCN review where they made a big thing of cracking the Super Tenere's sump when doing serious off-road in the hands of a Pro Enduro rider (and had not even got a sump gaurd on the bike) Yet skipped over the fact the BMW broke down once on the way to the offroad site (BMW had to come out and fix it) it then overheated whilst there and never made it back and was taken away in the back of a van.....but I bet BMW ended buying up some serious advertising space that week :exclaim:

Back in my youth I was only interested in how fast it went, how well it handled etc. these days I am older and wiser, I can't use all the performance of the Tenere, I may be able to thrash the motor a bit now and again, an R1 would be wasted on me (and the UK roads which are far more suited to the Tenere)

The average buyer is also older and wiser (at least in the UK) young people no longer want bikes, they can't afford them, an old car is cheaper to run and keeps them dry and the test is a complete nightmare taking far longer and costing far more than the car test, and still leaves them on a restricted bike for a few years.

It is us old folk now buying bikes, and we generally don't care about the lap time, top speed or SS1/4 mile (except for the pub posers) we know what we want a bit better these days, maybe look beyond the specs, I chose the Tenere as it best ticked a large number of boxes, and ones off most magazines scope such as Reliability, Two-up Comfort, Road Handling (Average rider on a real road, not former WSB riders lap time) Luggage options, Service Costs, Tank Range, Dealer Network, Real Cost (i.e. what I could pick one up for)

The KTM will I am sure be a great bike, and for many owners a real joy, I am sure most these days know the ups and downs of different brands and those that get caught out probably deserve it for being too stupid or too rich :

There is a huge difference between my dream garage (RC30, MTS - solo blast bike, Tenere - solo touring bike, Tenere - two up touring bike, Enduro bike, ZZR1400 and probably the odd MV and KTM) and my real garage (Just the Tenere - do everything bike)

The good thing is as people clamber for the latest and greatest like this KTM the used market will have a few other nice low mileage bikes appear as bargains for the more discerning punter

 

[Dirt_Dad]

... then bitch about some feature they have set wrong or could have changed. I've even seen reviews that described the wrong number of gears - that's how witless they can be. I owned an all electronic Ducati Multistrada and was amazed to read road tests that complained about settings that were infinitely adjustable or the lack of features that I knew were fitted.

Reminds me of how almost every Tenere reviewer felt the need to trash Yamaha for lack of an ABS switch. I guess if you're used to BMW ABS that decides to stop working if the going gets tough that's one thing. But maybe, just maybe one of the complainers could have tested the ABS to see if Yamaha wasn't as foolish as they were suggesting and possibly engineered an ABS system that actually works. I guess that was too much to ask.

Over the years I've learned I have very little in common with the professional motorcycle reviewer class, and take anything they say with a healthy dose of suspicion.