Donk
Well-Known Member
Well only 2000 miles in 2 months but the 890 is a keeper. Does everything I want and it’s wicked fun. Have semi soft bags coming for it.
The next chapter...KTM Super Adventure S
- Thread starter Dirt_Dad
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Dirt_Dad
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This year has not been a great riding year for me. In May we put a contract on a new house. All the selling, hotel living, moving, setting up has played hell on getting some miles on the SAS. So 14 months after buying the bike, I have just under 15,000 miles. For the last two weekends DM has pushed me out the door and forced me to take time away from the shopping/installing/mounting/programming/wiring/adjusting... and given me a couple 300 + mile rides.
In an odd sensation it's almost like rediscovering the bike. What I like, what I don't, what could be done better. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
In July I did manage to complete the first 4,500+ mile tour on the SAS going out to join our Tenere friends in South Dakota. I was not surprised to find it is an awesome long distance touring bike. The bike has proven to be as reliable as any Japanese bike I've ever owned. It munches miles with comfort and the relaxed big engine drones along compliantly without any complaints. At times the air temps on the trip were over 100 degrees (f). The bike's temp gauge showed no evidence of heating even though the radiator was full of diluted coolant. The bike was not cooking me like it did in the early days of ownership. Learning to keep my pant vents closed was key to blocking any excess heat.
On the trip we had just one episode of extraordinarily hard rain. The SAS showed no ill effects, which is better than I can say for the BMW and the Sena 50S headset. Headset was dead. BMW had a wonky cruise control for the next 24 hours. Did I mention it was a really hard rain?
I can't say the bike was flawless on the trip. I also can't really blame the bike for the issues. Starting somewhere around 9K total miles, the drain bolt for the coolant started to back out ever so slightly. This resulted in a loss of coolant. The reservoir was never empty and I managed to replace it in time with distilled water. Seemed to happen every 800 to 1000 miles. Also at one point I noticed the bike had a head-shaking issue when riding no handed below 35MPH. It could not feel it with hands on the bars, and the whole issue disappeared above 45 MPH. To get really nit picky about a non-KTM related issue, the tape holding the chain oiler hose to the swingarm gave up, and I had to do a little creative zip tying.
I did take the bike to the dealer for the drain plug and headshake issue. They said the drain bolt issue was the first time they heard that one. They replaced coolant, washer, and used some low strength lock-tite. They also looked over the bike and pointed out the tread pattern on the front Trail Max was likely the issue with the head shake. It did have an odd cupping to it. At least it was an odd wear pattern to me. I thought their explanation was reasonable and I've seen others report tire specific shaking on the SAS. Everything the dealer did was covered under warranty and I left with no charge.
Back to the reintroduction to the bike in the last two weekends...I remember why I liked this bike so much. I won't go on and on about stuff already said. It all still holds true as much as ever. I've matured into enjoying the 3rd and 4th gear wheelies most of all. Feels great.
After a year my complaints are minimal.
-) Turning off traction control while rolling is too distracting to be safe. When you have this much power, it should be easier to turn on and off traction control at will (stupid lawyers).
-) Get lazy while speed shifting down and you'll get a surprise. My fault, not the bike. Doing it right does take some practice and maintenance of skill.
-) Of course it would be nice not to be a chain. The benefits still dramatically outweigh the downsides of having a chain.
The bike continues to be as close to perfect for me and my current performance desires as any bike has ever been at any point in my riding life. I read great things about the upgarde KTM has put into the next generation of the SAS. Maybe someday, but I'll be slow to give up a bike I find so deeply satisfying.
In an odd sensation it's almost like rediscovering the bike. What I like, what I don't, what could be done better. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
In July I did manage to complete the first 4,500+ mile tour on the SAS going out to join our Tenere friends in South Dakota. I was not surprised to find it is an awesome long distance touring bike. The bike has proven to be as reliable as any Japanese bike I've ever owned. It munches miles with comfort and the relaxed big engine drones along compliantly without any complaints. At times the air temps on the trip were over 100 degrees (f). The bike's temp gauge showed no evidence of heating even though the radiator was full of diluted coolant. The bike was not cooking me like it did in the early days of ownership. Learning to keep my pant vents closed was key to blocking any excess heat.
On the trip we had just one episode of extraordinarily hard rain. The SAS showed no ill effects, which is better than I can say for the BMW and the Sena 50S headset. Headset was dead. BMW had a wonky cruise control for the next 24 hours. Did I mention it was a really hard rain?
I can't say the bike was flawless on the trip. I also can't really blame the bike for the issues. Starting somewhere around 9K total miles, the drain bolt for the coolant started to back out ever so slightly. This resulted in a loss of coolant. The reservoir was never empty and I managed to replace it in time with distilled water. Seemed to happen every 800 to 1000 miles. Also at one point I noticed the bike had a head-shaking issue when riding no handed below 35MPH. It could not feel it with hands on the bars, and the whole issue disappeared above 45 MPH. To get really nit picky about a non-KTM related issue, the tape holding the chain oiler hose to the swingarm gave up, and I had to do a little creative zip tying.
I did take the bike to the dealer for the drain plug and headshake issue. They said the drain bolt issue was the first time they heard that one. They replaced coolant, washer, and used some low strength lock-tite. They also looked over the bike and pointed out the tread pattern on the front Trail Max was likely the issue with the head shake. It did have an odd cupping to it. At least it was an odd wear pattern to me. I thought their explanation was reasonable and I've seen others report tire specific shaking on the SAS. Everything the dealer did was covered under warranty and I left with no charge.
Back to the reintroduction to the bike in the last two weekends...I remember why I liked this bike so much. I won't go on and on about stuff already said. It all still holds true as much as ever. I've matured into enjoying the 3rd and 4th gear wheelies most of all. Feels great.
After a year my complaints are minimal.
-) Turning off traction control while rolling is too distracting to be safe. When you have this much power, it should be easier to turn on and off traction control at will (stupid lawyers).
-) Get lazy while speed shifting down and you'll get a surprise. My fault, not the bike. Doing it right does take some practice and maintenance of skill.
-) Of course it would be nice not to be a chain. The benefits still dramatically outweigh the downsides of having a chain.
The bike continues to be as close to perfect for me and my current performance desires as any bike has ever been at any point in my riding life. I read great things about the upgarde KTM has put into the next generation of the SAS. Maybe someday, but I'll be slow to give up a bike I find so deeply satisfying.
Dirt_Dad
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Getting to that time of year when the SAS is camouflaged.
Was playing around with off road settings and saw this warning for the first time. Happened when I turned off the ABS.
Never did figure out how to get the ABS set to off road. Need to spend some time in the manual.
Regardless of my ignorance of settings, the bike is so smooth off pavement. Change the ride and dampening mode and it's a totally different bike. A fantastic touring bike, an awesome twisty road bike, and a spunky, easily controlled dirt road bike are all just a couple of button clicks away.
Otherwise, same old, same old...blah, blah, blah...most entertaining bike ever, blah, blah, blah...never wish you had more power, just twist...blah, blah, blah...perfect bike for me. You know, all the stuff I always say about the SAS.
Was playing around with off road settings and saw this warning for the first time. Happened when I turned off the ABS.
Never did figure out how to get the ABS set to off road. Need to spend some time in the manual.
Regardless of my ignorance of settings, the bike is so smooth off pavement. Change the ride and dampening mode and it's a totally different bike. A fantastic touring bike, an awesome twisty road bike, and a spunky, easily controlled dirt road bike are all just a couple of button clicks away.
Otherwise, same old, same old...blah, blah, blah...most entertaining bike ever, blah, blah, blah...never wish you had more power, just twist...blah, blah, blah...perfect bike for me. You know, all the stuff I always say about the SAS.
I'm thinking about selling mine. I just got out for an overnight ride (which is necessary to get to really good roads) and the riding was just too much for me. I'm good with 2 hours on any bike, and after that it becomes a chore. Not sure what is wrong with me. I also apparently like to maximize my losses on motorcycles in terms of the cost per mile metric. It is a very good bike though. I find the seat to peg distance inexplicably tight for a ike that I can barely reach the ground on!
So . . . . what you're saying is the bike is blah?
Lucky he ain't selling them.
Dirt_Dad
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Bikes are such a personal item. What works for one person doesn't work for someone else. Since it feels like KTM built the SAS specifically for me, I get that it may not be right for anyone else.
In fact, the buddy who put the Super Adventure on my radar ended up getting himself a SAR just a few months after I bought the SAS. I also strongly considered the SAR, but DM gently suggested it was the SAS I should be looking at getting. Anyway...I called my buddy last month the check in and see how his SAR was treating him. He informed me he had sold it months ago. Said the SAR was just too brutal for his tastes. Too dirt oriented, and just too over the top powerful when in the dirt. His last bike was a GSA and he was very comfortable in the dirt (and under water,too... as the Romney attendees may remember). He's moved on to an Africa Twin and seems more satisfied. To each their own.
As for "blah"...I figure you guys are getting tired of reading all the glowing stuff over and over again. DM tells me I repeat myself...a lot. Just can't help it. Had a great ride on the 690 today, but can't wait to get back on the SAS. Bike just reaches me at some inner core that I just can't shake.
Boris
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Yeah DD, keep posting, it’s a cracking bike and nice to hear reports about other bikes.
Dirt_Dad
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Saw a new message today. Doh!
More later.
More later.
Tenman
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Cool feature. How low was it when it came on
Dirt_Dad
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Short answer: I was standing so not sure how long it had been on. I stopped when I saw the message. Checked the TPS and it said 15lbs.
TrailSmart rear tire life: 6,700 miles
Long answer: I'm going to need to consider this particular dirt road to be haunted, or at least bad luck. I originally identified the road when scouting routes for the Romney Camp N Ride. I think I've ridden it a total of four times. Two times solo, two times leading group rides. Three out of four times there have been issues on this road. Between a GoPro hitting the ground while riding, someone going wide on a descending corner and making his own trail down the mountain until the drop/crash, and now a punctured tire... maybe I should retire this road. By the way, hearing your sweep rider over the bluetooth tell you someone is missing is not a good feeling. But I digress.
I departed on my ride after inspecting each tire. The rear was not down to the wear bars, but close enough I figured this would be the last ride before changing. When I ended up on this 20 miles of mountain dirt roads I was honestly more concerned about the potential of mud after the hard rain from the night before. The TrailSmart is not a good mud tire when new, at this stage it would basically be a slick in mud. Mud was not a concern, instead I should have been thinking about the oversized gravel that was pretty thick at times.
Before the puncture I realized I was pushing a bit late to get home before dark. Even after the puncture I was not overly concerned. I always keep the ability to patch a tire and didn't expect it to take too much time. Up on the center stand the puncture was easy to spot. My reamer found very little resistance. Good size hole, tire feeling pretty thin. Dig out the kit and pump, and happy to see my rubber cement tube has never been opened. Puncture the seal and the cement is completely dry and unusable...damn. Slice the cover off my string, insert into tire and start the pump. Could not get it above 23lbs. Josh (guy in pickup who stopped to help) felt the air coming out around the string. In goes a second string. I'm able to get it up to 33lbs and it seems to hold there. Josh offers to follow me to Romney. He also had glowing words about Kevin, which is always the universal opinion. I thank him, and the woman on the horse who offered me a tire kit, and head off towards Romney.
I monitored the TPS as I rode and the tire seemed to be holding pretty steady at 32lbs. I decide to roll the dice, not stop at Romney, avoid riding in the dark (too many deer), and gently ride the last 60 miles home. I put the bike in rain mode to encourage mellow riding. Of course 10 miles on the other side of Romney it was clear the tire was losing pressure. This began the process of pulling over each time the tire got close to 30lbs, filling up to 40lbs or more, then continuing on. This distance I could travel diminished with each stop. Towards the end I was stopping every 5 to 7 miles. I did see another message each time the tire got down to 32lbs.
I was grateful to have an accurate TPS system that allowed me to nurse the bike home.
I did fail in my goal to reach home before dark. This did give me the first chance to see the stock headlight performance. I'd list it as quite good on low and high beam. Nice to know those giant lights that give the bike a controversial look actually do what they appear they should do.
A few pics from the road before puncture:
Dirt_Dad
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Almost forgot...
I took my Cool Cover seat cover off because I thought I wouldn't need it in the cooler weather. The temps on my last ride were between 56 to 62 degrees F. Even in the high 50s, I knew that was a mistake. Kept checking to see if I had accidently turned on the heated seat. Nope, the seat is just that hot. Spent a lot of time standing to cool off that region. Cool cover is back on and not sure what the outdoor temp will need to before I try that move again.
I took my Cool Cover seat cover off because I thought I wouldn't need it in the cooler weather. The temps on my last ride were between 56 to 62 degrees F. Even in the high 50s, I knew that was a mistake. Kept checking to see if I had accidently turned on the heated seat. Nope, the seat is just that hot. Spent a lot of time standing to cool off that region. Cool cover is back on and not sure what the outdoor temp will need to before I try that move again.
VRODE
Easy Does It
I thought they fixed that with the 1290 version. Maybe some insulating material under the seat pan?
Dirt_Dad
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It has a good amount of heat reflective material already
Xclimation
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If someone could tell me how to (keep) rubber cement.....! I always just buy a replacement every couple of months or so and especially before a long trip. It either turns in to a useless watery mess or dries up...!
Dirt_Dad
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I'll probably go back to using vulcanizing fluid.
scott123007
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Rubber cement is nice to have for a sticky string repair and definitely makes it easier to both ream the existing hole and insert the string, but I have done more repairs without it, than with, and never had a failure.