The next chapter...KTM Super Adventure S

Dirt_Dad

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... I have a felling your Tech was working and you may not have even realized it your tech system will aprx. make hundreds of decisions a second and react to a problem in milliseconds, even the best throttle jockeys would be lucky to react at 1/10 I'm sure your instinct probably saved you butt, but believe me the Tech. is a life saver that human brain can't match.
I have no doubt you are correct. It was certainly doing its thing even without my awareness of it. My problem is years of experience makes it hard for me to ignore those human instincts and relax enough to override my reaction and trust the system. I'm sure KTM is aware of that human factor and makes it work the best as possible despite the humans involved.

I'm not one who thinks I'm better than the safety features. I know my brain has many, many limits. In fact, I prove it daily.
 

VRODE

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Hindsight is 20-20. Glad you managed the situation well. I probably would have done the same (and hopefully stayed upright)
 

Dirt_Dad

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I kinda figured you guys were getting tired of me droning on and on about the "big orange beast," so I was trying to give you all a break...but since you asked.

Closing on on 3K miles. Took DM on a 200 mile ride on Saturday. Sunday morning DM and I were talking the previous day's ride and I started to get the shakes. That's it...forget riding the 690 today, I need to take the SAS out for a real ride. I had a craving to go ride some of the wonderful roller-coaster roads in the region. I just happened to have a 298 mile ride loaded up into the GPS. True to form, 9 hours and 350 miles later I was almost back home. Once riding this bike, I just don't want to turn back towards home. I have never done a 356 mile day ride on all back roads...ever.

I'm realizing some things. I'm calmer riding this bike. I'm closer to the speed limit more often than before, and just more relaxed. I enjoy a spirited ride. On the Tenere that required me to be more aggressive to get the desired performance. I was always happy to do it, and I'm not sure I even realized it. On the SAS the performance is always there, just waiting to be requested. No need for aggression. The difference in spirited riding can be measured in lip and upper torso movements. On the Tenere it was tense lips, bearing your teeth a bit, and leaning forward. On the SAS it's a smile, often a chuckle, and probably getting pulled backwards just a tad. It's more peaceful and relaxing.

To me, the SAS is not about high speeds. It's all about high (make that super high) acceleration rates. Those rates are available at all times and they are incredibly satisfying. Couple that with the smooth speed shifting that does not require you to back off the throttle to shift, and it just keeps going. If you watch Ryan in the FortNone video review of the SAR you'll get a good feel for what I'm referencing. I think he missed the point on the linear throttle response, but overall it's an excellent summary of the power of this bike.

Dirt wise, if you set the SAS to Offroad mode it's power will be familiar to everyone here. Rides a lot like the Tenere in Sport mode in the dirt. It's an extremely familiar feeling. I honestly don't like riding it in dirt all that much. With the 5% off road tires I'm afraid I'm just going to prematurely shred them like I did with the more dirt worthy tires. There's not much to be gained from killing these tires that fast. Plus not putting a skid plate on the bike yet makes me a little more timid. So far I'm okay with that.

After 6 weeks, I have to say I am still so excited to get on the SAS. Some bikes change you life. The V-Strom 1000 turned me into a long distance rider. The Tenere gave me the go anywhere with confience, and go really, really far away without a care. The SAS has already changed my riding style with the power and speed shifting it is fantastically entertaining yet comfortable and relaxing at the same time. Curious to see what other riding life changes lay ahead.
 
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HeliMark

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DD, on the rider modes, does the bike have a selection (memory) that you can customize for what you want? On mine, when in the "off-road pro" selection, it turns everything off (TCS/ABS), and puts the throttle into the sport mode. I have programed the rider configured memory for everything off, and the throttle in the "touring" mode. Makes it nice when I am just putzing around in the dirt.
 

Dirt_Dad

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No memory on the bike. It does hold the engine mode, suspension mode, and I believe the ABS setting (unless it was off). Turn off the electrical system and it will always turn TCS back on. I find I'm leaving the electrical on when filling up at stations. That way I don't lose the TCS setting.

That brings up another point. The bike is a bit smarter than I'd like in some places. Turn off TCS, and it disables the cruise control. Makes me be more thoughtful about when I turn off TCS msyself. It has to be worth it.
 

HeliMark

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Okay, thanks. If I turn mine off when I am in the off-road mode, when I turn the bike back on, it will ask if I still want to be in that mode. If I don't answer, or too slow, it reverts back to the on-road mode.

Another question, not sure if you have already answered it, but do you have to stop to go between and "off-road" mode and an "on-road" mode?

Attorneys....
 

Dirt_Dad

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Austria definitely has lawyers, but they seem a bit more domesticated. You can go between certain modes with no restrictions. Others require you to close the throttle while keeping the button held, stay that way, then release the button first, rub your tummy, stomp 3 times on the left foot peg and then it changes. Not sure why that is safer than just changing modes.

Clearly I'm not qualified to be a lawyer.
 

Nikolajsen

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If true, that would be a very welcomed development. I don't know what this means:

"Further BMW Motorrad models are being prepared for this feature. "

What needs to be prepared on a bike for a different chain?

While it would be an obvious selling feature for BMW, I suspect someone at BMW will realize the massive sales potential in the aftermarket and it will make its way to consumers.
Seems like it is Regine that makes this hightech chain. And it will be available from Regina really soon.
I'm not sure it will work as good as they promise, but we will see ;)
 

nondairycreamer

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How does the suspension compare between the Yamaha and the KTM? Specifically, on lousy roads where there is no relief from endless small bumps, ripples, frost heaves, etc. I can stand for the big hits but I can't stand all day.
 

Dirt_Dad

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DD , this is your thread , drone on all you like ...... its good to hear about other bikes and the ownership experience .
I'll add something when there's some new thought. I've found this thread useful in tracking my thought evolution of this bike. Its been a process for me.


Unless it's a GS then people will come out of the wood work to tell you how horrible and expensive it will be....:p
I know that is true, and usually a reference to the big GS. But so far I can say the ownership of the little GS has been all good.

The last 15 months has been a big European Invasion in my life. From cars to bikes, I've gone from nothing to 4 out of 7 licensed vehicles being European. So far so good.
 

Dirt_Dad

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How does the suspension compare between the Yamaha and the KTM? Specifically, on lousy roads where there is no relief from endless small bumps, ripples, frost heaves, etc. I can stand for the big hits but I can't stand all day.
I'm a neanderthal when it comes to suspension, but I do recognize good suspension. All my KTMs have had outstanding suspension. This one is downright amazing. I'm not really sure what semi-active suspension does, but it does it very well. Setting it to off road makes the ride shockingly smooth.

To be totally fair to the Tenere, since I am a neanderthal I could very well have been setting the Tenere incorrectly. Suspension has always been a black box to me. The nice thing about the KTM is it is dumbed down for me. Set it to Sport, Road, Comfort, or Offroad, and it takes care of everything. For a dummy like me, that's perfect. The Tenere left it to me to select the best ride, and I bet I did not optimize it to the best of it's ability.
 

bmac

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I'm a neanderthal when it comes to suspension, but I do recognize good suspension. All my KTMs have had outstanding suspension. This one is downright amazing. I'm not really sure what semi-active suspension does, but it does it very well. Setting it to off road makes the ride shockingly smooth.

To be totally fair to the Tenere, since I am a neanderthal I could very well have been setting the Tenere incorrectly. Suspension has always been a black box to me. The nice thing about the KTM is it is dumbed down for me. Set it to Sport, Road, Comfort, or Offroad, and it takes care of everything. For a dummy like me, that's perfect. The Tenere left it to me to select the best ride, and I bet I did not optimize it to the best of it's ability.
One thing all the KTM's I have ridden have in common is good suspension. In general, I think KTM has the best standard suspension of any motorcycle manufacturer.
 

Dirt_Dad

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I'm pretty good at getting home within a tenth of a mile before hitting the next tire check.



Madhatter - according to your buddy's tire change schedule I'm about 400 miles past needing to change this rear.





I think I have some life let to go. Does your buddy do a lot of burn-outs? I suspect if I treated these like I usually treat a 50/50 tire I'd kill it pretty quickly, but I don't see the point of doing a lot of powersliding with street tires. In fact, I doubt I have even 100 miles of dirt on these. I set out to do some of the MABDR with the bike today, but still learning my Garmin XT, and realized I screwed up the routing much too late.

I'm wondering if the front is going to die before the back.




Another note on suspension. I did more than an hour of 4-lane highway today. Put the bike in "Comfort" dampening mode. Haven't really tried that mode much befroe today. Ride was excellent. In fact, in anticipation of getting off the highway I moved it back to Sport. Took about a minute of that before I said 'screw that' and went back to comfort until I was really off the highway.

It was raining a bit and I put the engine in Rain mode. Reminded me of the Tenere in Touring mode.

That's the thing about this bike, it really has a lot of different personalities. Each engine and suspension mode does make it ride and respond like a completely different bike. Much more that the Tenere Sport vs Touring ever did for me. The changes result in differences that strike me as more pronounced.
 

Dirt_Dad

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Hello, my name is Dirt_Dad, and I have an addiction.

It's useless to deny it.

On Friday I completed a 3 day, 800+ mile ride on the 690, up and back on the Pennsylvania section of the MABDR. Doing 10 hours and more than 320 miles on Friday had my rear-end quite angry with me. So of course on Saturday, after getting a very late departure time, I ended up doing over 385 miles on the SAS. When I got off the SAS yesterday, I just walked away saying, 'I hate getting off this thing.' As I bounced into the house I told DM, 'this bike understands me.' If she would have told me, you should go out and ride a little more before it gets dark, I would spun on a dime and been gone...she didn't say that.

Actually after riding the 690 for 3 days straight, getting on the SAS felt like mounting a Super Tenere sized bike. It took some adjusting. That wasn't bad since I was heading to the interstate to ride a 150 miles away before starting to twist my way back home. By the time I was ready to twist, everything had been adjusted in my brain, and all was ready to rock.

There is a consistent difference between my day rides on the Tenere vs the SAS. Tenere, a satisfying day ride was 230 to 275 miles, and I was happy to get home. On the SAS day rides are much closer to 400 miles and I'm looking to take that last twisty road at the bottom of the mountain from me, and I'm reluctantly going home, and thinking about my next ride.
 

Madhatter

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DD , my buddy is a hard charger on the KTM or anything with 2 wheels ......
got a txt from him yesterday , crashed his 1290 in downtown Buda Texas . went wide on a left hand turn and got the curb which high sided him onto the side walk . results are all day at hospital for a concussion , needs a new helmet as the Sho ei gave it up for his head . jacket got a hole in it , and a raspberry on his right knee. KTM bars some scrapes but protected the bike well .
told me he made the left but something caught his attention on his right and went wide and hit the curb. said he was actually under 15 mph when this happened . jumped up and rode off on bike ,got to edge of town and could not remember where he was going so went home . was not sure by the time he got home what had happened , and woke his wife and said something is wrong I may have had an accident .
we had breakfast this morning all is well , not allowed to ride for a week . and needs new gear.
 
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