“Standard seat is not good enough. Needed to buy the comfort seat to make distances over 100 miles comfortable.
Heat rising up to your thighs once ambient a go above 20degrees C is too high for comfort especially in town. Left side is the worst. Never had this problem on my 990 Afventure that had deeper side covers on the bike to channel the heat away. KTM need to fix this.
Otherwise it's a great bike that delivers grins every run.”
“Ballistic big trailie that'll give a sports bike a scare ! It handles, it brakes, it does long tours with aplomb.....it's a GS with attitude. Quality of finish is in my opinion better than BMW (I have owned a 12GS in the past) and the fuel economy is much improved over the 990 Adv. The servicing costs are not overly expensive and the overall experience has been a good one. Downsides ? Personally, the bike was back a bit too often to get things sorted out like the side and centre stands plus other recalls. I suppose that's the price of buying a European brand in its first year of production. The major disappointments were having to have the clocks replaced after they let in water as well as the left switch cluster which also let water foul up the operations and warped discs on the front wheel. The wait time on KTM approving the warranty work was abysmally slow and needs to be addressed as it makes the dealer look silly even though the dealer was more than helpful trying to get things sorted. Only the fact that the bike is so much fun to ride was enough reason to forgive the short comings.”
“Previous 'adventure' bike was a Triumph Explorer. Regarding the KTM1190:
1) engine is phenomenal and much more grunt than the Trumpet
2) brakes are in a different league
3) handling is quicker
4) ride is much firmer but not uncomfortable
5) weighs in at 200kg (dry); Triumph is sooooo heavy by comparison
Triumph pluses:
1) more softly sprung and presents a softer/smoother ride
2) engine is unbelievably silky smooth and less tiring on long motorway runs; pulls from really low down
3) cruise control is lovely
4) better wind protection
5) single sided shaft drive is lovely to keep clean
Which is best? The KTM hands down...bikes are for riding and having fun, the wind, the noise, blistering pace, monstrous torque, spectacular brakes. Sure the Triumph is comfier and smoother but I've been having too much fun to miss it!
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