Having bought a new GS yesterday I was at Premier Bikes looking at a 1090 for everyday commuting and riding (don’t ask!)
Having only once ridden a KTM before (1290 super adventure, but that was at InMoto and I had no chance to open it up in busy Croydon roads), here’s my mini review...
First impressions: looks nice in the mostly black with a bit of orange - not a fan of the 1290S white and orange colour scheme. Looks very solidly built, rear shock looks well-protected and love the massive, solid x-ring chain (BMW - take note!). Sitting on the bike, it doesn’t feel lofty or top heavy at all, seat initially feels OK, bars, seat and pegs all in the right place.
Electronics: I had the TC warning come in a couple of times giving it a bit of beans over slightly rough, potholed road (in Street), but everything felt very solid. Clocks are easy to understand and nicely laid out. Just a shame there’s no dedicated heated grip button. Oddly when resetting the trip values etc everything started from zero but average fuel consumption took about 20 minutes to start registering a value - perhaps the bike needs to be stationary or turned on and off first?
Gearbox: feels nice and slick, no quick shifter fitted but feels quite different to the GS - not necessarily better, just different.
Brakes: great, and very similar to the GS (4-piston radial Brembos).
Suspension: the 1090 has manual suspension with no adjustment at the front and (I believe) preload and rebound at the rear. I would assume the demo is set up as a standard single rider, and it felt fine as is. If I owned one I might soften the rebound damping a touch as it was a little on the firm side, but maybe a better seat would solve that problem. Not terrible, and again, different to the GS rather than better/worse.
Seat: initially fine but over time became a bit wooden. I’m sure the ergo seats would sort it as others have said (and the GS seat is no better). Seat height feels fine and just as manageable as the GS with a low seat - but the 1090 is clearly quite a bit lighter as it is much easier to get off the side stand and feels lighter and more agile in general. Part of this may be down to the skinnier 110/150 tyres.
Screen: only tried it in the high position but not great, quite a bit of buffering and wind noise. Nothing an MRA X-screen wouldn’t fix.
Handling: sublime, again very different to the GS with telelever/paralever but loves to be thrown around, as you would probably expect of a KTM!
Engine: I’ve left this last as it’s the best bit of the bike. Despite having similar power and torque values to the GS the delivery is quite different. Significantly less torque from idle, likes to be rev’ed and a wonderful engine and exhaust note in stock form. Easy to ride in traffic, but still very long-legged and actually felt better cruising at 70 than the GS.
So in short I really liked it - whilst it may seem odd to be considering it in addition to a 1200GS, they’re very different in most areas - engine layout, drivetrain, suspension etc. - and I could really see me riding it every day. Where the GS is effortlessly competent, the KTM is a bit more raw and exciting. The fact that 4 dealers have unregistered new bikes at under £10K isn’t helping!
Finally, having never been there before I was impressed with Premier - everyone said hello, they got me out on a demo at 3pm on a Saturday, friendly without being in the slightest pushy or salesman-like, and the dealership looks very nicely laid out and chock full of bikes and equipment. I did have the nagging feeling I’d been here before - was there a different dealership on this site? I vaguely remember trying a used F800ST years ago and the roads seemed very familiar...
Having only once ridden a KTM before (1290 super adventure, but that was at InMoto and I had no chance to open it up in busy Croydon roads), here’s my mini review...
First impressions: looks nice in the mostly black with a bit of orange - not a fan of the 1290S white and orange colour scheme. Looks very solidly built, rear shock looks well-protected and love the massive, solid x-ring chain (BMW - take note!). Sitting on the bike, it doesn’t feel lofty or top heavy at all, seat initially feels OK, bars, seat and pegs all in the right place.
Electronics: I had the TC warning come in a couple of times giving it a bit of beans over slightly rough, potholed road (in Street), but everything felt very solid. Clocks are easy to understand and nicely laid out. Just a shame there’s no dedicated heated grip button. Oddly when resetting the trip values etc everything started from zero but average fuel consumption took about 20 minutes to start registering a value - perhaps the bike needs to be stationary or turned on and off first?
Gearbox: feels nice and slick, no quick shifter fitted but feels quite different to the GS - not necessarily better, just different.
Brakes: great, and very similar to the GS (4-piston radial Brembos).
Suspension: the 1090 has manual suspension with no adjustment at the front and (I believe) preload and rebound at the rear. I would assume the demo is set up as a standard single rider, and it felt fine as is. If I owned one I might soften the rebound damping a touch as it was a little on the firm side, but maybe a better seat would solve that problem. Not terrible, and again, different to the GS rather than better/worse.
Seat: initially fine but over time became a bit wooden. I’m sure the ergo seats would sort it as others have said (and the GS seat is no better). Seat height feels fine and just as manageable as the GS with a low seat - but the 1090 is clearly quite a bit lighter as it is much easier to get off the side stand and feels lighter and more agile in general. Part of this may be down to the skinnier 110/150 tyres.
Screen: only tried it in the high position but not great, quite a bit of buffering and wind noise. Nothing an MRA X-screen wouldn’t fix.
Handling: sublime, again very different to the GS with telelever/paralever but loves to be thrown around, as you would probably expect of a KTM!
Engine: I’ve left this last as it’s the best bit of the bike. Despite having similar power and torque values to the GS the delivery is quite different. Significantly less torque from idle, likes to be rev’ed and a wonderful engine and exhaust note in stock form. Easy to ride in traffic, but still very long-legged and actually felt better cruising at 70 than the GS.
So in short I really liked it - whilst it may seem odd to be considering it in addition to a 1200GS, they’re very different in most areas - engine layout, drivetrain, suspension etc. - and I could really see me riding it every day. Where the GS is effortlessly competent, the KTM is a bit more raw and exciting. The fact that 4 dealers have unregistered new bikes at under £10K isn’t helping!
Finally, having never been there before I was impressed with Premier - everyone said hello, they got me out on a demo at 3pm on a Saturday, friendly without being in the slightest pushy or salesman-like, and the dealership looks very nicely laid out and chock full of bikes and equipment. I did have the nagging feeling I’d been here before - was there a different dealership on this site? I vaguely remember trying a used F800ST years ago and the roads seemed very familiar...
