Anyone in the orange section running one of the new 1090 Adventures(125bhp) , looking for some feedback on comfort / range / mods , etc.etc.
Hi mcinlb. Are you looking at the 'S' or 'R' variant of the 1090? I have a 2016 1050 Adventure, which is essentially the same as the 1090 Adventure S, apart from having engine restricted to 95 bhp instead of 125, so I'll pitch in anyway.
I'm mostly happy with it, with a few reservations.
It's very easy to ride. The engine is smooth (at least, compared to my old hexhead GS) with strong torque from idle, and some real red mist-inducing fizz in the midrange. 70 mph cruising is a calm 4500 rpm, with licence-threatening top gear drive available on tap. The suspension, brakes & clutch all feel pleasingly premium. Handling is engagingly frisky after my GS's stolid neutrality, but without feeling skittish, and the WP suspension copes with scabby tarmac mid-corner without drama.
Comfort is OK, but not quite at GS levels. I seem to be one of the few people who's happy with the standard KTM seat. Strangely, if I wear my textile trousers, I get the wriggles after an hour. whereas in leathers, I'm fine all day. I'm 6' with 34" inside leg, and the KTM feels taller than my old GS, perhaps because the seat compresses about as much as a tractor tyre, but I can just about flat-foot it. The cockpit is roomy, even though overall the bike seems more compact than the GS (which felt to me like being on the bridge of an oil tanker - there's so much bike in front of you) Weight-wise, it's no lightweight, but it's not a millstone either, and it feels nicely centred, with no top-heaviness to catch you out.
Practicality-wise, there's plenty of room for luggage, and I specced my bike with a centrestand, heated grips, and 12V socket, which fits into a dedicated blanking plate beside the instrument cluster. The KTM heated grips involve ugly wires along the handlebars instead of the invisible BMW-style cabling, and are controlled with the handlebar cursor keys and left-hand LCD display, instead of having a dedicated handlebar switch. Fuel capacity is 23L (5 gallons) and I'm currently getting an average of 48 mpg. The fuel gauge works OK, but the range-to-empty readout is useless. The LCD panels are easy to read, feature all the information you need, and the left one is configurable to give you quick access to your most-used readouts & functions.
Things I'm not so keen on:
The standard screen was unacceptably noisy for me. I have a short screen from the 1090 Adventure 'R' for Summer, and a Madstad for long trips, both of which are an improvement over standard, but neither is as quiet as the Givi Airflow + winglets I fitted on my old 1200 GS. I tried an Airflow on the KTM too, and whilst better than the standard screen, it was a bit of a disappointment, and looked butt-ugly into the bargain.
The engine noise - I have the standard can, which is about the size of a scuba cyclinder, but the engine still sounds like a pneumatic drill. It's better on the move when the wind noise drowns it out to an inoffensive trill. However it does develop a surprisingly aggressive snarl from 5k onwards.
The low-speed fuelling on mine is jerky when the engine's cold, like it can't decide which map to use. I mentioned this at the break-in service, and the KTM engineer said that 'they don't like being cold'. However once the engine's warm, it's fine, and very precise on the throttle.
In summary
The 1050 Adventure feels a bit of a hooligan after the GS, but with enough comfort, practicality & versatility to have it as my only bike. It doesn't have quite the same overall 'easiness' & refinement as the GS, but (in my opinion) is more engaging & characterful to ride.
No, spokes with tubed tyres is a deal breaker for me....
1090 adv has alloys (only R has spokes)
They say in reviews it’s lighter than the 1290Sa... I thought then it would be lighter than the GS...
Looking at the specs on motorcycle specs.co.za the 1090 and the 1200 gs both seem to be 205kg dry? Is that accurate?
No, BMW's idea of Dry is without the battery, toolkit, anything that is an option for the most basic version and with the engine, brakes, suspension, clutch, gearbox and handlebars removed and the tyres filled with helium
In the UK BMW claim 245kg ready to ride for the latest GS, but this is the lowest spec bike money can buy, admittedly the 1090 is the lowest spec KTM, but where I have seen tests in the past with bikes being weighed BMW tend to be furthest away from the claims, assuming this 245kg is correct it would still be about 10kg more than a fully fuelled 1090 (and it holds 4L less fuel that the KTM) so my guess is the BMW weighs 15-20kg more in the real world.