701 or ktm 950 se
- Thread starter mikeyboy
- Start date
Tim’s opinion is worthy of a phone call
He has a valued viewpoint
He has a valued viewpoint
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2010
- Messages
- 10,367
- Reaction score
- 3,593
I love the bike,
It rides like nothing else.
Just wary as it’s fucking huge,and pretty heavy.
But but,but
It rides like nothing else.
Just wary as it’s fucking huge,and pretty heavy.
But but,but
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2010
- Messages
- 10,367
- Reaction score
- 3,593
Andres speaks very wise words Mike and Martin, well Martin speaks from experience
Yeah definitely a good long term buy.
And as Andres has said ,don’t like move on .
Still interested in comments,
Perhaps I'm bias but everyone should own a good SE at least once in their life if they want to know what a real motorbike feels like
You . . . biased . . . Tim . . . how could you be?
You haven’t even mentioned a 640 Adv?
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2010
- Messages
- 10,367
- Reaction score
- 3,593
You . . . biased . . . Tim . . . how could you be?
You haven’t even mentioned a 640 Adv?
Hmmmm,
640 had two of them,love ,love,hate ,hate ,hate.
525, was just gonna bite me at some point.
690, short term love affair,let me down on the first outing,no steering lock.fucked it off.
But nice motor.
950, big but doesn’t feel big,just tall.
Power ,well just immense,
Need to sort the carbs as it’s been sat for months .
I’ll get the thing running right and go for a normal,ish ride.
The motor is a bit like my bimota.
Pogo stick with wheels
Hmmmm,
640 had two of them,love ,love,hate ,hate ,hate.
525, was just gonna bite me at some point.
690, short term love affair,let me down on the first outing,no steering lock.fucked it off.
But nice motor.
950, big but doesn’t feel big,just tall.
Power ,well just immense,
Need to sort the carbs as it’s been sat for months .
I’ll get the thing running right and go for a normal,ish ride.
The motor is a bit like my bimota.
Pogo stick with wheels
Has the steering locked improved on 701/newer 690 ?
The 690 2012/13 ones I rode - were just dire in the steering lock
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2010
- Messages
- 10,367
- Reaction score
- 3,593
Until you ride a bike with limited lock,you don’t realise how it effects things.
You go to make a slow tight turn,realise the bike won’t do it,have to grab the brakes.
Bang,on the deck.
I guess if you have only one bike you learn to live with it,
But when you ride lots of different bikes its just a liability.
I hope the 701 has evolved from the early 690 bikes .
If not it would stop me buying one
I've told this before.....
When I was seriously thinking of one I met my friend Robbie with his at an event and asked him to sell it to me....he just said "Fuck off"
I happened to bump into him later that day and he handed me the keys to take it for a spin.
Jeez, this is what I'd been searching for all my life!
I got back and couldn't roll a smoke as my hands were shaking.
He laughed and said "You know how with some bikes you think feck I could kill myself on that bike, well the SE is different but it wants to kill you"
A few years in and I'm still here, Morocco was a hoot, I've ridden 550 miles in a day from N Wales to Germany and in the dry it's as quick on the trails as my exc.
And then there's the noise it makes...orgasmic
Since setting up suspension was mentioned in this thread I would suggest don't even bother trying to get the standard shock to work well, I resprung and revalved mine twice before fitting the game changing pds shock.
Deleted account 211025001
Registered user
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2005
- Messages
- 8
- Reaction score
- 10
Choice motorbikes should always be made with the heart, save your head for other shite like washing machines and lawn mowers
For me that ends any further discussion.
Words to live by.
You know you want the Orange bike Mike. I would. Life’s too short.
Andres
PS Tim, have a word with Giles will you, he keeps banging on about getting a fecking RT now he’s retired. Apparently it’s practical.........
What is it you want the bike for?
You can't go wrong with the SE. It is like hens teeth and KTM won't build a bike like it again. Check out ADV rider for info about both bikes. There are a number of threads on both of them and mods that makes it better for touring, reliability etc. Loaded with kit to tour the 701 is always gonna lack in power and for the gnarly bits there are a few upgrades to do to enable the bike to take the abuse. The KTM, just sort the suspension, decent tyres and you are on your way. Carb vs FI is also a consideration.
You can't go wrong with the SE. It is like hens teeth and KTM won't build a bike like it again. Check out ADV rider for info about both bikes. There are a number of threads on both of them and mods that makes it better for touring, reliability etc. Loaded with kit to tour the 701 is always gonna lack in power and for the gnarly bits there are a few upgrades to do to enable the bike to take the abuse. The KTM, just sort the suspension, decent tyres and you are on your way. Carb vs FI is also a consideration.
For Andres
Yeah he needs to just let his hair grow (not on his feet of course) and the rest should follow
They’re as good on road as any adventure bike.
I used mine 90% on the road, as that was always the plan when I bought it.
Toured a couple of times on big trips and it was ace.
All day comfy with the Renazco seat and tank range of 280 ish to reserve was handy.
Looked like this when I sold it :
Only sold it after a decade of ownership as knee problems made it a bit too tall for mine and didn’t really want to mess around lowering it.
Mike will love it.
Btw, I bet nobody can guess what it cost me new in 2008 ?
I used mine 90% on the road, as that was always the plan when I bought it.
Toured a couple of times on big trips and it was ace.
All day comfy with the Renazco seat and tank range of 280 ish to reserve was handy.
Looked like this when I sold it :
Only sold it after a decade of ownership as knee problems made it a bit too tall for mine and didn’t really want to mess around lowering it.
Mike will love it.
Btw, I bet nobody can guess what it cost me new in 2008 ?
I love the 690R!
Well I can’t tell you much about the 950 as I have never owned one - the closest I got was a 990SMT which was a bit of a hooligan tool on the road.
What I can tell you about though is the new 690R as I have owned one now for a couple of years.
I’ve had a lot of bikes over the past 30+ years, which until fairly recently were all for road riding, and focussed mostly for the more spirited end of hooning about. I have been a restless soul though and never really found a stable of steeds that I was completely content with.
Right now I have what I feel is the best combination of bikes for my needs that I have ever had. Firstly there is my little FE350 which has opened up a whole new world of trail riding (and falling off) to me and which I absolutely love and is in my top handful of bikes ever based on smiles per miles.
Then there is the Harley, which was a complete change in direction for me and something I had never considered previously, but as my tastes and needs have changed I have realised that I actually quite like rumbling around the countryside at slower speeds enjoying the scenery.
Finally there is my 2019 690R which I reckon is one of the best all round bikes I have ever owned. The motor is a peach and so smooth you forget it’s a single. Then there is the weight, which I think is right in the sweet spot for me of around 150-160Kgs.
On the road it has just he right amount of power for hooning around on.The smaller, less used highway,byways and backroads are my preferred playground these days and this bike is just the perfect combination of weight and handling for those. So good in fact, that last year, when out on ane of our group rides I absolutely blitzed folk on much bigger, more powerful bikes. I recently owned a S1000XR with 165bhp at the rear wheel, which was a complete lunatic bike, but at normal road speeds it just didn’t give the same grin factor. The 690 runs out of puff above 80mph, but I seem to have an absolute hoot on it without getting near it’s top speed.
As for the steering lock- who the feck ever bought a bike based on its steering lock FFS
! I’ve never noticed a problem with mine. It came with the lockstops screwed in too much (as did my 350), but I just adjusted them back to max and have never noticed it since.
Off road the bike is hugely capable. The 690 is perfect for me for longer trips like the TET carrying camping kit. I’ve used it a few times on TRF rides too and, despite being a bit heavier than my 350, it gets through everything I can ride on that.
As I’m sure Tim will testify, I’m an enthusiastic off road rider who has very little talent or natural aptitude The thought of taking a 950 off road would terrify me and I never really enjoyed using my 1090 on the dirt. I sold that recently as I found the 690 simply replaced it for everything I did and I was much more confident off road on it due to the vastly reduced weight compared to the bigger bike.
It’s also got a high level of spec, if that is your thing, with quick shifter, advanced ABS etc. The only thing I sometimes want more of is braking on the road. It’s got a single disc set up which is great for the dirt, but occasionally it can feel a little under-braked when you are giving it the berries.
I’ve spent quite a bit on farkles to get it how I want it and now I think I’ve got the perfect light, middleweight, adventure, sports, road, dirt, travel, touring (and everything else I can think of) bike.
In a nutshell - I love it!
Well I can’t tell you much about the 950 as I have never owned one - the closest I got was a 990SMT which was a bit of a hooligan tool on the road.
What I can tell you about though is the new 690R as I have owned one now for a couple of years.
I’ve had a lot of bikes over the past 30+ years, which until fairly recently were all for road riding, and focussed mostly for the more spirited end of hooning about. I have been a restless soul though and never really found a stable of steeds that I was completely content with.
Right now I have what I feel is the best combination of bikes for my needs that I have ever had. Firstly there is my little FE350 which has opened up a whole new world of trail riding (and falling off) to me and which I absolutely love and is in my top handful of bikes ever based on smiles per miles.
Then there is the Harley, which was a complete change in direction for me and something I had never considered previously, but as my tastes and needs have changed I have realised that I actually quite like rumbling around the countryside at slower speeds enjoying the scenery.
Finally there is my 2019 690R which I reckon is one of the best all round bikes I have ever owned. The motor is a peach and so smooth you forget it’s a single. Then there is the weight, which I think is right in the sweet spot for me of around 150-160Kgs.
On the road it has just he right amount of power for hooning around on.The smaller, less used highway,byways and backroads are my preferred playground these days and this bike is just the perfect combination of weight and handling for those. So good in fact, that last year, when out on ane of our group rides I absolutely blitzed folk on much bigger, more powerful bikes. I recently owned a S1000XR with 165bhp at the rear wheel, which was a complete lunatic bike, but at normal road speeds it just didn’t give the same grin factor. The 690 runs out of puff above 80mph, but I seem to have an absolute hoot on it without getting near it’s top speed.
As for the steering lock- who the feck ever bought a bike based on its steering lock FFS
! I’ve never noticed a problem with mine. It came with the lockstops screwed in too much (as did my 350), but I just adjusted them back to max and have never noticed it since.Off road the bike is hugely capable. The 690 is perfect for me for longer trips like the TET carrying camping kit. I’ve used it a few times on TRF rides too and, despite being a bit heavier than my 350, it gets through everything I can ride on that.
As I’m sure Tim will testify, I’m an enthusiastic off road rider who has very little talent or natural aptitude
The thought of taking a 950 off road would terrify me and I never really enjoyed using my 1090 on the dirt. I sold that recently as I found the 690 simply replaced it for everything I did and I was much more confident off road on it due to the vastly reduced weight compared to the bigger bike.It’s also got a high level of spec, if that is your thing, with quick shifter, advanced ABS etc. The only thing I sometimes want more of is braking on the road. It’s got a single disc set up which is great for the dirt, but occasionally it can feel a little under-braked when you are giving it the berries.
I’ve spent quite a bit on farkles to get it how I want it and now I think I’ve got the perfect light, middleweight, adventure, sports, road, dirt, travel, touring (and everything else I can think of) bike.
In a nutshell - I love it!
Toddy,
I know what you mean.
I bought the 950SE to purely use on the road.
I did do a few tracks and stuff in France but nothing much.I’m just not good enough off-road to risk dropping such a big bike.
BUT I wanted such a bike and by fitting a few mods such as the Safari tank, Renazco seat,rear rack and pannier rails, that came from USA, for me it was as good as any similar adventure bike such as the KTM 1190 etc.
Only the lack of a big screen differentiated it but I’ve always liked small screens anyway.
Now I’ve got the 701LR, it was always going to be the 950’s successor, in that it can do the same thing, what with its twin tank 280 mile range,another Renazco seat and all the Nomad kit so I can tour on it.
But the big difference for me is that I would take it offroad a bit more, such as up in the Picos which I’ve done a few times now on various bikes.
The 701 isn’t that much lower than the 950, but my fully modded bike still only weighs 162kgs so is at least 30kgs lighter than the 950 and feels so much lighter to push around, let alone ride.
Strangely enough the 701LR will be rarer than the 950 as it was only on sale in Europe for 2020 and I think there are only about 20 registered in the UK.
Perhaps I should have left it stock ?
I know what you mean.
I bought the 950SE to purely use on the road.
I did do a few tracks and stuff in France but nothing much.I’m just not good enough off-road to risk dropping such a big bike.
BUT I wanted such a bike and by fitting a few mods such as the Safari tank, Renazco seat,rear rack and pannier rails, that came from USA, for me it was as good as any similar adventure bike such as the KTM 1190 etc.
Only the lack of a big screen differentiated it but I’ve always liked small screens anyway.
Now I’ve got the 701LR, it was always going to be the 950’s successor, in that it can do the same thing, what with its twin tank 280 mile range,another Renazco seat and all the Nomad kit so I can tour on it.
But the big difference for me is that I would take it offroad a bit more, such as up in the Picos which I’ve done a few times now on various bikes.
The 701 isn’t that much lower than the 950, but my fully modded bike still only weighs 162kgs so is at least 30kgs lighter than the 950 and feels so much lighter to push around, let alone ride.
Strangely enough the 701LR will be rarer than the 950 as it was only on sale in Europe for 2020 and I think there are only about 20 registered in the UK.
Perhaps I should have left it stock ?
Strangely enough the 701LR will be rarer than the 950 as it was only on sale in Europe for 2020 and I think there are only about 20 registered in the UK.
Perhaps I should have left it stock ?
FWIW I think it looks a much better bike with the work you have done to it. Personally I never buy bikes worrying about what they’ll be worth or whether I can sell them on - I buy them for the enjoyment of riding them. I reckon you will enjoy yours much more as a result of the personal touches and mods you have made to it.
Agreed.
No plans to sell the Husky anyway.....at least not for the foreseeable future.
Similar threads
