Soooooooo ......
After 18 months with the WC, I'm jumping ship and have put down a deposit today on an 1190R. It's a pretty good deal; 1190R for something like £12,200 with luggage, heated grips and 300 odd quid ?? (the value of the crash bars) to spend on KTM bits.
The GS is a good bike, and I'm not going to diss it. There are many things it does very very well, and I've spent most of the day sucking my teeth over whether I'm making a terrible mistake or not! So I spoke with the sales manager this morning on the phone and went for another test ride this afternoon (on a standard adventure).
I've deliberately tried to really dial into the GS on the way over there. Feel it, remember it, seat of the pants it .... How does it do this, how does it cope with that .... I don't want to make a knee jerk decision!
What I'm missing in the GS, is something that's difficult to describe. But there's an irony here; We have some very nice BM cars at work, and although I spend most of my time on a bike, I do get to play in (in particular) some 330 X drives. Bm used to have a catch phrase about 'the ultimate driving machine' and 'a drivers car' (or something like that), and I've got to say, when you spank the 330 x drive, it's bloody fantastic. I get the 'drivers car' thing, 'cos it is .... I love driving it and it just comes alive when you tramp on. And that's the irony for me - the GS (to me) isn't doing that. Yep it's brilliantly functional, very 'all day' comfey, lovely little tweeks like cruise control, sat nav wheel thing ..... but is it (in the spirit of the car catch phrase) a bikers bike??
I'm struggling there.
The first thing I feel getting on the KTM, is that it's lighter. The second you lift it up off its side stand you notice that. I feel instantly engaged with the bike in a sort of holistic way. I'm not just sitting on it and 'driving it' I'm involved, I'm slightly further forward which seems to give me contact with what's going on. I'm in the room, not peering through the window from outside.
The transmission is a delight, and for me is one of the key game changers. Now that is clearly a number of things that will include the lump itself, the fact that it's chain driven, a very nice gear box and lovely modulation with the clutch. (I always found the GS clutch to be a bit grabby and snatchy - and that's just the clutch, we're not talking about the gear box itself ... ).
Leaving the dealership in traffic, I'm surprised at how smoothly it pulls at low revs. For a twin, whilst I don't particularly like the sound of it (the GS with its full remus wins that battle hands down ...) it has very little lumpiness about it unless you really try and have it over in to high a gear. If I was on the GS here, I know I'd be having moments in the traffic where I'd be dipping the clutch (and then it would be grabbing back at me). It made me think of Mellors (wanker) and his talk of trial riding and the idea that by not using your clutch, your not breaking traction and not falling into that very 'grab' that my GS does. Nice - lovely transmission, pick up and low rev trickle.
Out on the road, yep we've given it a spank. Yep I know, it's juvenile but ..... that's what I want. I don't just want utilitarian 'take me to Nice with luggage' I want to have a laugh as well. Here's a bike that wheelies in third off roundabouts and makes me smile. Yer hear that BM .... it's making me smile ....
The GS lends itself to short shifting. That's not a criticism, just an observation. The very character of the boxer twin means I tend to Parrrrp ... parrp ... parp through the gears using that great torque the BM has. I now find myself on a familiar fairly twisty B road, and very out of character for me, leave the KTM in fourth for about three miles! Because the KTM has such a wider spread of revs, that works a treat. It doesn't feel stressed, I don't feel the need to (driving school saying) 'rest the engine', that broad spread of power takes me from beautiful pick up to eye popping hedgerow rush and back again without a moments thought that I should have / could have taken a gear. Nice.
It's a test ride, so come on, don't just ride like a twat, try and really evaluate the bike. I play emergency stops (brakes are great) and thinking of Andres I play traction control. It's raining on and off, I haven't got the bollocks to try in mid corner but regularly pin the gas as hard as I can on the wet shiny bitumen surface. The TCS is a fraction smoother that the BM's - you'd almost not know it's kicking in. The brake lever pulses in my hand under heavy braking, but there's no drama and it's quietly very efficient.
Going back to that transmission thing, I am a fan of what I could best describe (from the car world) as sustained rev changes. We mostly all blip our bikes, but sometimes in the right circumstances, just holding the gas perfectly still, dipping the clutch, taking a couple of gears (or three) and feeding the clutch out again, can give you the most wonderfully smooth change. (Think say 80mph, coming into a roundabout, 5th to 3rd with a sustained throttle .... clutch back out .... pick up the gas ... ). The BM struggles with that. I think (i don't know) that the lighter fly wheel is harder to control. It's almost like a two stroke power band that has a bit of a mind of its own and is sometimes hard to get exact. The KTM loved it, and for a twin, thats a real bonus. It's the sort of change that four cylinder bikes will like. The modulation of gears, drive and fuelling in this bike are great.
With time on my side, we have a pootle up a by way. And it is a pootle - road tyres and damp leafy dirt! I didn't get out of second. But, wow .... it's that transmission thing again. Like a modern landrover with it's 'hill climb' button on the dash, I've put it in off road mode, got my momentum going and just smoothly feed in the power with out dipping the clutch once. I was amazed! I know the big boxer twin would have needed the odd feather here and there. Not so on this. It's Mellors' theory at work and the bike just purred up a flinty damp hill with incredible ease all on the gas. On the way down, I play brakes again. I can't lock the front for trying, and at the bottom of the byway where we're onto gravel on tarmac (and I'm feeling brave !) ..... have a proper slam of the brakes on pure gravel and mud. Again, no dramas.
This is the second test ride. The first (as they often are) was more like a familiarisation ride, this one was a chance to properly get under the skin of the bike.
And It's won me over. And for one reason and one reason only; it's a bikers bike! Yeah the luggage aint as good as BM's, the screen was pretty average and needs changing, the plastic moulding on things like the brush guards is a bit cheap, but as a bikers bike, like BM's 'drivers car' I find it engaging, fun, involving and an absolute pleasure to ride.
1190R orderd this afternoon
After 18 months with the WC, I'm jumping ship and have put down a deposit today on an 1190R. It's a pretty good deal; 1190R for something like £12,200 with luggage, heated grips and 300 odd quid ?? (the value of the crash bars) to spend on KTM bits.
The GS is a good bike, and I'm not going to diss it. There are many things it does very very well, and I've spent most of the day sucking my teeth over whether I'm making a terrible mistake or not! So I spoke with the sales manager this morning on the phone and went for another test ride this afternoon (on a standard adventure).
I've deliberately tried to really dial into the GS on the way over there. Feel it, remember it, seat of the pants it .... How does it do this, how does it cope with that .... I don't want to make a knee jerk decision!
What I'm missing in the GS, is something that's difficult to describe. But there's an irony here; We have some very nice BM cars at work, and although I spend most of my time on a bike, I do get to play in (in particular) some 330 X drives. Bm used to have a catch phrase about 'the ultimate driving machine' and 'a drivers car' (or something like that), and I've got to say, when you spank the 330 x drive, it's bloody fantastic. I get the 'drivers car' thing, 'cos it is .... I love driving it and it just comes alive when you tramp on. And that's the irony for me - the GS (to me) isn't doing that. Yep it's brilliantly functional, very 'all day' comfey, lovely little tweeks like cruise control, sat nav wheel thing ..... but is it (in the spirit of the car catch phrase) a bikers bike??
I'm struggling there.The first thing I feel getting on the KTM, is that it's lighter. The second you lift it up off its side stand you notice that. I feel instantly engaged with the bike in a sort of holistic way. I'm not just sitting on it and 'driving it' I'm involved, I'm slightly further forward which seems to give me contact with what's going on. I'm in the room, not peering through the window from outside.
The transmission is a delight, and for me is one of the key game changers. Now that is clearly a number of things that will include the lump itself, the fact that it's chain driven, a very nice gear box and lovely modulation with the clutch. (I always found the GS clutch to be a bit grabby and snatchy - and that's just the clutch, we're not talking about the gear box itself ... ).
Leaving the dealership in traffic, I'm surprised at how smoothly it pulls at low revs. For a twin, whilst I don't particularly like the sound of it (the GS with its full remus wins that battle hands down ...) it has very little lumpiness about it unless you really try and have it over in to high a gear. If I was on the GS here, I know I'd be having moments in the traffic where I'd be dipping the clutch (and then it would be grabbing back at me). It made me think of Mellors (wanker) and his talk of trial riding and the idea that by not using your clutch, your not breaking traction and not falling into that very 'grab' that my GS does. Nice - lovely transmission, pick up and low rev trickle.
Out on the road, yep we've given it a spank. Yep I know, it's juvenile but ..... that's what I want. I don't just want utilitarian 'take me to Nice with luggage' I want to have a laugh as well. Here's a bike that wheelies in third off roundabouts and makes me smile. Yer hear that BM .... it's making me smile ....
The GS lends itself to short shifting. That's not a criticism, just an observation. The very character of the boxer twin means I tend to Parrrrp ... parrp ... parp through the gears using that great torque the BM has. I now find myself on a familiar fairly twisty B road, and very out of character for me, leave the KTM in fourth for about three miles! Because the KTM has such a wider spread of revs, that works a treat. It doesn't feel stressed, I don't feel the need to (driving school saying) 'rest the engine', that broad spread of power takes me from beautiful pick up to eye popping hedgerow rush and back again without a moments thought that I should have / could have taken a gear. Nice.
It's a test ride, so come on, don't just ride like a twat, try and really evaluate the bike. I play emergency stops (brakes are great) and thinking of Andres I play traction control. It's raining on and off, I haven't got the bollocks to try in mid corner but regularly pin the gas as hard as I can on the wet shiny bitumen surface. The TCS is a fraction smoother that the BM's - you'd almost not know it's kicking in. The brake lever pulses in my hand under heavy braking, but there's no drama and it's quietly very efficient.
Going back to that transmission thing, I am a fan of what I could best describe (from the car world) as sustained rev changes. We mostly all blip our bikes, but sometimes in the right circumstances, just holding the gas perfectly still, dipping the clutch, taking a couple of gears (or three) and feeding the clutch out again, can give you the most wonderfully smooth change. (Think say 80mph, coming into a roundabout, 5th to 3rd with a sustained throttle .... clutch back out .... pick up the gas ... ). The BM struggles with that. I think (i don't know) that the lighter fly wheel is harder to control. It's almost like a two stroke power band that has a bit of a mind of its own and is sometimes hard to get exact. The KTM loved it, and for a twin, thats a real bonus. It's the sort of change that four cylinder bikes will like. The modulation of gears, drive and fuelling in this bike are great.
With time on my side, we have a pootle up a by way. And it is a pootle - road tyres and damp leafy dirt! I didn't get out of second. But, wow .... it's that transmission thing again. Like a modern landrover with it's 'hill climb' button on the dash, I've put it in off road mode, got my momentum going and just smoothly feed in the power with out dipping the clutch once. I was amazed! I know the big boxer twin would have needed the odd feather here and there. Not so on this. It's Mellors' theory at work and the bike just purred up a flinty damp hill with incredible ease all on the gas. On the way down, I play brakes again. I can't lock the front for trying, and at the bottom of the byway where we're onto gravel on tarmac (and I'm feeling brave !) ..... have a proper slam of the brakes on pure gravel and mud. Again, no dramas.
This is the second test ride. The first (as they often are) was more like a familiarisation ride, this one was a chance to properly get under the skin of the bike.
And It's won me over. And for one reason and one reason only; it's a bikers bike! Yeah the luggage aint as good as BM's, the screen was pretty average and needs changing, the plastic moulding on things like the brush guards is a bit cheap, but as a bikers bike, like BM's 'drivers car' I find it engaging, fun, involving and an absolute pleasure to ride.
1190R orderd this afternoon
(The KTM dealer is fully aware of the situation and is fine with it). Hopefully first week in November. (and the dealy is just waiting for the clocks .... )
) myself i know a guy who has both in his stable, he says the KTM is the better bike over the WC, keep us updated
that some people will give you for achieving what you shouldn't be able to get away with on that big skinny tyre - and pretend it's all you and nothing to do with the folk from Austria 
