KTM 990 or big GS?

[Pughy]

Very Pleased with the GSA and CW

Took delivery of the new R1200GSA....just love it, great experience with CW motorcycles:

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=113006

I'll do a comparison with the KTM when I have a few minutes

 

[Summer]

Ok, so I am useless when it comes down to the technical side but I do prefer the look of the GS to the KTM 990, just so happens have both of them sat in my shed so can easily compare the two, no I am not rich am simply baby sitting it while my bro in law builds his new house! I have to say they do go well as been pillion on it and sounds nice too with the twin Akropovics on the arse end. Here it is,pic several mths old so take note that the lovely R6 has now been replaced with my new gs

 

[Dansin]

Ok, so I am useless when it comes down to the technical side but I do prefer the look of the GS to the KTM 990, just so happens have both of them sat in my shed so can easily compare the two, no I am not rich am simply baby sitting it while my bro in law builds his new house! I have to say they do go well as been pillion on it and sounds nice too with the twin Akropovics on the arse end. Here it is,pic several mths old so take note that the lovely R6 has now been replaced with my new gs

Mmmm, they do look fantastic. It's just the reliability I worry about.

Your new GS looks great BTW, saw it over on F650. Good choice on colour, I think the black looks great - although I do see a bit of a theme here....

Daniel

 

[Captain Pugwash]

Mmmm, they do look fantastic. It's just the reliability I worry about.


Daniel

Why ?

It does seem strange that everybody here worries about KTM reliablity !!!

Just because some GS's are unreliable doesn't make every bike the same.

I've owned 9 KTMs so far and in over 12 years I've had 1 clutch cable go and 1 head gasket partly fail-that's it.Nothing else.

So don't believe all the bollox you read here,usually by those who have never even sat on a KTM.KTM's are not unreliable.

If you want unreliabilty,stick with a GS !!

 

[Summer]

Your new GS looks great BTW, saw it over on F650. Good choice on colour, I think the black looks great - although I do see a bit of a theme here....

Daniel

Cheers Dansin, yes, I do like black bikes, once you go black you you never go back.... so I am told anyway

 

[olly]

test rode both and read looooooooots

First off both are veeeeeeery expensive. It's probably worth having a careful think about what you're going to use the bike for so as not to write off the Jap contenders. Much cheaper, have better reputation for reliability and parts availability worldwide is probably better too if the worst happens.

I've test ridden both the KTM 990 and R1200 GS so can only give impressions that aren't backed up by a lot of miles.

A lot of people prefer the look of the 990 - especially in black. The boxer engine isn't pretty in the eyes of many - which do think is prettiest and by how much - it's often important.

Handling is very sweet on the KTM but the BMW is more composed in rough corners and I even found myself braking while cornering. The KTM feels more rigid though.

Brakes - BMW's are truly amaaaaazing

Luggage - exhaust eats into storage on GS

Anyway - the main thing and it's a huuuuuuge thing
The KTM engine is utter crap compared to the BMW - vibration, jerky, hard to hold a low speed. People talk about changing this and that (at not insignificant cost) - but it's not always succesful and on a bike that costs that much it should be sweet from the factory.

So KTM - absolute no no.... maybe next year they'll fix it!!
I'm very conscious of the cost of the BMW so am going to ride a DL1000 Vstrom (actually I prefer the orange KLV) before make up mind. I expect it be fine for the type of riding I will be doing.

Olly

 

[THE ROVER]

First off both are veeeeeeery expensive. It's probably worth having a careful think about what you're going to use the bike for so as not to write off the Jap contenders. Much cheaper, have better reputation for reliability and parts availability worldwide is probably better too if the worst happens.

I've test ridden both the KTM 990 and R1200 GS so can only give impressions that aren't backed up by a lot of miles.

A lot of people prefer the look of the 990 - especially in black. The boxer engine isn't pretty in the eyes of many - which do think is prettiest and by how much - it's often important.

Handling is very sweet on the KTM but the BMW is more composed in rough corners and I even found myself braking while cornering. The KTM feels more rigid though.

Brakes - BMW's are truly amaaaaazing

Luggage - exhaust eats into storage on GS

Anyway - the main thing and it's a huuuuuuge thing
The KTM engine is utter crap compared to the BMW - vibration, jerky, hard to hold a low speed. People talk about changing this and that (at not insignificant cost) - but it's not always succesful and on a bike that costs that much it should be sweet from the factory.

So KTM - absolute no no.... maybe next year they'll fix it!!
I'm very conscious of the cost of the BMW so am going to ride a DL1000 Vstrom (actually I prefer the orange KLV) before make up mind. I expect it be fine for the type of riding I will be doing.

Olly

Olly, have you thought of trying a 950 rather than the 990?.

I have a 950 which has carbs rather than fuel injection and I can't fault it. It also has a 3 yr warranty although hopefully I won't need it.
The brakes seem ok although they can be loud from time to time (squealing) and the finish is first class. I have owned a 1150 adv, 1200gs and 1200gs adv in the last 2 years and the ktm makes me smile a lot more than the others did. Saying that if I was to swop it would be back to the 1200 gs adv in very fast white!

Good luck in whatever you go for. Stuart.

 

[Pressurized]

I respect your views. I've got 24k mile on the 1200 GS and 10.5k miles on an 07' 990. My tuppence worth...

Handling is very sweet on the KTM but the BMW is more composed in rough corners and I even found myself braking while cornering. The KTM feels more rigid though.

KTM and BMW both handle really, really well. I don't necessarily think that the KTM is worse in rough corners and it's way better at speed on rough roads - magic carpet ride.

Brakes - BMW's are truly amaaaaazing

Totally agree but the consumables are pricey; it's not so much the pads but the disks are expensive and the electric servo unit is a bit fruity at £1k plus fitting. Note: this is not fitted to all bikes but it is the reason why the brakes are so good. KTM brakes are up to the task but the ABS kicks in a bit too eagerly on the rear. Some complain of fork dive but I don't generally brake hard into corners so can't really comment.

Anyway - the main thing and it's a huuuuuuge thing
The KTM engine is utter crap compared to the BMW - vibration, jerky, hard to hold a low speed. People talk about changing this and that (at not insignificant cost) - but it's not always succesful and on a bike that costs that much it should be sweet from the factory.

Yes to this if it's an '06 990 but not if it's a 950 (I am told) or a 990 with the latest EFI map. The engine is sweet. Both BMW and KTM engines have character but the KTM's loaded with attitude. The KTM's engine is epic.

So KTM - absolute no no.... maybe next year they'll fix it!!

Fixed, thanks!

 

[olly]

Reading the wealth of forum posts about the 950 it does seem that owners find they return better mpg and are smoother than 990.

The bike I rode was an 07 from Premier Bikes in Didcot. It was a few months ago. The engine was not good - ok so there might be reasons that can potentially be resolved - but I had 10K in my pocket and they lost it at that occasion.

Again, forum posts, which of course need to be treated with caution, do not seem to indicate the dodgy fuelling and vibration are an 06 only issue.

Forgot to mention the steep servicing cost and short intervals of the KTM.

I did and do still think about the 950, must admit the matt black 990 looks so much nicer to me though.

It's horses for courses at the end of the day - and that's why I'm erring Japanese. If I do decide to shell out a vast amount I am pretty certain I'll find the extra for the BMW, relocate the exhaust and get some tight fitting ABS panniers. I'm not sure, because I've not ridden a 'good one', but even if the KTM engine worked right then I think the brakes (espcially) and suspension (less so) sway it for me over the KTM for the riding I'll be doing.

 

[alcanara]

Manny Fagnet..... Slightly off thread but I was interested in your subscript, so I translated it to read:-

I in the bed return crazy to my mujer.Sobre everything when in the end me the clean one with colcha

What's this????


Stuart

 

[Captain Pugwash]

Manny Fagnet..... Slightly off thread but I was interested in your subscript, so I translated it to read:-

I in the bed return crazy to my mujer.Sobre everything when in the end me the clean one with colcha

What's this????


Stuart

It's 'rude' Spanish !!

So using babelfish to translate it will give you a false meaning,as you found out.

 

[bakerlonglegs]

I have a 950adv but I've not ridden the BMW 1200GS so can't comment on the difference. When I sold my 1150GS I wanted something different and the KTM is certainly that!

I've had no reliability problems with my 950 whatsoever and find the dealers excellent (better than BMW in fact, but that's another, very old, story....).

I found the handing of the 950adv improved noticeably when I tweaked the suspension to the 'sport' settings from the manual.

For those interested in a comparison between the 990 and the 1200 from a man whose owned both, have a look at Tobers excellent comparison here.

 

[Arthurwg]

Met a European guy in New Mexico recently who was touring the USA and Mexico on the KTM. He said he chose the KTM because he thouught the BMW would be too boring. But since picking up the new bike in Denver he had been back to the shop for repairs 18 times. Constant problems, he said.

 

[ukaloon]

I test rode a KTM 990 Adventure and 950 SM a few weeks ago. I ride a W reg 1150GS with Ohlins. The 990 Adv has a rubbish front brake and was not as stable or confidence inspiring to ride as my GS. The fuel injection really turned me off the bike though, very jerky. I didn't like the clocks on it either. On the plus side the build quality looked like it may be better than the current BMW's and it was more comfortable than my stock GS seat (I have an Airhawk).
The 950 SM was fantastic. I started off feeling that the seat may not be very comfortable, but it got no worse over 45 minutes and they do a gel version. The brakes and handling were top shelf. Fueling and engine character were spot on, and I found it comfortable to cruise at up to 75-80mph. I'd buy it in preference to the Adv 990 (especially if I was doing mostly town or scratching miles), but I'm keeping my GS.

 

[mark71]

Had both

As someone who has owned the 1150 then the KTM 950 and now a 1200 I felt I had to add my 10 peneth.

The KTM initially was a fantastic bike after the 1150 however what it made up for in looks, handling it lost in reliability. On numerous occasions it let me down where the 1150never missed a beat, it went back to KTM in the end as I was so fed up with it dumping its coolant all over my leg which is a known fault with these but not common, really helpfull to know as your on the way to work.

So it was off to BMW again and I decided to get the 1200 and now love it to bits, its more of what the KTM aspires to be but dosent quite get there.

Saying all that however if I could be sure they had sorted out their reliability issues I would get one again as a toy but beware servicing if you cant do it yourself is lengthy and costly something I was never bothered about as I used to work in the trade as a spanner handler.

I hope that this has been usefull and you make the choice that is right for you.

All the bast

Mark.

 

[SilverFish]

beware servicing if you cant do it yourself is lengthy and costly

One thing about doing your own servicing is that although everything is logical and well put together, it does take longer to do the same job. One good comparison is the oil change: Are you used to about 20 mins on a GS? You'll spend about 2hrs 20 mins on the KTM. Panels, tanks, oil screens, oil reservoir (top then bottom) aggh. Not hard, but doing it properly takes time.

Oh, and to clean the rear brake caliper or change the pads you have to take the wheel off. Again, not hard at all but turns a 10 min job into 30 min one.

Mike

PS, Im px'ing my 950 for a GSA on Wednesday. The 950 is a great bike and I'll miss its good points; but the GSA does some things better which are important to me.

 

[ciderman gs]

just my two'penearth i have had a lot of rice burners tourers and fast plastic when i started doing serious miles (pan euro) it 's service was every 4000miles when it needed doing in twice in a month and a half i looked at something easier and more soulful hence the beemer but they are making them more complicated so that you can not fix them in a field any more with barbed wire and twigs the 1150 is just about as far as i need to go computer wise stick some carbs on and it will run. what i am trying to say is if you what to look good then buy orange if you want to get there and back then buy the blue and white

 

[macvisual]

Have you tried a TDM..?

I have owned many sports bikes over the years, in the last 3/4 years I've owned R1150RT, GS1150Adv (2 of), and within the past two years I now own a fabulous bike which ticks all the boxes, it's a Yamaha TDM 900.

The TDM is a very under rated bike, it's fantastic on twisties, great for touring, I've squeezed 255 miles from a tank of fuel. During a recent three day run to Scotland with four others, two of which were full on sports bikes my TDM could leave them on corners/bends/twisties, awesome!

The only thing I have done is changed front/rear brake lines and pads for more grip, thats it. I'm totally over the moon with the Yamaha. My next bike will be another one, trust me.

Take out a TDM 900 for a few hours test ride, you'll be very surprised!!

enjoy, ride safe....

 

[aspad]

I agree that the TDM is an option but not if you want to push the envelope with some real adventure. It is not a dual sport in the sense that the GS/KTM bikes are. I ride with a friend who has one and have swapped with him a number of times. Great motor, crap suspension and seriously limited once you hit the dirt. I wish they would put the motor in their new Tenere though. Now that would be a contender

 

[marcus]

mate of mine has had more issues with his 990 than I've had with my 1200gS

Now that's A LOT