tell me about your 1190

It only seems to be a problem when it's disturbed. Usually by someone using levers from what I've read.

I can say that they are massively easier to clean than BMW spokes.
 
I finally got to put some miles on mine today as although I've had it a month or so now I've been away for a lot of that time so here's some random thoughts at 450 miles...........



The more I get to know the bike the more I appreciate the build quality and take back some of the comments I made here after my first test ride.

Screen - much more wind noise than my GS but you're fully in the air stream so no buffeting. I've tried raising the screen but this seems little different and I get some buffeting. If I duck sown just an inch or so I'm in still, quiet air so I guess a taller screen would sort it perfectly. Can't say it's an issue though. so I wan't be bothering with that (possibly though if I go off on a big European M-Way munching trip?).

Handling - from what I recall of my test ride on the standard model it possibly turns in a bit slower but once it starts it's very responsive and corners are taken 'on rails' but easy to change line at the same time. Very confidence inspiring and I seem to be riding it 10-15% quicker without even trying compared to my GS. Brakes are sublime.
I had the suspension set up on 'comfort' for a bit but have reverted back to 'normal' which I much prefer; I've wound up the rear preload a bit and this has quickened turn in nicely. It's a much more engaging ride than the GS, none of the nice floaty feeling the GS had which I miss to an extent but am happy to trade it for the increased level of feel the KTM provides. To me it has a pretty good balance of feed back and comfort, even on some of the pretty gnarly back roads I was riding today.
The bike also feels noticeably lighter and to my mind is better balanced at slow speeds - no mean feat as the GS is pretty good already.

Tyres - Those Conti's are, well, great - can't fault them and seem to grip far better than the skinny profiles would suggest.

Modes - I find using Rain in heavy town traffic works very well. Filtering in stop/go traffic is a delight compared to the GS, no transmission back lash and little if any clutch feathering needed. The rest of the time I just leave it on Street and enjoy a lovely, responsive throttle response. Sport makes no difference if I understand correctly; it just allows less intervention from the traction control?



Off road - I just had a play on some easy, fast trails, leaving the suspension on normal. It feels far better than the GS and, well, feels like a big dirt bike as opposed to a road bike that can cope with off roading IYSWIM. Standing on the pegs showed the bars needing a bit more height (I have some of the 'damping' KTM risers on back order). A section of rising/dropping hollows was taken pretty quick and with far less pitching around than I was expecting, softening up the suspension would defo improve things - I was impressed all the same though.

The fast section in the picture below would normally be taken at 40-50mph on my Husky, at that speed though the Husky is feeling a bit skittish. I was surprised (to put it mildly) to look down at the speedo on the KTM and see 55mph. It was just flying along with no drama. It felt quite happy to go faster but common sense and the thought of what would happen with all that weight should things go wrong stopped me from opening up more.........



Wings heat deflecting panels - I like the look of them very much, ordered mine in matte and they look like they were meant to be. However, you can only adjust rear preload with the r/h one in place. It needs removing (a screw and a cable tie) if you want to adjust the damping which is a bit of a pain.
Initially I wasn't too impressed with the job they are meant to do. Unlike I lot of people I don't find much heat intruding around the seat/thighs, hardly any at all in fact. I feel it all on my left calve and the panels have made only a small difference here, not enough to justify fitting them IMO. Today, however, I fitted the heat reflecting blanket that comes with them. It sits under the seat, two blankets that run from under the tank to nearly the back of the seat. I really didn't think that it'd make any difference to the heat around my calve but, to my complete surprise it's pretty much eliminated the heat. Even stood in standing traffic for some time. Search me how it's made a difference but it has and I'm now very happy with the panels :)

Engine - Can't be arsed to say anything about it other than wow! And that's still running in at 6,000 revs........... I've averaged 40mpg over the 450 miles, can't wait to see what it'll go down to once run in :green gri

Overal verdict - I've got my mojo back again. I can't really put it any other way :)

Andres
 
Looks good Andres. I haven't ridden one but have a dealer near me so may well take a test ride. I'm not GS pissed at all and would consider any bike, but its got to be good two up as well as solo ... :thumb2
 
Giles said:
........ its got to be good two up as well as solo ... :thumb2
Click to expand...

There are quite a few comments on two up comfort in this thread and it would seem to be a very personal thing so a test ride two up is the only way to decide.......Amanda didn't get on with the 'GS style' seat on the standard bike but really liked the bench seat on the R - I was surprised to put it mildly!

Andres

PS Get yourself a test ride, solo, just for the craic............. :)
 
Outtomunch said:
Engine - Can't be arsed to say anything about it other than wow! And that's still running in at 6,000 revs
Andres
Click to expand...

just wait 'til you can use all of them when the bike hits 1,000Km, the ECU moves the red line to 10K odd :green gri


i have the EDS electric suspendies on mine and usually tool about in Street mode, with damping set to Comfort. when pressing on this gets a little floaty, but switching damping to to Sport position firms the damping up nicely. Going to Sport in drive mode does this automatically. i thought it made the throttle response sharper too, but i may have imagined that. i think it allows bigger wheelies, but i'm too much of a mincer to explore that angle :D


there's a ride in Motorcycle Sport & Leisure this month around the back roads of dorset and somerset. i did that today. tiny roads with dirt, gravel and grass up the middle to fast sweeping A roads. couldn't imagine a better bike for it :)
 
the ktm dampened risers wont fit the bike , I ordered some and the keyway is the wrong way for the 1190
 
Guys I'm just about to pull the trigger on a 1190 Adventure R trading my 3 month old a fully loaded triumph explorer in, got a very good deal on the table but would like some opinions on weather it's the right thing to do, I haven't heard anything bad about the Ktm but maybe I'm not looking in the right places
Is there any horror stories, andony had any experience with both bikes

I love the thought of owning British and my dealer is superb so what do you guys recon, I've told the dealer I don't want the top box or panniers as I've heard they rant any good they have adjusted the price accordingly so I can buy whatever ahi fancy
 
I got the 'bread bin' panniers as part of a deal KTM are/were running. I hate frames so love the fact they clip on and off the bike. They aren't the most attractive things and not as good as Varios which I rate very highly but, they do a job and seem well made. I've not heard of any major issues with them :nenau

Other than that have a proper trawl through this thread; it's seems to cover most of the salient points of 1190 ownership.

Andres
 
Adventure Boy said:
Guys I'm just about to pull the trigger on a 1190 Adventure R trading my 3 month old a fully loaded triumph explorer in, got a very good deal on the table but would like some opinions on weather it's the right thing to do, I haven't heard anything bad about the Ktm but maybe I'm not looking in the right places
Is there any horror stories, andony had any experience with both bikes

I love the thought of owning British and my dealer is superb so what do you guys recon, I've told the dealer I don't want the top box or panniers as I've heard they rant any good they have adjusted the price accordingly so I can buy whatever ahi fancy
Click to expand...

There's a big thread on AdvRider, but don't fall into the trap of worrying about everything negative you read on Internet forums.:thumb
 
Ummmmmmmmm ..... (scratch chin .... ) :D

Had a play on a standard 1190 today. (Half with her indoors and half solo)



It's an itch I've got to scratch! My immediate impressions, within minutes, was (and yes I've banged on about this before..) how clever it is that people can engineer soul into a metal and plastic machine. You just know the minute your get on this bike, that its heritage comes from off roading. It just shouts at you 'I want to light my rear end up', 'take me up that byway'. I really liked the ergonomics of the my arms / shoulders and seating position. I felt like I was back on a 450 off roader and I was going to stick my foot out and drift the rear wheel. It feels light in my hands, and I loved that feel of flared elbows, and lots of lateral wrist movements. (Does that make sense?). It made me want to 'squirrel' the bike about if you get my drift. I sort of became very involved with my torso arms and bars, push a knee into the tank, squirrel it round the roundabout, wheelie off the lip of it on it's exit ... :rolleyes:

So Yep, I liked that a lot. Speed?? Yep, pretty quick but if i'm honest .... It's only going to trounce my GS on a straight. How often on an A road are you going to get 250 / 300 metres of undiluted full throttle 140+ mph? (Northern France :P). So yes the top end is good, nice rush, and of course I had a play (I see the fancy F1 'change gear now for Gawds sake' light blinking away on the clocks) and yep, I acknowledge that it nice and quick. But it's not the be all and end all of a bike in my opinion, and if you made use of that very top end lark all the time .... well eventually it's going to bite you on the arse in some shape or form. (But nice to have for the occasional play).

I was a bit disappointed with the engine note to be honest. It sounded like an old Suzuki GS500 :D I'm sorry but ... my full remus system on the GS sounds much better!

Errrrrrr, what else, Brakes seemed fine, nice modulation; not grabby and plenty powerful enough, errrrrrrr what else .... bit of dive in the forks that of course I don't get on the GS (not a bad thing - makes pulling a minger off the rebound a doddle compared to the no dive GS .. ), so Yep, all in all, I liked it.


Will I / would I get one??

Oh ..... feck me .... :blast

If it was just me and no pillion, Ummmm .... I'd be very tempted. I definitely want to test the R and maybe stick Rosy on the back. For me the bottom line is this. (and its all been said before ... );

There's heart and there's head. Do I love my Gs?? Not really. It's a good bike, and it is. It is a good bike. And the acid test in this sort of scenario is 'how does your own bike feel when you ride it home' ?? Even though my GS is still stuck in two up + Luggage on it's firm setting ('cos I'm still waiting for new clocks, so the suspension if frozen in its last setting) and even though it's so 'non pliable' at the moment, (stiff as a board and chattering all over the road), I still spanked it home on my own as quick as that 1190 could have gone, but .... but ...... with all the trimmings of a decent screen, built in sat nav, decent luggage (if I was using it on the day) ... etc etc.

Does that do it for me? Does that BM thang make it a deal cruncher?? No !!!! That's the irony! It almost annoys me that I'm on a poxy BM with all the other lemmings in their flip front Caberg helmets, it annoys me that my BM isn't the love of my life, it frustrates me that I'm one of them!!!! I don't want to be one of them, I want to be a bit of a rebel - I want to wheelie my bike out the roundabout in my Klim jacket and leathers, and then fuck off down the local B road at 120 ... :D I want a bike that has soul, I want a bike that has a character, I loved the fact that The KTM was shouting 'spank me ... spank me daddy ... spank me ..... ' (Whoa .... getting a bit carried away there blokes sorry about that .. :D)
So for those reasons ..... I really liked the KTM. But the BM can do that too :blast Just not as well. But it does it and .... it's luggage is better, it's pillion comfort is better, it's 'hey we've got a weekend free, lets go to Spa on a whimsy' is better.

Damn !!! :D Heart or head :nenau

The KTM is fun, the BM is errrrrrr .... sigh .... errrrrrrrrrr .... fuck ..... I'd be mad to change .... :D



The dealer has a 2013 1190R in with a grand off the list price and free luggage, crash bars, heated grips etc etc. (I'm sure he said about 12K all in).



 
Definitely didn't sound anywhere near as nice as your GS. And didn't seem THAT quick when you opened it up on the motorway.

Was Rosy not impressed with the seat?
 
That made me smile Giles :)

All the reasons I eventually went for the 1190 perfectly summed up and all the should I keep the GS 'cos it's more practical type stuff too....it did take me a year of dithering to finally take the plunge :D

You only live once though.........

Andres

PS They sound gorgeous with a decent can :)
 
'Not as comfy as the GS' I'm told!

I understand the R (with it's bench seat) is (bizarrely) comfier for pillions. (Well, that's what Andres said anyway ..!).

There was loads more to be had on the motorway, but the screen needs replacing with a touring job. I called it a day speed wise because of the buffeting ... :thumb2
 
I haven't missed my GSA in the slightest since purchasing the 1190R last year, I also haven't needed a smaller second road bike to spank round the B roads either, the KTM fills both niches perfectly!
 
Adventure Boy said:
Guys I'm just about to pull the trigger on a 1190 Adventure R trading my 3 month old a fully loaded triumph explorer in, got a very good deal on the table but would like some opinions on weather it's the right thing to do, I haven't heard anything bad about the Ktm but maybe I'm not looking in the right places
Is there any horror stories, andony had any experience with both bikes
Click to expand...

i think the main thing would be to check the air filter frequently, or better, change it for one that works.
 
Cheers guys I'll have a think and see if I can squeeze the dealer to get a bit of a better deal, loose the panniers and top box so I can go for some Trekkers
If he is willing I'll have it
Rob
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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