Last of the 990R or 1190R?

[Tiggersteve]

I understand all you die hard 990 fans and yes they have a "look" and appeal of their own,
I rode the standard 990 twice and it was a riot but unfortunately it wasn't "road" enough and i bought a Tiger 1050,
change is inevitable and the price difference (UK) makes me feel there is room for both especially if (hopefully from my point of view) the standard 1190 has more "road" feel, the styling will be more accepted altho i still think it looks like a KTM so sales are likely to rise,
the die hards will have the 1190R which is certainly taller than the 1190 and the electronic package is not available on the R,
I'm looking forward to a test ride it will be good,
the offroad opinion i think was from BIKE magazine,

[DockingPilot]

Originally Posted by wpbarlow

The fact is that no one knows how the 1190 will be in the dirt. The only published person who has ridden (and who owns a 950) the 1190 said that the 1190 was not only better off road than the 950, but he said it was also better than the 950SE (and I admit that makes me skeptical).

Granted, only one person's (admittedly suspect) opinion.

But consider this-- motorcyclists in general are pretty conservative and generally uncomfortable with change. Great example of this is when the 990 came out; it was pretty roundly dissed by many 950 owners as a Starbucks Warrior. Now it is (properly ) venerated.

It's your money of course and if you need to buy right now you have no choice anyway. If you can wait, ride both and then decide. And don't worry too much-- if history is any example, new 990s will probably be available after the 1190 comes out. Plus, I believe there will be a whole lot of farkled late model 990s on the market when the 1190 is available.

Well spoken Commander.

[wpbarlow]

Originally Posted by Schannulleke

Do you have a link to the source of this?

It's in the BIKE magazine special pullout section. I don't know if it was in the US copy of the mag. It was posted in the 1190 thread for a few days before it was deleted.

[wpbarlow]

Originally Posted by O.C.F.RIDER

Very hard, if not impossible, to believe. But, then again, WTF does a nobody like me know.

Think back to 2003 Chris-- would you have been a believer if someone told you that KTM was going to bring out a near 500 pound bike that would be fantastic in the dirt?

[O.C.F.RIDER]

Originally Posted by wpbarlow

Think back to 2003 Chris-- would you have been a believer if someone told you that KTM was going to bring out a near 500 pound bike that would be fantastic in the dirt?

The "S" was bought in Oct. 2003, but I suppose you're asking me to think...before that. If some told me KTM would be coming out with such a beast, knowing what I knew of KTM/Penton history I wouldn't have been to skeptical. Although, as much as I love my 950, the term "fantastic", being applied to it's dirt prowess, has to be put relative to any other such beast. Compared to a 525 the 950 is a fucking pig. But compared to any other twin, or three cylinder "adventure" bike, it's feels like God himself made the KTM.
For a nearly 500 pounder, it truly IS fantastic.
The 1190, to me, just doesn't look "right" somehow. And for all ballyhoo in regards to 150hp, off the tarmac.................who cares? The maybe 100hp that mine has can't be made to hook-up, so an extra 50hp is gonna be better? On the street though, oh yes, an extra 50 hp would most certainly be fun!

CW

[Moronic]

The 1190 in "dirt" mode is tamed down to 100hp - presumably the same way Ducati tamed the Multistrada, by restricting the maximum throttle opening via the ride by wire system.

It also has a dirt mode for the ABS, which prevents lock-up at the front but allows you to lock the rear at will.

Similarly, the traction control in off-road mode permits rear wheelspin of about 100 per cent - i.e., it will allow the rear to spin at about double the speed of the front. Or so I read somewhere.

WRT the 32-page puff-piece in Bike, I have a copy of the article and because I am suffering a bit of insomnia, will reproduce for those interested the relevant two paragraphs where the 1190 was compared with the Super Enduro. As you will see, it was interesting but neither conclusive nor even terribly direct.

The author of the piece, a road rider who confesses he is not comfortable off the tarmac, concludes his own ride impression by observing that he would leave the electronic aids firmly in place. He then reports the reaction of his much more dirt-savvy companion on the trip, the magazine's primary photographer, thus:

"However, Bike's photgrapher Chippy Wood brings a different viewpoint. A veteran off-road rider, he actually competed here at the Erzberg Rodeo last year. He's also lived with a dearly loved 990 Adventure R recently, and is a sworn sceptic when it comes to rider aids off-road. He's practically jumping up and down at the chance of having a go on the 1190, but the second he sits on it his first question is, 'How do I turn everything off?'

"However Chip heads out with the settings left in the same state as me, only now riding it at a palpably more aggressive pace. He returns almost dumbstruck, full of praise for the unobtrusive electronics - 'Is that really traction control? But it really lets you slide!' - as well as the bike's overall feel and balance on the dirt. He even mentions it in the same breath as the 950 Super Enduro, a short-lived, stripped-down version of the original Adventure which was, until about five minutes ago, his favourite big off-roader."


And that is the sum of it. Make of it what you will.

[vonotto]

Chippy Wood

[godzuki]

for a long time i had been looking at these "adventure" bikes and had wanted like hell to try one out and add a bike to the stabil if i liked it, BUT until a crash that had me airlifted to the nearest hospital from GA to SC (yes im back to riding, albiet with a modified and reinforced right leg) and the ensuing insurance money i wasnt going to be able to swing the price tag on one. i while laid up had whatched what many have seen multiple times over and over the movie long way round, and that pretty much sealed the fact that i was going to get one, because even on my exc 450 i love exsploring and dsing around on the days im not running single track. i was sure i wanted the gs 1150 (in my price range you might say), but everybody told me and this is even the gs guys i should look more at the ktm 950/ 990's, at first ill say no i didnt like how they looked BUT nothing else in this class of bikes was close to it offroad, the only thing better was a SE, but that went to far to the dirt side for what i wanted to do, well that and the premium price and lack of them comming up forsale often kinda eliminated them from my list. after picking up a 04 950 adv S dakar i was hooked, my second ride on it included atv width trails (note to self i need that second fan) were i got a hint of coolant smell as the trail was slimey and slow going, but i had just shod it with a dunlop 908rr rear and a michelin T63 front and i had great traction, the rest of that ride was 2 tracks fire roads snowmobile trails and dirt roads, and the 100hp ish they have was well too much for that, BUT im not complaining it was fun as hell, blowing the rear tire loose and relocating many yards of dirt to my buddys ds bikes behind me lol. i had a friggen blast on it.

i then got some nice road tires for it and went on a twisty sport bike ride with the same buddys, 2 on zx14's 1 on a gsxr600. another new guy on a fz6, and i could do everything they could (one buddy has recomended i buy some pucks for the gobi bags because they were about 2" from dragging) but i was in a far more relaxed position lol. now this bike is by no means as good as my gsxr 1000 or 1100 for out right corner carving, its not even close to my exc 450 for offroad, but it filled the gap between just right.

so a long way to the point is these bikes can do pretty much everything very well, its more the guy on the bike than the bike itself, you need to just test ride them and see which fits you better which does what you are wanting to do or are doing better then pick that one. you almost cant go wrong with the 990 and there is so much aftermarket out there for the 950/ 990 to make the bike fit to you or how you want it to fit you, or to do what you want it to do that i dont see the 990 as having any real draw backs. my plan was to eventually pick up a 990 dakar (i like the blue color schemes lol) but im still having a damn blast on my 950 infact my christmass present to myself was a set of remus revolution pipes for it mmmm no more ducati sound envy.

speaking of pipes and how people hate this or that, one thing ive always found is the pipe is easy to change and normally the aftermarket pipes look and sound better along with weighing less and all kinds of other benifits so to me no matter how hideous the stock pipe is i already plan on replacing it.

[kave]

I can't believe that the 1190 and the SE is compared this way. The SE is a beast and demands a very very good rider. Even a rider such as Giovanni Sala can't master it perfectly. I would guess the 1190 might be easier to ride, and not as demanding as a 950se off the tarmac. But for serious terrain, ie not just off the tarmac, the 1190 with all it's extra weight can't be better.
It's like saying a 950SE is better off road than a proper endure like a 530EXC.

[katoome]

One thing needs to be rememberd,'' KTM'' is on the tank, they don't make boring bikes.The 990 design has been around a few years with no real head on challengers. I can only imagine those years of reserch have produced something amazing.I for one will update to a new R as soon as funds are avaliable.

[Pete640]

Look up the thread by Joe Piltcher (???) who is travelling on an 1190 right now through africa. He doesnt think its too bad and seems to be able to comment due to his almost exclusive use of the bike so far...
Experience counts. Opinions are just that

[Gimme 2]

The 990 r is for you. if you race and stuff , this bike was born to race ,
you just need muscles in you shit to ride it HARD and FAST in the rough stuff. The new ADV is being aimed at a wider market, BMW's Multistrada's Stelvio's Teneres tri 1200, where the 990 r and s's are really narrow minded machines for friggen hooligans like many of us here Woo Hoo.
Thier a special bit a kit.