Are 950's reliable for long distance?

Just sold my GS1150 02 I'm real interested in the Katoom 950 have had EXC'S and MXC'S but never really considered KTM for the road. Is the 950 a true reliable road mount? I know the standard answers ..... if your going to do more road ride the Beemer if dirt the KTM what's reality>
Thanks,
Doug

Three weeks ago I rode mine from Heber Springs, Arkansas to Santa Barbara, California. This followed by a ride along PCH past San Francisco, through the redwoods and back to Heber Springs. Total mileage was 4,800 miles in 6 riding days. When on the "wide open", I cruised at 90-95 mph with my 16 tooth sprocket, averaging 39 mpg. Bike had ZERO problems. Simply gas and GO! I did lube the chain after every riding day. Don't know what you mean by "long distance reliability" but I'm happy with mine.

Your results and mileage may vary......

On June 10th, I purchased my 2005.5 KTM 950 Adventure S from Funmart in Moline, IL. The bike was picked up at 11am and then ridden 750 miles home to West Virginia over the next 2 days. The bike was brand new and never missed a beat. On the first day, I stopped frequently to heat cycle the engine a few times and did my best to keep my speeds and the revs low. I made it home with zero problems. It's the best bike I have ever had for long trips. My 950 is used mostly for commuting and I put about 250 miles a week on it. Right now, I am getting 37.7 mpg out of it but I like to twist it a bit. I have purchased a 16T front sprocket for the bike but haven't had time to install it yet. It has had the cannisterectomy done to it and I have mounted the KTM/FMF mufflers.

A few of my buddies and I have a trip scheduled for the last week of this month to Virginia. One of them has a sister in Northern VA and were are going to crash on her floor one night and then ride the Blue Ridge Parkway, over the next couple of days. It should be a great trip.

This week, I will be aquiring parts and accessories from Touratech and Adventurers Workshop for the trip. New bigger top rack, frame guards, headlight stone screen, drybags, new protective gear, etc...

You could do a lot worse than a KTM 950. Get the newest one you can afford though!

S Won

There are a ton of posts on this subject on the form. It seems to have become a BIT of a polarizing issue here.

The condensed version is: there have been problems and problem bikes and problem dealers. Whether these problems are any worse than any other (BMW) brand have not been objectively quantified.

I’ve got an ’01 1150 GS and a new 950. I’ve had no show stopper issues with either. I have had (and do have) some maintenance issues with both.

My opinion is that I can ride circles around the GS in the dirt or on the pavement with the 950. For drone ex’s on the freeway, the GS is more comfortable. For anything else, I’ll take the 950. This is from someone that really likes the GS.

Getting back to your question, KTM appears to have learned from the early bikes and improved them as they have gone along.

Barbasma had a good post a while ago on what model year has experienced what problems.

Neither the GS nor the Adventure is bullet proof, and the grin factor on the Adventure is much higher.

Try it, you’ll like it

Yes....it is.

I test rode one last weekend and was ready to pull the trigger on one. I still might. The thing pulls really nice up at 8k rpm. Coming from the GS I'm not too stoked on lubing and cleaning the chain. The bike is a big honk'n dirt bike that is just too fucking cool. Maybe, I'll keep the GS and get the ktm too . I'm sure that is how it starts.

Gas and go on the 950. 500 mile days, no problemo. Off road, no problemo.

You're not some kinda momma's boy who needs his cushy saddle and Gold Wing wind protection, are you?? That could change the answer......

mully

6700+ miles...

Other than the abyssmal stock exhaust/intake issues, this is a fine bike. Once the Kalifornia/E.U. issues are sorted out it's wheelies in the first two gears with my FF-ass on the seat! That's with the 16/42 gear combo. With the 16/45. it's front Scorp' off the ground in third :eek1 !

Really!! This bike ('05.5 S) does NOT suck!!!
Have fun...

Picked mine up this past May & have put around 3700 miles on it. Ran perfect until I tipped it over for the 1st time, then the evap crap reared it's ugly-symptomed head. Pulled the stuff & all has been good ever since. One cracked rubber oil return line that I had to get replaced, but I'm chalking that up to "fluke". I also have the starter "clack" going on - waiting on parts & in the meantime just have to be sure to not give it too much choke when starting to prevent the noise.

Biggest problem is the bike will turn you into an idiot.

Safety-boy hit 112 during rush hour on the way home today. This bike goes fast FAR too easily. I don't know how to ride fast. The 950 sure does though...

7,000+ miles in 3 weeks as far as Newfoundland (from N GA).

No issues other than a moaning rear brake, and maybe a small amount of front brake pulsing now.

As others have said, gas and go, with a little chain care every 4 or 5 days.

If you haven't seen it my trip report is here.

OH CRAP!!! I pissed myself. GREAT picture and a small commentary on Americana. I don't think any country has enshrined so many useless items.

Largest ball of string? Largest ball of tin foil?

That's what I really love about America - you can travel 3000 miles just to see a palace built out of corn!!!

As far as the toomer + long distance?

I often drive into areas that would require a 20 mile hike out of - no small feat in CO - and I wouldn't do that on a machine unless I trust my life to it. I do.

I can only dream of riding to Alaska - schedule/vacation/wife, but I would without hesitation.

Especially on the street it's just not that big a deal. Just spray some chain wax on it every so often and be done with it. Takes about two minutes. Even if you have to replace your chain every couple of years, it ain't a big-ticket item. I've never replaced a chain in 15 years of street riding (most of that spent riding the snot out of Italian sport bikes, so I don't baby chains either), and I don't pay much attention to mine.

Picked up my leftover 2004 this Feb in Boston. It has 13.5k miles on it now including a trip to the west coast and back. My chain is shot and it needs a valve adjustment since that last one was at 4.5k miles. It has its curiosities of ownership, but mine seems solidly reliable. I find it good on the slab all day. I have the gelseat option and a Cee-Baily windcreen. I'll be removing the cannister when the valves are done, but basically the bike is set up perfect for my needs, which center on long distance touring to get to interesting dirt roads in remote places. So my answer is yes, it's a good long distance mount.

Reliability thread on KTM talk.

http://ktmtalk.com/index.php?showtopic=127379&st=0&#entry978471

I just rode 9200 miles from Salt Lake City to Anchorage and back. No problems. I did get a new clutch push rod and clutch plates in SanFran under warranty on my 04. Without doubt this bike is the bomb.
I do have a Renazco seat which is nice. I do have Emig stabilizer and Pastrana Freestyle bars for optimum stand up riding. I used the stock Pirellis but will put on Conti TKC80s for Utah dirt roads. The one problem with this bike is, it is difficult to stop smiling so much while riding :)
Chas Walter
Tulsa OK

Yup, so far so good. Fun factor is way high. With the Remus GP CF cans this machine is like a cross between my old '96 GS and my '03 RC 51 race bike fit with Satos; upright but screamin' fast. Find one and pull the trigger. Reliable road mount? How far'd you wanna go?

Great post so far.. Finally all positive with nobody going nuts! I can't read this as a guest can you copy it in here or something?

I'll give you the question and my response. You really should put your name in and read the whole thing for balance.

34k and going strong.

The Silver Lipizzan proved herself as a true long distance mount this weekend. My son Rick road my 2004 950 in the Red Hot Riders m/c "Baby Butt 1500 rally." The route we (Rick on the 950, my son-in-law Ryan on his 05 FJR, and me on my ST1100) rode was 1524 miles through California, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and Nevada. The time was 23 hours and 33 minutes. The roads were mostly 2 lane paved highway. Rick reported no problems running regular gas (with the "wire" unplugged), and that he had plenty of power and acceleration even over the 9,000 foot passes. He also stated that the BMS seat worked perfectly and not any sore butt at all. I'll post a ride report with photos in the appropriate forum section soon. This was my son's 3rd BBG 1500 and son-in-law- Ryan's first.
-cp