Whilst being a damn good ride everytime I'm on it my KTM Adventure 1190R Starship Adventure is just too damn big and heavy for me to be comfortable with in the garage and I'm going to swap it in for something lightweight again and considering the various Supernakeds. I've taken my mates Tuono 1100 factory out a few times (see other post) and that's a stunning machine but I hesitate as it's so race bike like sticking to the road that I find myself wanting a bit more low down hooligan and (vtwin) oomph. I testrode a KTM Superduke 1290R and that was very good but I didn't know how to turn off the anti wheelie so it left me a little unexcited as well. I need to go and try it again but it's also making me think perhaps the Monster R is worth waiting for. The 1200S was great at Silverstone but not quite raucous enough for me to consider it over a Tuono or Superduke. The Monster R looks like a great bike although over priced (like the Superduke), I'm worried the R will also be a bit too civilised? Maybe I'll just put some high bars on the Panigale for a month or two
I was looking at the monster R as replacement for my 2014 Tuono. I still am but not quite as enthusiastically as before launch, I think it may be too soft. I wanted off my Aprilia as there was no dealer near me but Ducati have pulled their franchise from my guys in St Neots now so that doesn't help. I'm becoming somewhat disillusioned by this modern Ducati. I'll test ride the Monster R at On Yer Bike. If it is sharp enough then I'll buy one. If not I'll be sticking with my Tuono for a little while longer.
Let me know when you do test ride as you look on the same page as me. What's making you consider moving on the Tuono?
To be fair it sounds like the SD will be more capable if you still want mental but with a soft side. If you want mental / sharp edged I'd probably go with the Tuono factory To me the new monster is once again 'more show than go' from Ducati. You're paying for brand name with very little in the way to back up the extortionate price. Forgetting the ohlins for a minute it's no more advanced or powerful than many other naked bikes available for 2/3 of the price, it's less so in a lot of cases If they'd not released the S Model already (which is a little lame in the naked category) then the R would probably have been released at that price, as it happens they can only make it more expensive. It's a little like the new pikes peak dvt, nothing too fancy, lazy in terms of effort to produce something special and simply bolted on some carbon and ohlins. If money's no object then I guess bang for buck doesn't matter
Will do. Regarding the Tuono. I had a number of warranty issues with the bike then my dealer stopped working with Piaggio UK (got fed up with their shit) and left me high and dry. The nearest Aprilia dealer is On Yer Bike which is a fair old ride out for me. The Aprilia was almost a protest purchase. I was a Ducati man through and through but got fed up waiting on a new Streetfighter so got the Tuono. Love the bike, just don't love Aprilia/Piaggio. I came very close, handing over the card close, to chucking in the Tuono for an M1200S as I wanted back on a Ducati. Went to see my (ex) Ducati dealer at St Neots (who I get on with very well). I told Eric the reason for wanting to swap and he was totally transparent and told me to hold off as Ducati we're threatening to pull their franchise unless he paid out a fuck-tonne of money to them to uplift his showroom to match Ducati's revised dealership expectations: Turn his showroom into a "mirror palace". To summarise. The Tuono is a brilliant bike, but in the deep recesses of my horrid psyche, I wish it was a new Ducati 'Streetfighter'. The Monster R may be a close approximation, and I'm willing to investigate though I feel it's not going to hit the mark. Further still, I'm not particularly liking the new Ducati. And I don't want to buy any of their bikes anymore. Which is a definite first.
The dealer situation is why I've not seriously considered one before. I've been recommended Moto Forza Italia up at Silverstone as very good if I did buy one hence considering one again.
@royalwithcream , what exactly don't you like about the KTM? Literally moving it about in the garage? Filtering? You have used your panigale for tours & track ( you don't seem mega precious about it) , coupled with your skill level, any reason you can't just use the 1199 for more commuting etc? Think your suggestion of high bars is the way to go..
Literally just the sheer size and weight of the KTM when not riding, we havn't got the space for it in the garage.. It's a pretty awesome bike when riding and is actually not too bad filtering even in London, but I dont think there's any point in having something so big as I can get everything I need out of a physically smaller bike and have the added bonus of more fun. The only difficult thing is that I do want something that will do long distance so a small bike like a Supermoto is no good. I dont want to use the Panigale in the rain when the roads are being salted. I've got no problem personally riding in all weathers all year round but (believe it or not ) I am actually quite precious about the Panigale. My personal opinion is that it's built for riding hard and using as intended but taking them out in the salt ages bikes big time and wrecks all the finish. The Panigale is too damn sexy for that. I do often use if for commuting but I dont want to rack up the mileage to much using it everyday. I've already put 8500 miles on it over the last year so I want to keep the average lower this year. Also I dont want to have to rely on it for work as it's often in track fairings and not road legal. All that said I often come back to having another racebike instead of anything sensible haha I wish I had enough money for a Panigale R!
Does it have to be a new bike? A 1098 Streetfighter might fit the bill though if the Tuono felt too race-bike orientated the SF might as well since that's exactly what it is. But it'll be sharper and more aggressive than the Monster. I think I've said this before but if you like the format of the KTM 1190 but don't want the weight and bulk and aren't that fussed about the off-roading try a 990 SMT. Its fast enough to be highly entertaining without encouraging constant hooliganism and it has a sublime chassis that's smooth, accurate and agile with near weightless steering. They make wonderful B-road scratchers without the backache. Before I bought mine I test rode the road-going 1190 Adventure. compared to the other litre + adventure bikes, the 1190 felt light and nimble and the fastest and I nearly bought one but couldn't justify the cost so ended up with an SMT. I went back for a second go on the 1190 6 months later and after the SMT the 1190 felt soft, fat and heavy. Powerful but a lump and not as fast as I remembered. That's how good the SMT is. If you still like the 1290 SDR go back to a KTM dealer and discuss what exactly can be done with the dongle to customise the rider aids. KTM have brought out their own stick that plugs into the loom under the seat and allows you to save your rider settings permanently so that the system doesn't default to the factory settings every time you switch of the ignition. Whether you can actually turn off the TC altogether I'm not sure but you can certainly turn it right down to minimum and leave it there. Same with the anti-wheelie and ABS. I know some KTM supermotos allow you to turn off just the rear ABS so you can play and hang the back out but I'm not sure if that's also the case with the SDR. If that's all that's stopping you go back and have a chat with them. There is also the option of remapping. You can "uncork" the 1290 engine in exactly the same way as the 990: remove the SAS, fit open airboxes, decat pipes etc. Then have a full custom remap. Presumably a lot can be done during on the dyno to map out or tone down the more intrusive safety stuff. You can also quicken the throttle response. Have a browse through here KTM 1290 Super Duke R - KTM Super Twins Forum BSD do a lot of KTM remapping. Mark can probably tell you what can be done with the 1290. Incidentally, I read in MCN this week that KTM designed the SDR to default to factory settings in the way it does not because they make a cock-up but because they were anticipating future legislation. It seems there will be an EU directive along shortly which will demand that all new bikes are fitted with electronic safety systems which automatically default to the safest setting when switched off. That would ruin bikes with really complex systems like the 1299 Pani. The dongle is the only way around this.
No doesn't need to be new; I'd not considered the SMT so I'll see if I can find one somewhere to try out. Your thoughts on going back to the 1190 are pretty much how I'm feeling at the moment. The bike is very powerful and I can't fault it whilst riding and for journeys but the bulk seems unwarranted and I'd rather have the same power in a smaller machine. One thing I do really like for the commute is being able to ride standing up, something which wouldn't be possible on the Tuono but would be on the SMT I think? The SDR is kind of in between but I dont remember it being a standup possible sort of bike??
Supermoto the 1190 ! stick some 17" smr wheels on the 1190 like this one, obviously it don't remove the fact it's still heavy but in comparison it's not hugely different to the majority of bikes, the 17" wheels make it more manageable for us short arses .
Haha can't see the point in that. I've got the big wheeled R version for the offroad stuff anyhow, not that there was much point but it's perfectly capable of behaving badly in a supermoto manner
This one / the touring version? KTM 990 SUPERMOTO R (2009-2013) Review | MCN I like the specs, ticks a lot of my boxes. I want to find something that's under 200kg.
I had the R version and I miss it. Smaller tank but same chassis. Touring has slightly longer springs too. The earlier R models (before ABS) had better spec wheels and brakes. That's the one I had until some scumbag crew stole it.
They do an SM, SM-R and an SM-T. All the same chassis, R has the smaller tank but better spec. T version has soft panniers and bigger front fairing and screen. All just as looney/fun as each other.
This is the SMT. KTM 990 SM T | Ash On Bikes Forget about the snatchy throttle issues. If you get one of these you have to uncork them and all that gets solved anyway. If you ride a standard one and like it, you'll love a fettled one. Bin the catted cans (I went for Leo Vince - sounds great even with the baffle in). Chuck the strangulating airbox (I went Rottweiler - growls like the real thing). Remove the SAS emission control nonsense and fit blanking plates. (I removed and plugged the lambas and fitted a K&N crank breather filter as well because I'm OCD and like things clean and tidy). Get a custom remap. Budget a grand for that lot. Mine makes 120 bhp rear wheel and 76 lb/ft torque. A significant improvement over standard. It sounds deliciously rorty, the fuelling is perfect with no snatch, it has more midrange and third gear wheelies are easy. No pesky electronics, you can ride it how you like. Suspension is very good and fully adjustable but standard setting were too soft for me and I lifted the forks in the yokes 10 mm which sharpened up the front-end feed back. Set em up right and they'll rattle many a sports bikes on a twisty B road. And yes you can stand up. Depreciation seems to have halted in the year since I bought mine. People have cottoned on to how good they are. But they're still a bit of bargain compared to current big, fat and complex adventure bikes. A sorted SMT is one of those bikes you can ride all day having an absolute ball and when you get home, no matter how late it is you ride right past the gate because you don't want to get off. I've done that many times.
That's a great shame about St Neots, I bought my Monster EVO from Eric and I live 100 miles away. That's exactly what Ducati don't want you to do, they want you to buy from your nearest franchised dealer selling all the fancy shite ....... Bastards.
The 990 Sm range are brilliant bikes, I was hankering after the R for a while but was holding out for a low mileage brembo monobloc version (pre abs) Mate of mine had the smt and had the rottweiler setup, sounded great.
Had my SMR with the full titanium akrapovic system with carbon tips. Used to set of next doors car alarm every time I started it and the bike riding guy would open his door/window and give me a smile and thumbs up.
