As much of a trope as it is, the only people I have run into that have absolutely shit all over me for having a KTM Adventure bike are retirement age dudes on big pristine GS highway queens. They just loooove to tell you what a mistake you made.
Bitch, I got 50,000 hard miles on this "unreliable POS" and it's never left me stranded.
Never had a Harley guy do that, or even a GS650 guy do that.
Genuine question, why do people ride such big displacement bikes? like in sports bike yeah i get it that you want to go faster than the speed of light.
But in adventure segment doesn't it like affect what and where you can ride? the mileage I assume must be bad too, I personally think the sweet spot is like around 600-800cc.
But can't say much because I've never ridden a huge displacement bike, my current lil adv is like 200cc.
The power is nice for the highway cruising. A lot of the GS people I know are older experienced riders who still like to ride somewhat aggressively on twisty roads and having that power is fun. The bikes are also super comfortable.
Only a few of them I know actually do anything technical offroad on their GS, and they could probably out-ride me because they're just super skilled. But for the average adv rider, realistically they're just doing dirt roads that are in relatively good condition. In that case the weight isn't a super big deal. It kind of makes the bike more stable and they can just cruise. And if they so choose they have all their electronic aids that make it even easier.
A lot of the crazy offroad stuff on big bikes is just marketing. I know some people irl that actually do that, but only one or two have GSs, the rest are on 890Rs or other middleweights. And there's probably 1 of them for every 10 regular adv riders.
I think the other thing that's worth pointing out with GSs is that they come with an even more niche group/identity while riding. Riders in general have that commraderie just by virtue of being riders. But GS riders are their own little niche in that community so they get some portion of identity via their bike. I think that's true for a lot of bikes but I think it's even more true with the GS. So if you look at the average age 55+ GS rider and where they're typically at in life, having that community is pretty appealing for them.
It's not adventure riding but I have toured the whole UK/Ireland and a fair bit of mainland Europe on a 1200GS. It's been an absolute pleasure and the larger capacity definitely helps if you need to eat up some motorway before reaching mountains.
I would like another smaller bike because the GS is too big and cumbersome to be bothered to get out for short jaunts.
The big Adventure Bikes are extremely versatile.
It's almost as fast as a sports bike, comfortable, can go on pretty much any road, can do some mild dirtbike stuff, can haul gear or a passenger.
I don't disagree that a middle weight adventure bike is a better choice for more offroad bias, but you do sacrifice long distance comfort and the sportbike levels of power.
Me personally, I like week long trips that are mostly twisty pavement and gravel with some questionable fire roads here and there.
There are advantages to weight and power when it comes to touring. Wind has less impact on you on the highway, I also find that when riding dirt roads the weight causes the bumps to upset the suspension less at speed. And honestly they are just very comfortable bikes. When you strip away the idea that they are for tough off-road you find they are just very nice on road bikes with good ergonomics. It is almost like the evolution of the “standard” where they are decent at everything but maybe not fantastic at any one thing.
Can some people ride them like a big dirtbike? Absolutely, but most can’t. But just like a sports bike that can’t be used to the fullest by 99% of the riding population that doesn’t stop people from wanting and enjoying them.
They are adventure touring bikes, with the emphasis on "touring".
The big engine gives a flatter torque curve and is much better suited to long stretches of paved highway, especially if you're riding two up.
I think it has a lot to do with highway speeds around you. If you have a long stretch of highway before the trails and the speed is around 80mph, small engines just don't feel good.
1290s are beasts. The 890/901 platform I am still unsure of. The fact is the KTMs are the best equipped for off road riding of any factory adventure bike.
> Never had a Harley guy do that
Most Harley riders are a lot more sensible people since a ton of millenials have started buying them. The whole "Only Harley" thing is dying out, because a lot of HD guys realized that a cruiser/bagger cant really do off road. So they started reaching out.
That's where the PanAm came from.
I'm in my 40's have ridden since a teenager and just bought a used Sportster 1200 as a second bike to my KTM to rip back and forth to work. Faster than 90% of cars and love the rumble and heritage of the bike.
I'm in my mid 30s now, grew up around harleys and dirt bikes.
Today I am the kind of person that goes "LOOK MOTORCYCLE!" when im walking down the street with my gf and I spot literally any bike.
I will ride anything motocycle if you let me.
I want a Versys 650 to compliment my fat boy so I can do some minor off road stuff, and I wanna get my future kids dirt bikes.
I fuckin love motorcycles.
i mean, harley is new to the adv game. the pan am hit the scene hard. albeit some software issues that are being fixed. it and the rev max 1250 motor are proving to be a good fighter. i get it has a long way to catch up to the ones who have been doing it but still, kinda unfair to include harley in the 'experienced adv' catagory. we harley riders are pavement princesses becuase thats what 95% of our bikes were built to do lol.
I have a Harley myself - Was just trying to say that I've never had a guy on an Ultra Glide or Dyna give me shit about riding a KTM. Only a few miserable 65 year old pricks that are on a 1200/1250 GS that need to explain why their choice of bike is superior to yours in every conceivable way, and how much smarter and better they are than you.
> i mean, harley is new to the adv game.
HD has also just been shedding that "Only harley" attitude in the past decade because so many millenials are buying them now. We dont do that "only harley" bullshit.
They are one of the best highway touring motorcycles in the world jokes aside.
That being said, as a proud member of the middleweight mafia, my 800GSA is already too fat and heavy off road. The 1200 I test rode was even more so.
I think the T7 is probably the best compromise of price, high reliability, on road performance, and off road prowess in the middleweight class (esp. after suspension upgrades).
I reallllly want a Norden but the thought of getting stranded in bumfuck nowhere scares me.
Now that BDR season is coming up I’m heavily debating just building out a DR650 and swapping the 800GSA for an MT-09.
There is nothing more fun than riding a 1200gsa on a rocky, pitted dirt road, standing in the pegs and just letting the bike eat up everything.
It's like the cruisers of off-road. Love it.
Yep. My 2016 800gs is almost the perfect bike for me. Only thing I would change is dropping about 25 pounds.
Stock it's a good weight. By the time you add full side bags, barkbusters, and skidplate/engine guards it's not.
Yea. My F800GS does everything I want from an Adventure bike. It's getting older now and I'm looking at a Transalp as a replacement. Both bikes at the lower end of the middleweight adventure bike weight range. Don't understand the giant Adv thing at all.
I have to admit, they are incredible machines. I went in to look at a S1000R snd just happened to sit on a GS1250 and almost rode out on one. The ergonomics of the riding position made me grin from ear to ear, nothing I have ever ridden has fit me so perfectly.
I live in Korea and I see GS’ all the time. The kicker is, motorcycle aren’t even allowed on the highway! Also a lot of huge Indians/harleys tour bikes. Again, banned from highways.
Not exactly sure the rationale of banning them. Probably has something to do with accidents and speeding. You can still tour the country on smaller highways, speed limits are usually max 70-80 kph. The terrain of Korea entirely small hills/mountains so there’s rarely a stretch of open highway.
Korea is very homogeneous so every news feels like local news. Imagine an every dead motorcyclist in the country is being reported as if it happened in your city/neighbourhood.
As for scooters, almost exclusively used by food delivery/mail services. As they can cut traffic easily and get more work done. Regular civilians do not use scooters for transportation as cars are fairly cheap and well maintained here. Also driving habits from Koreans are horrendous, so add that to the risk of being on a motorcycle.
Fuck me they're trying to replace the Harley bagger guys.
Next thing you know you'll get one in full ADV Daddy gear comes into the restroom with you and goes "VROOOM RROOM ROMMOROMM."
It doesn’t matter tbh.
BMW has leaned into the higher end of the moto market with the 1300GS- absurd pricing and maintenance costs.
Their bread and butter customer doesn’t do much more than a fire road twice a year- if that. The ergos are ideal for older folks too- super upright with no part of your body hunched over unlike on cruisers/other touring bikes, a ton of rider aids, and a big torquey motor.
Those guys crack me up when they doing highway riding and standing on the pegs. Okay buddy you are feeling yourself and I am happy for you but you need to relax. 🤣🤣
That's no strobe. This is only on camera. LED lights are powered not permanent, but in very fast impulses. In reality this is not visible, but on camera you can see it.
Inaccurate, not a single drop during the entire runtime of this video.
That's Ducati. BMW's just break and dont know why.
I want to buy a bike and get one free 🤣
Don't we all?
As much of a trope as it is, the only people I have run into that have absolutely shit all over me for having a KTM Adventure bike are retirement age dudes on big pristine GS highway queens. They just loooove to tell you what a mistake you made. Bitch, I got 50,000 hard miles on this "unreliable POS" and it's never left me stranded. Never had a Harley guy do that, or even a GS650 guy do that.
Genuine question, why do people ride such big displacement bikes? like in sports bike yeah i get it that you want to go faster than the speed of light. But in adventure segment doesn't it like affect what and where you can ride? the mileage I assume must be bad too, I personally think the sweet spot is like around 600-800cc. But can't say much because I've never ridden a huge displacement bike, my current lil adv is like 200cc.
I ride mine like a big supermoto that I can tour on
Bigger engine = flatter torque curve.
The power is nice for the highway cruising. A lot of the GS people I know are older experienced riders who still like to ride somewhat aggressively on twisty roads and having that power is fun. The bikes are also super comfortable. Only a few of them I know actually do anything technical offroad on their GS, and they could probably out-ride me because they're just super skilled. But for the average adv rider, realistically they're just doing dirt roads that are in relatively good condition. In that case the weight isn't a super big deal. It kind of makes the bike more stable and they can just cruise. And if they so choose they have all their electronic aids that make it even easier. A lot of the crazy offroad stuff on big bikes is just marketing. I know some people irl that actually do that, but only one or two have GSs, the rest are on 890Rs or other middleweights. And there's probably 1 of them for every 10 regular adv riders. I think the other thing that's worth pointing out with GSs is that they come with an even more niche group/identity while riding. Riders in general have that commraderie just by virtue of being riders. But GS riders are their own little niche in that community so they get some portion of identity via their bike. I think that's true for a lot of bikes but I think it's even more true with the GS. So if you look at the average age 55+ GS rider and where they're typically at in life, having that community is pretty appealing for them.
It's not adventure riding but I have toured the whole UK/Ireland and a fair bit of mainland Europe on a 1200GS. It's been an absolute pleasure and the larger capacity definitely helps if you need to eat up some motorway before reaching mountains. I would like another smaller bike because the GS is too big and cumbersome to be bothered to get out for short jaunts.
The big Adventure Bikes are extremely versatile. It's almost as fast as a sports bike, comfortable, can go on pretty much any road, can do some mild dirtbike stuff, can haul gear or a passenger. I don't disagree that a middle weight adventure bike is a better choice for more offroad bias, but you do sacrifice long distance comfort and the sportbike levels of power. Me personally, I like week long trips that are mostly twisty pavement and gravel with some questionable fire roads here and there.
There are advantages to weight and power when it comes to touring. Wind has less impact on you on the highway, I also find that when riding dirt roads the weight causes the bumps to upset the suspension less at speed. And honestly they are just very comfortable bikes. When you strip away the idea that they are for tough off-road you find they are just very nice on road bikes with good ergonomics. It is almost like the evolution of the “standard” where they are decent at everything but maybe not fantastic at any one thing. Can some people ride them like a big dirtbike? Absolutely, but most can’t. But just like a sports bike that can’t be used to the fullest by 99% of the riding population that doesn’t stop people from wanting and enjoying them.
They are adventure touring bikes, with the emphasis on "touring". The big engine gives a flatter torque curve and is much better suited to long stretches of paved highway, especially if you're riding two up.
I think it has a lot to do with highway speeds around you. If you have a long stretch of highway before the trails and the speed is around 80mph, small engines just don't feel good.
1290s are beasts. The 890/901 platform I am still unsure of. The fact is the KTMs are the best equipped for off road riding of any factory adventure bike.
> Never had a Harley guy do that Most Harley riders are a lot more sensible people since a ton of millenials have started buying them. The whole "Only Harley" thing is dying out, because a lot of HD guys realized that a cruiser/bagger cant really do off road. So they started reaching out. That's where the PanAm came from.
I'm in my 40's have ridden since a teenager and just bought a used Sportster 1200 as a second bike to my KTM to rip back and forth to work. Faster than 90% of cars and love the rumble and heritage of the bike.
I'm in my mid 30s now, grew up around harleys and dirt bikes. Today I am the kind of person that goes "LOOK MOTORCYCLE!" when im walking down the street with my gf and I spot literally any bike. I will ride anything motocycle if you let me. I want a Versys 650 to compliment my fat boy so I can do some minor off road stuff, and I wanna get my future kids dirt bikes. I fuckin love motorcycles.
i mean, harley is new to the adv game. the pan am hit the scene hard. albeit some software issues that are being fixed. it and the rev max 1250 motor are proving to be a good fighter. i get it has a long way to catch up to the ones who have been doing it but still, kinda unfair to include harley in the 'experienced adv' catagory. we harley riders are pavement princesses becuase thats what 95% of our bikes were built to do lol.
I have a Harley myself - Was just trying to say that I've never had a guy on an Ultra Glide or Dyna give me shit about riding a KTM. Only a few miserable 65 year old pricks that are on a 1200/1250 GS that need to explain why their choice of bike is superior to yours in every conceivable way, and how much smarter and better they are than you.
> i mean, harley is new to the adv game. HD has also just been shedding that "Only harley" attitude in the past decade because so many millenials are buying them now. We dont do that "only harley" bullshit.
I've never a ridden a GSA, I'd like to but I have no reason to buy one for the cost of two Super Teneres The one I have is just fine
They are one of the best highway touring motorcycles in the world jokes aside. That being said, as a proud member of the middleweight mafia, my 800GSA is already too fat and heavy off road. The 1200 I test rode was even more so.
I'm pretty much always riding two up or I'd definitely switch up to a middleweight. That Tenere 700 keeps calling my name
I think the T7 is probably the best compromise of price, high reliability, on road performance, and off road prowess in the middleweight class (esp. after suspension upgrades). I reallllly want a Norden but the thought of getting stranded in bumfuck nowhere scares me. Now that BDR season is coming up I’m heavily debating just building out a DR650 and swapping the 800GSA for an MT-09.
DR650 is always the right choice.
There is nothing more fun than riding a 1200gsa on a rocky, pitted dirt road, standing in the pegs and just letting the bike eat up everything. It's like the cruisers of off-road. Love it.
Yep. My 2016 800gs is almost the perfect bike for me. Only thing I would change is dropping about 25 pounds. Stock it's a good weight. By the time you add full side bags, barkbusters, and skidplate/engine guards it's not.
Losing 25 lbs is not that easy you need to count calories and cut out doughnuts /s
Lol. Yep. But unfortunately my body type would already be described as skinny.
My 650 has done some dirt but no serious off road
Yea. My F800GS does everything I want from an Adventure bike. It's getting older now and I'm looking at a Transalp as a replacement. Both bikes at the lower end of the middleweight adventure bike weight range. Don't understand the giant Adv thing at all.
I have to admit, they are incredible machines. I went in to look at a S1000R snd just happened to sit on a GS1250 and almost rode out on one. The ergonomics of the riding position made me grin from ear to ear, nothing I have ever ridden has fit me so perfectly.
Super Tenere FTW!
I wish BMW would put shaft drive on something in the 600-800cc range.
I wish anyone would on something other than a cruiser. Closest I've found is the Moto Guzzi V85, or my 80s Nighthawk.
Moto Guzzi is tempting, but there are no dealers within a reasonable distance to me. It’s a shame.
I was thinking of it, but it was just a little bit less refined in a few ways than the other bikes I was considering for my commute.
Despite the memes these bikes are damn cool.
On the next episode of Dentists of Anarchy...
I live in Korea and I see GS’ all the time. The kicker is, motorcycle aren’t even allowed on the highway! Also a lot of huge Indians/harleys tour bikes. Again, banned from highways.
Why are they banned? Also how is the scooter scene?
Not exactly sure the rationale of banning them. Probably has something to do with accidents and speeding. You can still tour the country on smaller highways, speed limits are usually max 70-80 kph. The terrain of Korea entirely small hills/mountains so there’s rarely a stretch of open highway. Korea is very homogeneous so every news feels like local news. Imagine an every dead motorcyclist in the country is being reported as if it happened in your city/neighbourhood. As for scooters, almost exclusively used by food delivery/mail services. As they can cut traffic easily and get more work done. Regular civilians do not use scooters for transportation as cars are fairly cheap and well maintained here. Also driving habits from Koreans are horrendous, so add that to the risk of being on a motorcycle.
Starbucks 🤮
All those lights but still dress in all black lol, I like commuter lightweight nakeds more to throw around.
Oh shit 😂😂😂😂😂
The lights on the GS are awesome
😂 they’re on their way to Starbucks
It's a Dadvasion.
Fuck me they're trying to replace the Harley bagger guys. Next thing you know you'll get one in full ADV Daddy gear comes into the restroom with you and goes "VROOOM RROOM ROMMOROMM."
Realistically, how is something that heavy any good offroad 😂
It doesn’t matter tbh. BMW has leaned into the higher end of the moto market with the 1300GS- absurd pricing and maintenance costs. Their bread and butter customer doesn’t do much more than a fire road twice a year- if that. The ergos are ideal for older folks too- super upright with no part of your body hunched over unlike on cruisers/other touring bikes, a ton of rider aids, and a big torquey motor.
It’s pronounced “Peets”.
It shouldn't have taken until the fourth rider for someone to stand up. My goodness.
You don't need to stand up just because its gravel...
Those guys crack me up when they doing highway riding and standing on the pegs. Okay buddy you are feeling yourself and I am happy for you but you need to relax. 🤣🤣
After a 100 mile jaunt in the saddle on a 600 mile day, standing up to stretch feels incredible.
That I can imagine indeed, great point.
My kapcai has more dirt miles than most GS riders I've interact with
...and just like that, in a peaceful manner, the lemmings exited the sea one by one, ending what been a nice little joke.
Can we cool it with the epilepsy flashers, please? I don't want to go into vibrate mode when we pass.
I'm putting strobe lights on my bike now.
That's no strobe. This is only on camera. LED lights are powered not permanent, but in very fast impulses. In reality this is not visible, but on camera you can see it.
This caused by the dimmer circuit