What owners say…
MOST OWNERS IN our sample are experienced riders in their 40s and 50s, but there’s a real mix of backgrounds. Some come from sportbikes, others from tourers, and some had owned other adventure bikes.
George Mullins runs his 2015 KTM alongside a Honda Crosstourer, which does two-up duties (his wife finds the Adventure a bit cramped). “This was the first twin I had owned and it seemed harsh compared with the silky four-pot Versys I’d traded in for it and the Blade I also had at that time. After a while I started to enjoy the different experience and, for me, that was one reason for changing bikes.
“The performance is stunning and it is easy to ride once you get used to its characteristics - I keep having to reel myself in as it just begs you to ride it harder and faster. The build quality is good, the brakes are good and the suspension is perfect for me. It feels like it is robust enough to cope with off-road situations, but it’s something that I won’t be exploring: it cost far too much to put at risk down some rough trail.”
Wayne Morris has put 13,000 miles on his 2015 model, with some big trips at the heart of those miles. “We’ve done Spain, Portugal and France. Just got back from a 10-day tour with my new (to me) club, the PEMC. We did the Pots, Pans and Portugal tour and racked up 2800 miles door-to-door. The bike behaved impeccably and was so good on those wonderful Spanish routes, with great combinations of hairpins, flickflacks, sweepers, constant radius, decreasing radius…. Stats for the trip: 55mph average speed, 44mpg average and nearly 52 hours in the saddle!
“The bike’s never let me down. It’s so competent and never fails to put a smile on my face. You can go bonkers using the full engine rev range or charge along at a good old clip with change-ups at 6500rpm. The electronics give me peace of mind and I like the way, for example, the traction control works with no evidence it is intervening apart from the warning light winking at you.”
Steve Hammond has put 10,000 miles on his 2015 Adventure in the past year, despite only buying it by accident: “A friend went to test ride a 1290, so I tried the 1190 Adventure - and ended up part-exchanging my Caponord for the demo bike. It’s the only bike I’ve ridden with stock suspension that feels almost as good as my Maxton-equipped VFR. It even wheelies off the throttle in third in Sport! It’s just great fun - if you enjoyed 250 and 350 LCS when you were young then it’s the adventure bike for you.
“It’s very different from my BMW GS-A, which is better two-up - sensible, but not quite as exciting or edgy as the KTM. There are no real bad points, it’s just overpriced and needs a bit more development - no cruise control, even as an option? Sorry, that is a pain on a £14k bike with a 260-mile tank range. Shame - it is so nearly perfect for those of us that find sportsbikes too single-minded.”
“If you enjoyed LCS when you were young, it’s for you” Steve Hammond 2015 1190 Adventure