KTM 1190 Adventure: Review
Can Austria rival Germany's dominance in the adventure market?
Speedo reads big numbers with nearly 150hp
It may have been out for a while, but this is the first time I have slung a leg over the 1190 and my initial impressions are positive. I've ridden the older 990 quite a lot, as well as the SM and SMT versions, and to be honest I was never a big fan of the Adventure. My issue with the KTM was the fact it seemed a bit too serious, by which I mean it felt like it was actually designed to go off-road rather than just look like it was! With its 21-inch front wheel and 18-inch rear limiting the tyre choice to fairly narrow rubber, not to mention the long travel suspension and tall seat height, I never felt 100 per cent confident with the front end. BMW's GS always felt more secure in bends, a feeling that certainly improved with the introduction of wider tyres on the water-cooled GS.
In the 1190 update KTM has recognised this and reduced the front tyre size to 19-inch with the rear now a 17-inch item, allowing the fitment of more road orientated tyres. While this may have limited its off-road ability, it has made for a much better on road bike. And anyway, if you want to go off-road there is always the R version. But the improvements haven't stopped there; the 1190 Adventure not only comes with a bigger motor, it also has a comprehensive electronics package.
Smaller wheels have improved handling
KTM used to stick to the philosophy that electronic assists weren't required on big twins (someone in orange once told me "who needs traction control when you have traction?"), but the market has dictated a change in thinking. Quite simply, adventure riders now insist on a host of gadgets and true to form the Adventure comes with electronic suspension (not semi-active, simply adjustable via a button), traction control and ABS. The Adventure 1190 makes 148hp so I'm glad KTM changed tack! With the assists on the Adventure is a very easy bike to ride quickly and if it wasn't for the occasional flash of yellow from the dash, you wouldn't know anything untoward was being restrained. The acceleration is smooth for a V-twin with loads of grunt, the clutch action is light and the throttle response predictable.
However, access the traction control settings via the very simple display (which isn't colour), turn it off and very quickly you realise this is a bit of a weapon. Minus any restraints, the KTM happily wheelies off the throttle in second gear and should you continue to give it the berries through the rev range this can cause the front to begin wobbling gently from side to side. Instability? Not really, more a spirited character trait. And the KTM is all about spirit.
V-twin revvier than the BMW boxer
The new water-cooled GS is a simply brilliant bike and although I reckon the KTM isn't quite as good an all-round package, it runs it very close. The KTM feels slightly less bulky than the GS, not so much in a handling sense, more in a physical sense. When you get on a GS you are very aware it is a large lump of metal due to the boxer cylinders poking out while the Adventure feels slightly less mechanical and more compact.
Weight-wise KTM claim 212kg dry while BMW say 238kg ready to rock with a full tank. Add 23 litres of fuel into the KTM's tank and they are roughly the same wet weight, but I'd say the KTM is slightly easier to manoeuvre at low speed due to its narrow stance. And it also feels sprightlier with its V-twin revving faster and gaining speed quicker than the GS's boxer, something I would expect as the RC8 motor started life as a sports bike lump while the boxer was always a more relaxed engine. Neither is particularly better or worse than the other, instead they just have slightly different characters. The BMW is more refined, the KTM a little bit wilder. Again, kind of what you would expect from their respective manufacturers.
Is it a GS beater?
Where the sports bike market used to be the area manufacturers slugged it out, this is rapidly changing to the naked and adventure sections and splitting such bikes is increasingly hard. While I wouldn't like to say the Adventure is definitively better or worse than the GS, I would say it is now certainly a viable alternative. Priced at £12,999 you get a similar spec on the Adventure compared to the £12,665 GS (including ESA and Riding mode Pro) and, while the KTM has more spirit, the GS is still so bloody good at everything it is hard to say anything bad against it. One thing I did notice after spending a week riding around on the KTM is the fact I didn't miss my sports bike on the open road. You can hammer along in total comfort on an adventure bike, play the fool and even attack a few bends. Gone are the days of wobbly handling and skinny tyres! The modern adventure bike has morphed into something far more fun.
KTM 1190 ADVENTURE
Engine: 1195cc V-twin,
Power (hp): 148@9,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 85@7,500rpm
Top speed: 150mph (est.)
Weight: 212kg (dry)
MPG: 45
Price: £12,999
As for the article, is the production figure for KTM include its offroad/competition bikes? I'd rather see what their road bike production figures are. It's bit like including tractors and trucks in the sales figures for Ford.
Great bike, but truth is 150 ponies is a bit silly. I've had mine well over 260 with full Trax panniers, top box and dry bag. And yep, with the TC switched off, it will happily pull huge wheelies even in 3rd if you're loaded. The TC does blunt the performance though, and first time out you really question whether it really has the stated power. With it off though, it REALLY goes. A new GS won't see which way you went....
The rider modes work well, especially Enduro throttle and ABS when you're in the dirt or the sand. Gives it a nice long throttle but will still spin the back allowing you to steer the considerable heft around like a YZ. And that's with only 100 ponies in Enduro mode! I tried Sport mode off road with the MTC off and it's a bit bonkers. I managed to destroy a TKC 80 rear in 6000kms. It will even wheel spin in 2nd up hill in full power.
And I have to say in those miles, through Eastern Africa, she was faultless except for a one off system shut down that needed an hour to wait and reset.
Thing is, how many of these type of bikes actually see off road action?? As for the bigger ADV models, WHY?????
Also, give me a dam an RC690!!!
Twin with 95 to 110 bhp, rugged, good electronics and abs and not overly heavy. Could bridge the gap between the 800 class and the 1200 bikes perfectly.
Im my experience with the 1190 in Malawi I rode 90% of the time in 100bhp mode and it went perfectly well even fully loaded. If the 1050 motor is lively, revs cleanly and quickly, with reasonable economy, that'd be great
Couldn't believe that a bike I crashed once a week still looked pretty much the same after a year of abuse and I never doubted it would get me out of trouble even when I hit a tree and had to go home with bent bars!
OEM exhaust is piss-poor sounding and having stumped up for the obligatory Akrapovic offering, is still poor, compared to the Akras that I had on the 'Duke. Another way to fleece the punter, as it is with most vehicle manufacturers...
I'd probably change it for a 1290 Superduke SMT that's being touted. It could be the best of both worlds...
Then along came Ewan and Charlie and you had to do it with a great big adventure bike!!
Nice to have so much choice though, but I do wonder if all the electronics, ABS traction control, different ECU maps etc. might be difficult to fix after a low speed off into a flooded ditch somewhere in the middle of nowhere!!
Looking back to my trips around Europe in the late70'-early 80's, a lot of more adventurous boys and girls were getting to North Africa and beyond on pretty much standard XT500's, easy to fix, easy to pick up when you'd dropped it (again).
BOT I guess if I had to pick between the test KTM and a new GS, I would be torn between nice narrow KTM, or no hassle shaft drive. Probably more likely buy something old, air cooled and DIY easy. My old '89 R100GS was such a simple tool; tappets took 15mins to do, oil change 20 mins, and most other routine service was similarly quick; no laptop required, and no electronics to play up!
t at 7k. It's really very fun. Performance is incredible, it feels like it has a lot less inertia in every sense back to back with a GS.
2nd hand bikes are becoming more affordable now the 1290 is appearing too.
Unfortunately I haven't ridden a multi but you can guarantee the 1190 is significantly better off-road given the tyre/wheel sizes.
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