Well, just an excuse for some Kiwi input. He rides these big bikes like they are 250's, crazy talent. These are the seal and gravel roads I ride...and when I were young, the off road too. I used to ride trials with his father, or he was at the same trials I was. On the low key social Twinshock Father's Day trial Chris would come along, his mother too...she had a TY175, his father a blue Sherpa T 250. Chris would attack sections with out a look, just hit them full speed, enduro style. In earlier days when twinshocks were the latest thing, schoolboy Stefan Merriman would come along with his father, one of NZ's best trials riders. He was later a many times ISDE winner.
KTM 1290 Super Adventure R
- Thread starter Motu
- Start date
Any thoughts about how this will accepted. https://www.asphaltandrubber.com/bikes/harley-davidson-pan-america-1250-special/
Great video, but as a former off road dirt bike rider/racer, I can say that something that heavy is a real handful and tires 'ya out very quickly. They are also very intolerant of minor mistakes and sand.
I always preferred to be as light as possible.
I always preferred to be as light as possible.
That's no KTM. While it's really nice to see Harley doing this, they should have been doing it 15 years ago. The Buell Ulysses was somewhat popular and quite light at 425 pounds. A nice progression from that into what the KTM is, was necessary. I'm going to guess it's too little, too late. I'm also going to guess that it falls far short of the KTM's performance in just about every aspect I can think of.
Competition is a good thing, but first, Harley must build something competitive.
The big adventure bikes are a popular category in Motorcycling. IF this Harley has been designed to legitimately take on the major players like the BMW 1250 GS, the KTM, the Ducati Multistrada, etc. it could be a success.
OTOH, I don't know too many traditional Harley Cruiser riders who are interested in this type of bike. So any buyers would be more likely to be new to the brand.
OTOH, I don't know too many traditional Harley Cruiser riders who are interested in this type of bike. So any buyers would be more likely to be new to the brand.
Not a fan of big adventure bikes, off road, they are really, really good on remote sealed and unsealed roads. I just can't control them in the dirt - with the same size 21'' front tyre as a 250 or even smaller, in a muddy rut they are uncontrollable to me....Birchy can throw them about like a toy, I end up in the mud, then you have to pick the thing up, usually with a help of a couple of other riders.
I have really enjoyed my tiger, and would probably jump to an 1190 before I jump to a 1290. Adventure bikes have their own way of handling, and some are designed more ergonomically to cater to that type of riding than others. Between the KTM 1200, GSA 1200, and Tiger800, I'd actually say the GSA is the most maneuverable offroad to me, probably par with the KTM. Its a little different way to ride compared to dirtbikes, and the capacity of capability is certainly way higher for dirtbikes, but the capacity of riding ADV bikes is not limited to hardpack. Learned all this a few years ago, but then again, in the long run, I rarely, if ever, really want to take the risk of running my ADV bike to its offroad capacity, not when I'm 9 hours from home. I will jump it, though, and that requires some suspension travel and ground clearance.
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