New KTM makes New Vee look very ugly!

[jimmy b]

..my personel preferences if money was not an option..on looks alone ...1..ducati multistrada ..yes in that pike peaks colour scheme..I agree perfect..2.stelvio/or capnord..big all day bruiser..3.BMW gs..on practicality &  everyday usefullness.then the KTM &  lastly the v strom.. but a kwak gtr 1400 in green of course..or a yam fj1300r..zzr 1400..etc..purely for on treks road etc.. would happily occupy my garage..I too was looking at upgrading my k9 650 v strom next march its my 40 th birthday..not likely at any time soon..my bike does it all at the mo..I,d get  a px price of roughly £3000 ish .then id need to spend another £5000/£6000..for what???..I even have a soft spot for the ducati strada diavel..in black...mmm..now that's a bike..look at what  the little v strom offers me..great two upriding..fully loaded ie panniers etc..250 miles min tank range for £23.at 80 mph..motorway cruising..cheap insurance & running costs..if I win the lottery though..il grab that diavel..& give the wife the little strom..

[jonvstrom]

Went to Motorcycle Live this saturday at the NEC in birmingham.

I saw the new V-Strom 1000 but I couldn't sit on it because it had a glass box over it!    Very nice looking bit of kit though.  Brakes looked good and apparently they are very good (overhauled the brakes on my DL650 K9 because I thought they were terrible!).  The 1000cc engine has overgone a massive overhaul not only to meet the EU regs but also to make general improvements.  I seem to remember reading a fair few negative comments about the current 1000cc twin, some blokes have even traded in for a DL650 because the Vee was just too gumbly and grouchy?

Why do Suzuki insist on fitting Battlewings as standard? I've had them in the past - no complaints on a dry debris free road but as soon as it gets wet or gritty they are shocking.  Anakee 2's are worlds ahead!  And why do the wheel rims have to be in black? Don't know whether anyone has noticed that some model years of the DL650 had silver rims (my K9 included), personally I think they look a lot smarter than the black.  Okay they show the dirt after about 100 miles but nothing a bit of elbow grease can't solve!  Belly pan looks like it could be a real dirt trap, and difficult to clean out.  

Love the new exhaust (better the massive industrial strength gurder on my k9 and other models ).  Luggage looks half decent too, although it'll probably set you back a year's income, an arm and a leg (or two)....so I think I'd stick with Givi or similar. Good to see they kept the original mirrors which are great for studying your jacket.....extenders still needed!

Copying BMW with the little mudguard thing in front of the headlight.  Still don't understand what it actually achieves....other than adding weight to the bike. It's already got a mudguard so.... :wtf:

Not sure about the shape of the headlight either.  I'm sure some blokes will like it and I'm not saying I don't, but it may take a while to grow on some.

2013 BMW R1200GS looks amazing but not a great deal different to current.  Water cooled boxer engine! (probably the best touring engine just got better!)

Sorry, never really liked KTM.  Nothing against them, just never liked them.  Suzuki and BMW far better in my books!

Anyway that my take on the situation.  Overall, despite some minor dislikes I love the new DL.  Will test ride as soon as I can!  

[Juvecu]

Funny how people think the beak thing is a BMW thing. It is a Suzuki thing, the Suzuki DR BIG started the whole beak thing. That blue bike that was on the stand behind the new Vee, that's the one that started the beak thing. Don't give the BMW credit for the beak if all they did was copy Suzuki

[Fatbelly]

BMW water cooled boxer engine .....well, almost. BMW call it semi-water cooled, but as far as I can see the water "jacket" is more about muffling noise than cooling. But that may be a good thing because when the water cooling system goes wrong (and it will because BMW made it) that might not mean total disaster.

"some blokes have even traded in for a DL650 because the Vee was just too grumbly and grouchy?" - I have never heard of anyone on here doing that.

[jonvstrom]

Fat Belly - I've seen lots of posts on the net saying they changed to a 650 just for the engine!

[greywolf]

The original owner of Stromtrooper.com switched from a Vee to a Wee. John Weldon, a main bloke at VSRI added a Wee for touring and kept the Vee for local riding. Many people have gone in either direction as their riding preferences or information level changed.

[2112]

EDIT: And if that doesn't get me a place in the quotes museum I want a refund.

     

[sharealike]

The original owner of Stromtrooper.com switched from a Vee to a Wee. John Weldon, a main bloke at VSRI added a Wee for touring and kept the Vee for local riding. Many people have gone in either direction as their riding preferences or information level changed.

To get this in perspective I hear John nearly wore the guts out of his Vee engine and fitted an SV1000 engine as a project. He also fitted one of my modified clutch baskets about three years ago. Improved the engines refinement to levels he never experienced before. The larger engine does not have to be grumbly and grouchy. New fuelling and Suzuki might have sorted the clutch out for themselves so the 2014 bike should/could be a real peach. I do hope so.
Perhaps natural a man in John Weldons position would add a Wee to the stable for completeness and many other good reasons.

Back on topic. Beauty is in the the eye of the beholder as some say. To these eyes every part of a KTM is made to be as ugly as they can make it. Their engineering and styling both in their infancy compared to the rest.

While on the subject of new bikes and engines. The BMW boxer twin is no longer that. Water cooling, Wet multi plate clutch, Gearbox in the sump and overhead camshafts all address what was wrong with its old engineering ideas dictated by its traditional layout. They have nearly seen the complete light and got their design sorted out. Pity they had to put that quirky kink in the new engine front down pipes in an attempt to keep it looking like a boxer. To complete the job and make a nice bike out of it the cylinders need shifting up by 45 degrees on each side to make a lovely V twin. Guzzi style. Then again someone did it thirty years ago. Known in most parts of the world as a

 ..................... wait for it.....................

Honda CX500. Now they were ugly when first seen.

[2112]

Honda CX500. Now they were ugly when first seen.

Still are ! The custom version is still an abomination, getting pricy though...

[mr_diver]

oi leave the little cx500 alone! my eurosport model was a little peach till she needed some tlc. then again there does seem to be a lack of original design around at the moment. I think only Honda are thinking out of the parts bin with the 700 half a jaz engine thing. I like the look of them.

[Keith Cross]

Looked at the KTM's a lot.  can't get over the colour though, they're mainly orange.  I can see it now, Hello mate you've been tangoed
Plus I used to be in a Supermoto club and KTM reliability was questionable.

Keith C

[jimbo8098]

I like the look of the crosstourer .. and love the stelvio .. who wants to have a guess at what the insurance would be for an 18 year old on either of them! Hahaha

haha I actually checked the Crosstourer back before I bought the Strom , I couldn't even get insurance for it! If I did , it was way up in the £500-£800 region. Too powerful according to the companies.

[Jacksnipe]

My hopeful guess will be the new bigger Strom will be a great bike, as I have said before if it goes and handles and brakes as well as the Versys 1000 but is slimmer what a bike it will be as after riding the Versys it is one hell of an underrated bike. The KTM and BMW models can only dream of the reliability levels of a new Suzuki Model. For the real world not heart led dream world give me the big Suzy or Kwak any day ! It incidentally cannot just be we buy a bike on looks alone, unless we hang them on the wall and gaze dewy eyed at them ! ?

WM

[Sydneyhom]

I don't think it'll be the ugliness holding it back, more like the spec/power. However, at the right price (ie CHEAP) it will shift - much like the Versys which is its real competition.

Having followed a Versys 1000 over several hundred miles of Scottish Highlands I can tell you that the Vee cannot keep up with it on the straights or the corners & the Versys rider used to struggle to keep up with me on his GS1200. He wasn't even trying very hard.

I'd buy a Versys, but the seat is ridiculously high for a short legged gorilla like me. The stock Vee I could manage no bother, the Versys I could not touch the ground, not even on tiptoe. I know you can lower it, but even 25mm will only bring it down to somewhere still worse than the Vee.

I test ride a Versys 1000 last week Abercol and for my height the seat was very comy fortable and a bit high but not too bad. I was really impressed with the power. I decided to ride it again a few days later after reading a review about engine vibrations beyond 6k. Risking my licence I pushed it to 8k in third and I nearly lost the fillings in my teeth from the high frequency vibrations. Very nice bike otherwise except for being hit with the ugly stick of course!
FYI I sold an R1200 GS after a big trip around OZ and bought my Wee. The GS was an amazing bike but very heavy especially with with a full tank and way over spec unless you feel like following Charlie Boreman around the world on the dirt.
The Wee is really hard to beat on function and price. Put a decent can on it and make it sound like a proper V twin and its pretty hard to beat.
Horses for courses I suppose...
Cheers from the Antipodes