Replacement bike selected

So the ZX9 is sold and I've now finally chosen a replacement. As many of you know, I wanted something more 'upright' and versatile. Equally, as I miss my days of 'off roading', I wanted something with a bit of grunt. Soooo... meet the new family member:

KTM 990 Adventure

Hopefully I'll be able to go get it next weekend. However, I'm also having my arm sleeve tattoo finished on Friday afternoon (finally), so a ride back from Lancashire on Saturday / Sunday will be 'interesting'. Now might be a good time to buy some shares in Pfizer as there may be dramatic rise in the sales of pain killers next week.

 

Oh don't worry - I'll find some tracks somewhere! I've had a few bikes like this over the years, but have always wanted one of this version of the KTM. I still want a BMW GS but the ones I like are all well in excess of £10K... and are still heavy great lumps. My typical pattern in bike ownership goes 'trailie / sportsbike / trailie / sportsbike' as I like a bit of both. Until they invent an R1 that can go off road, I'll be stuck with this (oh and no, I never want to be associated with Nick frikkin Sanders!).

At least now I can plan that Spanish / North African trip I've been thinking of...

 

Nice bike mate - You say a R1 off road What abouth Nick Sanders he rode a R1 around the world !

 

My eyes!!!!!!

 

Ha ha ha - an 'acquired' taste, no doubt. If you ever ride one, you'll realise how none of that aesthetic stuff really matters! Fuel tanks by your knees, low centre of gravity, good suspension travel, a beautifully balanced chassis and an engine that'll pull in all gears... on all terrains. Happy days!

 

Well they do say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

That what my wife tells me !!!! ummmm

 

I like them. I like GSs too, never likely to be able to afford either and would need a stepladder, but parked next to a KTM a while back and had a chat with the owner who loved the acceleration up to 90. It looked and sounded very impressive as he pulled away and popped a little power wheelie!

 

Nice bike mate, wouldnt mind one myself

 

Come and have a go sometime. Granted, it's a tractor compared to a sportsbike. Hovever, the only accurate analogy I give to decribe it is that it's like a military-spec HumVee, while a BMW GS is like a Hummer H2. Mine's not as comfortable or road-based as a GS, but bugger... it's a lot of fun! Seems as happy at 130mph on the road as it does at 40mph on rock & gravel .

 

Its a great bike, cant beat that V-Twin grunt for sheer lo down bad ass Power.

 

Needless to say, I had A LOT of fun blapping through the streets of London yesterday morning! BBBBBBAAAAAARRRRRPPPPP P P P P P

 

Thinking about it, the two examples of really bad behaviour on the road (fun but bad!!!) that come to mind from the past few years were both by KTM riders! Seems to bring out the looney in people!

 

I won't misbehave - honest. I'm a good boy and always ride within the laws of the land . However, there is something 'more-ish' about laying down big fat dollops of torque...

 

Nice one J...

 

Ok, here's the list of 'updates' on the KTM (over the past three weeks);

Crash bars fitted
Oxygen sensor eliminators fitted
Gear sensor bypassed
Frame protectors fitted
FMF exhaust fitted
HID headlight fitted
Upgraded rear rack fitted
LED tail bulbs fitted
Front reflectors removed
'Touring' screen removed and replaced with new standard screen
FIAMM horn fitted
Smaller number plate fitted

Next is to fit an uprated spring in the shock, uprated progressive fork springs, fit SAS blanking plates, an improved (full height) seat and auxiliary lights... and some knobbly tyres. Then it'll be complete. I've already bought the pannier racks, so I'll need to get some decent boxes sometime later this year.

For those of you who've seen the bike, after this weekend's fettling, it's now even faster .