Best bike you've owned and why...

[Count Steer]

On the 1150GS it was very predictable, there were places I knew I could get it to activate and would do it for the sake of it but it never gave any cause for concern even on iffy surfaces. TBH I don't remember it at all on the R1200 or the K12's that I had.

I do remember a near disaster involving a v steep narrow road with gravelly bits either side and a tree with me and the missus aboard on the F800 though. It decided to activate on the steep road and we ended up on the gravelly bit, heading for the tree with the brakes having gone on holiday. Never thought to switch it off before we set off as I'd never done that on the others.

[KungFooBob]

The wife had a 700GS, which was an ECU detuned version of the 800GS engine. It was proper vibey in the top half of the rev range, you wouldn't want to spend a prolonged period of time at or near the NSL.

[MyLittleStudPony]

Probably the Aprilia Af1 125. The TDR250 was good too. Also the XR250.

[mboy]

As we are all no doubt going to have different interpretations of what "best" means... I'll start by qualifying what best means to me... Which is...

The bike that never feels like the wrong bike for the occasion...

Touring? Back road blasts? Even a track day... Done them all on this, and it has never failed to raise a smile...



It ain't pretty... It's not as ugly as a GS, but I don't look back at its beauty... I've had numerous bikes I have done that with, and they have all gone by the wayside after sitting languishing in the garage, unridden, for far too long...

Like most KTM's, the 1290 Super Adventure is both sublimely bonkers and also incredibly capable at the same time. What KTM have been going through recently is an absolute shit show and certain people should serve jail time for being so wilfully drunk in charge of the wheel of the company for so long... BUT... Ride any KTM, and the same DNA is there... They're just hooligan bikes through and through, even the ones covered in a thin veil of sensibility such as the Super Adventure!

It's a brilliant touring bike and a crazy super naked all rolled into one. It is ludicrously quick anywhere. It handles much better than any quarter ton (inc fuel) bike riding on stilts with a 19" front wheel has any right to. It'll pull 4th gear power wheelies if you're feeling like it, yet it'll also do 250 miles on a tank (returning 50+mpg) in superb comfort day after day after day...

I did almost 10k on this bike in it's first 12 months... Every one of those miles for pleasure (no commuting). It has more than doubled my total annual mileage and gets 80-90% of all of my bike use (I do have other bikes too)...

It's funny when I speak to other motorcycling friends or people I meet when out and about... Everyone wants more bikes from their youth (RD350's, GSXR1100's, R1's etc.) and they want to go into the garage and look at them, or polish them, and once in a blue moon on an absolutely perfect day, they will ride them to a cafe 20 miles away and back again... I have come to realise that how a bike looks and my memories associated with it when I was younger are far less important than it's ability to get me out on the roads on a regular basis come what may, and to put a big shit eating grin across my face every single time I ride it!

[Wossname]

And if you think that’s ^^ still too big and bulky, have a go at mine…SDGT. Same mechanics but in a more compact form and (a bit) less daunting in its appearance. Just as happy 2-up with full hard luggage (watertight) as for me on my own, comfy for a tankful ((200 miles +). I swapped a Gen 1 for a 3 only because they moved the cruise switchgear to the L bar where it should have been originally. 50k miles (20+30), counting and grinning… !

[Bigjawa]

On the 1150GS it was very predictable, there were places I knew I could get it to activate and would do it for the sake of it but it never gave any cause for concern even on iffy surfaces. TBH I don't remember it at all on the R1200 or the K12's that I had.

I do remember a near disaster involving a v steep narrow road with gravelly bits either side and a tree with me and the missus aboard on the F800 though. It decided to activate on the steep road and we ended up on the gravelly bit, heading for the tree with the brakes having gone on holiday. Never thought to switch it off before we set off as I'd never done that on the others.

I've never set the ABS off on mine, ever. You get the double clunk when you hit 4 mph and the lights go out so I know it's working. When the 17s are on, obvs the abs unit can't handle it so I pull the warning light relay out and take out the other bulb, it went through its last MOT and the tester remarked how good the brakes were.

Never set it of on the K12 either, but the brakes on that thing are like hitting a brick wall. I dod have to shell out £300 to get the ABS unit rebuilt though.

My RT apparently had the servo brakes when it was new. Now it just has a big space where the ABS pump was.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Can you necessarily even tell when it's activated though? Modern ABS is much cleverer than the older on/off/on/off/on/off cadence braking type affair.

[Rockburner]

Can you necessarily even tell when it's activated though? Modern ABS is much cleverer than the older on/off/on/off/on/off cadence braking type affair.

You tend to not slow down as much as you were expecting.....

[mboy]

And if you think that’s ^^ still too big and bulky, have a go at mine…SDGT. Same mechanics but in a more compact form and (a bit) less daunting in its appearance. Just as happy 2-up with full hard luggage (watertight) as for me on my own, comfy for a tankful ((200 miles +). I swapped a Gen 1 for a 3 only because they moved the cruise switchgear to the L bar where it should have been originally. 50k miles (20+30), counting and grinning… !

I had one for 2 years and really liked it… But there was a number of occasions for me where it never felt quite the right bike, specifically anything less well groomed than a typical A road and 2 up touring…

I do 3x the mileage on the 1290SAS than I did on the SDGT as a result…

I think if I lived somewhere where all the roads were smoother, I’d have appreciated it more… Fark me it was quick though for a “sports touring” bike! About 15kg lighter than the SAS I believe, and 15bhp more… I remember one day I was out on it and this guy in an M3 was really giving it the beans in front of me up one of my favourite twisty roads (A4136 going out of Monmouth up to Staunton village if you know it)… He was on the ragged edge pretty much! The thing sounded awesome, but I got a clear shot past him as the road opened up and as I went past him I snicked 4th gear and the thing pulled a power wheelie at that point and stayed there until I snicked 5th…