Big Enduro Comparo
Kevin Cain © April 2004
Kevin is one of the OMM friends that we have not met, yet. We keep regular correspondence and we follow the incredible amount of miles that he rides from Europe to the Caucasus region where he work. I have been trying the KTM 950 Adventure thank to the generous offer of DEMAKS Istanbul and I was not impressed…I was blown out of my mind. Not since my first ride (many years ago) on the first Kawasaki ZZ1100 I had so much fun on two wheels. On the dirty (paved and unpaved) road of Trakya this unique machine delivered a thrilling ride coping with any situation thanks to an incredible (really unspeakable) torque and power, The simple twist of the wrist (welcome back carbs) can transform a pacific coasting into DEFCOM 1 … you have torque coming in sixth gear as a bunch of wild horses. For me, definitely a new generation of multi-use bike: in brief the one I dream of.
Talking with Kevin I learn that he was going to Paris to sample some bikes and we agreed on having a brief multi-test. Kevin takes over…
BMW R1200GS / DUCATI MULTISTRADA / KTM 950 ADVENTURE
Last week I was invited to the launch of the new R1200GS in Paris and decided that I would also test the Ducati Multistrada whilst I was there. I mentioned this to Paolo who suggested that I should also try the KTM 950 Adventure. All these rides took place in and around Paris last Saturday and included urban riding, some “A” roads and some motorway riding. I was accompanied by my twenty year old daughter who is about 1m 73 and 56kg. I am 1m 88 and a lot heavier than my daughter. I live in Tbilisi, Georgia and my riding normally takes place at weekends or in the summer evenings, never in the rain, but has also included 4 return trips from Tbilisi to Europe. I first rode out from UK in 1997 on my R1100 GS and now ride a R1150 GS Adventure without the cat and with a Remus exhaust system. This has considerably reduced weight and improved engine flexibility – I frequently bump up against the rev limiter which has never happened on my previous bikes. I also had a Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird for some time.
Biking in Georgia takes us over mainly very badly surfaced roads with the occasional stretch which has been repaired and we also have several hills in the vicinity of Tbilisi. We also share the roads with the usual hazards of ducks, pigs and goats, farm vehicles, slow cars and buses, fast cars and buses, drunken pedestrians and drunken policemen!
With the exception of a recently opened Honda franchise, there are no motorbike dealers in Georgia. The nearest BMW service centre for me is two days ride away in Istanbul.
BMW R1200GS
Visually the R1200GS is a big change from the R1150GS and BMW claim to have shaved 30kg off the weight which is now down to 199kg. The new bike looks more like a larger brother of the F650 and it seems that just about every component has been changed. The bike is much narrower to sit on (especially coming from the Adventure) and the seat is very comfortable. The shape and angle of the bars has been changed and the cockpit instruments are new. The exhaust makes a more satisfying noise than in the past. The overall feeling is of slimness and compactness. The improvements to the gearbox are immediately noticeable and the box is now very smooth. Power delivery is very impressive and even though the bike was hardly run in it revved freely up to the red line. The power assisted linked brakes work very well with good feel. The suspension seems a bit harder that on the normal 1150 and is on a par with the Adventure. Cornering is very precise and the handling in general is a joy. The bike feels quite a lot faster than the Adventure. The seat is very comfortable both for pilot and passenger and there is very good protection from the screen which is easily adjustable in five different positions.
The optional luggage looks strong and can be easily adjusted in size by simply moving a bar. The tank bag is huge. The seat comes in three settings from low to high.
I have always felt that the GS was a wonderful bike and in my opinion the R1200 is even better. It remains to be seen if reliability has been sacrificed in the effort to save weight.
The bike does not have the “presence” of the 1150, and even less when compared to the Adventure. This has provoked heated discussion on the UK GS owners’ site (there are more than 2,300 members) as to whether or not the new bike is a true GS. Those who have ridden the bike are mainly very impressed. It is clear that very few GS owners actually take their bikes off road and most probably just want to be sure that their bike can handle any situation. I have done the BMW off road course in Germany and have seen what the GS can do in the hands of a capable rider. I know from my own experience that on badly surfaced roads the GS is a match for any bike, and BMW maintain that the new bike is very capable off road. It is certainly very capable as a long distance tourer and my daughter found the rear seat to be very comfortable. She also felt that protection from the wind was very good. For me it is the perfect all rounder for the type of riding I do.
DUCATI MULTISTRADA
Having read several very good reviews on the MS, I was seriously contemplating buying one, but in view of the less than helpful assistance from the factory (who ended up advising me not to buy one) and after having read about the many problems on the Multistrada forum, I decided not to but was very keen to ride one.
Visually, I find the rear half of the bike very attractive, but am still not so sure about the front fairing. The start of the test was not auspicious as the Ducati dealership in Paris was unable to start the machine for about 10 minutes. The mirrors on this bike are notoriously bad and I was not very happy to be told that the left hand mirror had been broken by someone who did not know how to adjust it! In the end the unbroken, right hand mirror was just as useless. Those of you who have driven in Paris will know that traffic is heavy and that cars, bikes and scooters all move fast and that good mirrors are a must.
I do not particularly like the noise from the standard exhaust and the dealers also had another bike there fitted with the optional Termignoni’s and different air box, but the noise didn’t sound much different. There is a further option with high lift cams but this does not seem to be homologated for sale in Europe. The bike is very narrow and the seat feels hard. With my daughter on the back the seat was cramped and I was pushed into the fuel tank. Because she did not seem to have enough space, there was also increased pressure of my arms on the bars. The clutch is fairly heavy though better than other Ducati models and the throttle is very smooth. Power delivery is good but the bike seemed to be down on power compared to what I had expected. When I discussed this after the ride, the dealers suggested that fitting the optional lighter flywheel and a small front sprocket would make a big improvement. Certainly the bike felt far less powerful than the BMW which has about 12hp more.
The brakes are firm and progressive. The front feels very light and this might have been because I had not made any changes to the suspension to compensate for my daughter, as the salesman had said that this was not necessary. The suspension is quite firm and very stable. Riding back into Paris along the motorway at an indicated 140kph, the protection was so bad from the screen that my head was being twisted and the helmet pulled (I ride with a top of the range Arai). It is possible that the comfort screen (optional accessory) might cure this, but the screen is much closer to the rider than on most other bikes. My daughter complained of excess buffeting and a very hard seat as well as vibration through the foot pegs.
Overall I was not at all impressed with the bike and the poor mirrors alone would be enough to stop me buying one. It might well be that the bike is great on twisty roads, but unfortunately, one sometimes has to ride on straight roads to get there. There is no possibility of strapping a sports bag on the back and this is a further drawback.
Two days after the ride I bought the latest issue of the UK Bike magazine which had a comparative test of the Ducati vs. the TDM (which dates originally from 1991) and though the Ducati was clearly much better in the twisties, the TDM won hands down as a highway cruiser. Some of the comments from this report are as follows:
· It took 45 minutes to start the bike
· The bike is wonderful on back roads
· The MS is one of the least comfortable bikes around
· The MS is trying to divorce the rider and his head whilst literally freezing his tits off
· If the MS is an all-rounder then I am the King of Persia
· The MS pillion seat is not big enough for a tail pack let alone a passenger
My ride on the MS was spoilt by the poor mirrors and the terrible buffeting and I was very disappointed. I know that “Ducatisti” expect faults from their bikes (gives them “character”), but I am not like that. If I wanted “character” I would buy an Ural!
KTM 950 ADVENTURE
The orange KTM is a big, impressive looking machine and very tall. It is clearly more orientated to off road riding with the big front wheel and semi-knobby tires it was wearing. Indeed the previous customer had been riding off road and had left the tires half flat! Once on board with the tires pumped up I felt immediately at home. The ergonomics were perfect for me and my daughter also had plenty of room on the long seat. Controls are very precise and the riding position is very commanding. Just like the BMW, this bike inspires confidence and one gets the feel of very high engineering quality. The engine is extremely powerful and flexible and catapults the bike forward from any gear. The suspension is unbelievable and one gets the feeling that it would have to be a very competent rider to get the best out of this machine off road. On road it was just great and highly maneuverable in the traffic. The small screen provides excellent protection. The list of factory options gives several possibilities for hard luggage which looks extremely solid. There is no doubt that this bike has been designed by people who know what they are doing and functionality takes place over form. The styling is not particularly to my taste but the bike was simply great, and I had to work hard to prevent myself riding up and down the pavement kerbs and trying to find some rough tracks to explore.
CONCLUSIONS
I feel that with the 1200, BMW have made a great bike even better and it will surely appeal to a very wide group and be very successful. It might have lost some of its big trailie image, but it seems to have even more capacity to do what it was always good at. With the BMW I just wanted to keep on riding all day to somewhere warmer.
The MS was a big disappointment to me and in my opinion does not warrant the name of Multistrada. It seems to be very good at doing what it was designed for – riding over mountain passes in Italy, but has too many design faults for it to do well in the real world. Though it has sold well, residual second hand prices show the true picture, particularly in Northern Europe where the bike seems very susceptible to damage from salt used on the roads in the winter. There are well publicized problems with the brakes and the leaking instrument panel as well as a completely useless fuel gauge.
The KTM was a revelation and if I was planning a tour involving any off road work then this would be my bike of choice. It inspires confidence, is very powerful and easy and fun to ride”
I did not test yet the new Beemer but the direction taken (less kilos, more power) is the one belonging to the tradition of the original GS. For the KTM you may guess that I agree completely with Kevin: it would be my bike of choice… full stop! For the rides in our Country (or in any other) when you do not want to critically select the type of road this is the weapon. In good (happy) hands this machine can leave anything else for dead with the exception of a powerful over-one-liter-four-cylinders-jap on motorways.
I complained with Kevin on being too severe with Ducati Multistrada; after all this is the bike complimented by most journalists as the “new breed” of dual-use bikes. I tried Alp Berker’s (OMM rider) MS for a long (300K) weekend and I had a lot of fun: granted the bike is small and maybe tight for two-up, the screen screams for additional 8 centimeters in height (touring screen available) but I was really taken by the road handling and by the usable power. This is a sport bike going everywhere and deserving the Multi Strada (Multi-road) title. Reliability is becoming a negative legend for Ducati: I have a 916 used on daily basis regularly maintained and without problems.
Kevin answered: “I was a bit harsh with the Ducati because that is just how I felt. Maybe if I had tried without my daughter on the back it would have been more comfortable, but that still wouldn't help the useless mirrors or the complete lack of protection. Bike magazine (UK) was even harder than me. I love the KTM and if I didn't have a BMW, I would go for one. I will probably keep the BMW Adventure - it has only done 9,000km and I would prefer BMW to iron out any problems first on the 1200GS and maybe bring out an Adventure model.”
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