I want to get a go-anywhere touring bike with some off-road or at least rough road ability that'll take the knocks and the dirty weather of trips round the UK, Ireland and northern Europe so I can save my Streetfighter for European trackday trips in the sun. Obviously an adventure bike of some sort but not just a pack horse. Its got to perform and be fun to ride. Can't afford a BMW 1200 GS or a Multi so as a budget alternative how about a KTM 990? Five year old bikes with 25K + miles on them seem to go for affordable money. I know they're fun but are they reliable, good for touring and up for high mileages? Or anyone have any other suggestions. Japanese stuff doesn't really float my boat but I'll try to be open minded...
Firstly, are you sure you need an adventure bike? There aren't many places in Europe that can't boast reasonably tarmac'd roads unless you're planning to visit more remote parts of Russia, and the older generation of adventure bikes could seriously cramp your style when you hit the fun roads. Big wobbly mammoths they are, with maybe the aforementioned KTM and the fuglystrada being the exception rather than the rule. And how much do you want to spend? I reckon an older KTM could be a bit of a liability miles from home (no proof of that, just a feeling I get). And from personal experience I never felt confident enough with my old Multistrada to launch it at the horizon. So the cheaper the price, the more inclined to go japanese I'd be. The only bike that springs to mind readily is the Triumph Tiger 1050, or if that's still too dear the 955i, with a couple of hundred quid spent at a suspension specialist to stop it bouncing you into the scenery. Personally, I'd forget the adventure theme and go for a Speed Triple as a do-it-all missile.
Multistrada MTS1200 is a good machine and despite what you read, reliable. 2010 31k miles S/ohlins model loads of carbon...fastest colour (Red). No serious costs for the next 14000 miles just had full belt service (£1100). Pm if semi interested.
I bought a Cagiva Elefant for the price of your belt service last year! A quick once over and rode it to WDW last summer. It didn't miss a beat and I rode the 950 miles back in one hit. It'll never set the world alight performance wise, but what I saved in buying it gets you an awful lot of fuel and hotel rooms!
Budget 5K or less. Preferably less... Figaro, I have exactly the same thoughts about KTM reliability but again its just a hunch, I might have them all wrong, don't know much about them. There's a few 990s advertised in the usual places for less than 5K (a couple less than 4) but they tend to be 07/08 models, 0/9 if you're lucky with at least 20,000 miles on them and more often 30K + miles. Wouldn't have an issue with a BMW twin at those miles but they still ain't cheap and KTM are an unknown quantity. The adventure style is as much about comfort as off-road potential and they're usually luggage friendly. If it can handle a bit of gravel as well that's a bonus but not the primary concern. I'm afraid I couldn't live with the sight of a Fugly. They make me shy like a startled horse every time I catch sight of one. I wouldn't have thought I could get a Multi within budget and I ave concerns about the electronics on high milers. The 1050 Tiger is a good call. I loved my 1050 Speed triple though it wasn't quite mad enough as a road bike for me, but I don't think I'd want to spend all day one fully loaded. The Tiger though makes sense and no doubt would manage a bit of gravel. Wondered about older BM boxers as well. Easy to fix in Europe but probably slugs.
Now't wrong with KTM IMHO. You don't win the Paris Dakar umpteen times without knowing a thing or two about reliability. My 990 Superduke has been faultless over the last 5 years and I have a mate with a 990 Adventure who rides his all the way to Morocco every year to play in the desert. The only breakdowns his group have had have been the BMWs. He says the Katoom is a lot more fun than the GS but the seat isn't quite as good.
If you're actually planning to go offroad, which you should if you are looking at these types of bikes as there's a whole other world out there to enjoy if you put a bit of time into practicing, KTM 950/990 Adventure for £4-5k. KTM 990 Adventure (2006 - present) - Adventure - Motorcycles - Visordown
done a few bits and bobs for a customer with a varadaro, the boy swore by it. all over europe on it he was well in to 30k with it at 3 years old no issues
Second that actually, met a few people on our travels riding these and looks like you get a super reliable bike for hardly any cash. One guy we met in Italy had gone to every country in Europe including North Norway on his, he had something silly like 50,000 miles on the bike.
Not for £3k though. The beauty of the yamaha is it's so cheap that you can smash the shit out of it and it still never stops, where as I'd not be so confident or even want to treat the Ducati like that.
My Elefant has got nearly 63,000 miles on it ;-) I met a young lad at the Channel Tunnel terminal in France recently who had just ridden his C90 all around Europe, complete with luggage! Surely if you're looking for adventure you need to start looking further afield than the mainstream bikes
