We are currently at E5 level (5% Ethanol) but E10 has been approved by the UK governement and E15 is in the pipeline (pardon the pun) so things are only going to get worse
With regard to the butterfly, just drill the bugger out....... With regard to the GTR, just NO...I had one of the metallic brown ones in 2010, worst bike I have owned, too heavy, won't turn, screen is crap and its too heavy and wont turn !! I bought it on a whim without a decent test ride, cause I thought it would be a comfy ZZR.....But no, it isn't
Lets hope they keep the good stuff as an alternative or our engines will know about it! Hope they give compo to all those poor sods whose tank liners and carbs with rubber gaskets have dissolved!
I know we all bleat on bout the bad issues with our DUCATI but there are far more good points I have been on DUCATI now for 2 years had my issues with it but love it apart from problems lol but before this I was triumph and that also had lots of issues the one big difference is triumph after sales was terrible my dealer didn't want to know and never took any responsibility didn't seem to care about reputation just seemed interested in selling bikes then deny any problems I will not mention the name as not fair to but that's the onlyreason would not purchase triumph explorer and moved to Ducati .On the other hand mine multi has had issues I think all bikes do but the dealer I have dealt with HYSIDE ESSEX totally different approach they have been honest they admit bikes have common faults and work with you to sort these and they go the extra mile to help you proper customer service triumph need to take note that's why we all love Ducati and I didn't even purchase my bike from them Ducati dealers seem passionate about bikes rather than dealers who just sell bikes Dealy, Yesterday at 11:58 PM
That's true of all makes. A good dealer can elevate the experience of a less than brilliant bike and a brilliant bike can be marred by a useless dealer. Some are always better than others. Factory back-up is crucial. I've found Ducati reasonably communicative if things go wrong but also somewhat arbitrary and corporate and spares are needlessly expensive. KTM are even more secretive. If you're not a dealer its like trying to contact MI6. But they're generally quick and decisive when responding to problems. Their spares back-up (in the UK at least - and that's another thing: the service you receive is only as good as the national operation and that varies around the world as well) is excellent. There is virtually not a single nut, bolt or special washer for any KTM which you cannot buy off the shelf at a dealer or have within a week. I've just fitted a 1290 Superadventure screen to my 1190. Parts compatibility is very good across models and as well as being very well made and highly effective, the screen itself, the headlight mask (both substantial pieces), the adaptor brackets and the screws came to £154 and arrived at the dealer two days after ordering from KTM UK. Shock horror, its almost as though KTM want your bike to be a keeper. They seem to want you to work on it, to adapt it, to fettle it and I like that. Ducati's new owners should bear that it mind. That kind of support and commitment does more to inspire brand loyalty than the allure of exoticism. I just wish when they design a classic which people love, ie. the SMT/SMR and the 1190 RC8R, they'd keep making the bloody thing..
Let me hazard a guess. Could it be North City Triumph of 249 London Road Romford Essex RM7 9NB? [Amendment: No it wasn't them, apparently.]
If I could have afforded to, I would have. But I bought it as a budget tourer because it was half the price of the L/C 1200 GS or 1190 Adv which I wanted at the time. It managed but there's no doubt the 1190 does the touring duties better and now the price of a mint used one has come within reach because KTM have killed the model off and the GS hasn't, it was time to do the deed. If I could I'd have kept both. TBH I'm not sure I'd have sold it when I did but for the fact all the stars aligned. I'd spotted a mint very low miles 2015 1190 on a Friday at a dealer but at a price that would have been good for a private sale, and that same day I had the first and only response to my SMT ad when a chap rang me up and said could he come and look at it tomorrow and he'd bring a trailer.. You just know when some things are meant to be. The SMT will go down in my biking career as one of the best things I've ever done. It was an accidental purchase and it introduced me to KTMs. I wouldn't have the Superduke or the 1190 without it. It was utterly reliable and user-friendly to own and unfailingly good fun to ride as long as I didn't want to load it up to the gunwales and ride to the other end of the country - which at the end of the day was exactly what I did want to do with it. I bought it for £6700 in 2015, and two and a half years later after putting 11,000 of some of the most enjoyable and rewarding biking miles I've ever ridden on it, I sold it for £5850. Even allowing for the fact I spent about £1200 on mods and bling I think that's incredibly good value. And its gone to a good home with another KTMer. If I can afford it in the future I might get an SMR, restore it to mint as a future classic and use it now and then purely as nature intended, ie tearing round unmarked back roads, shredding tyres and catching cow parsley in my visor.
Worse than FJR 1300? I had two of these prior to the MS and managed about 110,000 miles on them. Very reliable but not hugely entertaining to ride, hence the change. Also, ergonomics were poor and it was getting to my back. Riding position on the Ducati is better.
You had an FJ1300 on Guernsey!!!! A Honda Shopper with a basket on the front would get you a speeding ticket... especially down the Le Val des Terres ..
FJR much better, Kwak 14 is shit mate, honestly!! Weighs the same as the moons of Jupiter, won't turn and the screen somehow pushes air in to your back. Looks comfy but just wasn't, not for me anyway. If your gonna buy a big tourer, K1600 GT SE a better bet, but mine had a really shit gearbox, so probably best to try before you buy.
I can't see the point of the superweight multi-cyclinder sports tourers. Why would you want spend day after day wrestling something eight foot long with a family car engine under the tank just because its quite fast in a straight line? They're neither one thing or the other. They're too big and heavy to be really sporty but not as comfortable and relaxing as a feet forward cruiser or a traditional full dresser. There aren't any true sports-tourers around except the 1290GT and that's more a naked/tourer - it never had to adapt a sports bike posture to begin with. If I wanted old school sit up and beg comfort I'd buy a BMW RT. If I wanted to look like a retired banker having a mid-life crisis I'd buy a big cruiser and for everyone else the adventure bikes are the only class that make any sense. And the Europeans absolutely rule the roost. Ducati, BMW, KTM, Triumph and Aprilia. All of them make something that can be ridden in comfort all day carrying everything including the kitchen sink and at the end of it when the luggage has been ditched can be flung on their ear and give sports bikes a run for their money without shredding tyres every 1000 miles. Otherwise buy a Ford Focus.
Smooth at slow speeds, fast , handles , loads of spares available , comfortable , a hell of a lot cheaper , reliable and it can haul a fair bit . I'll just leave this here
Good to know, thanks. I tried the K1600 for an extended ride in Scotland, on a friend's bike. It is a truly wonderful machine, that I didn't really take to. Somehow, it doesn't seem to care what you're doing and just goes off being excellent in it's own Germanic way and a little dismissive of your own inputs. I felt like a captain on the bridge, sending down a course setting to the wheelhouse. Very, very fast, though. Nice engine noise, too. I'm probably old enough for an RT. Ho hum.
If you know Guernsey well enough to know the Val des Terres, you can imagine the fun I have with the gearing on a Multistrada. The FJR was easy over here, just like a big scooter. My daughter had a Street Triple for a while. I was scared to take that out over here because it was an absolute certainty I would eventually lose concentration, flick of the wrist and be off the roads for 2 years.
Only had my K16 for 13 weeks, just hated the gearbox, however, it did do a 900 plus miler in one day from south of Valencia to St Malo , very capable but a little dull.
First issue after 3 years trouble free ownership wouldnt rev passed 7 thousand rpm. Rusted power valve cleaned it up sorted
