Got Here As Fast As I Could....

Just joined up!!

Been riding for a while. Taught my wife to ride on an F650 GS I surprised her with (take note- always buy your wife a bike first if you want another), then thought it be best to get her a small trail bike to learn on the dirt. Got her a TTR230 which she outgrew in 5 months. Now she rides a CRF250X (got to have electric start as a backup). That opened the door for me to get a '74 BMW R90S I always wanted and a CRF450R for the dirt.

Love the dirt even though I'm not that good at it. I seem to take off like an 18 year old, but sometimes land like a 45 year old...LOL. Yes, I have broken some bones...don't tell mom.

Now I need a long distance bike. I will post the question separately for your advice. I'm adding the obligatory pictures, but in the interest to protect my wife's honor, she is in full gear. Don't have any of myself except head shot.

Anyway,

Hello!

Welcome newb.

Welcome to the site!

Totally awesome that your wife rides too!

Given your affection for dirt, I would suggest some sort of adventure bike for your long distance bike. There are already a few threads long these lines in the DS section. The BIG issues is how you plan to use it. Pavement only, mostly pavement plus occasional dirt roads, equal mix of both, more dirt than road, or mostly dirt but some road. Answering that will have a strong bearing on the "right" bike.

I ended up with a BMW 1200 GS and a KTM 530 EXC because I finally accepted that one bike can't do it all really well. That said, the KLR 650 fit right in the middle pretty well, especially when you consider the bang for the buck value!! I just got tired of fighting the weight, lack of power, and lack of good suspension when riding the more technical unpaved stuff. For everything else, it did great, including long distance riding to Mexico and back. Like you, I land like an old guy and that was the rationalization to get the KTM. It is MUCH lighter and handles WAY better, so I drop it less, meaning less chance to get hurt It is NOT a long distance bike for pavement even though it can be insanely and illegally fun on twisty roads

And what part of Houston are you in?

Welcome aboard!

I've offered for my wife to get a bike, and she keeps saying "someday" But hey, I can't complain, I have 3 road bikes. Now I just need a good DS.
And a dirt bike...
and a motard...
and a Speed Triple...
And...

I'm near the Clear Lake area (Kemah), but my work is all over Houston metro (Conroe to Galveston)

For some reason I narrowed my decission to a GS1200 or a KTM Adv R. There are some other great dual sport bikes out there, but I keep coming back to these two. I also like the Panzer look of the GAS, but it intimidates the crap out of me. I like intimidating the cars and small children, but if that weigjht gets away from me...well...timber.....

I will probably ride more street than dirt as I have not had anything that could take me to a trail and then ride the trail, but I imagine doing that if I could. I'm either riding the street bike or haulign the CR to the track. But...I don't want to turn my garage to a BMW stable. I like all bikes. This is what I have come up with so far:

BMW:
The Good:
I know them well. Dealer is not too far from home for parts. Strong and comfortable. Can be loaded with the kitchen sink. Pretty in an ugly kind of way (think age of machine)
The Bad: BMW garage, expensive parts. If something fails it ends up being something big (final drive, etc) burns oil till...well that depends...mine has stopped (kind off) after 45K miles.

KTM;
The Good:
I like the tall KTM and off road ability. Slimmer. No cylinder heads to knock off.
The Bad: There is no dealer near by
So when I'm reading reviews and opinion on ADV, the GS Spot guys rave about the BMW and the Orange Crush guys do the same for the KTM...Maybe your solution is best: Get both. Just need to figure out what to buy the Ms. first...

Thanks,

Sefan

!! No big sharks here, everyone seems pretty friendly. Even me.

Hey 1TallTexan,

I did not ask the wife, I just put a balloon on it and parked it in her spot.
Actually we did discuss it.
I like your list - I’m also wanting to build a Café Racer…

The 990 is definitely more dirt worthy than the GS, BUT off the pavement they are both big heavy beasties compared to a dirt bike! I would not want to ride either on any single track that was even remotely technical. Even something like a KLR is heavy if you are thinking about riding the trails at SHNF. The big bikes are great for doing long trips, mostly paved, but having the ability to explore out of the way unpaved roads. Once the riding starts getting steep, real sandy/muddy, or rough, then they become a handful in a hurry, especially if you are riding with luggage and/or are two up!! I know there are riders that have the ability to take them just about anywhere, but skilled or not, it definitely takes more effort to do it than it would on a smaller/lighter bike.

When I had my 1150, I got an extended warranty for it. The final drive failed at 28K miles. Right there the warranty paid for itself. Other than something big like that, most of the stuff is easy to do yourself. In fact, changing oil, checking valves, and other maintenance stuff is incredibly easy to do on the oil heads, even easier than it was on my KLR! Anyway, I did not let the final drive fail scare me off buying a used 1200 GS with 40K miles on it. Still easy to work on and fun to ride!

If you want to know about the 990, ups and downs, shoot Roger "Rsquared" a message. He's got a nice one. A real rocket on the pavement too

You are right. I have neither the desire not the skill to take on SHNF with either beast. It was OK with the CRF450R, but you had to keep going to keep from boiling over. First gear is also a bit too tall when going slow.

Neither bike would be two up. The wife has to do her own steering, even if her GS has off road limitations. I think I probably need to ask the GS camp and the KTM camp to list out the negatives. We know otherwise they are perfect, but I would like to hear self-criticism.

Cheers

I'd say try to get a ride on both. I have a 1200 GS and have ridden Roger's 990. I could be quite happy with either. I think the GS wins out in terms of comfort for banging out miles, but looses a bit in offroad manners. KTM makes its power with higher revs, GS makes low end torque. Shaft versus chain final drive, chains cheap to replace/fix, but have to replace every 15K miles or so depending on riding conditions and level of maintenance. So over the long haul, chains/sprockets could eventually add up to a replaced final drive. Single sided swing arm of the shaft drive is REAL nice when it comes to changing tires. Steering on the GS feels more neutral to me and it really holds its line through a corner. The KTM felt like it wanted to stand up and I had to hold it in the corner. I'd have to give acceleration to the KTM, but just barely as the GS is no slouch. The KTM has bit more of the ZOOM feel to it from 5K to about 9.5K or so. You shift gears more on the KTM but can be a bit lazy about picking gears on the GS because it will just pull and pull. Stock FI on the KTM has some issues around 3K rpm where it gets confused. FI on the GS is great. GS gets about 45-50 mpg depending on how I ride it. Not sure what the KTM gets as I was to busy ZOOOMING to really pay attention to it The GSs tend to hold their value really well, even with pretty high mileage on them. I haven't really followed prices for used 990s to see if they hold their value as well, but I doubt they are much worse if at all.

Really, both bikes rock and I think it just comes down to which one speaks to you