Looking For A New Bike

[fleuger99]

Hi All,
I'm currently riding a 2019 BMW R1250RT, love the bike and it has been great up until Feb this year. Since then intermittently, I'll stop to fuel up after a ride, could be 80 miles or 300 miles, and she won't fire up. Seems like a dead battery but the bike has been back to the BMW dealer four times and each time we think we have it figured out, it happens again. Since last visit it had not happened in 4 months but this past Sunday it would not start. If I wait for 15 minutes it fires up like nothing was wrong. I don't want a bike I cannot trust and now at every fill up I wonder if she'll start. I do one long bike trip a year, anywhere from 1500 miles to 4000 miles so need a reliable bike.

Top of my list is a new 2023 ST ES. I also like the KTM 1290 Super Adventure S but I'm not sure about the KTM quality and durability. I've not ridden either bike so this coming weekend I plan to test ride both. I've found both one sale $15200 for the Yamaha and $17999 for the KTM so prices are close. I'm looking at an adventure bike for comfort/riding position and 90% of my riding is done on-road so off-road prowess are not priority one. I live in the Austin TX area.

 

[RCinNC]

I'd opt for the Super Tenere. It's not as glamorous or techy as a KTM, but it's as reliable as a stone ax, and it's user friendly as far as DIY maintenance is concerned. It won't impress guys at the local gathering spot when there are Ducatis and 1290 Adventures sitting around, but it'll probably impress you when the odometer rolls over to 100,000 miles and you realize that you've never had to do a major repair on the bike, and it's never left you stranded.

 

[bimota]

warm welcome
from S Wales UK

Rob i sold my bmw 1200gsa 10 yrs ago for my xt1200 its been bullet proof

 

[fleuger99]

Anyone had any issues with the cruise control? Both myself and a riding buddy had 2016 FJR's and I had endless issues with the cruise and it was never resolved when I traded the bike. Thanks.

 

[thughes317]

KTM is a blast and will eat the S10's lunch performance-wise but the rider's triangle is nowhere near as comfortable the Yamaha (KTM is cramped, and I'm only 5' 10").

My S10 was bulletproof during the 60K miles I put on it. While the KTM has been stone reliable for the 9500 miles that I have put on it thus far, the jury is obviously still out on long-term reliability at this point in my ownership experience.

Since you've had the "BMW experience" and are looking for proven long term reliability and comfort, I'd say go with the S10. (I reserve the right to change this recommendation after I get another 50K on the KTM.)

CC issues on the S10 seem to be almost always related to a sticky brake/clutch/throttle roll-off switch.

 

[robp]

2021 ES - no issues with the CC for me. I use it whenever possible

 

[TenereGUY]

Well, I can only quote/paraphrase Ryan on Fortnine... easy is boring but easy goes a long ways and at the end of the day you're not tired. Check out his YouTube review. I like the bike. Easy to ride, easy to maintain, affordable and... it is fun as it can corner, it can handle off pavement, it can hammer out 1000 mile days if you can.
But if you ride 300 or miles a day... another saddle could/should be in your future.

 

[RCinNC]

The sheer force of my sense of cheapness, plus an Airhawk, made the stock saddle work for me for 400 plus mile days. This solution only works if you have the ability to pinch a penny until it screams for mercy.

 

[fleuger99]

Only bike I've ever owned with the stock seat being awesome over long distances was my 2011 BMW R1200R. I rode 600 mile days on the stock seat and never got sore @ss. Every other bike I've owned I needed a new seat.

 

[Sierra1]

Anyone had any issues with the cruise control? Both myself and a riding buddy had 2016 FJR's and I had endless issues with the cruise and it was never resolved when I traded the bike. Thanks.

There is a recall for the front brake switch. The faulty switch is the cause of just about every cruise issue that has popped up. New switch, and cruise works just fine. IIRC, later models don't have the front brake switch problems due to the factory addressing the problem.

Your Beemer experience is similar to mine. It was great . . . . 'till the warranty expired, and then it wasn't.

 

[Matt51F1]

I rented and rode a Super Adventure around the north of England and Scotland a few years ago.
Nice bike.
Lots of gadgets and electronic suspension settings and a light that came in to illuminate corners when going around.
I’d stop and adventure bike riders would come and drool over it and ask questions. My response was the same every time… “lots of power. Great to ride. Does everything it should. I still wouldn’t buy it…”
Shocked looks.

My reasoning is that it’s KTM. Like Honda, they over-design many parts such that you cannot buy one bit that may be broken as it’s moulded into something else and becomes a horrendously expensive part. Lots of electronics to potentially fail if you get the wrong part wet in a creek crossing.

Over here, KTM means “keeps taking money” which refers to servicing costs and parts.
This is why I have Yamaha.

 

[Wenisgoodenuf]

Greetings from Canada, S10 all the way. Just do it

 

[barkingllizard]

a simple hello, fleuger99...

 

[fleuger99]

There is a recall for the front brake switch. The faulty switch is the cause of just about every cruise issue that has popped up. New switch, and cruise works just fine. IIRC, later models don't have the front brake switch problems due to the factory addressing the problem.

Your Beemer experience is similar to mine. It was great . . . . 'till the warranty expired, and then it wasn't.

That is great info on the resolution of the CC failure. Thanks.

 

[fleuger99]

Really appreciate all the feedback and comments, looks like a great set of folks on this forum. I've scheduled a test ride for this coming Sat afternoon. Looking forward to it.

 

[AusTexS10]

Welcome, I'm in Austin. I have an old 2013 Gen 1 that doesn't have all of the later bells and whistles of later model. I've only had it since 2020, but it's a great bike that won't disappoint you.

 

[TenereGUY]

The sheer force of my sense of cheapness, plus an Airhawk, made the stock saddle work for me for 400 plus mile days. This solution only works if you have the ability to pinch a penny until it screams for mercy.

Yeah, I started out doing 300 mile days going to Alaska with an airhawk... then 400 mile days then 500. Back to 3 to 400 and a couple of 280 mile days then 1 at 167... then 1000 miles the last day. I didn't want to squeeze the penny that bad but I had to. Big difference with a RDL now. Miles don't matter... unless it's pouring rain and .

 

[fleuger99]

Welcome, I'm in Austin. I have an old 2013 Gen 1 that doesn't have all of the later bells and whistles of later model. I've only had it since 2020, but it's a great bike that won't disappoint you.

Thanks! Where do you typically ride? I ride East, North and North West of Austin, get out of the city.

 

[AusTexS10]

Nowhere until the heat goes away, lol. I've joined a group ride or two in the hill country up around the lakes, but it's mostly a bunch of Harleys and other big road bikes, not too many adventure bikes in the mix; good folks, though. Found those rides mostly through the Motorcycling Texas Backroads FB page. My bike is old and I'm a lot older (76), and I've mainly been using it intra-city instead of driving my 4Runner when possible. I'm kind of a straight-line cruiser and not that excited about hightailing it through the "twisties" that so many seem to enjoy. I rode younger but was without a bike for 45 years after my 1971 Yamaha 360 Enduro was stolen while I was attending classes at UT the summer of 1972. I picked up a new Yamaha SCR950 in December 2017 that I rode for 2+ years; it is a great city bike but I found it struggling and vibrating too much at highway speeds with its 5 speed box and did want something I could ride more relaxed, which the Super T is in every way. I live NW side, so my riding goes from there to the N, NW, W and SW when I do get out; don't want to have to cross Austin to get east, lol, the city is always a mess, especially with so many homeless speed bumps. Austin is not alone in this, but it's a disgrace nonetheless.

 

[fleuger99]

Yeah, I ride every Sun morning, leaving home around 8am and make sure I'm home by 11am or I'll bake alive in my riding gear In Winter, I'll go do 300 mile rides no problem. I agree about Austin, traffic is one problem, the clueless self entitled drivers are another lol! I live in Round Rock so avoid downtown Austin as much as possible. Agree about the homeless down there, terrible issue. When my wife and I go into Austin at night, I carry. Beginning of this summer, I went down to AF1 motorcycle dealership to test ride the new Moto Guzzi V100 Mandello. When I left they told me not to use the U-turn underpasses under I35 because the homeless were living there and breaking glass bottles under there to prevent motorists from using the U-turn lanes. I did like the V100 btw, it is a mostly naked bike, has a windshield but it hauled. It is 115HP but it was light so was a really nice bike but it didn't suit my use case and who knows what reliability it will have.