Bonneville America Forums Forums General Motorcycle Forums Other Bikes Thinking of adding a bike to the stable!

I am thinking of four bikes, they are kind of an eclectic group but aren't all of us Triumph types. Ever since I checked out this thread,
Alaska

its about a guy who flew up to Alaska, bought a Buell Ulyssyes (which I've liked since they were introduced) and rode it home to Dallas. I'm kind of thinking "Adventure" bike now. I used to have a Dual sport before the America and Speedy and liked it alot,
Anyway the 4 bikes are:
1) Buell Ulysses, 07, or 08, approx. $10k 104 Hp 85# torque, 424# fun bike, unique! I know it has a 1200 sportster motor, but its rubber mounted and tweaked for HP

2) KTM 690 SM, 08, approx. $8800, 64 Hp but only weighs 332# a single cylinder, fuel injected super motard bike.

3) Triumph Tiger, 08, approx. 10k, fun bike, great reviews, and it a triumph, not sure I like the looks, the speed triple frame exposed turns me off, I'm sure some of u love it tho.

and last but not least

4) Triumph Scrambler, 08, believe it or not these things are being used off paved roads, love the looks, would like to put the Thunderbike cams for it, but it is essentially the same motor as I have now in the speedy.

Any and all input welcome!

Scrambler

i vote KTM or Tiger. My nephew got a buell and it was in the shop so much, they had to give him a new one and it aint much better. i think i talked him into a tiger, after he read the stats, he told me, "if i can unload the p.o.s. buell, i think i will take your advice uncle" and that is direct quote. he said, he thought the buell would be a great bike (his dad, is a h.d. guy) because he knows h.d. but i assured him the Triumph would definatly be on the road more than his dads h.d. and for sure on the road more than in the shop.

Bear in mind the KTM 690 SM is not quite an adventure bike nor can it be used for any serious distances. More like an urban play-bike.

I vote for the Tiger,later on I plan on selling my TBS and getting one..

+1 to what newt said.

I know the KTM 690SM doesn't fit into the adventure bike mold, but god it looks like fun! There is also the KTM adventure 990 as well.......................

bye the way I am keeping the Speedy! just looking for a second bike!

That Ulysses is very appealing to me. Didn't do so well in off-road reports, it's too heavy. The KTM would be the business and a one heck of a fun city type bike. Wonder how long you could live with the single cylinder buzziness/vibration?

Oh ... and if I were going into the "adventure" bike segment, this is what I would be seriously looking at:

It's probably worth your time to revisit this:

Adventure Rider

You know from my post over at ADV that I've been looking at similar bikes you are. I can't comment on most of the bikes, although I have ridden the Tiger and enjoyed it, but it was more of an extended demo so I'm no expert.

I did have a Scrambler for 48+hrs this past summer as a loaner when my Speedmaster was in for it's 12k service. Can't say I liked the Scrambler at all. It was probably the seat that was my biggest complaint, I'm sure that could be fixed though. But after putting 100+ miles on it just commuting, don't think I could ever see myself buying one.

I'm leaning heavily toward the Versys over the Tiger at the moment, due to it costing considerably less, and I think it would make a great commuter bike. One thing that surprised me is that the insurance on both of those bikes is almost 3x more than my Speedy - I was rather shocked to say the least.

I'm also going to look into getting the Speedmaster back from auction as a 2nd bike. We'll see.

I vote for the Scrambler Nighthawk. As far as KTM, the 640 Adventure is the bike for Adventure travel. Seven gallon tank, 12" suspension at both ends. Theses things win in Dakar for a reason. BMW's are just too bloody complicated anymore. They used to be easy to work on, you could adjust the valves in a parking lot with the factory toolkit. Now, forget it, they're the most complicated bikes you can buy.
The Suzuki 650 V-Strom, even with that stupid name, is also a good choice.

The Ktm 690SM has a balance shaft I believe and is supposed to have significantly less vibrations than the 640, so the 640 Adventure is out, I would want the 690 engine. I don't have to have an adventure bike, just looks fun, thats why I'm still entertaining the KTM 690SM. As far as the BMW F800GS goes, its gonna be like $13k with accessories and that is too much money for what you get, I test rode a BMW F800ST, which basically uses the same engine and trans, neither of which impressed me at all, the tranny was clunky and the engine surged, like all on or all off at throttle. So the Bmw F800GS is out. I looked at the Versys, looks great on paper and in pics, but in person it is sorely lacking, there is ALOT of tacky plastic pieces painted silver attatched all over the bike. I'm leaning towards the Buell or the Tiger, neither have much dirt ability, but could do adventure type rides.

Kind of leaning towards the Tiger...................

Can't go wrong with the Tiger. My dealer has a demo unit for $2k below MSRP and is not adding freight or prep to it. Only the "doc fee" which all dealers do now-a-days... It's at a very tempting price, but I can expect another $1200 in accessories if I go that route.

From personal experience the Tiger is not just nice, it is out-of-this-world. Just my thoughts.

However, it really depends on the type of riding you would like on your 2nd bike.

If you want options, I would first ride the new BMW800, I hear a LOT of GOOD about the Versys. Many have enjoyed the the Buell Ulysses, I like the looks and it's an appealing "american" purchase...just can't get over that it is part owned by HD (not good IMHO).

Actually I have been flip-flopping between the Uly and the Tiger, I listened to the Tiger on u-tube and that sound (crotch rocket) doesn't appeal to me, the Uly on the other hand sounds awesome and has more torque, I like the unconventional design of the Uly, I'm test riding one tomorrow.............

I plan on selling my T-bird Sport this spring and looking towards a Tiger with hard bags.I have read a few posts about the new Tiger on the RAT boards, alot of folks seem to like the old style better, they mostly complain it has no weather protection and it gets dirty too easy.
I have rode the older models and liked them but I havent rode the new Tiger yet as for the Uly I have talked to alot of folks that like the bike,I just havent rode one of those yet but plan to next year.
I think both bikes are good its just chosing which one...

Tiger......but that "Mad Max"-ed out scrambler looks pretty hot and sounds very capable....a guy from Thialand has a bunch of pictures of his on Triumphrat.net

hands down, I'd get the Tiger.

I am lusting over it myself. The 'boss won't let it happen though. Not right now anyway.

I really love that KTM 690SM, its 332# 64 hp 17" front wheel, sport tires, WHOO HOO
But I still need to test drive them all, Buell Ulyssys, Tiger, KTM...................