Have I gone mad?

[Nick Calne]

Not one to rush a decision, are you? 

[ghulst]

Hahahaha, well, I brought it down to either the BMW R1250GS or the KTM 1290 Super Adventure S. I had hoped to spend a bit more time on the KTM than I did, so I thought I'd get another ride scheduled. And then the released those spy pictures of what most probably will become the BMW 1300GS and then the Triumph Tiger leaks (http://tigertriple.com/forum/index.php/topic,17139.msg133369.html#new) didn't help either. (Though nobody else on the forum seems to be interested at 0 comments.)

(Plus, businesswise, we are actually in a discussion to possibly buy a building, which would put a dent in the bike budget...)

[Nick Calne]

Ah the perils of mixing bike finances with anything else!

I'm in a similar position... thinking about buying an office building for work.  Never a better time.

I bet the BMW 1300 turns out to be the best option.

[ghulst]

Yep, that's the thing Nick. At 1% interest and 2% inflation, money is practically free. Plus, it would give me more space to store toys as well.

[Nick Calne]

And commercial property prices set to rise...

[ghulst]

That's been on the rise for a while here...

[ghulst]

Being on holiday has triggered my thinking again, and so have rising bike prices. There is no 800XC in the Netherlands for sale under € 6,000. That's more that I paid for mine 2 years ago. I might consider selling it to bag a profit and then see. There's a nice 2010 GS for sale close to me, from a guy from the GS forum, or I might just go for that 900 Rally Pro. Time to ride some more. I still have a week off next week.

[Nick Calne]

Next week: Ghulst buys a ktm! 

[Sin_Tiger]

In the next episode ............ will Ghulst ride a Benelli Trek 

[London_Phil]

Or Even

Ghulst buys a Goldwing....


Watch these guys Moto crossing some Gl1100's....

https://youtu.be/EMrxee_fazo

[ghulst]

Next week: Ghulst buys a ktm! 

Well, did I talk about that 1290 Super Adventure S yet?



Such a fun machine. But when I load it up to the specs that I would want to have, I'd end up at 28K and that is just 1.5K under a fully loaded GS on a bike that depreciates a lot faster...

In the next episode ............ will Ghulst ride a Benelli Trek 

Hahahaha, no dealers anywhere close to me, so, no. :)

Or Even

Ghulst buys a Goldwing....

Thanks Phil. I know the title asks whether I have gone mad, but I have definitely not gone that bonkers. And I already own two couches.

[ghulst]

Yes, update time!

Yesterday was the last day of my holidays, so an excellent opportunity to ride a couple of motorcycles. Which meant that I fueled up the Tiger and headed north to my first dealer where they had an African Twin 1100 Adventure Sport waiting for me.



Honestly, this was a much better bike than the AT I rode earlier in this thread. The 1100 has much more power and keeps on pulling. Mind you, there are no spectacular outbursts of power on this engine, but you can get your photograph taken by the police at the other side of the crossing if you really give it the beans. Don't ask. The seating position was a lot better than the other Africa Twin I rode, even though I would consider chancing the seat for something that is a bit more comfortable. But this really was a very, very nice machine. A machine I would actually consider putting in my garage. Which is a great improvement over the previous AT I rode.

So, then I turned the Tiger west and ended up on another orange bike.



So, back on the KTM 1290 Super Adventure S. I admit that I had already tried it at the KTM Test Days, but at the time I was in a group with someone who rode her bike as if she was on ice. Needless to say that you don't really get to experience the whole dynamic spectrum of the bike in that way. So, as I was back doing my comparisons, I decided that a 'free' round would be a much better option to really get to know this bike. So, I took it along the same route I had taken with the T700 and the 890 Adventure R and what a bike this is. Honestly, it is quite insane. On the one hand it awakes the hidden hooligan within you, but when I was stuck behind some old people on bicycles, it would happily plod along at 10 miles an hour. And then when you pass them, you open the throttle and the scenery becomes a blur and you are off. Man, this thing is QUICK. It could do with a comfort saddle and you have to order it with the tech pack, but man, is this an awesome machine. Would I buy this? Yes. I would love to ride it side by side with a new 1250GS, which makes everything feel really easy though. Not sure which one I would prefer. And before you say it, no, I am not buying two. (However, if Triumph claims their new 1200 Tiger has a better power to weight ratio than the 1290... I am all ears. )

But anyway, I returned both bikes to their rightful owners and then swung my leg over a third one. Something a bit different, but as I already mentioned the considerations around real estate, it did make sense to check this out. So, we had a nice ride, I enjoyed the third bike and rode home. Two hours ago, I phoned the owner to tell him that his bike is going to live in my garage. I know I am going to get into a lot of trouble selling the Tiger for this bike, but I really did enjoy it. Which means that it will be here in a week and a half.

So, if anyone in the Netherlands is looking for an honest Tiger. I have one for sale right now...

[London_Phil]

What did you do.......

[Bixxer Bob]

 

[ghulst]

The pick-up date is on the 11th of September... I honestly am not 100% sure it was the right decision, but if it isn't then I can always get back to the search. I am going to miss my Tiger, I think. It is such a different bike. But I bought it for a good price and I have bought it with an eye on buying some new property in the near future. This means that investing in a new bike was not a priority right now.