Author Topic: Went to buy a Tracer but brought a KTM  (Read 2914 times)

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Offline DEF2001

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Went to buy a Tracer but brought a KTM
« on: July 17, 2015, 19:14:48 »
So last week I organised a test ride at my local dealer P&H which has pretty much every brand apart from BMW and Triumph. I was going to test ride a Veek and a Tracer and was convinced that I would prefer the Tracer. Then when checking their website I saw that the KTM adventure 1050 was reduced to £9500 from £11,000 so swapped it for the Veek. I rode the KTM first. First impressions where that it was very vibey after the wee and the gearbox is a bit truculent. But F**k me this thing pulls like a train from no revs and handles really smoothly with a real quick turn in. The torque kind of runs out after 6000rpm but that's because it is electronically limited for A2 licence compliance, hopefully an easy fix by remapping . Then came the Tracer, I really expected to prefer it. First off when you look down at the instruments it has an unfinished look to it which I didn't like but I guess makes changing bulbs easier. When riding I found the fuelling slightly snatchy at low rev and the ride less resolved than the KTM. Also I found the Tracer actually felt heavier than the KTM and it had a heavier turn in ( the KTM has very skinny tyres). On fast sweeping roads it was a joy to ride but everywhere else I found the KTM better. If it wasn't for the Tracer I wouldn't have even been looking at a new bike but in the end I prefered the low down torque, more compliant ride and better fuelling of the KTM. So I put a deposit down as no one else is doing this deal and the saleman pulled the 'we only got 2 bikes left at this price' card.
 :wtf:

Offline Fat Rat

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Re: Went to buy a Tracer but brought a KTM
« Reply #1 on: July 17, 2015, 19:24:34 »
You brought the KTM where?
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Re: Went to buy a Tracer but brought a KTM
« Reply #2 on: July 17, 2015, 19:27:28 »
Excellent choice.  :thumb:

I think my next bike will be the KTM 1290 Adventure  :auto-dirtbike:  :auto-dirtbike:

Offline MartinW

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Re: Went to buy a Tracer but brought a KTM
« Reply #3 on: July 17, 2015, 19:37:54 »
I'm not sure I will ever buy another bike. 650cc is more than enough to get in lots of trouble.

I've had my bike from new and will probably run it in to the ground.
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Offline Oop North John

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Re: Went to buy a Tracer but brought a KTM
« Reply #4 on: July 17, 2015, 19:47:07 »
The 1050 looks to have enough puff to be fun, without the easy ban power of the "real" KTMs. I too might have to have a test ride at some time.

Offline DEF2001

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Re: Went to buy a Tracer but brought a KTM
« Reply #5 on: July 17, 2015, 20:49:17 »
fat rat you are right an r seems to have crept in there.  Oop north John I would definitely recommend a test ride but I would not pay the £11,000 ticket price as that is way too steep. I assume KTM or at least P&H realised this which is why they chopped £1500 off the price. As for the  power its all about torque. Google the dyno charts for 1050 adventure to have a look

ProfG

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Re: Went to buy a Tracer but brought a KTM
« Reply #6 on: July 17, 2015, 21:17:04 »
P&H may have loads of bikes and offer good value but they certainly have a crappy website.
a) Click on used bikes - no bikes. You have to call them or go there to see what they have
b) Click on their KTM 1050 - they have a picture of 1050 but the description of 1190
c) scroll on the KTM bike tab and you get a dropdown list of Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Ducati  :wtf:  
d) scroll on the Adventure tab and there is no Super adventure 1290

These were on the KTM. I then checked Suzuki and their v-strom. The desert and the adventure are shown as different bikes with different prices but the exact same description. Nothing to differentiate the specifications between them, so I gave up. Could not be bothered to check other bikes or browse such a badly designed and linked site.

Offline DEF2001

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Re: Went to buy a Tracer but brought a KTM
« Reply #7 on: July 20, 2015, 20:51:55 »
So I went back today to pay the balance and sort out the first service. As I have been obsessing about the Tracer since it was launched I asked if I could test ride them both again and change bikes if I wanted to which they agreed. I don't know if it is the KTM but I was honestly really disappointed with the Tracer. It may be 20kg lighter  than the KTM but on tight twisty road around west Sussex it felt so much heavier particularly on turn in also the front end gave less feel. I actually think the front tyre must have been under pressured. The KTM has a 110 front tyre which makes it turn in really quickly and I got a real sense of what the front end was doing. Also the rides are very different the Tracer was a lot harder than I was expecting and the damping failed to keep up on bumpy A roads.  The KTM's suspension is so much more compliant but it never got floaty and felt perfect for my 14 stone weight. Performance wise I would say the Tracer is in a league above the KTM but for overtaking on twisty roads I found I was having to plan overtakes as the power comes in higher up the rev range necessitating a couple of gear changes making it more frantic than I like. The KTM on the other hand is really just a twist and go, you can be plodding along and then just open the throttle and bang the overtake is done. This applies up to 70 mph at which point the tracers power makes overtakes easier. The only downside of the KTM is its rather breathless top end but you only really notice this when really pushing on. In the end I guess its horses for courses but for anyone thinking of buying a Veek should definitely give one of these a go if the price is right as its fun when you want it to be but can cruise quite happily where as the Tracer is altogether a much more sporty proposition. To sum up I guess I'm at an age where usibility is more important than outright performance. I must be getting old but then we've all been there otherwise we wouldn't have bought (look mum no r) a vstrom in the first place.

Offline DEF2001

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Re: Went to buy a Tracer but brought a KTM
« Reply #8 on: July 20, 2015, 21:04:24 »
Prof G.
I passed on your comments on the website as it was bugging me as well and the salesman said he was aware that it was sh*t and that it needed sorting. All I would say is if you're not local to crawley go to your nearest KTM dealer and wave the P&H price under their nose to see if they will match it. Having put my money where my mouth is I would say the KTM is easliy worth £1000 more than the the Tracer but I don't think I would have paid much more.

Offline Jacko

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Re: Went to buy a Tracer but brought a KTM
« Reply #9 on: July 21, 2015, 10:34:27 »
Quote from: "Fat Rat"
You brought the KTM where?

To buy the Tracer, it's all there.

ProfG

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Re: Went to buy a Tracer but brought a KTM
« Reply #10 on: July 21, 2015, 11:06:48 »
Quote from: "DEF2001"
Prof G.
All I would say is if you're not local to crawley go to your nearest KTM dealer and wave the P&H price under their nose to see if they will match it.

If there is one thing I would NEVER do in my life, it would be buy a bike from my local KTM dealer. he is also the main dealer for Kawasaki and Triumph and he is the only one in this part of the world, hence he not only gets the arm in, he follows it with his other arm, both legs and torso and then brings his all his employees too. My arse is not that big to accommodate them all, hence I'd rather travel the distance and get a bike from a dealer that I'd be happier to do the business with.

I'm sure the cost of a bike can be competitive but his servicing, parts and labour are horrendously expensive.