If you are thinking of selling your bike, then my theory is that you need to make some motorcycle memories with that motorcycle.
This may be a daft theory, but here is how I reached this not exactly earth-shattering conclusion.
I was trawling the internet a few days back looking for 2020/21 Suzuki V-Strom XTs for sale. Having found one I was interested in and having received the normal torrent of abuse from my colleagues that goes with any motorcycle choice, I began to wonder why I was looking in the first place. [The bike is for sale at CooperB Motorcycles if you are interested]
What is wrong with my KTM 1090? I’ve added all of the extras I wanted, including 9,000 lumen riding lights with three intensity levels. I’ve got factory heated grips, and the KTM handles well and can be very naughty when you want it to be.
So why think about changing?
Temptation
I have a soft spot for a V-Strom. I covered 30,000 miles on my first one, and it was riding a KTM 1290 that made me think about changing it.
The older model V-Stroms are very stable motorcycles, and the price you pay for that stability is a desire to not change direction. In true Suzuki style, they do everything well but don’t ignite your passion in any one area. Long fast corners on the older V-Stroms are a joy. Snap, left-right hairpins, not so much.
The KTM, on the other hand, is a more responsive ride. The engine is always wanting to get on with going somewhere and the handling crisp. The price you pay for owning a KTM, though, is putting up with the annoying gremlins that will plague your life.
It is never anything serious, but KTMs are high maintenance mistresses. They are engaging and invigorating but will make you pay for your enjoyment by sulking and being annoying.
Suzuki V-Strom 1050XT
Halfway through 2021, in between lockdowns and after a lot of covid tests and paperwork, I rode across the Netherlands and Germany to the B500 on a 1050XT. Two thousand miles in six days, and the V-Strom was an absolute delight.
Fast Autobahns. Twisting mountain and forest roads along with towns and cities of various sizes. Throughout the trip, the V-Strom was an absolute delight to ride.
Occasionally I would have liked a little more power or perhaps tighter handling, but that would mean that all of the joy I experienced would not have been the same. There isn’t a motorcycle that can be everything, all of the time.
But I still haven’t worked out why I’m thinking about changing the KTM.
Motorcycle Memories
The problem, I think, is that circumstances have combined to prevent me from making any memories on the KTM.
The B500 was on the 1050XT. A thousand miles around Wales was on the Yamaha Tracer 9GT, just after it was released, and Scotland a few weeks later was once again on the Tracer.
There have been numerous day trips, overnight stops and extended road tests of tyres and other equipment. Yet, the KTM has never been with me on the sort of trip you talk about – unless you include the near-miss with one of those white vans you find parked in the 30-mph section of villages at weekends.
Long Term Keepers
Motorcycle memories make up a large proportion of why we keep a motorcycle. Whatever bike we are riding, being part of something memorable is how a motorcycle endears itself to us.
I had a Kawasaki 1000SX for a while, which I can’t say I really got on with. It was part of a trip to Spain, which was an enjoyable enough trip but lacked that certain something that would put the trip high on the list of tall tales we tell.
I sold the SX after buying my original V-Strom to ride through winter. The V-Strom was new (to me), and the Kawasaki had been hanging about the garage for a while. I’d become bored, and there was no memorable attachment to it.
Will history repeat itself with the KTM 1090? I’m thinking not because I really do enjoy riding the KTM, despite it being a high maintenance mistress. But I do need to make some memories on that bike, or I’ll be back idly surfing the internet once again and getting myself into trouble.
