All Tests – 2014 KTM 1190 Adventure Review: Head and Legs – The Bosch MSC System put to the test

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2014 KTM 1190 Adventure review: head and legs

All Reviews - 2014 KTM 1190 Adventure Review: Head and Legs - The Bosch MSC System put to the test

In 2014, the KTM 1190 Adventure comes as standard with a new Bosch MSC system that reduces the risk of falling on the corner. The KTM maxitrail also retains its good 2013 features and its weaknesses. MNC test… with Jean-Pierre Goy as guest star !

MSC Bosch system put to the test

To reach the sanctuary of Bruce Wayne Jean-Pierre Goy, Site takes the controls of an 1190 Adventure still in progress. As a result, the shift light comes on as soon as the tachometer needle reaches 6500 rpm.

No touch to the KTM Touch

If the KTM 1190 Adventure 2014 has it in its brains, it also has it in its legs! To convince you, just read our version on which is modeled 2014 (the famous MSC less). To summarize, we still appreciate the softness of the controls, the vigor of the engine and the rigor of the chassis and its brakes..

With the EDS option (electronic suspensions), the range of use is as wide as it is simple to use thanks to the pad located on the left stalk. These four buttons scroll through the information on the instrument panel where even the tire pressure (optional TPMS) can be displayed.

On the other hand, we regret again the presence of a too firm original saddle, the too small bubble which struggles to protect the shoulders and the top of the helmet, the small vibrations which appear around 5000 rpm (i.e. 130 km / h in 6th gear) and the transmission by chain and not by cardan shaft.

On models over 1000 km – the value from which the on-board computer automatically considers that the break-in is complete – it only starts flashing at 8000 rpm. This flashing then accelerates and the shift light comes on continuously at 9800 rpm to signal the red zone, just before the breaker is interrupted..

However, on the small roads leading to the Vallee Bleue 4×4 center, it is useless – even unconscious! – to whip the 1,195 cc twin cylinder in this way. Available from 2,500 rpm on the first three reports, the famous LC8 is sufficiently muscular in the first half of the tachometer to maintain an excellent pace.

On the coarse gravel of his vast playground (and work, since he organizes piloting courses there), Mister Goy does not hesitate to open very wide, putting the on-board electronics to the test. of his KTM and his tires: TKC 80 (110/80 x 19 and 180/55 x 17). The bugger has been driving the 1190 Adventure for almost a year and has it perfectly in hand !

On the other hand, it has only had the 2014 model for a few days, so that its first passage in a bend marked by a series of cones is done at a reasonable pace. The stuntman is not a daredevil: KTM may have assured him that he was not risking anything, the pro carefully takes his marks.

"With the 2013 model, I wouldn’t have had fun crashing the brakes in the middle of a turn", he admits to Site just before setting off … But on the 2014 version, the MSC prevents – within the limits of the laws of physics, of course – falls and deviations from the trajectory, even in full curve…

After a conclusive and reassuring first test, "John-Peter" adds a generous ladle of gas on his second pass and negotiates the curve at a much higher speed. The result is just as satisfying, since the bike only widens by a handful of decimeters and safely crosses the corridor barely two meters wide..

Under our astonished eyes, the stuntman then sets about braking harder and harder, sometimes with one hand – even with one foot – and only gets out of his way once … ‘it was necessary that the "zero failure" is the prerogative neither of electronics, nor of the man – any superhero that it is !

As he got off his motorcycle, Jean-Pierre Goy said he was impressed by the behavior of his new KTM. Aware that the opinion of a "brand" ambassador cannot convince 100%, the latter then invites the lucky journalists to take control of his motorcycle…

Decked out with its off-road tires, the 1190 Adventure loses in terms of agility but plays on the ground strewn with stones thanks to the nipples. The precision of the front axle – surgical on the road with Continental tires – is also in decline, but the electronics of the KTM manage to maintain a very high level of performance.

MNC piloting also put to the test

By selecting the "Off road" engine mode, the Adventure not only allows the rear wheel to turn twice as fast as the front wheel – to drift, therefore -, but also automatically wedges its electronic suspensions (optional EDS) on the "Sport" mode, allowing the pilot to better feel what is happening under his wheels.

Frankly not reassured at the idea of ​​plunging into a gravel curve on the one hand, and planting a big braking there on the other hand, Site is content to start licking the front brake and realizes that the bike does not is not at all confused … unlike her pilot !

Confidence by a series of emergency braking right like an "i" and several passages in the turn, MNC then pulls with a little more conviction on the front brake. The motorcycle moves more but nevertheless maintains the trajectory dictated by the pilot’s gaze ("towards the exit, not straight, towards the exit !").

On the handlebars – wide, which facilitates the management of steering jolts – you can feel the front wheel perfectly looking for grip … and finding it! While the hand is firmly gripping the front brake and the foot heavily crushes the right pedal, the motorcycle alone regulates the pressure in its hydraulic circuit..

The wheel locks are imperceptible, deceleration is certainly limited – by gravel -, but the bike does not spin free. "Professional work", one would be tempted to say: the management of the braking power on the front and rear calipers is almost transparent to the controls..

What is perfectly concrete, however, is the fact that you cross the area without hindrance! Of the fifty passages made by journalists, none ended badly. The efficiency of the system tends to be verified…

But the testers’ survival instinct has undoubtedly played a role, while the lack of a direct comparison with a 2013 model or the competition casts doubt on the real advantage of the MSC system over a standard ABS..

On dry roads and generally well paved with our driving, the late braking on the angle did not reveal the slightest defect in the behavior of the KTM. Very efficient – too much for this test ?! – Continental tires have only failed on rare occasions.

Whether under acceleration or braking, the Bosch system has been shown to be as efficient as it is smooth when MNC pushes too hard. Something to reassure about his ability to get the "normal" pilot out of a bad pass !

According to the officials of KTM France, the exercise on the gravel at the controls of the 1190 Adventure 2013 would have been more perilous … Should owners of the very first version of the Austrian maxitrail therefore regret their purchase and order the model? 2014 ?

"Certainly not !", retorts Thierry Limonne, the press officer KTM France, because the owners of the previous model can request the MSC update of their motorcycle, operation which does not require replacement or addition of part..

"You only need to update the ABS system electronically", details the French subsidiary, which estimates at approximately"half a day"the time needed to make the request and receive the activation code.

The operation is billed at 399 euros, which may seem expensive paid for a handling of a quarter of an hour on the KTM diagnostic case, but reasonable given the weeks of research and development of Bosch and KTM engineers.

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