All Tests – 2014 KTM 1190 Adventure Review: head and legs – Bosch exclusive for the 1190 Adventure

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2014 KTM 1190 Adventure review: head and legs

All Tests - 2014 KTM 1190 Adventure Review: head and legs - Bosch exclusive for the 1190 Adventure

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 weaknesses. MNC test… with Jean-Pierre Goy as guest star !

Bosch exclusive for the 1190 Adventure

By replacing its 990 Adventure last year with the 1190 model (read our), KTM wanted to shake up the hierarchy in a terribly dynamic segment in recent years.

1190 Adventure 2014: availability, colors and price

  • Availability: immediate in the

  • Colors: orange or gray

  • Price: € 14,225 (EDS and TPMS +1420 euros)

For KTM France, the contract is fulfilled: "the 600 registrations recorded in France in 2013 (, Editor’s note) placed our Adventure in second place in sales of maxitrails", explains to us in the preamble of this press presentation the president of the French subsidiary, Eric Antunes (read our).

According to the French big boss, "after the 125 Duke this is the best entry in a segment in our history. The introduction of this new model has been successful throughout Europe but also in Asia and Australia", continues the president of KTM France.

In total, the 1190 Adventure and its R version were produced last year in 7,700 units. In 2014, the Mattighofen plant plans to increase production to 10,000 units. The launch of his motorcycle in the United States – whose specific standards delay the arrival of mechanical oranges by one year – should help increase sales … But not only !

In France, there is significant room for improvement in Adventure: "the French are by nature quite skeptical about new products", observes Eric Antunes. Moreover, the image of the KTM brand as a manufacturer of road motorcycles is only beginning to take hold..

Since 2007, KTM France no longer considers its sales of road motorcycles to be negligible and from next year, it will aim for road / off-road parity. "KTM is more and more present in the minds of bikers when they think about changing motorcycles", assures Mr. Antunes.

"The second year on the market of the 1190 Adventure should therefore be even better than the first", he predicts, counting on productive word of mouth … but also on a novelty in 2014 !

Launched in 2013 with the very latest generation of Bosch ABS, the Austrian maxitrail benefits exclusively – to this day – from the very latest driving assistance device offered by the German firm: the stability control for motorbikes called MSC (read our)…

"Customers of this type of machine are sensitive to security arguments", says one at KTM France. For the most elderly wise by nature, the bikers who own these large cylinders may ride cautiously, they nonetheless appreciate the electronic assistance that watches over their expensive toy – and, incidentally, on their own life…

The 2014 Katoche is full of it

Second best seller in France in the maxitrails segment, the new Katoche claims the status of first in the class in terms of equipment: "this is a world first of the MSC", insists the Franco-Austrian team.

"Already last year, the Adventure was the first bike to feature the miniaturized Bosch ABS", specifies Patrick Fura, quality and training manager at KTM France:"the box has an ECU which calculates the braking power to be delivered on each wheel according to the inclination of the motorcycle".

The German system is therefore being improved by taking into account the angle of the motorcycle during braking phases, information which in 2013 was only used for the "traction control" function. "This addition may seem trivial, but it is a real leap forward in the world of motorcycles.", assures the French manager.

Current ABS systems have generally achieved amazing levels of efficiency and stealth, but for Bosch engineers there was still room for improvement in the corners. According to their calculations, "the MSC can positively influence two out of three accidents that occur on a curve".

It is by skilfully adjusting the pressure in the hydraulic circuit of its front and rear brakes that the 2014 Adventure would manage to stay on its wheels, despite the right lever and / or the brake pedal being fairly crushed. by his pilot surprised by a puddle of oil, a dog or a 33 tons…

In addition to locking the wheels, the MSC aims to counter the righting torque induced by the front brake, which irresistibly widens the trajectory of the motorcycle and often leads it to leave its lane … or even sometimes, to crash head on. a vehicle driving in the opposite direction.

"Warning", moderates Patrick Fura:"this system prevents skidding on the angle or biting on the opposite lane but does not prevent 100% of falls". The 1190 Adventure does not improve – yet? – the grip of the road, but optimizes its braking by taking the direction of operations if the pilot is too brutal or tense.

"Based on all the data provided by the sensors, a comparison of the speed of rotation between the front wheel and the rear wheel and other parameters specific to the motorcycle such as size and shape of the tires, or the location of the sensor , the ABS control unit evaluates the physical limits of the braking force as a function of the lean angle", describes Bosch.

Developed in collaboration with KTM but also with Continental, the Bosch MSC performs optimally on an Adventure fitted with specific Trail Attack 2 tires, "which we recognize by the suffix K engraved on the side", specifies the quality and training manager KTM France..

"It is possible to fit other tire models", continues our interlocutor,"but the efficiency of the system will not be as excellent as with the Contis".

"Maxitrails customers play sorcerer’s apprentice less than some sports users", he remarks at the same time,"but we must insist on the fact that the sensor, fixed to the frame under the tank, must not be moved, at the risk of disrupting the system. !"

For Site, no worries: the 1190 Adventure put at our disposal is entirely original, it displays 690 km on the odometer and waits quietly in front of the KTM France workshop for someone to come and get on it … and push it to end ?! No, not her.

To test the new Bosch "application", KTM called on its new ambassador: Jean-Pierre Goy, alias James Bond, Batman or Jason Bourne. The famous French stuntman has concocted a short course on gravel to perform on his own Adventure, paved accordingly … A whole program !

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