Decisions Terra/Strada 650 vs Duke 690

[krussell]

Turning off the ABS isn't so much of a pain in the butt that it should get in the way of riding or influence a decision to buy or not to buy a bike which is probably otherwise ideal.

Agree. My post may have implied that, but it wasn't my intent. I run 280lbs, usually carry a full camping outfit, so I'm gravitationally enhanced and have had some issues on downhills. As ingaciob says, if the Strada works with the fuse pulled, then the Vstrom switch approach would be ideal.

The latest model of the 1200GS introduces ride modes like the K1600 has for the road (dynamic, road, rain) but with two enduro modes as well. In Enduro Pro mode the rear brake has ABS disabled, and the front brake has ABS optimized for "large bar tires off road." Sounds like just what we want. Now if I can only find $15k to cover the difference on the trade in, and figure out how to get rid of 150lbs off the Boxer, I'll be all set.

 

[hasenpfeffer]

Having now done three off-road weekends with my mostly transformed Strada into a Terra I personally like the ABS off-road. While I grew up on dirt bikes and think I'm an above average off-road rider--I can't say that I can do better than ABS overall. Yeah, I can descend a rutted steep goat path, mash on the rear brakes, and not much happens in reducing forward velocity. But if I also add front to the equation the Husky does very well. And I guess I can see the *idea* of a person concentrating carefully to extract both front and rear traction without ABS...kinda like a ballerina dancing down back-and-forth-sideways.

But, i'm not a ballerina. I'm a rider who bought the Husky to ride on-road to get to off-road..and then off-road to enjoy the scenery until I have to go back on-road to get home and ride the rest of the week commuting on-road.

But, the biggest appeal to me of leaving ABS on is that if I'm going down that slope, a 4x4 comes from around a corner and fills my world....when I grab a handful of front and rear brake...the motorcycle is probably going to do a better job than at slowing things down than I will in that panic situation. Heck, without ABS I *might* even grab too much front and land on my face! But, with ABS I'm positive the things stays totally upright and pulses front and rear until I come to an unceremonious and digitally assisted stop.

If I didn't like the ABS I could either turn it off for the session, pull the fuse, or change the fuse to a switch if I wanted to without too much effort.

Back to the OP. I haven't ridden the 690..can't comment. However, I'm totally glad I went with a Strada! About $1200 into wheels and fender to make it a Terra, and love it. Plus it was $100 cheaper than a Terra when I bought it.

That's a very interesting perspective. Just because your told to work the brakes a certain way, doesn't mean that's the best way to do it for your bike. I'll have to play with using the front brake more and let the ABS do it's thing and see what that's like downhill in the dirt. I could see how that might work well. I have no prior dirt experience on a bike, so anything goes!

 

[nycrider]

ABS talk

Each time you guys start the bike is the ABS on or off? From what I've read and understood from someone's post, it seemed like his ABS turned on automatically each time he turned the bike on and almost "died" offroading while stopping for a pic and then proceeding to move forward. For me to have the ABS on I have to turn the key and hold ABS button for a few secs and if I bypass that, it's going to be off.

 

[Motosportz]

ABS talk

Each time you guys start the bike is the ABS on or off? From what I've read and understood from someone's post, it seemed like his ABS turned on automatically each time he turned the bike on and almost "died" offroading while stopping for a pic and then proceeding to move forward. For me to have the ABS on I have to turn the key and hold ABS button for a few secs and if I bypass that, it's going to be off.

the one I rode always defaulted to on, you had to turn it off. I hated in on gravel, kept the brakes from actually working. I rode this bike before sometime last year and slammed the rear brake on purpose on pavement to try it out and thought it worked pretty good there. I could not bring myself to test the front like that. gravel / off road no thank you.

 

[nev..]

the one I rode always defaulted to on, you had to turn it off. I hated in on gravel, kept the brakes from actually working. I rode this bike before sometime last year and slammed the rear brake on purpose on pavement to try it out and thought it worked pretty good there. I could not bring myself to test the front like that. gravel / off road no thank you.

I think on all vehicles ABS will be on by default and have a very definite action required (like stopping and holding a button for 3 seconds) to deactivate it.

One advanced skill riding course I took a few years ago had everyone riding at a slowish pace on grass, I guess around 15MPH in your currency, and then grabbing a big handful of front brake to lock it up. The purpose of the exercise was to a) accustom you to the feeling of the front wheel locking up under controlled circumstances, and practice releasing the brake and continuing, and b) to give you more confidence in braking harder, knowing that even if you do lock up, you can get it back under control by releasing the brake.

The only time I have ever activated ABS on a bike was on my wife's BMW, downhill, on wet grass, and it scared the crap out of me, because I wasn't expecting it, and it caused the bike to behave completely differently to what I was expecting. A few years ago I traded my 22yo car for a brand new car with ABS. My 22yo car had 4 wheel disk brakes, pretty hi tech for a car of it's vintage, and I drove it for 11 years. When I got in the new car with much much better brakes, I was using the brake pedal the same way I had in the old car, and the ABS was activating practically every time I stopped. I adjusted my braking habits to slow/stop the car without the ABS activating unless I was in a real hurry to stop. I suppose the reason why some people don't mind ABS on gravel is because either a) they never brake hard enough to activate the ABS in the first place, or b> because they have done it, and thereafter they adjust their braking habits to work around the ABS.

 

[Ignaciob]

I could not bring myself to test the front like that. gravel / off road no thank you.

Ahhhh....I used to be there....for the longest time on my FJR. I rode that bike 130,000 miles without actually actuating the front. But, then I committed to trying it one day, tried gravel at 10 mph, ready mentally to bin it, and relieved it worked exactly as advertised. My comfort level jumped light years. Since then I've even tried it at 100+ on pavement.

Bought the Husky, did the same gravel thing, then did pavement thing. Getting to trust it then adds knowledge on how they both act on gravel...I highly recommend jumping the divide to front ABS experienced.

 

[nycrider]

Motorsportz and nev

Well that is weird. My strada's ABS default is set to off which is a bit of a nuisance since all my miles so far have been in the city.

 

[hasenpfeffer]

Motorsportz and nev

Well that is weird. My strada's ABS default is set to off which is a bit of a nuisance since all my miles so far have been in the city.

Why do you think your default is off? The ABS indicator light is off when the ABS system is on, and the light is on when the ABS system is off.

 

[nycrider]

Why do you think your default is off? The ABS indicator light is off when the ABS system is on, and the light is on when the ABS system is off.

Oh god! Well I have been taking the time to turn the ABS "on" each time I ride to "maximize" my safety. This is kind of counterintuitive if compared to high beam light indicator. Thanks for the clear up!

 

[hasenpfeffer]

The ABS light is like an oil light, or engine light. It turns on to indicate a fault.

 

[John_Belgium]

To make this choise more complex KTM has 3 options: KTM 690 duke, 690 SMC and 690 enduro. Naked, Supermoto and Enduro, each segment has it's own type.
Husqvarna has the TR650 Terra which is a enduro like, but not as hardcore as the 690 enduro, the TR650 Strada is something in between the 3 types. It has a little enduro, a little supermoto and a little naked. Actually it is a street oriented adventure bike. It is more a single cilinder version of the KTM 990 adventure or 1190 adventure if you like to get a comparable KTM type. However KTM does not have a 690 adventure nor a 390 adventure (which has my initial interessed when motorbike magazines said it will be introduced in Eicma 2014, which was denied a few weeks ago).

Which type you like depends on your own taste. What you can read everywhere in test is that KTM has the better breaks and better suspension and it has more power in high rev ranges. The Husky is more smooth, toeristic to ride, less extreme, maybe more practical in daily use. The looks from KTM is in my eyes much better, but everybody has a different taste, just like the style or type of motorbike you like.

Well to make a decision in Netherlands/Belgium I can only add that the Husky goes for 5.500 euro new compared to a KTM that will cost you minimum 8.000 euro depend on which type, the Duke being the cheapest version, the SMC and the enduro go for even more 9.000 or 10.000 euro.

I decided for a Husqvana TR650 Strada and I like the light bike, not to heigh (I have the lowering ring for my back spring and the front is a little lower) for my length of 1,70 meter. The clutch is very light to control, the gearbox works fine and the brakes work good an they have switchable ABS. The engine is very smooth between 3k till 7k rpm, it is not agressive and you can ride it very easy.I did even buy a Strada demotest version with 300 km on the meter and this for the unbelievable amount of 4.200 euro. This is a hugh price difference in my opinion. In fact for me it only half the price of a KTM. This gives me much more extra budget for making the bike more to what I like. I will buy a SW motech rack for my kappa suitcases and I plan to make some trips to Germany or even to Austria/Italy. For me I more like to spend it on enjoying the trips then on a much more expensive bike.

Before you decide always ride on the bike of your prefered choise. As I did not drive on the KTM's or the Terra, I can only share my experience on the Strada, the comments on the other bikes are from tests and reviews and are not based on my personal experience.

Regards, John