Trying to decide on a new bike

Insurance finally came back with numbers for me, I actually am making out OK. Broke even on the Indian since I financed that bike and the other 2 they gave me very fair numbers for. Now to decide which bike I really want haha.

 

The correct answer is 'all of them!'

Yes, I may have a problem.

 

Maybe not all but one of each type should suffice

 

You know Bajaj assembled your new bike in India, with mostly their own parts, don't you?

 

I really wouldn't have an issue with that if it were true, but the 890 SMT is made in Mattinghoven, Austria.

VIN - first three letters are VBK - that's their plant code for the assembly plant in Austria.

 

There's a lot of misinformation about where KTMs are manufactured like this. There are KTMs being produced in Bajaj factories, but those bikes are for their local market, not the American market. The Indian and surrounding market are happy to pay a little less and get a Bajaj assembled machine that is made locally and not shipped around the world. Europe, the US, and other markets aren't ok with a cheaper Bajaj assembled bikes, so they don't do that. It is less about trying to screw you, the American consumer, and more about providing the right scale of machine for every market since they obviously vary.

 

To your point. KTM publishes this information on their website: https://www.ktm.com/en-int/production-facility.html

 

Imagine the KTM RC 125 at a bike night!

 

So the 390 and smaller street bikes (250, 200, 125) are made in India, the two 790's are made in China, and EVERYTHING ELSE is made in Austria. Nice.

Wait.... what's this got to do with picking a new bike again?

 

Easy you need one of each

 

I vote for mv agusta.

2nd best handling street bike i have owned (dragster 800rr).

vitpilen 701 is number 1.

note that mv's are the only counter rotating cranks apart from the ducati's, which makes turn in faster.

 

still feel that way ?

 

Hawt.... but still think spoked wheels on a streetbike are dumb

 

Absolutely I do.

- Spoked wheels with neon dots?
- Rear tail light assembly looks like a big mouth bass.
- I hate those swingarm mounted fender/plate holders too.
- and this one's white/black/pale green colors are NOT doing it for me, plus those snazzy gold footpegs thrown in for yet another loud color that is out of place.

 

I love my 701 Vitpilen. It was a crashed bike that fell into my lap when I was looking for a 401 Svartpilen. After exposure to Ohlins and Penske on my other bikes, the suspension gives me a sad sometimes but it's otherwise a total blast to bang around town. I'm going to throw it on the ground at some point flicking it into a neighborhood 90 degree corner like a jackass. It's totally possible that a SM might be even more fun but I don't own one of them.

 

AJ , don't listen to this man. He's got a gixxer in his profile pic.

 

Nice! you have the 2020 model. Only year with spoked wheels.
Mine's 2019. How does the 701 compare to the Aprilia 250 ?

 

Nice!

They are completely different motorcycles, that's for sure. The 250 is so frantic that it wears me out pretty quickly. @SpeedWerks Racing got it tuned better than I thought possible but it still requires 8k+ on the tach to go anywhere. It turns so quickly that I have to recalibrate at the start of every ride. It also folds me up like a pretzel. My 848s are luxurious in comparison. I'm pretty happy with the suspension on the 250 with just a heavier single rate spring from The Tuning Works and heavier fork oil plus a Penske in the back. It really calmed it down.

The 701 is a lot easier to ride. Not a thumper - as you know - but easy to stay in the power. It turns quickly but not ridiculously so - you can still put some effort into the bars. I don't care for the stock suspension. I've ended up with both compression and rebound maxed on the forks - some day I'll go heavier on the fork oil. Set to recommended settings, it was really sketchy hitting mid-corner bumps. It probably needs more spring too. The stock front brake is not great cold and the feel kind of sucks but I haven't done anything about it.

The 701 gets ridden more than the 250 and Bimota combined. Riding the other two feel like events. Riding the 701 is an activity.

 

Awesome! You have the best of both worlds here.

As fun as the 701 is, the 250 must be another level. The brakes alone on that thing make you look like Toprak?!

Hoping to add a street 250 to my riding experience next year.