THE UK'S LEADING MOTORCYCLE REVIEW SITE

You are here: Home > Reviews > Browse reviews > KTM > Supermoto

Motorcycle Events

December 2008

Add an Event

View Latest Events

Today
Listed events
Date selected

Bikes for Sale

Bike Accessories

Guide to Buying & Selling a Bike

Motorcycle Reviews

Motorcycles, motorbikes and scooters for sale. Find your next used bike Search for motorcycle reviews, read news and blog plus monthly columns, visit our forum, enter competitions, watch video clips, place a free advertisement

Back to models

All KTM Supermoto Reviews

KTM Supermoto 950cc Apr '06 (06)

Overall Rating:

Review

KTM950 Supermotard

Boom Boom Bananas!

It’s just over a year and a half since I bought the SM from new and I still enjoy every single ride. (It’s standard plus AKrapovic pipes and Dymag carbon wheels).
Used mostly to commute the sixty mile round trip to work and back covering major and minor A-roads including semi-rural.
In this environment the bike excels. It is not a motorway Hoover but the strong and willing V-twin will blast you to 130 without drawing breath, (so I’m told) and a well executed ride need not be hard on the very capable Brembos as the engine breaking is solid, rapid avoidance notwithstanding.
So if you were the kind of kid, who, when your mum said ‘Don’t touch the plates, they’re hot’ would immediately go ahead and touch 'em, you may be interested in this big old orange and Black Bess. It really is the most excellent fun and induced the first truly spontaneous ‘Yeehaw’ since I was a young’un riding bare-back.

If you’ve ridden sports bikes for a number of years the first thing you notice is the ride height. This affords a head-up view of the road and adds greatly to your conspicuous presence.
The wider bars and the whole character of the bike lends itself to an elbows out ‘excuse-me-I’m-coming-through’ stance thus empowering the rider with a bantam cocksureness.

Aiding further to your conspicuous presence is the sound, not the loudest I’ve ever heard but a complete repertory of the deep rumbling variety. Low revs go from a Crompton Thumper (old diesel train) to a bear in a barrel. Throttle hard and you’ll hear a Fokker Wulf accompany you but the best of all is the overrun. Drop a couple of cogs and throttle completely off releases a volley of small explosions - boomboom bananas!
It has been known for car alarms to go off, dogs to bark and strain at their leads while small children cling to their mother’s aprons.
In contrast it is possible to let the bike run with a purr/growl and be pleasingly acceptable to young and old. At least my dear wife knows when I’m on the final downhill approach home.

The clutch and gearbox are both slick and positive with the ratios very well matched. The frame is taught, the long travel suspension give the bike a lively feel with lots of feedback. Honing a long bend with wretched cross-banding can feel like a bull ride but it all gets soaked up and it’s time for another ‘Yeehaw’.

This bike has certainly got plenty of character. It’s only annoying trait can be starting, the sensitive manual choke coupled with a torque limiter can often result in a ‘doof-doof-screek’ on depressing the starter but you soon get the knack.
All in all I love it, bags enough power, low centre of gravity, confidence inspiring handling, big road presence and an endless supply of black and orange branded merchandise to keep the most loyal consumer happy.
Did I mention the free KTM attaché case with KTM ball point pen? Welcome to the fun – let’s rock!

Submitted by

Coghurst Boy in Hastings, East Sussex on 30/07/2008

This review has been shown 9504 times

Write a Review for KTM Supermoto

See ads for KTM Supermoto for sale

Comfort

Handling

Braking

MPG

Running Costs

Reliability

Performance

Dream Appeal

KTM Supermoto 955cc Sept '06 (56)

Overall Rating:

Review

Growl.Purr.Bark. Yea baby, woof woof! Love it. After years on sport & sport tourers this bike has sent me back to the days when I used to blat about the woods. Loads of torque and with a set of titanium, unbaffled pipes the wife knows when i'm nearly home. A bit windy over the ton, but what do you expect, sitting up like a grinning dawg. It's made me quicker in and out of corners, more confident in dodgy conditions and like a spotty youth in traffic jams. Just don't tell wifey how much the pipes were or how much the carbon wheels I've just ordered!!!!

Submitted by

Coghurst Boy in Hastings, East Sussex on 01/05/2007

This review has been shown 8992 times

Write a Review for KTM Supermoto

See ads for KTM Supermoto for sale

Comfort

Handling

Braking

MPG

Running Costs