I Think I Want A Supermoto! - Suggestions + Recommendations? | GTAMotorcycle.com

I Think I Want A Supermoto! - Suggestions + Recommendations?

Mina

Well-known member
Site Supporter
Originally, I wanted to sell my 750 so I can upgrade to a 1000. Having ridden on the track a lot this year, I no longer see the sense of an SS on the street. Quite frankly, the thrill of an SS on the street is just not there any more, so I'm looking for a different kind of experience.

I don't know what it is, but this morning I woke up and started thinking about supermotos. I want one but the possibilities are endless and it doesn't make my decision any easier.

The kind of riding I do:

  • Fair amount of city riding
  • Little bit of highway
  • Occasional two up
  • Would like to take it to the track every once in a while
I'm a big boy at ~200 LBS so something with a little oomph would be nice.

I don't mind something with a little higher maintenance cost since I won't be putting on a ton of mileage every year.

What are some bikes that I can look at?
 
Yamaha WR250X (or R with SM rim/tires)
DRZ400SM
KTM690SMC (or R with SM rims/tires)
KTM990SMC

In my opinion the 690SMC would be the best... But also the most expensive (by far)

DRZ400's are a blast and fairly inexpensive.
 
Second KTM 690 SMC

But then I'd ask if you may prefer a dedicated street SM inspired bike. If yes, 990 SMT or SMR? I went with my 690 Duke 3 because I wanted a SM bike dedicated to the street.

If I were to be making the decision today it would be SMC or if I wanted a pure commuter/fun street bike, hypermotard or my same 690 Duke 3 (2008-2010)
 
Just to be different, and to make sure you consider possibilities, how about:

Street Triple R
Tuono V4 R
848 Streetfighter
Monster 1200
Z1000
CB1000R
R nineT
 
Just to be different, and to make sure you consider possibilities, how about:

Street Triple R
Tuono V4 R
848 Streetfighter
Monster 1200
Z1000
CB1000R
R nineT

Good suggestions, but I wouldn't really consider any of them even close to a supermoto.

OP what is your budget? The bikes mentioned thus far have a HUGE range in price.

Do you intend on doing any offroad? Long trips?

Once you get into supermotos & dualsports every bike has some sort of compromise. You just need to figure out what you can live with.
 
Supermotos are fun as hell, maybe a little too fun, I've never got pulled over on a bike until I got a supermoto (DRZ400SM), Its not the best 2up bike or hwy bike, but for city riding it beats the hell out of any SS, the hardest thing about owning one is keeping the front wheel down
 
I'm bigger too - 220 pounds and 6'3". I own a KTM 1190 adventure, a Ducati 999R and neither of them are as fun in the city as my KTM 530exc with either the dirt wheels or the motard setup. But...forget about a passenger and highways can be tiring for anything longer than an hour but...this thing weighs 240 pounds fully fueled and runs circles around sport bikes on anything apart from long straits. It lifts the front wheel in first three gears and sometimes fourth gear with the motard wheels on it. Drop it and scrape it along the road? No problem - buy an entire new set of plastics for less than $150 :). Oil changes? No problem - both the engine AND gearbox hold 1.5 litres of oil together and filters are $5.00 at royal distributing. Is it fast? Oh yes - even with my fat carcass on it and you won't look like a circus bear on a tricycle because it's nice and tall. Perfect for the city with 13" of plush suspension travel so curb hopping, etc is a piece of cake. I've owned the ktm 690 - amazing bike with more highway capability than the pure dirt / motard line but they are plagued with expensive fuel injection / pump / sensor / injector problems, are very expensive to get additional fuel capacity and they weigh over 300 pounds with suspension that is not nearly as good as the smaller ones like the 530, etc. everything is at least twice to three times more expensive to run and replace on the 690 Enduro compared to the 530. Other 690s such as the Duke may also be an option but they're even heavier. If a true "motard" isn't ideal for you and you still want a motard look / feel / etc, consider picking up a used Aprilia Dorsoduro - I found one for my friends son and it's a 2010 that we picked up for less than $4000 locally! Great bike, 750cc v-twin, amazing handling and very very highway comfy but it's not a motard.
 
I'm a big boy at ~200 LBS so something with a little oomph would be nice.

What are some bikes that I can look at?

BMW HP2 Mega Moto
 
I'm bigger too - 220 pounds and 6'3". I own a KTM 1190 adventure, a Ducati 999R and neither of them are as fun in the city as my KTM 530exc with either the dirt wheels or the motard setup. But...forget about a passenger and highways can be tiring for anything longer than an hour but...this thing weighs 240 pounds fully fueled and runs circles around sport bikes on anything apart from long straits. It lifts the front wheel in first three gears and sometimes fourth gear with the motard wheels on it. Drop it and scrape it along the road? No problem - buy an entire new set of plastics for less than $150 :). Oil changes? No problem - both the engine AND gearbox hold 1.5 litres of oil together and filters are $5.00 at royal distributing. Is it fast? Oh yes - even with my fat carcass on it and you won't look like a circus bear on a tricycle because it's nice and tall. Perfect for the city with 13" of plush suspension travel so curb hopping, etc is a piece of cake. I've owned the ktm 690 - amazing bike with more highway capability than the pure dirt / motard line but they are plagued with expensive fuel injection / pump / sensor / injector problems, are very expensive to get additional fuel capacity and they weigh over 300 pounds with suspension that is not nearly as good as the smaller ones like the 530, etc. everything is at least twice to three times more expensive to run and replace on the 690 Enduro compared to the 530. Other 690s such as the Duke may also be an option but they're even heavier. If a true "motard" isn't ideal for you and you still want a motard look / feel / etc, consider picking up a used Aprilia Dorsoduro - I found one for my friends son and it's a 2010 that we picked up for less than $4000 locally! Great bike, 750cc v-twin, amazing handling and very very highway comfy but it's not a motard.

Well I'm convinced!

I bought a 530 exc this past August as it was a smokin' deal but I haven't been able to ride it yet because of knee surgery. At the time I was thinking of a 690 but took the plunge on the 530 figuring since I'm so close to the Ganaraska it was the MUCH better choice. I'm glad to hear it has so much more going for it.

As for the Super Moto suggestions, I have a KTM 990 SMT and it is an awesome street bike. I have seen some 950 supermotos recently for pretty decent prices so I can highly recommend them as fun to ride while also being versatile.
 
Good suggestions, but I wouldn't really consider any of them even close to a supermoto.

OP what is your budget? The bikes mentioned thus far have a HUGE range in price.

Do you intend on doing any offroad? Long trips?

Once you get into supermotos & dualsports every bike has some sort of compromise. You just need to figure out what you can live with.

Budget is flexible, not unlimited but flexible.

I'd like to have the option of going off road, long distance trips aren't my thing but I might make the trip up north once or twice a year.
What I really want is a true motard that is street legal. The KTM's are nice, but the 690 seems like a heavy-ish machine at 310#'s dry.

That 530 with SM wheels looks the business though. Damn.
 
Last edited:
Doing a quick search on the 530, it seems pretty labor intensive. Valve check every 15 hours? Motor refresh every 90 hours? Jesus.
 
Budget is flexible, not unlimited but flexible.

I'd like to have the option of going off road, long distance trips aren't my thing but I might make the trip up north once or twice a year.
What I really want is a true motard that is street legal. The KTM's are nice, but the 690 seems like a heavy-ish machine at 310#'s dry.

That 530 with SM wheels looks the business though. Damn.

The KTM 530 is a great supermoto. Keep in mind it has much smaller service intervals than a 690.... We are talking 15 hours / 1500KM vs 10,000KM


530

* Much better in tight single track
* Very light
* Short service intervals - 15 hours / 1500KMish
* Dirtbike with lights
* Pretty rough on the highway. Being very light is great in the forest, but bad on the highway.


690

* Long service intervals (It's like a large dirtbike)
* Still decently light
* Much better on highway
* Worse in single track, but still possible

IMO If you want to go off-roading mostly, get the 530 hands down. If you ride a decent amount on the highway and occasionally want to hit the dirt... 690.


Heres a copy paste from supermotojunkie:

KTM 530 EXC
Every 15 hours:
Oil Change
Valve Check
Every 30 hours:
Spark plug change
Check wear clutch
Every 90 hours
Basically go over the whole engine
Change the piston/camshaft bearing/conrod bearing/crank bearing

As for the new 690's:
Every 3,000 miles:
Oil Change
Every 6,000 miles
Valve check
Change spark plug

According to the manual on my 690 the oil change is at 1k, 6k, then every 10k.


I've tried the EXC, riding even 30 minutes on the highway felt brutal. On the 690 I can cruise at 120 all day long (except the seat sucks big time). Like I said previously, its all a compromise with supermotos. If I lived close to Ganaraska I would have gotten the EXC.... Unfortunately I do a lot of highway riding and I needed something with longish service intervals, comfortable that can still go offroad.

Do lots of research ;)


http://advrider.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=15
 
Doing a quick search on the 530, it seems pretty labor intensive. Valve check every 15 hours? Motor refresh every 90 hours? Jesus.

Yes. It's a dirt bike with lights. Pretty standard.
 
People must love those bikes to put up with that much maintenance. I can manage it with trail use but on road I would be changing oil every few days.
 
I think the 690 may be the best compromise, I'll have to test ride one to make sure. Any major differences between let's say an 08 to a 2014 model?
 
Also what is the difference between the SMC and the SMC-R? Is one just newer than the other or are there different features/performance parts/etc.?
 
Good suggestions, but I wouldn't really consider any of them even close to a supermoto.
He said he THINKS he wants a supermoto, and then listed a number of uses he would make of the bike including track, for which supermotos happen to be pretty sucky at on the tracks around here.

I was gonna say Street Triple R myself.
 
I think the 690 may be the best compromise, I'll have to test ride one to make sure. Any major differences between let's say an 08 to a 2014 model?

Quite a few differences ...

2014 vs 08

* Ride by wire
* ABS
* Dual Spark Motor (A little more HP, but much smoother and more MPG)
* Counter-balanced motor
* Suspension changes
* Newer Gauge Cluster
* Probably missing stuff ;)


Also what is the difference between the SMC and the SMC-R? Is one just newer than the other or are there different features/performance parts/etc.?



He said he THINKS he wants a supermoto, and then listed a number of uses he would make of the bike including track, for which supermotos happen to be pretty sucky at on the tracks around here.

I was gonna say Street Triple R myself.

No worries man... In reality there are so many options when you open it up past supermotos.


Test ride... Test Ride....... and MORE test ride ;)
 
Looking online, it doesn't seem that the 690 SMC (R) was sold in Canada. WTF is up with that? Didn't see anything on KTM Canada's website either. Only Enduro's.
 

Back
Top Bottom