KTMax KTMax

Bike history

Over the past 25 years on motorcycles a lot of two wheeled affairs passed by.
  1. Honda FT500
  2. Honda XL600 R
  3. Honda XL600 LM
  4. BMW R80 G/S
  5. Yamaha XV750  (errr... what got into me?)
  6. Harley 1200 Dirt-Track Replica
  7. Yamaha XTZ 750 Super Ténéré (2x)
  8. Yamaha TDM 850
  9. Triumph 900 Sprint
  10. Triumph 900 Speed Triple
  11. Honda Hawk GT647  (for the Ms. still have both)
  12. KTM 640 Duke Last Edition
  13. KTM 660 SMC
  14. KTM 950 Adventure S  (2x)
  15. KTM 990 SuperDuke
  16. KTM 690 SMR
One or two exceptions aside I loved them all. But a few have an extra special place in my heart.

First the Yamaha TDM 850. The first model and IMO the best one. Not the crippled, sensed to death touring boat it is today. It was tricked up with endless dyno work, sharp brakes, WP suspension, Devil 2-in-1 pipe, superbike handlebars and sticky tires. With this bike I learned how to do some decent cornering and silly lean angles. And the only bike I crashed twice because of it.

Next the Triumph 900 Speed Triple. The original one, all black and beautiful. A brilliant, meaty, grunty Rottweiler of a bike with a huge presence and attitude. Big and heavy, yes. But you could hustle this quarter of a ton of British steel through the turns at amazing speeds and lean angles. Much more capable than it ought to be and eminently satisfying. Jacked up for more clearance with one-off Technoflex suspension and a one-off 3-2-1- 2 exhaust system made by BOS provided more clearance too while adding 10 HP. Super III 6-pot brakes, 750 igniter-box with 11.000 RPM limit. Bollocks. And the sound from that growling triple... Goose bumps. Such a shame Triumph got completely lost in the recent years.

Next the KTM 640 Duke Last Edition. My first KTM and my first motard-type bike.  More on this bike HERE.

My current bike is the fab KTM 690 SMR. More on this bike HERE.

Last modified: 15-09-2009