Supermoto questions...

[Norbert666]

Hello.

Has anyone owned or currentlly own a Supermoto?

Thinking of trading my K6 Gixxer in for a Supermoto for the summer. It's partly an attempt to slow myself down, but I've always loved them.

I'm looking at either a KTM 640 or a CCM.

I use my bike every day, wind or rain, for commuting - approx 25 miles each way. 50% of the journey is full throttle motorway, and 50% is typical London filtering.

Can anyone answer the following:

Are they cheaper to insure than sports bikes?
Are they generally easier to ride in traffic?
What are they like for distance riding?
Do they need any/high maintenance?
Can you cruise easily on them or is it all continuous torque?
How economical are they compared to a sports bike?

Cheers

 

[Mechanical Arts]

I ride a DRZ400SM with a few mods and I love it, great fun. The the 640SMC is quite reliable and so are CCMs if you go for a suzuki engined model.

They are much cheaper to insure than a sportsbike, easier to ride in traffic and you are up high so can see over cars with ease. They are not great for long distance riding or motorways because of the short tank range, no wind protection and uncomfortable seats. The maintenance on the supermotos you are looking at is not bad, just change oil every 2-3k miles.

A supermoto might slow you down by not going much over 100, but I bet you start to wheelie and stoppie everywhere

 

[Norbert666]

Thanks!

Do you use yours every day? How long do you reckon you could last on it till your bum aches?

Are they still as torquey in the higher gears? i.e. is motorway riding not relaxing?

Thanks

 

[Mechanical Arts]

Thanks!

Do you use yours every day? How long do you reckon you could last on it till your bum aches?

Are they still as torquey in the higher gears? i.e. is motorway riding not relaxing?

Thanks

I ride mines pretty much every day and don't get a sore bum until after a couple hours riding, but everyone is different. They are still torquey in higher gears but not very comfy, especially on something like the KTM 640 because of the vibrations but they can cruise along fine at 70.

Try and get a test ride on one, some people love them and some people hate them.

 

[Fireskull]

A supermoto might slow you down by not going much over 100, but I bet you start to wheelie and stoppie everywhere

I was thinking this aswell, just tracking the gixer and getting a supermoto for the road, but I Honestly think I will get myself into more trouble on a supermoto lol :/

 

[Norbert666]

A couple of mates had motards, but eventually got rid of them as they both got spat off a number of times! (saying that, they've both had racing bike incidents too!)

Am going to take a KTM out this weekend.

Ideally I'd have two bikes, but I already had to get rid of the motocross bike as the missus wouldn't let me keep two in the garage!

 

[Mechanical Arts]

A couple of mates had motards, but eventually got rid of them as they both got spat off a number of times! (saying that, they've both had racing bike incidents too!)

Am going to take a KTM out this weekend.

Ideally I'd have two bikes, but I already had to get rid of the motocross bike as the missus wouldn't let me keep two in the garage!

Supermotos crash way better than a sports bike and with all the suspension travel they are easier to slide around and more forgiving than a sports bike.

 

[Bug One]

I'm a lot happier on my Versys than I was on the GSXR. I commute 100 miles a day on mine. Thats a mix of around 25m of country lanes, 60m on the motorway and 15 miles in heavy 2 lane traffic. I use it in wind, rain, and even the odd day of beautiful sunshine.

This bike did get a bit of getting used to. I find the high centre of gravity makes it a bit less stable. But that also means its more manouverable, and you get better vision over traffic.

The riding position is a lot more comfortable. Although because of that, coupled with less fairing, I get a lot more buffeting from the wind at high speeds on the motorway. Its really made for sub 100 speeds. Anything above that and its running out of puff (and gearing!)

I do miss the insane kick of those last few thousand RPM's, but in the more sensible rev range the power is more than comparable. I think I must surprise a few 'sports bike'. I'm pretty aggressive with the throttle at the lights.

 

[Bug One]

Oh and my insurance went down from with the GSXR 600 at ~£150 to ~£120 for the Versys.

Fuel wise, £18 gets me roughly 185 miles. Whatever that works out at.

 

[W!ll]

Right it entirely depends what you are after, the bigger slower motos, like the 640 ktm or the CCm will be fine for your commute, they are in slightly lazier states of tune than the proper all out bikes, they'll cruise in traffic and take less to service. However if you get a fun supermoto you are talking about a highly tuned race bike, which although capable of what you are after wouldn't be nearly as good as the slightly lazier luggers.

 

[datsunman]

I did nearly the same as you're thinking of doing, went from a GSX-R 750 to a KTM LC4.

Yes, it slowed me down, but IMHO the Supermoto encourages you to ride on one or other of the wheels, rather than both.

I personally wouldn't have ridden mine as a commuter, although the riding position was more comfy the single didn't do it for me from a vibration point of view. Missus liked it though...

Not sure what they're like now but my 640 was a pain in the backside from a reliability point of view, the carb dropped an air screw and it took three weeks to get a replacement - not something I'd want if I was commuting on it.

 

[Alex*TLR]

Been on a few friends SMs, most time was spent on a DRZ400 (more a not-so-supermoto ;P). They are great fun, but for commuting I just found it un-practical, and thats being compared to a TLR thats had handling parts sorted!
The main issue was comfort and usability. Yes it could do dual carriage ways, but after 5 mins of wringing the guts out of it, it felt like being back on a 125 and I was killing it! (Obviously wans't killing it, just felt like it).

 

[Norbert666]

Well thanks for all the comments.

After reading them all I'd almost dismissed the idea as silly, and then, this morning, looking at my bike in the sun at the petrol station, I finally decided I just can't do it!

I think I'd really regret giving up the Gixxer. Perhaps I'll just upgrade to an identical, black K6 1000

James