New Bike In The Garage  

Shopping for a new dual sport bike can be a pretty exciting thing. It can also induce brain aneurisms if you think about it too hard.     

First, a little background... I've had a BMW R1200GS for the past year-and-a-half, but only took it off-road a couple of times. The bike was outstanding on pavement, but I just never got around to testing its limits off-road. So it finally came time to sell the GS and get a more dirt-oriented DS bike.  Let the endless searching, reading, studying and over-analyzing begin.

I collected as much information as humanly possible on the various options out there. The bike needed to have the following: some medium-to-long range touring capability, relatively light weight, plenty of power, capable of handling some rough stuff in the dirt and a good amount of fun-factor. 

A few bikes kept bubbling up to the top -- KTM 690 Enduro, BMW X-Challenge, F800GS, but I never could settle on one.  Up to that point, I hadn't even considered the KTM 950 Super Enduro -- mainly because I didn't really think of it as being practical for longer rides. It was more of a giant dirt bike.

But one day I was checking out the for-sale section of ADVrider and saw a listing for a tricked out 950 SE. It had an auxiliary tank for extra range, a modified seat for more comfort, a small windshield, racks for soft luggage and a few other mods that turned my head.  Suddenly, the 950 Super Enduro was all I could think about.

The more I thought about it, the more it made sense.  I loved the 950 Adventure S I had owned previously.  The Super Enduro took all the great aspects of the 950 Adv, cut about 40 lbs and beefed up the suspension for enhanced off-road capability. That's a nice package. So that was it -- I was hooked.

Fast-forward a few weeks, and the new (to me) Super Beast arrived at the front door. What a beaut.      

Pics of the new arrival...

The initial (albeit brief) ride confirmed I had made the right choice. TONS of power on tap and the 400 lbs really disappear once underway. This bike feels a lot lighter than it really is. The best part is, the fun-factor is through the roof.

There's no doubt we'll be having some great new adventures on this thing...