Motorcycle Explorer July 2016 Issue 12 | Page 149

Conclusion

I hope by now you can understand why I was bemused by the term ‘ entry ’ level bike ! The 1050 could happily be your bike of choice for good and never move to another machine again . There is nothing about the 1050 that would make you ‘ out grow ’ the bike and given the type of riding we tend to do then you could well have a beautiful balance of performance and economy working for you . This is not a serious enduro bike of course , it ’ s not ! We all know this because you don ’ t see them going around enduro race tracks grabbing a load of air time and humping over the four foot dirt lumps at 50mph . Alloy wheels , a large tank , high mpg , comfort riding ergonomics and Metzler Tourance tyres coming in at 19inch at the front and 17 at the rear screams what this bike for made for ... so enjoy it , I know I did .
There has been some rumbling about the price and I agree that for £ 10,999 it ain ’ t a cheap bike and that ’ s because it ’ s not an entry level anything in my opinion . The issue is when you look at Triumph ’ s 800 Tiger XR at £ 8,600 but still brings 94Bhp to the table in the form of the inline 3 cylinder DOHC . You think almost £ 2400 cheaper !
If you left it there you ’ d think what are KTM playing at but look further at the details as the KTM has rails for luggage already , hand guards , adjustable screen and rider modes as standard . Then look at the list of additions you get on the Tiger series , the XR does not come with cruise control or even hand guards . I ’ d say more a case of the Tiger XRt coming in at £ 10,700 would be closer but for that you ’ re getting a heated seat on the Tiger , 3 x 12v sockets and a satnav mount . It ’ s a buyer ’ s market and there is choice galore out there ... and that ’ s the way we like it !

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