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KTM 1090, SUZUKI V-Strom 1000
and Honda CRF 1000 Africa Twin
GRAN CANARIA - what, how and for how much? 
and
KTM 1090, SUZUKI V-Strom 1000 and Honda CRF 1000 Africa Twin

With each of these bikes, I spent 1 day on the roads of Gran Canaria. Here I describe my feelings about motorbikes and the island as a destination for a motorbike vacation.

(This is not a test of these bikes. I do not feel competent to do such tests, nor have I had sufficient time to test these bikes)

We are in Gran Canaria, we came here with an organized tour. I am not a fan of such trips, but during this period (Christmas) it was the most profitable option. We have a beachfront hotel, breakfast and dinner. 7 days, PLN 2,300 for everything. 
Our Hotel is in Playa del Ingles, a terrible place. Built in the 1960s as a "hotel room" for the British. There are only Hotels and Restaurants here. On the plus side - very nice beaches and dunes in Maspalomas, right next to Playa del Ingles. 
Fortunately, we did not come here for a holiday at the hotel. 
We came here for a short break during the Christmas break, but the main goal is to get to know the roads to Gran Canaria from a motorcyclist's perspective.
The very next day after our arrival, we go to pick up the motorcycle ordered for 3 days. 
We booked the motorcycle in advance. It was supposed to be the KTM 1090, almost new. Rental is located 2 km from our Hotel. I'm going there the day before to get acquainted and confirm everything. It turns out that there is an option to drive the Honda Afirca Twin on the next day, as long as it is free. Cool. We write down the necessary documents, I give a debit card so that rental will block me 1500 euro, up to this amount I am responsible for any damage caused by my fault. It's a bit not cool, to be honest, because motorbikes are insured anyway, but on the other hand, if I run such a business, I would also like to protect myself additionally. 
It is also a brake for landlords, to be more careful. 
KTM 1090 - first impressions - how small it is… I am 190 cm long, I drive the R1200GS Adventure 2012 (air and oil cooled) on a daily basis. KTM seems tiny with him. The back of the passenger also doesn't have that much space. But okay, it's a slightly different bike and I compare it to the largest touring enduro. On the first day with KTM we do about 300 km on the super winding mountain roads of the island. The engine surprises me. 1090 V2, 125HP at 8,500 rpm and 109 Nm at 6,500 rpm. The engine pulls without any jerking from the lowest revs, super smooth and without problems. The dry motorcycle weighs 205 kg, which together with this engine gives a really nice experience. The cornering handling is very good. After a few moments, I felt like I knew this bike well. Brakes and gearbox, hmm also nothing to complain about. 
In fact, it would be GREAT.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


For me, however, this bike is simply too small to consider it as a touring bike, even when traveling alone. But if I had no more than 180, hmm. I don't think so either. I also rode a KTM 1290 S and a KTM 1290 Super Adventure. These are big brothers 1090 and more serious proposals. 1090 is like that, hmm for girls? More for the city and short trips? For such 3 days to rent - ok, but not to go on an expedition, even to the Alps.  

 

Honda CRF 1000 Africa Twin . After a day with KTM, I'm going back via Rental to inquire about the availability of a Honda. You can take  🙂  KTM has driven 11,000 km, Africa has 44,000 km, and you can feel it right away. The clutch does not run as smoothly as on a new motorcycle, and so does the throttle. Everything seems a bit shabby ...
The first thing I like about the Africe is the sound of the engine - it sounds really good. And how it comes to life, and with acceleration and reduction. Very nice deep bass sound, but not disturbing. The Africa has 95 HP and 98 Nm. You can feel a big difference with KTM. However, I am convinced that such technical data at a capacity of 1000 cm3 means excellent flexibility. But no ... Africa is choking below 3000 rpm, it even went out once ... It's a bit annoying in a touring bike ... During the whole day I keep higher revs, you can get used to it, especially because the sound of the engine is nice. However, I enter it as a significant disadvantage of Honda. Especially when driving on a constantly winding road, where such characteristics of the engine require a lot of reduction and re-shifting to a higher gear while accelerating. It is simply not very comfortable. The position itself on Honda is good. There is more space here than for KTM, but the passenger complains. We have a plastic GIVI trunk mounted at the back, despite being mounted at the farthest possible point, the trunk is too close and squeezes into the back. After a whole day, Iza begins to experience a lot of spine pain. Another disadvantage of Honda is the display that is not readable in the sun. It is 100% electronic, looks great at night, but during the day, apart from speed and RPM, you can hardly see anything. 
The Africa has a 21 ”front wheel. I rode this motorcycle in light terrain on a test drive in Poland. On slight unevenness of the dirt road it goes like on asphalt, perfect  🙂  However, the 21 ”wheel, geometry and long suspension travels make driving on asphalt less precise. I do not trust her as much as I do not trust KTM. Well, something for something. Depending on who needs what. In general - Africa is a slight disappointment for me, but from LEGEND I would expect more. But here you also have to consider the price. We can have a new Honda for about PLN 51,000 gross.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


After a whole day, I go back to the pension with the thought that I prefer KTM. The roads we move around Gran Canaria are mostly good asphalt with lots of bends, very nice. KTM drove much better on these corners. Much more fan and power  🙂 
However, the rental owner proposes that I try the new Suzuki V-Strom 1000 . Hmm, somehow I didn't even think about it ... I tell him it's okay, but I have to ride at least 500 meters to see. I don't want a bad bike for the last day. I fire up, the engine works with a characteristic mechanical sound. Pretty tough, firm or nice? I like. The motorcycle is new, has 4,000 km of mileage. I go to the roundabout, turn back and go back to Rental. I take! Is great! 
And indeed the first meters, and I feel great on the V-Strom. Suzuki made this bike for asphalt. They do not try to create another "GS", which is supposed to be able to do everything. You can see that everything is done here in the "asphalt" option. 19 ”front and 17” rear wheels, up-side down fork, fairly tough suspension, direct response to the urge to turn. I like it very much. The motorcycle is great. I have great confidence in him right away. The engine on paper has 101 HP and 101 Nm, but in practice I have the impression that there is more power. I had a similar impression, for example, in the Bandit 1250S. 
Perfect flexibility, such a mechanical force, directly transferred to the wheel. 
I wonder how it brakes? It's good too! It's not that obvious with Suzuki (in my experience). However, I like the driving the most. I am not exaggerating in driving, Suzuki reminds me of the Ducati Multistrada 1200s. Just to get me right, I don't want to compare these two bikes, but the way they handle is similar. It's a lot of fun, you want to go fast, and you can, because it's easy on a Suzuki. Ergonomics, unfortunately, as usual, there is not enough space for me (mainly the bending angle of the knees), but that's the standard for me. I think anyone of medium height will feel very good. On the plus side, I have to provide a perfectly legible display here. Simple but nice analog tachometer (yes !!!, let's get back to that, manufacturers) and a liquid crystal display like in a calculator. Someone will say that it's cheap, yes it's true, but it works perfectly. On the downside - the gearbox works, it's really hard to change from 1 to 2 without the impression that you are pressing modes that do not match each other. Precision and work culture to be improved. The second minus (although this is a subjective opinion) are the mirrors. Yes, the visibility is great, but they are so terribly ugly, scary ... 
If I would like to add something else, you can see and feel that the materials are not of the highest quality, plastics, steering wheel, switches. It smells a bit cheap. 
But my overall impression - I was super surprised, this is one of the better handling bikes I have ridden recently, with one of the better engines! I had the most fun with it, it gave me the most confidence. And at the price of PLN 47,900 ... for a new one, it's a really good option! Out of these 3 bikes, I would choose the V-Strom.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


How do I rate these bikes compared to my GS? Hmm, GS is GS though. Why?
It drives worse than Suzuki on the asphalt, it is not that claw or fun. It doesn't sound as cool as the Africa, it's not quite as snappy as the KTM. However, as soon as I got on it after returning - soooooooooo comfortable here, but everything is fine here, but I can load it here! For distant tourism for two people, especially for tall people - at the moment I do not see anything better.

GRAN CANARIA turns out to be one of the best places in the world to ride a motorcycle. Especially in the winter time. You can come here any month of the year and the temperature in the lower parts of the island will be 19-28 degrees, it is always high season here. The relatively small island is densely covered with roads made of motorcyclists' dreams. There are no straight lines here and the views are breathtaking. The island is small, driving 8 hours a day, there will be no "boring" or "commuting" sections in every part of the island. Here, you drive on interesting, winding roads all the time. And sometimes, not infrequently, after the puppy falls off  🙂  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


In addition, the roads and landscape are diverse, and from time to time you can stop in beautiful, atmospheric towns, of which there are a lot. 
Local restaurants are excellent food (not to be confused with what you can get in the tourist MOLOCHA), at very good prices - you can get a "set of the day" consisting of soup, main course and dessert for 8 euros (restaurant in the port in the town of Sardinia). 
Due to the duty free zone, gasoline costs EUR 0.95 per liter, which is cheaper than in Poland. 
You can buy return flight tickets for as little as PLN 600-700 (with a transfer), apartments on booking can be rented very cheaply. About 20-30 euro per night per person for e.g. a 4-person apartment. 
You can also choose an "all incusive" trip or simply come here with a travel agency, the cheapest trips start from 1800-2000 PLN for 7 days (flight, hotel, meals). 
The price for renting a motorcycle is about 70-100 euro per night. Depending on the motorcycle. Rates can be negotiated for longer terms. 
All this makes me place Gran Canaria as one of the best options to do a mini moto vacation in winter. The weather is always there from November to March! The temperature will be around 20-24 degrees. The Atlantic Ocean is then around 20 degrees so you can take a bath. If I haven't persuaded you yet - check out the Gran Canaria movie  😉

Roads worth crossing:
GC-200, GC-210, GC-60, GC-550, GC-600, GC-130, GC-150

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MOTORCYCLE TOURS CALENDAR

VACATION ON WHICH TEST THE BEST MOTORCYCLES

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