KTM or Ducati?
 

Wanting opinions. Current choices are 2004 KTM 950 Adventure -40,000 mi, 2006 KTM 950 Super Moto- 12,000 mi, 2012 Multistrada 30,000 in my garage now. I love the on road handling, comfort and power of Multistrada. Am concerned about electronics for world travel. I'm thinking one of the carbureted KTMs for around the world. Am I thinking correctly?

Depends what u intend to do with it , off road a lot or stick to tarmac . I own a mutley and would not hesitate to do a huge on road trip with it ,never mind the electronics am thinking huge rear wheel but. !! A mutley had already been around the world , u could contact Ducati direct and ask them what issues occurred , tyre wear etc etc this may well decide things for u . I tend to go with Nick Saunders advice , imagine riding half way round the world and coming to the greatest road u have EVER seen in ur life ..... U r riding a Cg125 doh

Should read rear wheel Nut !!

AFAIK ktm is more reliable statistically then ducati and you need that on RTW trip so here you go.

I would NOT buy either of the high mile KTM twins. Those early KTM twins had a lot of problems. If the examples you're considering have been totally rebuilt with all new up graded engine parts ... then ... maybe.

My inclination would be something 2009 or newer. By that time most issues were worked out ... but not all. Ideal KTM twin would be a nice KTM 950SE.

IMO, Carbs are a BIG negative on the KTM twins. Horrific fuel economy, not great when in remote locations. Also, I do believe BOTH the KTM's and Multi like HIGH octane fuel? Some KTM's and Ducati's allow adjustment to timing to compensate .. not sure on that.

MULTI
I don't know much about the Multi in terms of it being a long term reliable travel bike. But if yours is at 30K, chances are most issues have been dealt with ... and hopefully you know a bit about the bike so you can deal with maintenance and do preventative measures to ensure reliability. :thumbup1:

I do know if something in the top end fails ... it's very expensive repair! (don't ask me how I know ....doh)

I have not seen Long Range ride reports featuring the Multi, but if it's been good to you to this point ... could work out just fine. :D
I have a Hyperstrada which I love ... but it did have some expensive problems.

Regards which is better for RTW? depends what sort of RTW ride you plan to do. How much off road? What countries and what routes? KTM's are certainly the better machine on rough tracks, rocks, sand, mud. The 21" front IMO, is a must for doing more challenging off road on a loaded up travel bike. They crash better too.

If me, I would not take EITHER bike based on how I would plan a RTW. But that's me, not you.

Think about these bikes as more practical RTW bikes:
KTM 690 Enduro (with a few mods, quite good from my reading)

Any Japanese 650 single: Old and antiquated, but tough and reliable too. Cheap anD EASY to maintain yourself.
KLR650, DR650SE, XT600 or 660, XR650L, XR650R, XR400. BMW F650, Sertao, Dakar.

More and more riders are discovering the joys of 250's. Not ideal for USA or high speed Euro Freeways, but great in many countries in remote off road areas:

Honda CRF250L or Rally, Yamaha WR250R or XT250, Suzuki DR250 or DRZ400S, Kawi Super Sherpa or KLR250. Add a few others out there too like CCM, 350 Husky or KTM.

If you want more comfort and less off road you can't ignore the Vstrom 650.
Proven, inexpensive, easy or no maintenance, reliable as a hammer, lots of packing room and comfort. Tougher than it looks. :D:D:D

KTM

Why? :innocent: