bic_bicknell
Just had a big breakfast at Fowlers' cafe in Bristol and afterwards wandered over the the KTM franchise bit to have a look at the 2017 1290. Doesn't matter what I thought of everything else, the bike's styling and character is dominated by that new front headlight arrangement. I'm a big fan of Kiska design and what they've done for KTM over the years. And I love the angular lines of my 990. But I think KTM have maybe lost the plot. This new plastic LED device looks like some sort of Dyson vacuum cleaning device or a revolutionary new Tefal kitchen aid for washing salads. The kind that you use once and then throw into the back of the corner cupboard still in its box and never use again. It's very plasticky and rather silly.
The eager salesman was at pains to tell me about the fact that has a slot down the centre to aid cooling because the lights generate a lot of heat and that this was a far better solution than BMW - who had put a fan behind their version. I'm like, "Yes, and so what. It doesn't make the front end not look like it's been driven at speed into the side of a bus does it?"
And that's the problem for me. Combined with the really minimal instrument panel (which is almost not there visually) The whole front end looks wrong. Like some mutated insect lava that crawled out of it's post-nuclear, radio-active nest crippled and only half formed.
If I had £14,000 to spend this might well be a deal breaker.
I guess I'm just old school me. Give me a nice classic 1975 Z900 Kawasaki with beautiful twin, stream-lined clocks mounted high and proud above the handle bars and a proper round headlight that does the job and I'll be a happy man.
The eager salesman was at pains to tell me about the fact that has a slot down the centre to aid cooling because the lights generate a lot of heat and that this was a far better solution than BMW - who had put a fan behind their version. I'm like, "Yes, and so what. It doesn't make the front end not look like it's been driven at speed into the side of a bus does it?"
And that's the problem for me. Combined with the really minimal instrument panel (which is almost not there visually) The whole front end looks wrong. Like some mutated insect lava that crawled out of it's post-nuclear, radio-active nest crippled and only half formed.
If I had £14,000 to spend this might well be a deal breaker.
I guess I'm just old school me. Give me a nice classic 1975 Z900 Kawasaki with beautiful twin, stream-lined clocks mounted high and proud above the handle bars and a proper round headlight that does the job and I'll be a happy man.