Have to agree the Desert X is a little on the heavy side, and they could have gone to a plastic two sided tank design with easier access to the air filter. I considered the 890 ktm but I know of way too many people who have had serious problems with that bike. I'll be keeping my Ducati for many years to come. Had street bikes before but nothing is as much fun on the tight twisties and yet can still do some very nasty off road.
rode BDR in the southwest US and one of the riders on an 890 R blew a water pump on a climb on Engineer Pass in Colorado. It was a freaking headache to get that bike to the shop. no, i wouldnt touch a KTM because of the reliability issues. Also KTM charges for remebering app settings on the rider aids. What's that about?
@@needanerdbrain Reliability could be troublesome. Some other manufacturers also charge for extra features but they hide behind the fact that you need particular hardware which is not the case most of the time.
2 questions: - was the Husqvarna 901 Expedition a consideration? - if you could only have 1 bike for the comming 7 years, and you can only choose from the 37 you've already owned...which one will it be and why?
Very good and fun question! The norden was a consideration indeed! Love the look of that bike and it is almost as capable as the R. But I thought that the norden was a little bit comparable to the desert x. So more onroad focused than off-road. And I wanted something more off-road focused. For question number 2 I think if I need to pick one bike for the rest of my life I would choose the R1250GS. That was the best all around bike I have had!
@droommotor suzuki gsf 650 bandit k5 with 46k miles, brought it at 17k miles, 0 issues what so ever, I nearly brought the 890 duke put from previous experience It made me think..do I want to be stranded 300 miles from home in Scotland on a mountain again? Not a pleasant experience 😆, I suppose all ktm owners will go through this at some point..I really liked ktm but after 2 engine rebuilds on a 2021 bike I had to sell it
@droommotor 1st ktm was a 2020 duke 125, brought brand new, owned this for 10 months, 3 warranty repairs on this one, all electrical problems. Passed my full test in 2021 brought a 21 ktm 890 duke brand new. 7 total warranty repairs; New engine gaskets as original one didn't hold engine oil pressure. Head gasket blowing, loss of engine pressure Exhaust valve dropped and damaged the piston this caused an entre engine rebuild. New ECU as it melted??? I was suprised New wiring loom as it rusted New headlight unit as the original wouldn't work properly. New dash board as the original leaked water in. And the final one was metal shavings in the oil, another rebuild, piston rings as fault I got told. Sold it for a huge loss 2 weeks after that. I owned the ktm 890 duke for less than 9 months and it spent 3 months in the workshop cost ktm over £4200 in repairs, missed out on so many riding trips. Ktm dealer wouldn't buy the bike back despite it only having 5200 miles. It might of been a lemon but unfortunately ktm produced more lemons then sweet oranges at the moment 😄. God bless you sir I really wish you all the luck, iv herd of many ktms being perfect though, my friend has a 1290 adventure s with 33k miles and only had a few problems
Ducati has made some weird decisions on the DX. Mainly the exposed metal fuel tank and air filter access. For a motorcycle company as technologically advanced as Ducati it surprised me that they have not designed the bike differently. It's actually quite a letdown imo. The bike is designed in a really old school way, similar to the T7 basically, with simple metal fuel tank on top and so on. The only manufacturers that are actually trying to do things smarter seem to be KTM and Aprilia. The Aprilia has probably the most easy air filter access and the plastic fuel tank that goes under the seat. And of course KTM with their rally style tanks. I think Ducati have kind of messed up with this one. At the moment it's basically style over substance. Immagine if they actually tried to be innovative like with all their other bikes. This one just seems like a model that was quickly made to have a bike in the middle weight ADV market. It could have been a killer bike but in it's current state nobody really cares about it after the initial launch. If you look at the Desert X from Team Kaprioni in Africa Eco race it's basically what the bike should have been like in my opinion. Something along the lines of a modern KTM 990 with all the features and tech.
The air filter is not that bad of a change once you do it on the DX. KTM and Aprilia do it right? a buddy of mine is a well known RU-vid'r who rode an 890 in all of his videos unit the KTM "doing it better" shitty airbox design let dirt in to his engine and blew it up. Aprilia could barly get past engine oil leaks on that 660, no dealer network, hard to get parts etc. Both are nice bikes but I think Ducati knocked the DX out of the park. I read below somebody saying that the Toureg has more character than the DX? WHAT? that is just somebody who chose a Toureg because he could not afford the DX.......the DX has unbelievable character, is the best balanced bike for on and off road.....in fact, as an all around machine I think it is as close to a perfect bike as you can get. Now I have upgraded my DX suspension because I wanted more off road ability but to be honest, it was great in stock form. I also own a KTM 890 Rally so this is not just a DX owners opinion, in fact I just sold my 2021 1250GS because I prefer the DX to that as well. I assure anyone who is looking at adventure bikes and reads the weights of any adv bike you will not claim any one of them to be light and on that Norte I guarantee you will not notice a difference of 50lbs or less. The KTM carries its weight low when fueled up and it is a great bike. 890 Rally weighs 473 lbs wet and the DX is 492lbs wet. You will not feel that. Here is why I think the DX is the best adventure bike.....off and on road prowess, expandable fuel tank, excellent tech, comfort, rider position and power. I put the Termi exhaust and EVO map on mine putting it close to 120HP, Tractive suspension, crash protection, heated grips and some evotech parts on there.....could not be happier. The 890 Rally is also amazing but both the Rally and the Adv R are inherently biased to offroad and are nowhere near the DX on road. Then we factor in reliability? I think KTM and Aprilia are great but Ducati has figured it out in terms of reliability compared to 10 years ago and compared to KTM and Aprilia.
I rented the DesertX once (for a day in Spain) and, well, I felt similar to you. One thing you didn't mention is, MTS V2 exists. It's a great adv bike for road riding, yes, offroad 90% of bikes is better (including the "big" ones like MTS V4) due to the engine not liking low RPMs and clutch being hard to control - however, the only modification DDX did was to make low gears shorter which only helped a bit. MTS doesn't pretend and that, IMO, enables it to do what it does, better. And on the other side is 890 R. I have a 790 (R as well) and it is a great bike on road (well, as good as it gets with 21/18 wheels which limit the lean a bit) and if it weren't for one thing, great bike for off-road. (The one thing is how small the rider triangle is, sitting you won't feel it that much but standing is a pain. Being 194 cm tall, I prefer other bikes off-road simply due to this, even though KTM is superior in many aspects, the position is that bad.) In other aspects off-road it's better than DDX. On-road, MTS V2 offers better comfort than 790 Adv R thanks to it's seat and big mask which are not constrained by off-road riding design, so I can see the reasons why would someone take it over the KTM for on-road riding. DDX, however, needs to be off-road-ish enough not to have these advantages and, well...
We will see how long it holds up! I forget to Mention that the DDX engine is also prone to dust at the internal belts. I’ve seen some destroyed engines at the Ducatis to. We need to remember only people with complaints will tell about it on the internet! Every bike has it flaws
@@droommotor I'd like to see them take the V4S route and put an engine in this bike with ground-up tuning for ADV, chain timing, standard valves. Could use that opportunity to address filter access, weight distribution and whatnot.
Yes. Mine is sat at the dealer with five other for three plus months waiting on parts. Cams is one of many issues I’ve had and the bike is going when I finally get it back. Love riding the KTM but it’s a liability/poor ownership experience. So while without a bike I got a DesertX. Ducati seems better built/higher quality, way better on road, only issues I’ve seen reported is warped disc which Ducati replace, KTM plain out refuse discs. Seen some cracked Ducati wheels that Ducati warranty, KTM don’t crack but dent as also soft and not a warranty item, KTM has many other faults. Haven’t had to pick the DesertX up yet but weight wise it feels same ball park as KTM when sat on it. Not done any off road yet on Ducati as waiting on back ordered bash plate / fitting crash bars so can’t comment on that. So far my only gripe is the air filter location is a pain.
Hi I like your honest straightforward view on the desert X. I wonder if the Tuareg 660 would be a good choice over the desert X with an off-road 60% and street 40% use profile?
Yeah! Thank you for your comment! I think the Tuareg is a really good choice! I still want to ride that bike but from what I’ve seen you are spot on with the Tuareg in terms of onroad and off-road
For the limited time I rode two up it's pretty good. But it's always a compromise an heavier bike which is a bit lower like a GS Adventure is always better.
The 790/890/901 have a great low point of gravity. I noticed it directly when switching from the CRF1000L Africa Twin. And my 790 had no problems for 50.000km. I had a 901 for 30.000km only problem was the cam chain tensioner. I only sold that to downgrade weight wise to a 701 Enduro. The air filter access of the Desert X - a bike that has dust included in the name! - is pure design failure.
Man, I could not disagree more, the only thing that compares to the DX is the 890. I own both the DX and an 890 Rally. I put the Tractive suspension on he DX to even them up. These are adventure bikes, they are all heavy. I have owned a 701 and it falls short in every way. I ride my DX on single track and I find it more stable than my 890, less twitchy and it is way better on road. I bet he has regrets after a while. The 890 is great but I prefer the DX. Just curious what you think are better options in Europe? BMW....not even close, T7 great for a budget bike but not even close.....what else is there? I get it when somebody buys a dedicated off road machine like a Beta etc. but as far as adventure bikes I fail to see that there is a better bike than the DX.....my opinion of course but I truly am interested to know what you feel is a better option?
@@chrisvantassel8867 People tend do defend their own choices, as i'm seeing in both the Ducati Camp and the KTM camp, which is very entertaining and makes sense. I'm only sharing my experiences. Do you honestly think it's a great adv bike design to make the airfilter as inaccessable as they can and make the tank out of steel and/or alumunium? Every bike has their pro's and cons and both bikes are great. In terms of competition probably the new F900GS from BMW could be a very good alternative to the DDX. the DDX is indeed more stable but harder to get around in very technical terrain compared to the 890, but that is my own experience.
@@droommotor In the ADV world there will never be a perfect machine because the concept in general is nothing but a compromise. That being said, and this is only my opinion, KTM and Ducati are making by far he best options. I just will never do BMW again, I have owned over 15 and each time I sell them because of the lack of character. The T7 has so much potential but is too budget. That being said, I truly believe it boils down to the DX and the 890. From there, it is matter of taste but I grew up riding the sand dunes and deserts of San Diego and all surrounding areas. Arguably the best off road spots on the planet. My assessment of both the 890 and DX come from the actual riding experience. KTM and Ducati are my favorite brands on all levels which is why I own several of each. No, the Air filter placement is not optimal but it is not a deal killer for me. Once you remove the tank a few times it's easy. You will not be disappointed with the 890 but I think you will find the same limitations with the 890 as you did with the DX and that is weight (the ultimate adv compromise). If I am truly going to hit the dirt I take my Beta, if I want to travel and hit some ADV roads the 890 or DX are excellent. In overall use though, I prefer the DX. I agree that the 890 will be better in tight stuff due to its shorter wheel base but that is also what makes it twitchy and less stable on road. The DX takes deflections better than the KTM and since it is an ADV bike tight stuff is less of a concern for me....again, Beta. It is a conundrum in that you have to be aware of the type of riding you truly do and which bike is most appropriate. If you spend most of your time on tight single track but want a bike to munch miles in order to get to the tight stuff then you probably made a good choice with the 890. For me, even with my 890 Rally, I don't seek the tight stuff. In fact, this video shows exactly the type of riding I prefer which the DX or 890 will handle beautifully. At that point one would have to decide which is the better bike at getting you there and for me that is also the DX. The addition of the Tractive suspension probably makes my DX even more off road capable than my 890 Rally. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-nilPvlqPk2Y.html
@@chrisvantassel8867 good that you have installed the suspension btw because for the money the OEM suspension of the DDX really lacks! But agree with you! Safe rides!
You just replicated word for word what I did. Had other bikes, bought the desert X , then 890, the R1300. The Desert X has no place and sold it. 1st big jump i did all signal lights came off from the sockets and from that point suspension started squeaking. If you have only one bike, it very hip and good fun bike
@@droommotor there not alot of difference in weight, its the way the ktm carries the weight that makes the difference and the ktm is slower than the ddx and you going to complain about the way the ktm measures the fuel level in the tank 😆
@@Rust_valley_adventures there is a big difference in weight. The DDX weighs around 230 kg with the crashbars the ktm doesn’t need it and weighs around 217kg that’s with a standard battery with the lithium battery (which the desert x has standard) it weighs around 215kg. That’s a 15kg weight difference plus the fact it wears it down low
@@droommotor the ktm wet weight is 477 lbs ddx is 492 wet weight. I ride both bikes , I own ddx freind owns 890 adventure crash bars weigh a couple pounds, you need the new shape bashplate for the 2023/24 ktm as the stock bash plate is not the best, youll need pannier racks and you need a different end can as stock is very heavy ,plus you need the full tech pack for the quick shifter and other electronic tech plus the sat nav module with is extra on top of the tech pack $$$$
@@Rust_valley_adventures ktm doesn’t say anything about the wet weights I have put the bike on the scale (ktm) and came at 217 kg the desert x is 223 without crashbars which it really needs
