The equipment. KTM has a reputation, if any company is meant to know about off-roading its these guys and you’d expect their (at the time) flagship hardcore adventure bike to be kitted out appropriately.
Instead, you get no radiator guard, a pathetic plastic skid plate, a half finished set of crashbars and plastic handguards, not to mention an airbox that can’t handle a ride on the beach and headlights about as bright as your average Brexit voter. There are aftermarket solutions to all of this (and very well made ones at that) but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect an almost £14,000 motorcycle (when new) to come with better as standard.
On top of all this, the early models have a severely underpowered starter motor which makes starting the bike in cold weather a lottery at best.
Adding all these solutions also contributes to the 1190’s biggest disadvantage – the weight. At 230kg fully fuelled, a stock 1190R is at the lighter end of the scale for the big adv bike class, however being the lightest big adv bike is like being the best looking guy in the burns unit. Ultimately, it’s still nearly a quarter ton of motorcycle before you add luggage and picking it up solo is not a fun time, particularly when you throw in the extreme temperatures, fatigue or even altitudes that are common in adventure riding. This weight coupled with its power can get you in a lot of trouble very quickly too if you’re not on the ball.
The hooligan bike characteristics that can make it so entertaining are a double edged sword. It runs hot in traffic, Street and Sport fuelling are snatchy at low revs/speed and the sensation that it’s always straining at the leash and encouraging you to push the limit can just be a bit much when you’ve done 14 hours in the saddle on a wet day and just want to get to the hotel/campsite and curl up to sleep.