The best things about the 950 SE

1. Offroad capability – give me single track mud, sand, snow or snot and no other big twin cylinder bike will run with a KTM Super Enduro.  None.
2. Reliability and simple design
1. It has no EFI and no ABS, there are no computers at all.  So if it does stop, diagnosis and repair is really easy, that’s important when you’re somewhere like the Congo.
2. Having said that, it rarely actually stops.
3. I carry the standard ktm tool kit with a couple of extras in the original pouch, and can do ALL the servicing work, including a valve service with that small kit.
3. Fun factor
1. there might not be too many places in the world where you can really ride the 950 to it’s potential, but when you’re powersliding across the tundra of Mongolia, all 100hp tearing your rear tyre to shreds and hurtling you forward at a rate that’s hard to mentally process, where you hit bumps so damned hard that you swear something has gotta break, you launch the thing metres into the air and the WP suspension just takes it and takes it and laughs at you for not being a better rider…  that’s what the Super Enduro is all about.  So what if you have to endure a diamond hard seat for days on end to get there, toughen up princess, it’s all worth it.
4. Crashability
1. It is built tough.  I’ve fallen off betsy more than 100 times and if you dont count injuries, then the worse result from it all was a broken clutch lever, and even that was just the little bit on the end.

 The Worst Things about the 950 SE

1. Seat Height – makes crossing rivers a challenge.
2. Weight – i get sick of picking it up sometimes.
3. No EFI – it wont run at altitudes much higher than 5000m.
4. Seat – hard as diamond.
5. Tyre Wear – it destroys rear tyres, probably more to do with the way i ride, but the combination of big power and weight adds up to short tyre life.  This makes things hard sometimes in remote areas where you cant buy new ones.

My Next Bike? A single cylinder ~400-600cc, less than 140kg with soft luggage.  Maybe a KTM 690, a Husaberg 570 or a DRZ400.