Decisions Terra/Strada 650 vs Duke 690

Hey guys, great forum and am pretty interested in what Husqvarna have done with these bikes are a wicked package for the money.

Im currently riding a K9 GSXR600 that i purchased new 2 years ago but have ridden dirt bikes also (cr125 2 stroke), and have just test ridden the 2013 KTM Duke 690 and are looking at the offerings by Husky because in some ways are similar and may offer more versatility than the duke.. touring, off road etc

The Duke is a bit better spec'd but not by much, brembo brakes, slight more power, less weight.. it also doesn't have a lot of function below 4,000rpm as a trade off for a decent mid & top end.

I guess id best just go test ride the terra/strada and make the decision for myself, but did anyone else consider the Duke at all? or have ridden both..
Im in no hurry and i still have my gsxr to sell, however im looking forward to a change from sportbikes for the last 3 years.

cheers guys

For city and pavement Duke might be fantastic. No, not 'might be'... IT IS ! Engine is brimming with power, top suspension and brakes, quality everywhere... I would look no further if you're looking for city commuter.

However if you ever ever drop to gravel or consider longer trave, I wouldnt choose Duke instead of Terra/Strada (the former if you choose to travel off roads more often). I bet you need to do a test ride to decide.

Mario 33 is 100% correct, choose the one that best reflects the bulk of your riding. Then you MUST have a decent demo ride.
There is no perfect bike, but some are more suited to your personal needs/capabilities than others

We have Brembo brakes as well.

thanks for the replies guys,

currently we are able to get the Terra ABS for $13,290 & the Duke 690 is $13,995 out the door. (NZ Dollar)

im not sure how that compares to what you guys are paying, but the gap to the duke doesn't seem too large however they are both quite different bikes with their own purposes & have their advantages and i guess i still have to work out what i really want to do. Would be nice to ride something that could go anywhere but at the same time i dont spend a lot of time wanting to get too far off the beaten track, which is probably what this bike is designed to do anyway

The new 690 won't be in the US until spring so I haven't seen one yet. The Husky just seems like it would have a broader range of use to me. The Duke is a hooligan bike, not that it's a bad thing. I've not ridden one, only a superduke. Here the Duke will be $9k while the Terra is $7k.

Hi
I had the same decision to make, after taking both out, the Duke felt slightly sharper handling wise, more responsive [more power less weight] and its a KTM, brill. But I couldn't live with the vibration, it would drive me nuts, the Terra cruise's comfortably at 100-120 kph, no vibs. Also here in Spain I bought a Terra for 4990 euros, the KTM dealer was giving no discounts, so list price is 7600 euros. A no brainer, I now have a Swedish Italian red head sat on the drive and loving every minute of it.

I was going to get the duke as well, but I saw a vid on youtube (im at work so I can't link it, just search for duke vs strada) and it made me look at the strada in a different light. Plus I was able to get the stada almost 4k cheaper ($9200 vs $13800) on the road and was able trade in my old ride. But paying the same price I maybe would of gone the Duke just because I love the look of it and theres a better aftermaket for add on bits.

OnCam,

I'm an old time BMW boxer guy that stopped riding/touring some years ago (long story). When the bug bit last year I resurrected a Yamaha SR500 I had in mothballs. I've always loved street singles and the SR brought back the joy I remembered in commuting/day tripping.

This year when I discovered the Strada, I decided to go after one (first new bike in 32 years). It has much of the character of the SR (light, nimble, FUN) and let's face it, it's a BMW with Husky badges on it.

I also had viewed the video mentioned earlier and that cemented the decision for me.



View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpeDCAR0iAU



While I'm sure that most of the TR owners here are more dirt oriented, I am LOVING this bike as my primary street bike. If I ever want to go touring again I'll fire up one of my airheads. For now, I can't think of another bike I'd rather be riding.



Enjoy!

One of my mates had a 690 duke, until he followed another mate
on a 690 endure on a bumpy road, the next day he bought an enduro.
The duke is a fast bike a bit vibey and unless you are on a billiard table
smooth surface you will have your nuts shoved up your back for a hump.

Scotty

My two cents worth.
I bought my Strada to ride on the local roads in the town I just moved to. I have a BMWF800R and though a fantastic smooth road bike, it doesn't like lumpy roads much and they abound here. The Strada is absolutely capable of comfortably eating lumpy bitumen and not to bad on dirt roads ( I leave the serious dirt to the Terras). You will not believe the fuel economy either. BUT.. as an ex road racer, the stupid 19" front wheel means you can't get decent road tyres and the bike has aweful turn in. It will do it but requires huge effort to turn tight on bitumen. Steepening the forks help a bit ( I internally shortened mine by 40mm) but as a road ( tar) bike it really needs a 17" wheel. I would have done that by now but can't find out if the ABS would be happy with different diameter front and rear tyres. Hopefully if the TR continues to exist after the Austrian gets to work on Husky they will put a 17 on the road version.
JUGHEAD: The SR500 is beautiful. They are fun to ride ( although the flexy footpegs take some getting used to). One of the all time classics that deserves the title, though I think the TR will become one too. First time I rode one on a twisty road , I thought the back tyre was slipping out, til I realized it was the pegs flexing down..lol).

No comment on which is better than the other, but personally I'd go with the 690 Duke. Who knows what the future holds for Husky street-oriented bikes. I think they were a BMW-driven thing that may be part of the past now.

Greg,

Thanks for the compliment. I've owned the SR since '81 (it's an '80) and it was the first bike I put back on the road after my hiatus. It only puts out 29 HP but it gives back a ton of enjoyment. Last winter I built the wire wheels and fitted the Dyna Glide muffler. This winter I want to dial in the carb for a "Goldie" silencer I bought for it.



I have a friend at work with a "Busa" and he just can't understand why I like singles...

I have ridden the new Duke. I'd probably have one in the garage if I'd seen it before the Strada. Here are my thoughts after a lengthy test ride on a new Duke with 900 miles. It vibrates much more at highway speeds then the Strada. The seat is more of a bucket shape that makes you sit in one spot. You can move around on the Strada. The duke has a bit more punch up top I reckon...but this is deceiving because it's so dead under 4k rpm. You must be in the proper gear to go fast...the TR is happy in a couple of gears...not as picky...the brakes are top self on the Duke..doesn't take near the same effort to stop. The TRs brakes work well...they just require more effort. For a run around and raise hell bike the duke would be fine. To really go somewhere on the Strada seems better suited for me. The abs is easy on and off on the TR..I believe you need to pull a fuse on the duke?

There both great and if I could stay married I'd probably bring home the used duke I test rode. They are similar...but there's a lot of differences too. If I had to pick one...without the BMW/KTM Mix up shuffle...I'd go with the Husky.

I found the Duke seat to be much more comfortable on long rides. The Husky one is too narrow . It is still way better than the unbelievebly aweful BMW F800R std seat though...100km before you are standing up to relieve the pressure.
The KTM is vastly superior for short peoiple as MUCH easier to reach the ground

I'd be careful with this. From what I've been told the ABS setup is identical between the Terra and the Strada. That means, it already covers both 21" and 19" wheels and therefore already reacts later on the strada. So far the information form my dealer. So it may still work with 17" and kicking in even later, which generally is a good thing, but it may already also be too late.

From a testride I can confirm that the ABS acts later on the Strada, but I am not sure wether this was not just due to its street tyres having more grip.

Besides, I guess it could become difficult to find a 17" wheel that hooks up the ABS ring, if you intend to stay cast/tubeless. Otherwise, you could of course always use the terra hubs and get some 17" rims.

I'm 6' 1" 190 ish and ended up buying Seat Concepts Tall seat. .helped me open up on long rides. I like to move around on my seat and the bucket style on the KTM...while comfortable for my test ride, wouldn't allow much movement. I felt kinda locked into one position...so to speak. It sure was closer to the ground. I did 420 miles this past Friday on the TR..bike did well...just as soon take the TR as my R1200GS...that's a big endorsement. I do like the Husky.

Trapperj,
The bucket type seat is prob too close the the handlebars and the pegs too close for your legs, for you which is why you feel comfy. I still amazes me , coming from a bicycle background that a $1000 dollar bicycle comes in sizes and is adjusted to fit the rider and a $10000 motorcycle is almost unadjustable without major surgery. As I have stated on this and other forums: the majority of bikes will not be comfortably and safely rideable by the MAJORITY of women nowdays because bikes are getting taller. About 33% of men don't fit them properly as well.They often end up on cruisers which don't handle and only suit the lazy rider. It requires a complete rethink of motorcycle ergonomics and design to make everything properly adjustable. Any bike with a rear subframe could offer different sizes to accomodate different rider sizes for example. ALL suspensions should be PROPERLY adjustable for ride height. This isn't rocket science just requires bikes to be built by engineers not people with Business degrees. Taller riders can usually get some accomodation but things like the dish seats that aren't adjustable forward and backwards will be a problem. As I said "It ain't rocket science, just poor design"
Kurvy,
I am being very careful as I want the ABS to work well. I am very fond of this ABS unit's function. I can get the ASB tacho ring to fit most wheels that have a brake on the correct side. I definitely want to stay tubeless and high performance tyres. If what the dealer says is correct then I might be OK but I have a feeling that it is the DIFFERENCE between the rotational speeds that modulates the brake pressure. The Strada has almost identical rollout radius for front and rear with std tyres. That might account for the longer actuation as the wheels would have to have a larger differential in speed to activate. Almost all 17" decent tyres are going to be MUCH smaller in rolling radius on the front and so under the dealer described system activate earlier because of a larger differential?

I think you've got your maths wrong.
comparing standard tyre sizes
90/90-21 will have a circumference of approx 86.1"
110/80-19 will have a circumference of approx 81.4"
120/70-17 will have a circumference of approx 74.1"

Assuming the ABS ring is identical on all wheels (I recall reading somewhere that it has 48 slots so I will use that number)
The travel per slot on ABS ring will be
21" - 1.79"
19" - 1.70"
17" - 1.54"

I don't know how many measurements the ABS takes before it starts to react to the wheel exhibiting a lockup behaviour, but lets say it's 24 samples - half a wheel rotation (honestly I reckon it would have to be much quicker than this in reality).
The travel distance will be
21" - 43"
19" - 40.7"
17" - 37.0"

So assuming I haven't made a fundamental error in my calculations, the ABS on the bike with the 17" wheel will react 6" sooner than on the bike with the 21" wheel, and the bike with the 19" wheel will split the difference, +/-3"

At say 35MPH, that 6" will equate to about 1/100th of a second.