Sep122013September 12, 2013September 16, 201354Commentsby Adam Wheeler

Fan’s spot: Norbert Thiede (Germany)

Posted in People

Why I ride KTM: Norbert Thiede (Germany)

The KTM Blog takes a look at some passionate motorcyclists wherever we can find them. Some people are still die-hard racers, others like to travel and tour, some can’t get enough of track days and windy roads and then there are those that just like to slowly fill their garage. Today we meet Norbert Thiede from Vechelde in Germany.

NT-990.20131

Tell us about you…

Norbert Thiede: I am 44 years old and work as a freelance network engineer. I own almost all of the KTM model range! A Duke 1, a Super Duke, a 690er as Cup-track bike and a RC8. And now I have just bought a new KTM Adventure 990 to take on a vacation tour in Italy this fall and generally to do more touring stuff.

 

Why the Adventure?

I know that the Adventure is an ideal bike to ride very long distances and stay relaxed. The engine character is suitable for everything; you can go fast or slow and enjoy a comfortable seating position, and also a very decent fuel range.

 

So why the 990cc Adventure and not the new 1190?

I like the look of the 990 more. Also because I don’t really like sitting ‘in’ the bike and I find that more with the 1190. I already have the engine with the RC8, so I do not need it again!

 

Can you imagine a life without a motorcycle?

No! I started riding motorcycles at the age of just 28 because money was tight beforehand and I could afford only a car.

 

You also run a KTM forum as administrator…

Yes. After buying my first Duke I found that Duke riders in internet forums were just guesting at LC4 sites. So I decided to start a forum dedicated to Dukes and it has been running now for exactly ten years. There are threads for Duke models only and include 1, 2, 3, and 4 and up to the Super Duke. And now the 125, 200 and 390s. This year I also started a forum just for the RC8 because I found those riders were in a similar situation with those of the Dukes. This summer, I also organized a forum-meeting for the first time and a bunch of rider met up; it was a lot of fun.

 

The Duke-forum can be found at www.dukecity.de, the RC8 forum at www.rc-8.de