2019-07-01_RiDE

TFTdashhasa

clearspeedo,

butotherinfo

isa bitsmall

Monstrosityon

therightisthe

switchforKTM’s

£17 4 heatedgrips

Fantasy lands

FIRST RIDE KTM 790 ADVENTURE

T

HEMIDDAYSUNscorchesdownfrom
itslofty cosmicperchwithvindictive
fury,persecutingthisnaïvenomad
who’sstrayedintohostilewilderness.
Solitude’sstarksilenceis shatteredby
an ominous gurgle:aneagercoyoteprowling
throughtheparchedundergrowth,orperhaps
mylastlitre offuelboiling insidethetank?
Ah,no,it’sa rumblingstomach,andit’sjust
poppedmy adventure-fantasybubble.Turns
outthisisn’ta far-flungexoticlandat all. It’s
Lincolnshire;I’mnearerBournethanBorneo.
ButwhileKTM’snew 790 Adventuremight
comebundled witha wealthofDakar
daydreams,thewayit feelsonBritish
backroadsandbywaysis farmore important
th anhowit hacksthrougha distantdesert.So
let’s cutthroughthehype,like anaftermarket
knobblyslicingthroughtheSahara...
Whatwe havehereis thenon-Rversionof
thetwo 790 Adventures– theless-expensive,
moreroad-focusedofthedual-purposeduo.
It usesa retunedversionof theDuke’s799cc
twin,withlesspower(94bhp,downfrom
10 3bhp)andmore torque.Holdingthismotor
as astressedmemberis a tubular-steelframe.
At eachendis WP suspension(nodamping
adjustment;rearpreloadsetwitha 10-step
ri ng)boastinga leggy200mmof travel,and
spokedwheelswitha 21-inchfront.

Butwhatgrabsyourattentionfirstis the

79 0’sseatheight—or, rather,thelackof it.

Despiteallits legitimateadventureintentions

andcrediblecomponents,thisis nota big

bike. Itssaddleslotsintooneoftwosettings,

with thelowerone—830mm—thesame

st retchas Honda’sCB500X.It’sactually

shorterthana Fireblade.“Havetheysentus

a lo weredbikeby mistake?”askseditorMatt

with a straightface.Climbingaboardthefirm,

flatsaddlesinkstheshockenoughformy 5ft

9inframeto plantboth feetflat firmly onthe

ground. I wasnotexpectingthat.

Visually,the790’ssquatstanceis amplified

byits ‘saddlebag’petroltank,whichdroops

down both flanks like tworugbyballsina

bin-bagthat’sbeenhungfromthefillercap.

It ’snota prettysolution,butit does make

dynamicsense.Carryingthebulkofits 20

litres ofpetrolwaydownat axle-levelkeeps

thecentreofgravitylow,makingthebike

easyto manoeuvrewhilestillmanaging 200

milesbetweenfill-ups.It’sa solutionaimed

ateveryriderwho’scriticisedadventure

bikes forbeing tootallandtop-heavy.

Pickingit up offits slightly-too-long

sidestand,it’sclearthe 790 is waylighterthan

otheradventurebikes.RiDE’sscalesreveala

fu llyfuelledweightof 214kg– that’s15kgless

th anTriumph’sTiger800XCX,and28kg

KTM says its new 790 Adventure is capable

of tackling the wildest terrain. Well that’s

lovely, butwhat’sit likein real life?

Words Martin Fitz-Gibbons Pictures Chippy Wood

JULY 2019 | 23