Tim Cullis wrote: ↑Tue Mar 12, 2019 10:52 pm
I test rode the 790 Adventure (non R) last month to confirm my order for the bike. Not keen on orange and 'my' white one will arrive in May. Some notes from the ride comparing it to my 690R...
Jason Jones at The KTM Centre in Hemel Hempstead had the 790 Adventure waiting with only 40 miles on the clock. Trade plates were fitted as the ’19’ plates are only legal from tomorrow (1 March).
To differentiate the models I would have liked to refer to the non-R version of the 790 as the 790S but ’S’ is reserved in KTM nomenclature for alloy wheeled models. So I will call it the 790B (basic).
Looking at the paper specs, the 690 has a 910 mm high seat, the 790R has 880 mm and the 790B has 830-850 mm. But this takes no account of the seat curvature and the reality is that the 790B with the seat in the low position feels almost the same height as my 690. I have a 30-inch inseam and on the 790B am only touching the ground with the balls of my feet. I suspect there will be a lot of potential 790R customers out there who will either move to the 790B or have to do some form of lowering
The extra 50 kg of weight over the 690 wasn’t particularly noticeable when moving the bike around and it felt lovely and light on the road, very balanced. The bike is more than 20 kg lighter than both the Africa Twin and the BMW F850GS. The fuel tanks look rather bulbous in photos but when you are on the bike you don’t notice them. Much of my riding in Morocco is at ‘bumbling along’ speeds and I often get 300 km range. Similar riding with the 790 would allow a 470-km (290 mi) range which is really impressive.
The first thing that will impress everyone is the TFT instrument panel which in addition to the usual rev counter, speedo, warning lights, also shows multiple trip odometers, ambient temperature, battery charge condition, fuel range, fuel consumption, ride mode, ABS mode, traction mode, and so on. The various bike settings are controlled by a four-way handlebar switch. Thanks to the intuitive software, when it started to rain, I was able to switch the ride mode from ‘street’ to ‘rain’ without even having to slow down.
The noise from the standard silencer is quite muted. Riding the bike with ear plugs it was hardly noticeable. I have a Wings exhaust on the 690 but this was fitted primarily because the standard 690 can/CAT runs so hot it melts plastic roll bags! The 790 cat is under the engine and I would probably run the 790 with the standard exhaust.
I took the bike north on the M1 motorway seeing what it was like at high cruising speed. The airflow over the windshield was fine and I rode for some time with my visor up. The windshield is adjustable and could be lowered by maybe 25mm to ensure the helmet is in clean air. Also the much lower R windshield could be fitted.
The engine has ample power, feels more like 1000cc, pulls well from under 3000 revs in 4th, feels very happy at high revs. The fueling is spot on, no hiccups in traffic, the engine is smooth with no vibration, and a constantly clear image in the rear view mirrors (vibration-induced mirror stem failure is common on the 690).
I meant to take note of the seat comfort but forgot to, which says something quite positive about it. One major advantage of the 790 is that it can definitely take a pillion. I have ridden the 690 with my wife on the back but it’s only viable for short distances, it’s cramped and one’s gonads are rather squashed.
Having ridden north for a while, by now I was well and truly lost so I thought I would use the bike’s simple navigation facility to route me back to The KTM Centre. I had the 790R owners manual on my iPhone so I stopped to read this to check how to link my phone to the bike’s TFT screen. First of all, I had to download KTM My Ride from the Apple App Store (£7.99). I got it linked and then set up a route in the KTM app back to Jason, but couldn’t work out how to display the app on the TFT screen. I was a bit exposed sitting by the side of the road, so I skipped that and used Apple Maps on my Watch instead which gives me coded haptic taps on the wrist to tell me to turn right or left.
I took a twisty route back through the Chiltern hills. By now the bike and I were firm friends and I was really enjoying myself. I probably didn’t go over half throttle the whole journey but loved the way the bike reacted.
One unsung aspect I really like are the twin storage compartments either side of the bike, one holds the tool kit, the other could be used for tubeless repair kit and CO2 cartridges. There's another small storage under the pillion seat.
I didn’t thing The KTM Centre would thank me for take the bike off-tarmac in the rain in what are 90-10 tyres (Avon Trailriders) but I did try standing on the pegs and everything felt good. Yes, it’s not as light as the 690 but then I’m often off-tarmac on the 690 with 50+ kg of luggage and the 790 sans the luggage would be about the same. In any case I won't be doing much off-tarmac on this bike. The dealer will swap the Avon Trailriders for 50-50 Karoo 3 tyres at no charge.
What didn’t I like? I thought the side stand foot should be bigger so it doesn’t sink into mud or sand. I never understand why they are invariably so small. I couldn’t think of anything else I didn’t like. I would probably fit a louder horn and like the idea of fitting Barkbuster hand guards with built-in LED running lights so oncoming traffic in Morocco realises I’m not a moped.
Since riding the bike I've been following the reviews from the press launch in Morocco and the consensus seems to be that KTM has developed something really special that is in a class of its own.
