[KTM 1090 News]

Alejandro Alonso from Motorbike Magazine was invited to test the new 2017 KTM 1090 Adventure at a presentation in Barcelona and the one ride was enough to make him crave for more adventure!

Its LC8 1,050cc V-Twin engine is capable of delivering 125 hp and 80.39 lb-ft torque, which is quite a bit more than what its main competitor can produce. We’re looking at you Honda CRF1000L Africa Twin with 93.9 ponies on tap. Thought there is an optional 95hp version for those who are restricted by a A2 license.

For just €12,999 buyers will be getting a steel trellis frame equipped with a slipper clutch, traction control, ABS, twin-screen VDO dash with twin LCD screen and bar-mounted selection, and various riding modes to choose from. In his opinion, there doesn’t seem to be much of a difference between Street and Sport mode.

Luckily, Alonso’s test bike came with the optional heated grips as it was quite chilly that day. The 1090 Adventure may be a bit beefy at 205 kg dry, but in Street mode it felt agile and handled smoothly when flicked from side to side. Perhaps its narrow cast alloy wheels (19 inch front, 17 inch rear) contributed to this.

Of course what’s a test ride without taking the 1090 Adventure off-road? Granted the route was no Dakar trail but there were sections of road that allowed the Offroad driving mode to shine. He was able to slide the rear as if it was a lighter endure bike thanks to the wheel locking and skidding properties of this ride mode. Unfortunately, he didn’t mention how comfortable it was to stand on the foot pegs nor did he go into detail about the front and rear suspension system.

Overall, he found the1090 Adventure to be a versatile piece of machinery that brought out the adventurer in him.

 

[Adventurer]

Would have been better if the test rider went into more detail about the KTM 1090 Adventure's off-road capabilities. So buyers will know if they need to go with the R model or if the Adventure will be enough for their needs. Like even terrain with no roads.

 

[Sweeper]

I think especially with one of these, it's one of those crucial things to go into detail about the front and rear suspension and how they reacted to certain environments and what not.

 

[Tricked]

Don't think they're allowed to talk about anything as of yet. KTM doesn't seem to want to reveal anything of performance wise. Just photos at the moment.

 

[dirtrack]

Been seeing a lot of similar reviews that don't get into too much detail but for now we have videos like the below which help to provide a real visual of how the suspension takes on certain types of impact:

 

[Tricked]

The great thing about that video is they took it through so many various terrains to really show the versatility of them. Suspension movement looks great, especially when they transitioned from the dirt to the stone area, nice rebound, smooth.

 

[dirtrack]

Exactly what I said.

This has me thinking that with the growing amount of bike makers getting more into the ADV segment, we could see an increase in them doing promos like this on various terrain in some scenic places. Wouldn`t mind seeing something similar from Honda, Yamaha and the like.

 

[Tricked]

It's the most effective way of promoting an adventurer bike. Bringing them to shows and what not doesn't even do that much justice because you obviously can't see it perform much less take anything away from it. Unless they're holding an event where they put bikes through different trials live. But that's a lot of work and money for an event. Honda did a great job with the Africa Twin in an extensive video.

 

[Adventurer]

Wish they zoomed in on the suspension, but it's still a good view of how the ktm 1090 handles bumps on the trail. I've seen adventure bikes bottom out on trails in videos and that's something you want to see before putting down a lot of money.

 

[Tricked]

I can't see one of these bottoming out but the possibility is definitely always there. Depends on how extreme you plan on taking it and what not I guess?

 

[dirtrack]

depending on the type of trail you're on, you might end up high centering the 1090, but that's just an extreme.
from the way I see it most riders won't have that issue.
instead what people will be more focused around is how the bike actually rides compared to their expectations and what else is on the market.

 

[Sweeper]

To be real.. majority of whoever buys one of these are just buying them because they like them opposed to the smaller section of people that are going to actually utilize it for what it can do. So once it's a comfy bike and has good throttle delivery... I think that's about it