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KTM 790 Adventure R

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Jarrett said:
Yeah, I dig it. Hopefully it will keep me from going swimming in Arkansas again :)
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Okay Woodsguy, since Jarrett mentioned it. :giveup:The last time we were in Arkansas back in February, we went from a normal back road to a grass two track section through the woods. The only problem was there was a large puddle but bigger than a puddle (Is there such a name?) blocking the transition. It looked a little deep in the middle with some higher sides surrounding it. I went as close to the right side and made it through. Surprisingly it was a little muddier than usual and I spun a little bit at slow speed. Not quite getting stuck but not confidence inspiring for the next guy. Dave went around the rim on the left side and just had to ride through the edge of the puddle before climbing out and riding up a two foot off camber ridge.

Well, Jarrett wisely took Dave's line pretty much but it appeared the goal in his mind was just getting through the edge of the puddle and not to the top of the off camber ridge. So after spinning out of the puddle, Jarrett came to a stop, presumably with goal met. When it was time to go that little bit more, he let his weight get just over center on the downhill side and fell sideways into what we now refer to as Lake Hinds. It wasn't real deep but I don't remember seeing a dry side on him on that cool morning, 30 miles from camp. Rest assured while Jarrett was floundering in the water, Dave and I picked up his dry bike resting on the hill for him.

So if you see Jarrett riding with one of those Hilite Air Vests, it might be because he just wants it for a flotation device. :mrgreen: Rumor also has it he's doing some R&D for Klim who are considering water wings on some of there jackets. :lol2:
 
I put the Rekluse on the 790, it is the third Rekluse I‘ve installed. The others were on a WR450F and a 500EXC. On the two previous bikes, the Rekluse was very smooth at idle in 1st gear. On the 790 is rough and there is some chain slap, I don’t leave it in 1st if at a stop, while on the others I had no quams about that. So getting the same feedback you are Jarrett.

I’ve played around with tuning and found that it won’t tune out, just the way it is. While moving, it is great.

I was torn about whether to put in on the 790 but glad I did.
 
MacDaddy said:
Okay Woodsguy, since Jarrett mentioned it. :giveup:The last time we were in Arkansas back in February, we went from a normal back road to a grass two track section through the woods. The only problem was there was a large puddle but bigger than a puddle (Is there such a name?) blocking the transition. It looked a little deep in the middle with some higher sides surrounding it. I went as close to the right side and made it through. Surprisingly it was a little muddier than usual and I spun a little bit at slow speed. Not quite getting stuck but not confidence inspiring for the next guy. Dave went around the rim on the left side and just had to ride through the edge of the puddle before climbing out and riding up a two foot off camber ridge.

Well, Jarrett wisely took Dave's line pretty much but it appeared the goal in his mind was just getting through the edge of the puddle and not to the top of the off camber ridge. So after spinning out of the puddle, Jarrett came to a stop, presumably with goal met. When it was time to go that little bit more, he let his weight get just over center on the downhill side and fell sideways into what we now refer to as Lake Hinds. It wasn't real deep but I don't remember seeing a dry side on him on that cool morning, 30 miles from camp. Rest assured while Jarrett was floundering in the water, Dave and I picked up his dry bike resting on the hill for him.

So if you see Jarrett riding with one of those Hilite Air Vests, it might be because he just wants it for a flotation device. :mrgreen: Rumor also has it he's doing some R&D for Klim who are considering water wings on some of there jackets. :lol2:
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Well, I have had my Lake Rob moments so won't laugh at him, twice! Last time on first ride on a new bike. Followed the leader up a rocky climb that I knew had a big mud hole at the top, no problem, except lead guy stopped as soon as he cleared the water. I stopped in the water and went to put a foot down, nothing, nada, except me going splash in the mud, bike and all. Not a happy camper, and it was cold that day too.
 
People used to ask me if switching from DCT to manual bikes hurt my clutch technique and I never found that it did. I assume because there was no lever there to give me bad habits.

But this Rekluse is messing with me a bit. Since I get to be really sloppy with my left hand on the 790 R, when I jump on the Triumphs, I almost immediately stall them now. It takes me about 5 minutes riding them to get synced back in with the clutch again.

The 790 R's suspension in stock settings is pretty stiff. I've never experienced this with a "dirt" bike before. I'm used to Honda's marshmellow suspension and trying to modify it to be stiffer. With the 790 R, I'm constantly trying to figure out how to make it softer. Yesterday, I went through the manual and adjusted all of the various suspension points on the KTM to the "Comfort" setting. I didn't realize how many there were until I got in there.

I didn't get a chance to ride it yesterday, but just sitting on it in the garage, my feet are almost flat on it now where it used to be balls of my feet kinda deal. So, I'm guessing something changed. Looking forward to getting it out this week in the dirt to see what's what. I need it to dry out a bit though first. It's like swamp land around here right now.
 
woodsguy said:
Generally the KTM's respond to the suspension adjustments.
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Boy, do they! I REALLY wish I would have adjusted the suspension prior to the Arkansas trip. It's a much different ride now.

I kinda fell in love with the bike on my ride tonight. It has morphed into a different experience. I took it out and did 60-70 miles of dirt before the sun went down. With the new suspension tuning, the Rekluse and the low seat, I think this has become my favorite "dirt" bike to date.

I have to say that I'm really impressed with what KTM has achieved with this bike. It might not have the engine character I prefer compared to the Triumphs, but the performance of the bike overall is undeniable. It blurs the line between big bike and little bike like nothing else I've ridden.

The suspension now feels pretty dang good to me. Much less jarring, floats over stuff much better and even tracks a little better as well. Hit 80 mph on a dirt road and it was perfectly fine. Other bikes I've ridden get sketchy way before that speed on a dirt road. This bike felt like I could have kept accelerating without issue. I also jumped on the road and ran it up to 110mph and it still feels fine there as well.

To top it off, I found some new dirt roads to explore. Snapped a couple of pics in the middle of this two track road I found.

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Missing mine right now. Took it to the shop a few weeks ago to take care of the gas tank issue. Now the shop is shut down due to CV19, so not sure when I’ll get it back.
 
nevlec said:
Missing mine right now. Took it to the shop a few weeks ago to take care of the gas tank issue. Now the shop is shut down due to CV19, so not sure when I’ll get it back.
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Man, that's a bummer. What tank issue?
 
Jarrett said:
Man, that's a bummer. What tank issue?
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When I was riding out in Big Bend a few weeks ago I had enormous vapor pressure building up in the tank - was making me stall out and had to quit riding. Had to stop every few miles on Old Ore to let pressure out of the tank. It was pretty nuts. it has something to do with the gas cap. Dealer is replacing the cap under warranty. It is apparently a not too uncommon issue on some other big bike KTM’s. When I find out exactly what the issue is and what can be done to prevent it I’ll post up.
 
When we were out in Big Bend earlier this month, several of us had gas issues. My Tiger was gurgling, an Africa twin was stalling out and someone on a 1290 KTM said gas spewed out when they opened the gas cap. Once I got some higher grade gas, it stopped. It made me wonder if it was something to do with the gas quality out there.
 
This was definitely a physical issue with the tank. It had crazy pressure built up. Had to SLOWLY let it depressure as I cracked the cap open just a tiny tiny bit - let off pressure for about 4 or 5 min before I could actually open the lid fully without getting a face full of gasoline.
 
Had some more fun with the 790 R yesterday. It impresses more and more each ride. Added a couple of turns of preload and it has smoothed out a bit more.

I found out it can do at least 240 miles on a tank of gas. That's plenty for me. Just need a taller windscreen to keep the bugs off my visor on the highway trips.

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synthlegend said:
Looks beautiful, let me see how far that is! @my6 field trip!!!!!:pirate:
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Lake Whitney is 3+ hrs by freeway from the west side of Houston. It's a nice area. I have an old GPX track up there from one of the Roll the Bones rallies. Good fun, but requires at least a couple of diversions due to unused/impassable roads.
 
William Wolfen said:
Lake Whitney is 3+ hrs by freeway from the west side of Houston. It's a nice area. I have an old GPX track up there from one of the Roll the Bones rallies. Good fun, but requires at least a couple of diversions due to unused/impassable roads.
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West Side Riders field trip? Let's do it!!!!!
 
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