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KTM 790 preview

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woodsguy

woodsguy

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www.advpulse.com

2019 KTM 790 Adventure & 790 Adventure R – First Ride - ADV Pulse

When a manufacturer states their new model is “the most off-road capable travel bike” on the market, you can expect a claim like that to be received with a fair amount of skepticism. That is unless the manufacturer is KTM. They’ve produced so many of the top off-road adventure touring bikes over...
www.advpulse.com www.advpulse.com
 
It's a nice bike, a little heavy compared to the 690 but still looks great.
 
Jarrett said:
I'm guessing its 460 lbs. wet?
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I bet your right, it says 417 dry. That's a lot of extra weight over the 690 (330 lb I think)
Great looking bike regardless.
 
The 1090 Adventure R is a VERY capable ADV bike and is 456 pounds dry. The 790 is only 39 pounds less. With 5 gallons of fuel, your talking 450 pounds vs. 490 pounds which really isn't that much of a difference and is kind of disappointing to me. I kind of wish they had stripped some of the bells and whistles off and made it about 375 pounds.

Even so....... 40 pounds is still 40 pounds and when you consider the range on the 1090 is about 220 miles with a 6.1 gallon tank and the range on the more efficient 790 is reported at 280 miles with a 5.3 gallon tank, you'll likely be leaving for the gas station on the 1090 even heavier and it won't go as far.

If you want to travel some distance on the road and then tackle some harder trails when you arrive, I'm thinking the 1090R is still the better choice as it's just a bit bigger and will do just a bit better on the highway. But....for shorter amounts of highway and large doses of trail and dirt, the 790 would definitely be my choice.

Having said that, cruise control, lean angle ABS and tubeless tires are on the 790 and aren't on the 1090. Those are some pretty nice things to have on a "distance" ADV bike.

Oh...and the 790 R is $1500 less than the 1090 R and about $8K less than the BMW 850 GS Adventure so a "decent" value for a pretty high performing bike.
 
woodsguy said:
450 to 460, still a lot.
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Totally agree....but the BMW 850 Adventure is 538 wet with similar performance numbers so maybe 450 isn't so bad all things considered.

At the end of the day.... we all know a 650 Adventure or even a 500 EXC would be WAY more fun on dirt but we really wouldn't want to ride one over 200 miles of pavement, EVER. A 790 R or 850 GS would be pretty easy to do 200 miles of pavement and then still have some fun in the dirt on a capable bike.

Point being.....it's always a compromise and what makes it worse on dirt generally makes it better on the street. If the street stuff doesn't matter to a person because they're going to trailer it there or only ride street for short distances, they'd be better off buying the 690 and saving a few thousand. Then again...I couldn't imagine riding a 690 Adventure to Colorado, touring around for a week, then riding back home and I think you could do that with a 790 R. (although I'd probably still trailer the thing as you'd burn up any good dirt tires riding it up there and back)
 
SilverBullet said:
Yes but I still wish it was 10-15 lbs heavier if extra weight included a shaft drive. Only way I'd consider.
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With you on the 10-15 pounds, definitely not on the shaft drive.

The worst thing about my big GS is the shaft drive. I'd much rather have a chain. Shaft drive on dirt bikes is a bad idea IMO. You can fix a chain on a trail side or get parts from just about anywhere. Shred your shaft drive and your stuck.

Shaft for street bikes is great.....for dirt horrible. For ADV bikes....it's a compromise like everything else...great for the street part....not great for the dirt part.

PS... modern o-ring chains are so much better than chains of the past. My Super Duke puts out 170 HP and the chain will last 25K miles. You used to have to put on new chains and sprockets every 5000 miles or so with a bike delivering that kind of HP. Chain life and maintenance is not so bad these days.
 
2WheelNut said:
With you on the 10-15 pounds, definitely not on the shaft drive.

The worst thing about my big GS is the shaft drive. I'd much rather have a chain. Shaft drive on dirt bikes is a bad idea IMO. You can fix a chain on a trail side or get parts from just about anywhere. Shred your shaft drive and your stuck.

Shaft for street bikes is great.....for dirt horrible. For ADV bikes....it's a compromise like everything else...great for the street part....not great for the dirt part.

PS... modern o-ring chains are so much better than chains of the past. My Super Duke puts out 170 HP and the chain will last 25K miles. You used to have to put on new chains and sprockets every 5000 miles or so with a bike delivering that kind of HP. Chain life and maintenance is not so bad these days.
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Also a point you miss, with sprockets it's fairly easy to change gearing if needed. Which I usually do, at least at first chain replacement.
 
This is a cool bike that could be my move up (been following the ADV thread for many months now), but I just can't get past the horrible looks! And I understand function over presentation but man. It looks like it's gonna be in veeeery limited supply in the US, so even if I wanted one I'm too late. If the reviews are very favorable I might consider it, though.

The 1290 is also a bike I'm interested in (for 2up touring) but I just don't jibe with the KTM orange.
 
I do wonder about the shaft/chain thing and preferences around it.

My VFR has shaft drive and also seems to have what's called "shaft jack" that my other bikes don't have. But I don't have to clean it every 600 miles either.
 
Jarrett said:
I do wonder about the shaft/chain thing and preferences around it.

My VFR has shaft drive and also seems to have what's called "shaft jack" that my other bikes don't have. But I don't have to clean it every 600 miles either.
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I rarely have to "clean" a chain.
 
Just rare it's that bad. Try using chain lubes that don't attract dirt. 600 miles is quick.
 
2WheelNut said:
...Shaft for street bikes is great.....for dirt horrible. For ADV bikes....it's a compromise like everything else...great for the street part....not great for the dirt part...
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Correct, an adv bike is compromise. If used for extended long trips, riding in the boonies and RTW travel, shaft is superior. Even best case 25k mile chain/sprocket replacements can still come at an inopportune time. Availability can strand you for days/weeks.

If my Tenere wasn't shaft, I would already be on my 7th chain/sprocket set in 4 years. That would come at a cost of approx $1,500. Instead I spent less than $25 for the best gear oil available, about the same cost for chain lube.

Sent from my SM-G860P using Tapatalk
 
SilverBullet said:
Correct, an adv bike is compromise. If used for extended long trips, riding in the boonies and RTW travel, shaft is superior. Even best case 25k mile chain/sprocket replacements can still come at an inopportune time. Availability can strand you for days/weeks.

If my Tenere wasn't shaft, I would already be on my 7th chain/sprocket set in 4 years. That would come at a cost of approx $1,500. Instead I spent less than $25 for the best gear oil available, about the same cost for chain lube.

Sent from my SM-G860P using Tapatalk
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If I rode as much and as far as you do, it would for sure change my outlook!
 
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SilverBullet said:
Correct, an adv bike is compromise. If used for extended long trips, riding in the boonies and RTW travel, shaft is superior. Even best case 25k mile chain/sprocket replacements can still come at an inopportune time. Availability can strand you for days/weeks.

If my Tenere wasn't shaft, I would already be on my 7th chain/sprocket set in 4 years. That would come at a cost of approx $1,500. Instead I spent less than $25 for the best gear oil available, about the same cost for chain lube.

Sent from my SM-G860P using Tapatalk
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Yep. All about perspective and intended use. I use my Goldwing for the big miles and chain would be completely unacceptable for it.

I'd be on chain number 5 on the Wing.
 
I don't lube/clean my KTM's chain. I try not to let it sit with water on it so it doesn't rust, but other than that, I do nothing. Chain wax/lube just causes dirt to stick to the chain, which then acts like an abrasive and tears up the O-rings faster (which is also what rust does). The whole point of an O-ring chain is that it already has the lube where it is needed. The key to long life is keeping the O-rings intact.
 
ktm-790-Adventure-r-model-differences.jpg

Excellent info, thanks for posting this
 
Talked to my local Kawi-KTM-Suzi dealer and he said KTM makes it very difficult to work with. If he orders a 790, they make him order a bunch of bikes that don’t move off the showroom floor. The US market probably won’t get many 790’s (I found a couple in MA on CycleTrader). Unless KTM changes the way they do business, by July he will tell them to take their bikes out of his dealership and not sell anymore.


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JoToPe said:
Talked to my local Kawi-KTM-Suzi dealer and he said KTM makes it very difficult to work with. If he orders a 790, they make him order a bunch of bikes that don’t move off the showroom floor. The US market probably won’t get many 790’s (I found a couple in MA on CycleTrader). Unless KTM changes the way they do business, by July he will tell them to take their bikes out of his dealership and not sell anymore.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Just more for Cycle Shack North!!!!
 
I love everything about this 790 except the weight. As much as I think I'd want one I don't think I'd trade my 690 for it. I've had to pick that 690 up many times in some pretty rough stuff, some of those times loaded with bags, fuel, etc., and I can tell you its a beating even for me being a pretty big guy with decent strength. I can't imagine adding another 100+ lbs to that mix. From a long-haul perspective we recently did 1400 miles in Mexico last year with a 80/20 street/dirt mix and it traveled pretty well considering it's a dirt bike, but definitely not as well as the is 790 will do.

So if you're doing more technical dirt and aren't a youtube highlights kind of rider, I stick to something lighter (and cheaper to fix)
 
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