While all eyes were on the much anticipated KTM 390 Adventure, which turned out to be a no-show, again, the Austrian brand revealed the new 790 Adventure. The new motorcycle was showcased in a concept form at last year’s EICMA show and the production version has carried forward much of the design cues. It sorts a redesigned LED headlight, smaller windscreen and exposed fairing which is similar to the larger adventure offerings from KTM. It gets equipped with a TFT screen along with Bluetooth connectivity as seen on the 790 Duke and additional goodies include a multi-level traction control, cornering ABS (with off-road mode and is disengageable) and a quickshifter. It will be available in two versions - the base Adventure and the more hardcore Adventure R with longer travel suspension, off-road tyres and different bodywork.
Both the versions employ the same 21-inch front wheel, identical engine tuning and braking hardware. However, the 790 Adventure R has been equipped with travel 48mm WP XPLOR front fork with a massive 240mm suspension travel, while the stock bike features 43mm USD fork. Powering both the bikes is a 799cc, parallel-twin motor churning out 95bhp at 8,000rpm. Transmission duties are handled by a 6-speed gearbox while a slipper clutch is standard. Braking hardware consists of twin 320mm disc with radially-mounted 4 piston calliper and 260mm disc at the rear. Fuel tank capacity stands at 20 litres and the 790 Adventure weighs 189kg. Seat height is pretty tall at 880mm and the bike has a massive ground clearance of 263mm.
KTM will be launching the 790 Duke in our market next year and it’s unlikely that the 790 Adventure will come to our market in 2019 as we will first get the 390 Adventure, if and when, KTM decides to unveil it.