SECOND OPINION
When the 790 Adventure R hit NZ , I rode it on a mixture of gravel and seal roads from Auckland to Raglan and back . It was something of a revelation in the Adventure bike market . Powerful and punchy , yet small enough that it was easy to throw around . In fact , I found the way it liked to be ridden on the tar seal was like a supermoto , all front end and let the back do what it liked . Jumping on the 890 Adventure R , only a couple of years later , I found the same thing . Except this time , there was more , much more . The 100cc bigger engine gives another 10hp and an extra 12Nm of torque . To go along with this , there ’ s a 7kg weight increase . The 890 motor is more aggressive , something that became very apparent when switching off the TC to get a proper feel for how the electronics were reigning in the motor . Things got very sideways , very quickly , coming out of one particular corner on tar seal - the Karoo 3 giving up and waving the white flag under the onslaught of the 890 ’ s stampeding Austrian horses . It ’ s unlikely many owners will turn the TC off completely , but it does have an angry side that can catch you out if you want to play that way . On gravel roads , the 890 feels very capable . Agile , powerful and easy to ride , the TC giving a decent amount of slide but holding it back enough that there ’ s plenty of forward drive . Rear tyres aren ’ t going to last long on this bike . With 20 litres of fuel in the side-hanging tanks , fuel range is pretty easily going to be in the 400km range - if you don ’ t get too heavy with the throttle . The 15,000km service interval is great for those wanting to do a lot of kilometres , and the seat isn ’ t that bad either . KTM says this is a capable dirt bike , and I ’ m sure with someone like Jock ( or KTM Ambassador Birchy ) at the helm , it ’ s incredible what can be done on it . I ’ m a below average dirt rider ( at best ) and a reasonable gravel / adventure rider ( also at best ), and the 890 feels like it has depths I ’ ll never see - which is why they make the 890 Adventure , as well as this R version . Effective , fast , a complete handful for the wrong rider , the 890 Adventure R is the most capable adventure bike on the market . If you need one , you ’ ll know it . Everyone else should buy the almost as capable non-R model . BEN WILKINS
KIWI RIDER 61