As its name implies, the 690 Enduro R is happiest when the pavement ends, eagerly eating up whatever abuse you throw its way and asking for more. Photos by Kevin Wing.
With more buzz than a hive of angry bees and a tall, narrow seat carved from granite, KTM?s 690 Enduro R leaves a lot to be desired as a street bike. Don?t get me wrong, with a feisty, 67-claimed-horsepower thumper and weighing just 340 pounds, the 690 is a fast, flickable bike on any twisty road, the tighter the better. But on the dual-sport continuum, it definitely leans more toward the off-road end of the spectrum.
Slotted between the street-legal, 240-pound 500 EXC-F enduro and 1090 Adventure R in KTM?s lineup, the 690 is heavier and more roadworthy than the 500 but is nearly 200 pounds lighter and $3,900 cheaper than the more plush, powerful and technology-laden 1090. Therein lies the dilemma. What?s more important to you, lightness, agility and off-road-worthiness, or comfort, power and sophistication" Despite its off-road bias, the light, slender, snappy 690 makes short work of back roads, with reasonably grippy knobby tires and standard ABS.
Greg’s Gear

Helmet: Arai XD4

Jacket: Held Carese II

Pants: Held Torno II

Boots: Alpinestars
For street riding, light-duty off-roading or multi-day touring, a full-on adventure bike makes the most sense. But given my street-biased skill set, whenever I?m on an adventure bike and the off-roading gets technical, prudence leads me to slow way down and t...