The KTM Adventure comes with almost everything you need and not many things you don?t. The rest is up to you.
When BMW?s GS series came out it defined a new class of big-bore ?adventure? bikes. Over time, though, refinement to the GS softened it enough, according to some riders, to blunt its ability to perform the job it was originally designed to do.
Many of those riders found an alternative in KTM?s 950/990 Adventure, which stripped away some of the niceties of the GS and replaced them with a hard-edged, more off-road-oriented skill set, and a more focused mission statement.
Read our 2018 KTM 1290 Super Adventure S Road Test Review.
The KTM 990 Adventure on the cover of the November 2007 issue of “Rider.”
The Adventure began in 2003, powered by a liquid-cooled 942cc V-twin with dual overhead cams and the cylinders set at a 75-degree angle. The short, narrow engine pumped out a twitch of the dyno needle more than 100 horsepower, plenty sufficient to blast through the boonies or gobble up miles of Interstate travel effortlessly. Engineers being what they are?restless when idle?in 2006 KTM upped the displacement to 999cc, revised the cams and replaced the 950?s carbs with fuel injection. Horsepower output crept up too, but only to about 105.
Check out our comparison test between the Honda Africa Twin and KTM 1090 Adventure R.
Light and narrow, the 990 Adventure makes short work of corners, whether paved or unpaved.
The Adventure?s chassis doesn?t contribute any ...