GONE TOO SOON

The KTM 790 Adventure R burst onto the scene in 2018 with more hype than the first moon landing. It promised the finesse of a lunar rover with the power of a Saturn rocket. But after just two years, KTM big-wigs have replaced the 790 with an 890 Adventure range.

I spent three days steering the 790 Adventure R around the NSW south coast and alpine region and, after 1300km, I couldn’t see why, from a rider’s perspective, they’d up-size it. Sure, there are things I’d change but the engine ain’t one of them.

The decision probably came from Mattighofen bean counters looking to rationalize some of their models using the 889cc twin from the KTM 890 Duke and forthcoming Husky Norden 901. But if KTM was looking at other ways