how well new ktm 1090 adv R will compete with Africa Twin?
 

How do you think? Bikes more or less the same weight and cc,
yet ktm has more power and much bigger tank. The latter is big plus IMO
for adventure bike. Both bikes looks good.

The 2017 KTM 1090 Adventure and 1090 Adventure R Add To KTM's Adventure Bike Lineup | Cycle World

https://i1.wp.com/ridermagazine.com/...oods-climb.jpg

I've ridden them both. I own a KTM 990 Adventure but am a novice offroad. Took the Afrca Twin 4 days in the Karoo (South Africa) last december. Gravel, sand and some tar. Total approximately 1000km. Verdict: very capable offroad, the AT feels light. Soft (too soft?) suspension, especially while on tar. Tends to dive in the forks. Bike misses the oomph I'm used from my 990. Although that oomph can be a little too much for a novice rider as myself.

Now the 1090 Adventure R. My dealer arranged one for me to test ride. Only for 2,5 hrs mixed sand, gravel and tar but I was convinced. It feels as light as the AT and lighter than my 990. The suspension works very well offroad (took a few bumps) and doesn't dive on the road. Ride by wire on sport gives that oomph. Even more HP than my 990. On offroad the power is very well managable. Big difference with my 990 which only seems to have an 'on' or 'off' setting on the throttle. Nothing in between.

Long story short: traded in the 990 and waiting for the 1090 Adventure R to be delivered.



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so the ktm 1090 was more fun I understand, looks indeed as it is a direct replacement for 990 which I don't know why they discontinued instead of improve. KTM is a bit more expensive but you get more for your money, e.g. crash bars and complete, fully functional tool pack :) We'll see if they will be any reliability issues first year as even honda had some problems at that time.

Both bikes have 21/18-in wheels, but the tubeless setup puts the KTM ahead for me. I'm fed up struggling with changing tubes when I get a puncture.

forgot about that so another plus for ktm account.

So the only advantage of AT is so called honda reliability? Hard to earn this quickly but once you get it easy to ride on it few years for granted... It's probably more psychological but many guys included myself would feel uneasy in the middle of the desert on ktm :)

Not sure what the common feeling about KTM reliability is... however my '09 990 never let me down in 10.000 km. Never missed a beat. Only regular maintenance, nothing broke down. New LC8 engines have a service interval of even 15k km.




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that's very good, even better then honda 12k km. I like the bike more and more.

KTM reliability? Depends who you talk to. KTM are the New Big Thing now. But they have a very dark history that you don't have to go too far back to learn.

The early KTM twins had LOTS of well documented problems. The later versions of the 990 seemed to be better and the 10, 11 and 12 series bikes are doing even better ... but certainly not 100% bullet proof.

And for maintenance ... with the most modern KTM's ... you may want to stay close to a KTM dealer for parts and service.

If you read the owners forums you can learn a lot about the history of these sort of things. As a NEW off road rider, I would not expect you to know much about this. I've been riding dirt bikes 40 years so lived through some of it.

If I was doing serious RTW type travel I'd go with the under powered Honda. But for me, both are too big and heavy if any off road is on the menu ... and a few other reasons as well.

The young guys can handle 600 lb. bikes off road, I no longer can ... nor do I want to. I would also feel terrible to subject a $22K (usd) KTM to the ultimate abuse it will encounter on a RTW trip.

I'd much prefer riding something cheap and expendable. Maybe this is why so many riders are going with used DR650's, 250's and Chinese bikes.

But no question the KTM will be more fun on short, local ADV rides with moderate off road ... and great on paved roads too. I just did a ride with 5 friends all riding 1290 ADV KTM's. Fabulous bikes on this ALL paved road ride .... I had to work hard to keep up on my 37 HP DR650! :smartass:

here is nice comparison of those two bikes.

And more great footage:
https://youtu.be/oYS5nR-W-t8


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It comes with an in depth comparison article:
http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs...90-adventure-r


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