12th January 2017

The Adventure Touring segment has been mostly dominated by KTM for a long time now and the company is no mood to give away the coveted position anytime soon. Most of the motorbikes have done well but a lack of an adventure bike in the middleweight segment has been absent. And because of this, KTM has been rumoured to have come up with an 800cc adventure model that follows the footsteps of the other models. KTM head, Stephan Pierer, has confirmed the news and the bike is expected to be called the KTM 790 Adventure. 

The prototype looks promising and seems to be an authentic world-crosser. The motorbike is a true successor of the earlier 640 Adventure and for now the future looks good for the KTM 790 Adventure. For motorbike enthusiasts who are looking for a lighter model with the same performance factor as the other KTM bikes, this just might be the one. It will be interesting to see the kind of people KTM attracts with the launch of the KTM 790 Adventure.

Currently, prices and variants of the bike have not been finalized as it is still in the prototype stage. But it can be expected that the price will be somewhere around the prices of its predecessor models.

Design and specifications

The front and rear wheels are 21 inch and 18 inch respectively and run on DID Dirt Star rims. Looking at the tires it is obvious that the bike is meant for off road trips. KTMs other bikes had wheel sizes of 19 inch and 17 inch on the front and rear respectively and were suggestive of more on road drives. The parallel-twin engine that will be seen in the 790 Adventure will first be fitted in a Duke model that is expected to launch somewhere in 2018. As of now, most specifications are not available for the 790 Adventure. The bike is likely to have less power than other Adventure Tourers and less mass to carry. The prototype has been shown to have more gaffa tape but the actual bodywork may not have so much. The twin fuel tanks will definitely be present and each will have its own filler and joined by a crossover pipe running between the tanks. KTM has decided to give the nose cowl on the front end a miss and will be fitted with a split LED headlamp. The rear end looks like some other bike but that does not mean the bike will not look impressive.

It is hard to identify from the pictures whether rider aids are fitted or not but it is highly suspected that the bike won’t have the same system as that of the 1090 model.

The 790 looks like a standard KTM adventure model with its fully-adjustable WP fork in the front and an adjustable monoshock in the rear. The bike definitely looks like a conventional adventurer and as far as the pictures are concerned, it is expected to be one.