What’s with all this ‘adventure’ stuff regarding motorbikes? When I was a lad (admittedly a long time ago so shut thou mouths), they were simply called trail bikes. I’m sure you guys who still can’t ‘copy and paste’ will agree?
You see, in my mind, it all began with an off-road bike that was factory fitted with lights, softer seat and half-and-half road/off- road tyres, right? Things, and I mean things, like Yamaha DT250s and
Honda XL500s spring to mind, and then spring out again, but they could take you on an ‘adventure’ if you so desired, sort of.
Then BMW stepped in with R80GS in the early 80s and everything changed. The public now had a proper big trail bike, but that sounded a bit gay, so the adventure bike was born and sounded far more impressive over a pint of vodka.
Nowadays, especially in South Africa, the adventure bike is as common as breast implants and just as desirable. Just about all manufacturers have a ‘big-un’ in different forms, which are all good motorbikes in their own right. But recently, as you all know, KTM released this pair and possibly changed the adventure badge again to something else. Perhaps, the Fastest Ever Adventure Bike or F.E.A.B. should now be adorned across the tank, which is my patented name and if KTM want to use it they’ll have to send me a bag of Euros.
But this is a title KTM should have and deserve, because nothing in this class will do over 260km/h, pull monumental wheelies, still go off-road and if it was entered in a MotoGP in the 90s it would probably have won; these KTMs are really that fast folks. So if you want a bike with desert crossing abilities and superbike performance, go out and buy either one of the 1190 Adventures today, simple as that!
When KTM announced that this trail bike, er sorry, adventure bike was claimed to produce 150hp it gave me a twitch so I couldn’t wait to get them onto Noddy’s Dynojet dyno and, up until then, I didn’t know of anyone who’d made the effort to get genuine real wheel horsepower figures. So I bet you’re all as excited as I was to hear the results. Well, how does 127hp at the back wheel sound? To put that into perspective that’s only 25hp less than a 2012 Suzuki GSX-R1000 superbike, on the same dyno. We also decided to run the normal 1190 Adventure and the ‘pirate’s bike’ or the ‘Arrr’ at the same time to see if there was a difference. Both made exactly the same horsepower proving how good KTM’s build quality is with this new engine. But for some reason the Adventure road version made a little more torque up until 7,000rpm, which could be felt when ridden on the road, but only just.
Now this horsepower is possibly too much for off-road tomfoolery so KTM have an option to lop off 50hp using the new fancy electronics package, which might stop you flying 60-feet into the air while
grabbing a fistful down your local dirt road. So we ran the bikes in that ‘girlie’ mode as well and came away with 88hp. Now that figure is about the same as their cherished 990 Adventure and interestingly the same as a Yamaha 1200 Super Ténéré, which I’m sure will entertain new 1190 owners as they arrogantly flick the ‘V’ at those guys.
But performance isn’t everything in today’s world. Too much power can make certain vehicles handle like a butterfly in a sandstorm. KTM have perfectly matched this new chassis with the engine to provide superb road manners so I’m not going to growl on about that, however, the two bikes do vary a little with regards to those road manners.
The 1190 Adventure is more for the road rider who likes a quick trip to see his mistress on the farm, as her husband plays kilometres away on his Massey-Ferguson while the ‘R’ version is more to get away into the middle of nowhere and leave home life behind, while his wife pops over the fence to see the neighbour’s stamp collection, if you know what I mean? It’s a clever way of marketing for KTM, one for the serious off- road dude, the other for the highwayman.
The suspension is vastly different on the 1190s with the Adventure having full WP electronic adjustability while the R has a more conventional set-up. Both have traction control though as well as ABS, and tons of other stuff accessed by their on-board computers. I’m not really a fan of modern and over-complicated electronics so go and talk to your local KTM dealer/salesperson and let him bore you instead. But if I had to choose the best suspension on one of them it has to be the conventional and brilliant top of the range WP Adventure R set up. It just glides over anything and feels plusher than the electronic business on the other, so there.
The R is also taller with a seat height of 890mm compared to 860/875mm (adjustable) on the plain Adventure. So if you need a hip replacement or have just auditioned for a role in the latest Hobbit
film go for the road version. Interestingly the R is strangely the heaviest at 217kgs without fuel, while the Adventure is 5kgs lighter at 212kgs without fuel, which is 23 litres in each by the way, so your adventure can be long one.
To bring all this to a halt the brakes are massively powerful Brembo radials with 320mmm discs, enough said, end of comment.
Like I said earlier I hate these modern and sometimes unnecessary electronics so with my time spent rotating between both bikes I always switched off the traction control and ABS to put the bike into ‘get real man’ mode. Now the 1,195cc, 75-degree, V-twin becomes a beast of a thing. If you don’t like wheelies don’t venture into this zone. Fortunately I do and, after hours of laughing my head off inside my helmet as the 1190 points towards Venus every time you pull-off, I became addicted to what these bikes are capable of. Nothing with such off-road ability is as mental as these are and for that reason alone KTM SA have sold, and will sell, truck-loads of the things.
Finally, the price between the two is minimal, with the new prices of R158,999 for the Adventure and R159,999 for the ‘Arrr’, so it’s up to you what you want from your 1190. I couldn’t make up my mind but swung towards the R in the end because I liked the orange frame. Either way, whichever one you choose be prepared for an outrageous adventure and then some.
Mikes byte.
I’ve ridden a few adventure bikes in my time and kind of know what they’re all about, so I approached this whole test from an average Joe’s perspective. Bill wanted me to ride the R version (off-road) and then compare it to the 1190 standard version - OK, cool.
My next question was a logical one because I was intending to go off-road; “Where are the enduro tyres?” I asked and the reply was; “They don’t have enduro tyres designed or manufactured that are rated for the speed and power of this bike!” Could this be the first clue that I had bitten off more than I could chew?
I pressed the starter button and the big V-Twin motor growled with intention. Snick into gear and I was off. Good God, this is insane! Which group of white-coat-wearing-engineers and technicians came up with this sick beast? These are the questions that rattle through your helmet as you grab your first fistful of throttle on the 1190.
Ok so the initial shock has sunk in and normal programming has resumed in my brain. This bike has an amazing engine; you spend most of your time below five thousand revs and then you grab a handful and feel the surge of power - this much fun should be illegal! To be honest the motor is so good that the rest of bike doesn’t even feature in your senses.
I was overwhelmed by the sheer power and speed of this bike but, after a week of commuting, racing, I mean general riding, I really came round (started to gel with this bike - maybe?) to this bike. I had a short stint on the standard and longed for the “R”, it just has better suspension, is less complicated and has purpose flowing through its veins. Would I buy one for a long trip around the world? Um yes, but with one condition, a softer seat compound, or maybe I should just stand and enjoy the view.
