The KTM 990 Adventure, the Other side of Motorcycling
<img width="200" height="150" class="floatleft" src="motorcycle.in.th/images/articles/The_KTM_990_Adventure_the_Other_side_1.jpg" alt="" />Every once in a while it's nice to change the constituent parts of your favorite tipple. Even something simple, like adding a slice of orange can create a more distinctive taste to excite the palate.I have watched with interest, KTM move from quirky, low output Austrian outfit, to a leading brand over the past few years and wanted to know how and why. So, I decided it was time to add a slice of orange to my riding career with the KTM 990 Adventure.
I've never ridden and KTM 990 Adventure before, and approached it for the first time with a spot of trepidation, and the feeling that I was about to join a fairly exclusive club. You don't see many of them on Thai roads, no surprise given the immense success story that is the GS, and the tendency for certain members of the motorcycling community to label it as a bike that is simply too focused for the average rider. A bike that is hell bent on taking you to victory in the Paris Dakar rally rather than perhaps a machine to take you on a sightseeing tour around the Northeast of Thailand. Coupled with the KTM's physical size, intimidating seat height and fairly spicy asking price, it's no surprise that one or two of us have been put off.
Well, I'm glad to report that the KTM 990 Adventure isn't that large, the seat isn't that high, the engine is surprisingly civilized and it isn't too focused to take you on a gentle ride through the country. Once you get to know it, it's a bit of a gentle giant really and has that well engineered well designed, well sorted feel that KTM have become renowned for.
I'm not so sure how well I'm going to cope with it off-road though, I'm not exactly up to Paris-Dakar standards and something of this size and weight will no doubt prove a little challenging. But I'm determined to have a go, after all that's been the main inspiration behind the idea of getting the KTM 990 Adventure, challenging myself. Riding something I wouldn't normally ride, going places I wouldn't usually go, experimenting with a side of motorcycling I've not tried before.
fannyfang
Zaijian
Fanny