Ktm 990 Adventure

KTM 990 ADVENTURE

Are you ready for the Apocalypse?

Ignore spoiled off-road-trekking Hollywood actors and bandwagon jumpers, they’re all dead-they’ve been chased into the post-apocalyptic ground by blood-crazed, ’crosser-riding thugs in search of high-octane “juice ” for their machines. The BMW GSs of the comfortably wealthy were simply too heavy and too incapable off-road to survive. The ability to impress golf buddies didn’t count for much after bird flu wiped out half the globe and chaos descended upon us...

Cruising this hypothetical holocaust with nonchalant ease is the 2006 Europe-only KTM 990 Adventure. The new bigger-cc’ed, fuel-injected Adventure isn’t just a fashion statement, it’s the difference between a threat and a promise. With a 21-inch front wheel and fully adjustable long-travel WP suspension at each end, the KTM has cross-country credentials that are more than a marketing gimmick; they’re fact.

But it’s not off-road ability that makes for the biggest surprise the first time you climb aboard, it’s the Adventure’s ability to drag a peg, feel precise, comfortable and purposeful on asphalt, all in one ambivalent moment of fun.

The 990’s 101 x 62.4mm cylinders make for an actual displacement of 999cc, 57 more than the carbureted 950-all in a package that compares in weight and exterior dimensions to that of a Suzuki SV650’s mill. Peak power is capped at 98 horsepower to keep the same model homologated in most major bike markets. Building in this conservative peak power provides for low-end torque that makes even the grunty 990 Super Duke feel limp. Nonetheless, on the road, indicated top speed is more than 135 mph, plenty of poke to survive in a world gone mad. And have you ever tried using all of 98 hp off-

road? The Brembo ABS braking system (not available on the off-roadier S version) comes in handy about two seconds afterward, I can tell you that!

Which is another small victory-anti-lock brakes that work, no matter what you’ve done or where you did it. The system is easily switched off, but there’s no real reason why you would do so. It doesn’t really begin to work until you’ve lit the fire and moved your goose over the flames. Which is fine by me. ABS that invokes too soon is a loathsome thing. Like an airbag that goes off early, causing as many problems as it might solve.

Devouring abandoned highways in search of fuel would be easy, optional hard luggage or no. The riding position is on the commanding side of natural, the engine utterly unobtrusive thanks to effective counterbalancing and perfect fueling. Ergonomics are good enough to keep your mind on the “juice” situation and last known location of the killing squads. Venture on to twistier tarmac and the real shock is when the footpegs touch down for the first time. The big front wheel still feels remarkably precise, while a fully laden rear refuses to wobble. Good trick for a bike that looks like a Dakar racer.

So what’s wrong with it? Well, not much. The biggest danger to this KTM is its own image. By keeping creature comforts to a minimum and forsaking all BS, the Adventure is a machine that will mostly appeal to the hardcore, not the popularist many who appreciate the cushier charms of an R1200GS. That won’t bother KTM, which has already received more orders in Europe than it can fill and hopes for the same staeside when the bike becomes available in spring of ’07. Leaving slackers like me with no means of escape come the impending bird-flu black plague. Dale Lomas