Adventure bike with road and off road capability ?

[silky666]

ok - I now find myself in the position of only being able to justify one bike (yes, i feel like a complete low life scum bag.. but we are where we are)

So: I want a bike thats good on the road and able to have some fun off road.
Is there such a bike ?

Joe keeps telling me to buy a KTM 690 ... but what are the alternatives and pro's / cons etc.

I figure Tatters and G will know.... but feel free to throw in your comments.


oh! and the R6 and KTM 280 will be going up on ebay soon.
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There's nothing that shouts "Poor Workmanship" more than wrinkles in the Gaffa tape.

Gaffa tape is like "the force" - it has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the universe together.

[G]

I came to the conclusion there were three bikes in this category.

KTM690, TE610 and G650X-Challenge.

I looked in to it and test rode them all.

KTM690. Best power, but shortest ratio gearbox.
Experience shows that it needs the Akrapovic map or similar you get with the official 'race' exhaust. This puffs up the low down hit, meaning the supermoto biased gearbox works fine.
A lot of KTM stuff out there which it'll work with - ie supermoto wheels, as well as other dirt wheels, levers, suspension etc, etc.
Very narrow thanks to the tank being under the seat. Don't get as much suspension travel as you could, though you can get a bit more (which the R has as stock) with some tweaks.
I got front preload adjusters for mine, though still not fitted yet - along with the hydraulic rear adjuster available, would be pretty good for taking a load of kit across continents, then doing an enduro at the other end.

TE610
A bit less power than the KTM, but a relatively pretty wide ratio gearbox. Could handle a bit more up-gearing I reckon, giving it a nice fast but relaxed cruising speed.
Conventional tank design, but bigger ones still available.
Less available. I've only looked in to the >2006 FI models.
Note the new TE630 is listed with a chunk more weight.

G650X-Challenge
Only 5 gears, but still wider ratios than the KTM. About 10kg on the other two. Do get the option of ABS, but can turn it off for dirt use.
Weird air rear suspension which people don't seem to like - can adjust it with a pump as with mountain bikes, but generally they got swapped out for Ohlins I think.
6000 mile service intervals, which is double the others. Probably better on fuel too.

I'd be happy on any of them - so partly would buy on value. Though some pretty good deals on low milage 690s, so definitely be tempted. Get some SM wheels and for sporty riding you've got plenty of options - there are options for SM on the other two, but I don't know as much about them as I do the KTM.

[tatters]

G sumed them up quite well.


I,ve got as you know a 2009 BMW G650X challenge with ABS, its better on fuel at 60-70 mpg but the KTM690 is a far nicer bike and does,nt have the silly little problems the BMW has like coolant hoses touching the exhaust/rubbish air shock/eletrical faults/rubbish air box desgin/weak sub-frame/stupid cast alloy gear lever etc.


Most of the BMW faults can be sorted with aftermarket bits, but the KTM is ready to go with as far as l,m aware few issues.
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[Fizzer Thou]

All three bikes sound like fun but I quite like the KTM if I had to only have the one bike.
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Just talk bikes.What else is there?

Always have a 'Plan B'

[mrtEE]

G, didn't you have problems with the clutch on your KTM when it was quite new ?

Seem to remember something on the touring section.

[G]

I did, but the clutch had had a fair bit of (ab)use due to said low-down power issues prior to getting the akrapovic exhaust and map - especially when doing a particularly tight gnarly enduro which it managed to still finish when a lot of proper enduro bikes were dropping out.

[Big Bird]

F800gs ???

[tatters]

[G]

I liked the idea of the f800gs as a competitor to the KTM 950/990 adventure, but the stuff I've read suggests it's got a variety of failings when compared to the big KTM.
Choose one any day over the (even) bigger BMWs however.

[spoky0]

Sold my 990 adventurer S and brought a new 690R 8 months back, I use it for everything, commuting, back lane blasting, green laning, local pit. I've done 250+ miles in an afternoon with camping gear. Its better on A & B roads, but still handles 80 easily on motorways on standard gearing.
Just brought a twin HID lynx headlight unit (original like a candle), will fit rally raid tanks and a better seat for longer trips. May not be the perfect tourer but it will go almost anywhere, you can't say that about many of the so called adventure bikes.
Try one out with Patsy Quick at Desert Rose Riding Academy, a great day out as well.

[Skudd]