This nails it for me. Watch this…
And this one…
This captures something inside me like nothing else… Screaming Warp Speed is fun. But this is a Lifetime thing. I could spend the rest of my life doing this. Adventure Touring. Looking at all the options out there, there are many great ones. The Triumph Tiger, The V-Strom, and others. But that goofy looking KTM has some appeal to me. I don’t know which one would be the best of the best. Probably the BMW, but it’s size and weight is intimidating to me. I am most comfortable on the Liter bikes. So that 990 Adventure is what I’m leaning to.
It’s about the Freedom, guys. Other bikes do the Cool. The Thrill. The Speed. And they are all great. But these big Enduros do the Freedom.
the consensus of the multitude of ADV reviews has been that the KTM is best for a primarily dirt bike, BMW for an even mix and the Duc for mostly street and little dirt. It does look fun, but I don’t have the budjet to beat up and destroy a $18K moto. I think some home made racks and some military ammo cans (Painted KTM orange) on your KTM would be better. Add a spare set of wheels and less aggressive tires and you are set!
Dang it Ogre. You’ve got me thinking and imagining again.
Yay, wheelies! *facepalm
Showboating and ego-boosting aside, I really love the concept of a true dual-use bike. I’m NOT a dirtbiker by any stretch, but if push came to shove and living my life required getting off paved roads then I’d be chucking my Kingpin for either the KTM or the Ya-mama-ha. The weight and handling described by the tester for the BMW tells me to avoid it for real dual-usage.
I hope it never comes to that, I feel plenty of freedom cruising (rural area, low traffic, lots of empty road…which I generally obey the speed limit on (looking at you, Ogre 😉 ) but I cannot deny that a trip through otherwise untracked wilderness sure tugs at “something” inside of me. Now, if I can just learn to avoid trees…
It’s easier to avoid trees with the right tires.