We went on a little sunrise adventure or two
Late last year we saw the new rendition of the KTM 890R. And we were quite excited to swing a leg over this new bike. The last time we rode the 890R was at the launch in the Drakensberg which was a while back and back then the 890 was a very serious motorcycle series in the terms of the very hard and very race focused approach.
It’s a very focused motorcycle in whichever way you look at it. Its marketing campaign was all about jumping and wheelies etc, so it was set up for a more technical, aggressive rider as opposed to your average adventure rider.
KTM’s mantra, “Ready To Race” really comes to the fore with this machine. With this in mind we got hold of KTM SA’s latest demo and decided to head out on a somewhat longer trip to find out how focused it really is.
We kept it for a week and did approximately one thousand kilometres on it covering everything from commuting day-to-day to riding one or two relatively long adventure rides to find out exactly where and how this motorbike fits into the adventure scene.
Is it for the more race focused rider or can you put your missus on the back and go for a ride?
Kyle is our fastest and best skilled off road rider at the office and was given the somewhat enviable assignment of putting the 2023 KTM 890R through its paces and this is what he came back with:
I did a couple of long adventure rides with mates, some shorter trips with my wife as a pillion and then headed off on a reasonably long adventure with Bonafide on what is known as their “Sunrise Scramble”. Getting up before the sun had peeked its nose over the eastern horizon, grabbing a hot cappuccino from my favourite brew company and meeting up with a bunch of like minded people to head off into the great wide yonder as the sun shakes off its nightcap and starts smiling down on us as we ride….
C’mon, show me a better way to start a day. Well, get aboard the brand 2023 KTM 890 R, that’s how you make this day even better. I have been salivating over all the internet pictures and info and chomping at the bit for quite a while now to swing a leg over this machine.
The styling
Personally, I prefer looks on paper rather than in real life, it’s a personal thing. On the photos it looks truly lovely, maybe it might be because of the extras that were on the media bike but I did like it better on paper than in the flesh, might disagree with me but that’s just my personal taste.
Ktm has kept with the theme of the hornet looking light across the range as well as the dash on their motorbikes. The dash on this motorbike is the same as the 790 and 890 Duke. KTM introduced us to their instrument cluster on the 1190 a few years back, initially it was a bit complicated to use on the earlier bikes, however, with the four button cluster it has become a lot more user friendly on the newer models. A simple tap on the set button, select what you want to do and Bob’s your uncle, really as simple as that and one of the least complicated systems on the market today.
KTM is the one brand that has also given us backlighting on the handlebar cluster. It might sound like a silly thing but to a novice rider or a new rider not knowing where everything is, it does make for a nice night time riding experience especially when you’re trying to set your bike up and don’t yet know your way around the motorcycle.
The side shrouds on the new 890 are pretty much the same kind of plastics as their dirt bikes, so that if you happen to drop the bike, they can be easily replaced and should be fairly cost effective. It is a softer plastic rather than a hard shroud, meaning it is more malleable and won’t shatter or crack. The one thing that I found a little bit irksome was the fact that they are clipped in with rubber grommets up front. With this new design that is intended to disperse the wind away from you I found that the front would occasionally unclip. I had to stop and clip them back in every once in a while, generally over about 50-60 kays of high speed riding, maybe a chunkier set of grommets might be the answer here, a relatively inexpensive work around.
Electronic package
When you buy the new 890, you receive a demo Tech pack. What does that mean? Do 1500 kay’s with all the extras switched on to get a taste of what this bike can really be. If you like, for a fee, your dealer will switch it all back on for you. If you don’t want the full package, well you have had the experience without it costing you anything.
So, let’s talk about the package.
MSR
Motor Slip Regulator, this has been the highlight of the KTM brand over the last few years. This mode is only accessible in Rally mode. The ability to select your traction control while riding, adjusting where you want the bike to help you around those fast sweeping corners or in that thick sand. Our Séan tried it out on KTMs cousin and learned the hard way. He turned everything off and was spat off almost instantly. The words out of his mouth were “you don’t realize how much the electronics package is actually assisting you until you switch it all off.” I found myself riding between MSR 2-3. MSR 2 was more for thicker sand and mud. I didn’t need to ride with the clutch and it gave me the right amount of slip to get out of the trickier sections. MSR 3 was for everyday riding. I could still do the wheelies from robot to robot and cruise along a dirt road comfortably with no issues.
Rider modes
The bike comes standard with Street, Rain, Off-road and Road. Each mode has different settings. From throttle response to ABS setting and power delivery. The one thing that comes with the Demo mode is Rally.
Yes please…. I would really spend the extra cash to have that feature switched on permanently. Rally mode opens up a wide range of settings. A lot easier to set and use than you might think. You can set your throttle response to rain or rally. Depending on the response you would like out of the motor. I found myself riding with the throttle response on rally mode all the time. A sharp and aggressive response getting you up on top of the sand. It is slightly hair raising when you are still getting used to the ultra quick response while in the back wheel. I was in rally mode with the throttle set to rally as well. I kept finding myself in the incorrect gear. Where I thought I was in 2nd gear and I would actually be in 4th. It has a really excellent bottom end grunt.
Quickshifter +
KTM has really done some work on this. You can do 40 kph at 3000 rpm and shift, whereas before you had to be in a higher Rev range. However, having said that, personally I didn’t enjoy it. You either have to set the gear lever for adv riding, (with boots), or day to day riding, (with riding shoes). There was no happy medium that I could find, I found myself selecting more false neutrals which led to me turning the quick shifter off. I preferred riding without it.
ABS
There are two settings, road or off-road as well as cornering ABS. I kept it in Offroad mode. Meaning the front ABS is engaged but not too invasive and the rear was off. That’s just my preferred riding style.
The engine
77kw out of a 889cc parallel twin plant. And it is noisy low down in the rev range, but sings beautifully higher up. Just like the 690s and the earlier 990s and most modern high performance engines these days. It doesn’t mean it is broken, that’s just the way of modern high performance power plants. As noisy as they are there is a lot of grunt and torque in this power plant. Low rpm right up to the limit, it puts the power down and I am almost convinced it started rotating the earth a bit faster..
Tyres
This year KTM has opted for the Mitas E07+ Enduro Trail tyres instead of the Karoo 3s. If I am completely honest I am not a fan of these tyres, but let’s give credit where it is due. 6,000 kays on a set and they still look and feel good. They are slightly noisy on the tar but what tyre isn’t. On the tar you get some nice feedback, when leaning over into the corners there is a steady roll from side to side. In the brown stuff the traction is great. The front is well planted and doesn’t feel like it is going to wash or run away from you. The rear gets guided along by the power and throttle response but never gets too wayward.
Suspension
My memory of the predecessor was that the suspension was quite hard and harsh. It never gave a good travel or trail feeling but rather more of a Rally feeling. The new 890R has had a lot of work done. Giving it a more travel/touring feeling but allowing you to quickly set it by the twist of the adjuster to a rally feel. 48mm open cartridge forks on the front that can be adjusted quickly and easily.
When I collected the bike the suspension was fairly soft as it was set for an international influencer who had panniers and a top box on. On the road, the bike was comfortable and plush. Yup, I did describe a KTM as plush. Through the corners there was no wallowing and felt really well planted. The rear had been set for luggage and I found the rebound to be very slow. I left it like that for a short while.
I popped onto the dirt and the 890 was even more planted. I set the rebound 2 clicks faster front and rear and that made a huge improvement. The 890R felt like it was on rails. Even when hitting big jumps and humps in the road. The WP suspension really has set the benchmark higher with their user friendliness as well as to how well the settings work.
A mere 2 clicks and you can feel a significant difference. Sticking with the suspension, if you ever want to know how serious KTM is about its “Ready to Race” mantra, have a look under the rear seat. There is a tab on the plastics where you would attach your Sag tool to set up your bike. Now that is something from their offroad and mx bikes. Just another provision making these bikes “Ready to Race”.
Consumption
Not once in my life have I ever worried about consumption. Especially not on a KTM, it spends more time on the back wheel and racing mates in the dirt. But with today’s petroleum prices it is becoming more of a talking point and a very real concern. I worked out the fuel consumption on 2 tanks and rode the same throughout.
That’s wheelies from robot to robot, off road riding and commuting. This is what I found, I got an average of 305 kays on a tank of 15.5 litres. That’s roughly 19,6 kays to a litre.
That’s around R355 a tank. If I am completely honest I didn’t pass the 20 kilometre mark on my range to empty.
I wasn’t in the mood to push the bike to the next fuel station or the embarrassment of having to call my colleagues or mates to bail me out.
Conclusion
As much as KTM has worked on this bike to make it more travel friendly it is still a race ready focused bike. The updates do allow it to become a great travel bike but I find myself leaning more towards the extreme adventure rally rather than riding to CapeTown.
I like it as I come from an enduro background and can see myself doing harder, tougher rides on this bike. The ride has been tamed slightly and on a day to day usage you can feel it. Your bum doesn’t get as sore and it is more comfortable overall.
There is still a lot of heat on the back of your legs when commuting but on the open roads it is not as noticeable. The tank with its lower belly does make for easier manoeuvrability in the garage as well as on the road and technical riding. You are not fighting the bike as well as the weight of a full tank of fuel. You really notice this in the thick sand. You don’t tend to get slapped around. I did just under 1500 kays and can comfortably say I want one.
Words: Kyle Lawrenson
Pics: Kyle Lawerenson & Black Rock_CS
