It feels like the longest rumored machine in KTM’s future lineup. We are of course talking about the KTM 390 Adventure.
The missing link in the Austrian brand’s adventure-touring model range, which we have talked, rumored, and speculated about for well…quite a long time.
About a year ago though, Bajaj SVP and KTM India boss Amit Nandi tipped that we would see the KTM 390 Adventure in 2019. Well, that time is now, and rumors are once again heating up about this small-displacement ADV.
What? You’re still riding around on your adventure bike with only one-wheel drive…like a sucker??! Well, the good folks at Christini have a solution for you, if you’re riding on one of those orange ADV machines.
Releasing their acclaimed two-wheel drive system for motorcycle for the KTM Adventure lineup, Christini is once again shaking up the off-road world.
If you have a 2015 or 2016 KTM 1290 Adventure motorcycle, you might want to take notice of today’s recall from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which affects the models’ insert on the fuel tank, which is used for mounting the fuel tank cover.
On affected motorcycles – during operation or while sitting still – it is possible that fuel can seep or leak out of the fuel tank cover mounting insert. The presence of a fuel leak could result in the possibility of damage or possible fire, which could cause injury or death to the rider or others. In total, this recall affects 1,588 motorcycles.
Last Tuesday, KTM invited Asphalt & Rubber to Perris, California for the 2019 Red Bull/KTM Factory Racing Flat Track Team Introduction.
A mouthful, yes. But, with a title like that we couldn’t pass it up? Really though, Asphalt & Rubber at a dirt track event? Only later on the drive down would it start to make sense, perhaps a site like A&R is exactly who should be covering this event.
It dawned on me right where the 57 freeway meets the 60 freeway. The weight of what this factory effort in the sport of Flat Track Racing means. It has been years since we’ve seen a full factory team in a dirt track paddock.
A hometown favorite, a custom from Moto-Mucci caught our eye at this year’s One Motorcycle Show in Portland, and we thought you would like it too, so we snapped some photos of it.
The build starts off with a KTM 300 XC-W Six Days two-stroke dirt bike, and goes further by turning it into a rather fetching street tracker model.
Another day, and another factory MotoGP team debut. This week’s entry is actually a two-fer from the KTM camp, as we see in their race livery both the factory-back Red Bull KTM team debut (Pol Espargaro & Johann Zarco), as well as the factory-supported KTM Tech3 squad (Hafizh Syahrin & Miguel Oliveira).
KTM will be looking to make big steps this year in the MotoGP Championship, as the team stalled on its progress last year. This is part of the reason for a two-pronged approach in the paddock, and for the Tech3 outfit getting substantial support and involvement in the development of the KTM RC16 race bike.
The middleweight adventure-touring segment is hot right now, with a bevy of brands bringing new machines to market right now.
Leading that charge has been KTM, with the company finally releasing its two-pronged ADV attack with the KTM 790 Adventure and KTM 790 Adventure R motorcycles.
Packed with features, and touted to have high-performance, we knew the KTM was going to get aggressive on the pricing of its 790 models, and now we know how aggressive those price tags will be in the USA.
With pricing leaked on the KTM Twins forum, we can see that the KTM 790 Adventure will cost $12,499 MSRP, while the KTM 790 Adventure R will come in at $13,499 MSRP.
The 97th running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb might be still five and a half months away, but things are already looking very interesting for the road race above the clouds.
This is because the entry list for the 2019 PPIHC is out, and it contains more than a few curious motorcycle entries that have piqued (peaked?) or interest.
For the past 17 runnings of the Dakar Rally, one name has stood above all the others in the motorcycle class: KTM.
Now with another victory in the most grueling motorcycle race on earth, the Austrian brand can add race win #18 to the tally, thanks to factory rider Toby Price.
Crossing the finish line Lima, Peru today, Price was clear of his nearest rival (last year’s winner, Matthias Walkner) by a comfortable margin of 9 minutes 13 seconds.
With three KTM bikes in the Top 3, and the Top 5 consisting of only KTM and Husqvarna brand machines, the Austrian conglomerate can rest easy in 2019 after securing another year of its legacy, but don’t mistake this year’s edition of the race as a blowout.
As we inch closer to the official start of the MotoGP season at Sepang, where the first test of the year is set to be held from February 6th-8th, we enter the season of team and factory launches.
Over the course of the next couple of weeks, all of the MotoGP teams and factories will present their 2019 color schemes and riders at a series of events.
Ducati is the first to present its plans, as is the tradition. On Friday, January 18th, the Italian factory will present the MotoGP team of Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci at an event in Neuchatel, Switzerland.
KTM’s 790 platform is a marvelous thing. It brought us the potent KTM 790 Duke sport bike, and this year sees the arrival of the hotly anticipated KTM 790 Adventure R dual-sport.
Compact, powerful, and affordable – those are the three words that best describe what the Austrian motorcycle house has created, and we knew from the get-go that the 790 platform was destined to bring us several motorcycle models.
Now, the time has come to ask where is our KTM RC790?