Nice review! I bought this bike winter/spring 2023 and did in a little over 19.000 kilometers on it during last year's season. IMHO it's hard to beat in its class, and I I've tried all competitors, save the new Transalp and Vstrom. It's not my first KTM, came from a 1290 Super Adventure S that did >55.000 kilometers with no major issues. I've had a couple of niggles with the 890, but nothing major. All depending on your riding style, likely the most economical engine in this segment. I see the 24 model is identical, which makes sense since the 990 Adventure (base model) very likely will be presented sometime in Q4 this year. For tall blokes the 890 is a bit moped'ish. One has to get used to sitting on the bike as opposed to in, like on a Tiger 900 Rally Pro, Aprilia Tuareg or T7. But one gets used to it. Risers will help if you're taller. Offroad it's just awesome. The things you can allow yourself do with this motorcycle, while it remains utterly composed and controllable, is amazing. Sure, the R model is better/has better suspension, but you have to sacrifice quite a bit of comfort. For me living in Scandinavia it's as close to perfect for mixed riding as you can get. In this segment. KTM still gives customers a slab of concrete for seat as standard. Those who consider buying this bike should spend the extra money on a Ergo seat (I recommend the one with heating).
As far as the whole demo mode/unlocking features, I’m curious as to how to how their bikes are priced now. If they’re including the cost for the features to be included during assembly I have a major problem with the pay-to-play routine. If the price of the bikes isn’t affected by including the physical quickshifter or, whatever else,then I have less of an issue with it. I still have an issue with it, but as a consumer I cant give credence to it being a fair business practice. Even BMW (cars) pulled out of the idea for their heated seats subscription model
Your opinion is same as my experience. I own 790 Adventure 2023 and rode 4600km for now. I ride very gently, not hard off-road, some gravel and easy TET-routes, bike is more capable than me. Fuel consumption has been average 3,75l/km, very good one. Only negative for now is the heat to my left leg, that is annoying when you are riding in the city or slow speed. Yes, I got the Tech pack.
Nice review, I swapped from a 2016 GSA which I’d had for 6 years. The 890 just brings out the big kid in you and like my 950 Adventure is just so much fun to ride.Fuel consumption is good and it’s pretty comfortable for me at 6’2” with the seat in the high position. Nice to see a review on roads I know too.
Hey KTM owners out there - I'm looking at a 890 Adventure but TERRIFIED of the supposed cam-shaft issues. I'm very diligent about maintenance and services - how reliable is it? I wish there was a nationwide record I could go check to see how many bikes went to service for cam issues vs how many were sold and such.
This is the problem with this cam issue. Far too many people jumping on the FB group or in forums who've never owned a KTM weighing in with stories of "I know someone with one". Makes it difficult to know how many genuine issues there are.
Hi English biker Dan, idont think they should not give limited packages and then you have to pay more and are over rated and there reliàbilaty I can have problems and the looks are not good but could be better
I'm very much in the same boat. I test road the Transalp and it was ...uninspiring. It's safe, reliable and competent but I fear the miles will be boring miles. I 'want' the 890 Adventure but I don't want the supposed reliability issues they have.
Nice review!! I can't quite stretch to the price of the 890 Adv but my local KTM dealer has a few new 2023 790 Advs left and is asking just £8.9K each for them ... which is very tempting, could buy the bike with full electronics package and a centre stand for less than the identical 2024 model with no extras ....
I’ll sell you my fully optioned (TechPack, Touratech top box, heated grips, alarm, TPM, main stand, bar risers, screen flip up, heated Ergo seat) 2022 890 with 2,250 miles, just serviced, immaculate for £10,250 vs £15,000 new for the same spec.
@@ianross225 thank you for the offer (and it is a good offer!!) ... but I'll part exing my current 790 Duke against a brand new bike with full warranty 😉
Any reliability issues? MCN just posted a video of their KTM which suffered two breakdowns and faulty switchgear... to the surprise of absolutely nobody!
Well I have my second KTM, and so far so good. Not sure the KTM really deserve this bad reputation when talking about reliability. Of course, the hardest you ride a bike, the more you risk facing reliability issues... and probably average KTM riders go harder on their bike than other brands average riders... just a guess 🤔
There's 22.000km on my 2021 890 Adventure (demo bike that I traded up my Versys for at my regular bike shop 14 months ago, after I had it for a 2 days as a replacement whilst the Versys got servivced) and i had no reliability issues at all... well... except that my dealer just ordered my 3rd dash under warranty, because the first 2 built up so much condensation inside 🙈 Still absolutely love the bike though! So much fun... and whilst having all that fun I'm still doing +400km on a single tank... Great reviews you're doing btw, EBD!
I've covered 30k miles in the last 3 years on a 790 then an 890, no serious reliability issues, except a rear shock replaced under warranty. No worse than all the other makes I've had, and more fun than all the others.
You seem to have something on your mind Dan. Keep your attention on the bike review for goodness sake 😂 Looks like a proper laugh and a lot of poke. I do wonder whether KTM’s ready to race moniker is a bit of a handicap at times. To me this is too close in spec to the R version. They could slap 19/17 wheels and more road biased tyres on this, drop the seat by 20mm, appeal to a much wider range (and size) of rider and still have a bike that doesn’t overlap with the Duke or the SMT. Then again they did something similar in the past with the 1050/1090 and I gather it didn’t sell well so what do I know!
I have a 22’ first Gen 890 Adventure S, or base model and you pretty much hit it right on the head, the bike is awesome! KTM made some great improvements with the second Gen 890’s but my bike has done everything I’ve asked of it, including typical off-road (not single track gnarly stuff) around town errands, and long distance rides. Although I have five different types of motorcycles in the garage the 890 Adventure could easily be a one bike solution for a lot of riders.
