So yes, I bought a new KTM 890 Adventure. Well, not actually "new" it was used with 32 miles on it and had a full accessory catalog thrown at it.
In going through my photos this morning I can see that once again when I decide to shoot video I stop taking as many still images. There's a hopefully good turn to this since I've decided that if I'm going to try to turn the moto side of my life into a business I need to get help with the parts I struggle with. So I'm hiring a young guy to help me edit the video which is the pinch point for me. This trip is the test project for him so we'll see how that works out.
So how did I end up with a new bike?
Typical mission creep. The decision to make the bike tour a real business meant I needed to have a reliable bike. The BMW has broken down the last two trips and while I continue to refine it and fix issues there's always a new one - it's just not reliable yet and until then it's a novelty bike.
I could have bought another 990 but I've done that and they're climbing in value anyway. $8-9k for a low mileage 990 is not too far from a used 790 for $10-11k and that's what I was leaning towards as the lightest adventure bike out there. Then Ben bought his bike and, as usual, he had done the research and the 890 was a more developed platform. My main reason for wanting an 890 was the better low end power for slow speed work.
Once I decided I wanted an 890 I didn't really want to ride one. I knew I'd like it and I made peace with the idea of the parallel twin so I wanted to be surprised when I road it. I'd read enough to know I wasn't going to
not like it so it felt fun to wait.
Then I started searching - everywhere.
There just aren't many used 890's since they're a 2021 model. I looked at a new bike but the $1500 in extras the dealer charges rubbed me the wrong way and honestly there's no decent KTM dealers I'd want to give my business to now that SEE SEE closed. I found a few here and there but if they were under 14k they sold in a day. This bike was priced at $17.5 so it was way over a new price but the owner had put on about $5k in accessories. Because of the price I skipped over it like everyone else.
Then, after all the other bikes in 1000 mile radius had sold, I looked at it again. He'd put pretty much all the stuff on I'd want to do anyway so I called him. It turned out it was Court Butler of
Butler Motorcycle Maps. The bike was built for a documentary and he could no longer participate and had several other bikes so was just selling it off. He knocked off $1000 for a cash deal and I decided that, yes, it was very close to Taco De Mexico and, secondarily, my family, so I pulled the trigger and bought a one way ticket to Denver for $49.
This is an embarrassing amount of tech in the cockpit. I'm going to get rid of the Garmin and the TrailTech and simplify it down to either a phone GPS or an iPad GPS dash. The Quad-Lock cases and chargers are great and they don't make them for iPads so that might be the deciding factor.
I packed limited clothing, a tool roll, a GoPro and borrowed my son's Mavic Mini (all my drones are broken...) into my Giant Loop tail bag and hopped on a 5am flight to Colorado.
I met Court, a super nice guy, picked up the bike in 95F heat, got my burrito and headed to see my mom in Salida. The bike was so clean it was intimidating, at first. After a few hundred miles it became comfortable. Court sent me a GPS track from Salida to Eagle where his office is and so on Saturday morning I met up with family for breakfast, filled the tank and headed up Hagerman Pass.
I was extremely nervous about doing the pass on my own - especially because it was signed as "Closed" which could be a warning or a legitimate impassible road. It's listed as an "easy" 4wd road but impassible by 2wd and you never really know what that means for a bike. If I dropped the bike off a ledge or something and couldn't pick it up I'd be in trouble. Luckily I passed a Jeep and they assured me the "Road Closed" sign was just for "flatlanders" and that it went through so off I went.
It turned out to be a pretty straightforward pass - a little rocky but not too tricky. The bike was nimble, light and easy to ride. The only troubling thing was the massive storm clouds that had been swirling around. It was nice that the weather was cooler but having seen how fast flash floods happen in Colorado I did not want to get stuck in one.
It rained off and on but the huge black clouds stayed off to my side until I'd met up with Court at the Butler Maps HQ where he loaded me up with cool maps and I headed north. Just after Eagle it started to really rain. Hard. It got so dark the dash switched to night display and headlights lit up the road and it was only 5pm.
I had thought I'd just punch through any rain storms so I didn't put in the rain liners which make the suit hotter. Big mistake. The rain started filling my boots as it soaked my chest and arms. I kept looking for anything with a tiny bit of shelter but saw nothing until I got to State Bridge and stopped at the log cabins.
As I was putting in my rain liners the owner of the place, Mason, came out to see if I needed anything. I joked that I was an idiot who forgot Colorado weather and didn't pack a sweater but that I was fine and just needed to put my liners in. He said, "Oh, I used to own a snow board company and I have a ton of sweaters - come with me!" and he pulled out a nice warm Arcteryx sweater and just gave it to me.
"Where are you staying tonight?" he asked. I said I had no plan and he offered me a cabin and dinner for free. How could I refuse?
We had a great meal and a good time talking about adventure touring and his plans for the old resort and cabins. He should be open by next year but luckily for me had a few rooms done for friends and family. It was the nicest bed I've slept in for a while and the sound of the river outside the window was really relaxing.
The next day I took Courts suggestion for a series of small two lane roads that he classifies as "lost" and while the pavement was fine they were super isolated. One section was about 150 miles between services and I only passed a few trucks along the way. Luckily by then I'd discovered the bike can easily go 200-250 miles on a tank.
I planned to stop and have dinner with my friend Tom in Boise and because the rain Saturday I had to put in 800 miles Sunday. Luckily the bike has cruise control and it is perhaps my favorite modern feature of the whole bike. I'm sure I'll like traction control as some point but cruise control was the winner when I hit the interstate.
After my 830 mile day (the seat is pretty comfortable) I got up at 5am Monday and was in Baker City, OR for breakfast. I had a client cancel a job later in the week so it meant I could take my time getting home so I peeled off and took 245 south and then explored some of the roads I want to include in the fall tour like this gem.
I did not know how many fire roads were down inside this "former" forest until now after the fires. Sad but still beautiful.
On my way home I saw a gravel pit and stopped to take some "before" photos. When I bought it I convinced myself that I was going to leave it stock. That lasted about 200 miles. I don't know what, exactly, my plans are but it's very close to being less than 400lbs and I'm nearly certain I can find the 20 or so pounds I need to get the bike into the 300's. Also, getting to sea level the bike was suddenly making
way more power. Turns out the number is -3% per 1000' of elevation so it was a 15-20hp gain for this bike. Intake work is supposed to gain 5-10hp and I can't leave that on the table...
We'll see.
It's probably not fair to compare this bike to a 950/990 especially since it's not broken in and the revs are limited to 6500 but in Colorado I thought it was about the same power. I think the description I used on Instagram was, "It feels like the 950 joined a gym, lost 50lbs, took up yoga and started seeing a therapist to work through issues."
I'll stick with that.
It has all the soul of the 950 (but not quite the exhaust note) but is lighter both in weight and in feel, handles better and more easily, the suspension is more plush and the power is equal. Once I got to sea level the 890 starts to feel quicker and I suspect that it will only be more so when the dealer unlocks the last 3-4000 rpms.
So, 10/10 would buy again.
I struggled for weeks with parting with that much cash but decided I'd sell my Guzzi and Ducati to both free up the cash and to simplify my life. I want to focus on Adventure bikes and refining them and this bike will be the standard for now. It strikes a balance of weight and power that works. The 690/701's miss the mark for me being neither powerful enough nor light enough. On pavement this bike could embarrass most sport bikes and given a few frost heaves or potholes in the road it would flat out disappear.
I don't think it's as good looking as the 950's but not much is. I think a graphics kit could simplify the slash/splash looks and I might put on one of the UpShift topo kits as a nod to my old 950 but that said it's grown on me and I like the weird headlights and insect nose.
I want to coax a few more hp from it so it rolls on wheelies as easily as the 990 did and then I'm just going to put miles on it and pay attention to how it works and see what I can learn from it.
So there you go. A brand new bike comes home via fly-n-ride. Tomorrow it gets it's service and the dealer will unlock the "rally pack" which gets you quick shifting and full traction control. I'm sure it will be a different beast with all the revs unlocked.
Gregor
