RUST magazine: RUST #44
Just in time for Christmas – it's RUST #44! It's a 120-page wonder, that's bringing you the best in enduro, rally, adventure and even heritage riding. And with a long seasonal break ahead it's great reading just when you need it
Just in time for Christmas – it's RUST #44! It's a 120-page wonder, that's bringing you the best in enduro, rally, adventure and even heritage riding. And with a long seasonal break ahead it's great reading just when you need it
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KTM 790 Adventure R Review<br />
The off-road and rally modes do what<br />
they’re meant to do – make you feel like<br />
a Dakar competitor and make the most<br />
challenging trails doable. I tell you, there<br />
was stuff I was doing on the 790 that I<br />
would’ve thought long and hard about<br />
doing on my 1190. The 790 had me<br />
riding way above my usual level, pulling<br />
small wheelies over humps and bumps,<br />
upping the speed at which I was taking<br />
corners, jumping the bike between<br />
ruts. The list goes on. In summary, the<br />
790 will redefine your off-road skillset<br />
and give you the confidence to ride the<br />
most technical trails and tracks.<br />
IS THIS ONE FOR ME?<br />
So the KTM 790 Adventure R is a<br />
winner? It is. Only the experience<br />
taught me something more about<br />
myself. It seems, despite my aspirations,<br />
that I’m more of a 65-35 (on-road – offroad)<br />
rider. That’s a ratio that is moving<br />
more towards the off-road trajectory<br />
with each passing year, but – and this is<br />
a big ‘but’ – is still predominantly biased<br />
towards road riding.<br />
I’d love to do the Trans European<br />
Trail or Adventure Country Tracks but<br />
for me half the pleasure of doing those<br />
is the getting to Spain, or Portugal or<br />
Scandinavia. I personally don’t want<br />
to compromise the 65 for the 35. So,<br />
unfortunately, the 790 didn’t do it for<br />
me on the road and I really did miss my<br />
1190 there.<br />
Of course, off-road I wasn’t even<br />
thinking about the 1190 and surely<br />
wanted to take the 790 home, but it<br />
still wasn’t enough. On-road, it lacks<br />
the 3Ps for me – Power, Presence and<br />
Plushness (that come with big bikes).<br />
I’m happy to improve my skillset<br />
to tackle a big bike off-road more<br />
competently but I still want a 1200<br />
taking me round the world, just like one<br />
did from Alaska to Argentina a couple<br />
of years back. And so, if nothing else,<br />
I’m justifying KTM keeping the 1290 in<br />
their range! But if you’re not like me me,<br />
if you’re a hardcore 50-50 or a 40-60<br />
guy, honestly, just write KTM a big fat<br />
cheque, get the bike and tell the Mrs.<br />
that you won it in a raffle.<br />
Till next time… happy reading and<br />
riding!<br />
www.rustsports.com 97
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