Is this THE BEST Adventure Bike? KTM 790 Adventure R Review.

KTM have set the benchmark for all Adventure Motorbikes with the incredible 790 Adventure R.
We review this spectacular motorcycle on and off road.
This is THE best, standard off-road Adventure Bike money can buy.
Please watch the video to find out everything you need to know, and don't forget to leave a thumbs up, subscribe, and comment.

[JackieTreehoorn]

That’s the most accurate review of this bike I’ve heard. After too many YouTube wormholes this winter, I bought a 790R. Yes, it is focused on & the best off-road ADV on the market, but I was surprised how this thing handles & goes on street! This is my 2nd bike(still have a HD) & I think I like to jump the lights or lay it down in the corner more than off-road it, making me a KTM fan.
Pros:
Bike geometry creates engaged riding position
WP suspension is amazing on & off-road
Power is linear
Tech allows you to push it. Recommend Rally “mode” w/ throttle set to Street so u can adjust TC on the fly
Cons:
Karoos r surprisingly good on street, but loose off. Next set will be Dunlop Trail Mission or Mitas E-07
Stock engine sounds like a sewing machine, recommend exhaust, I threw on a Yoshimura & it’s subtle at idle but good when pushed

[onesharpboradhead]

I have a 2020 790R. I love this bike, I live in Northern Wisconsin and ride mostly off road. The Karoo tires are not good off road, especially bad in mud. I purchased a set of Motoz Tractionator Rallz - these tires are awesome - best dual sport tire I have ever had - highly recommend them. I did have a few issues with mine. 1. the clutch failed at 200 miles and it failed just as I was approaching a huge mud washout and I went to use it to throttle up and raise the front end as I approached it and had nothing - i thought i bumped it into neutral and looked down at the display and hit the mud washout and dumped the bike. I did some damage to the plastic, picked it up and had not clutch and had to trailer the bike out of the woods. Turns out, there is an oil jet screw in the middle of the clutch plates and it was clogged with locktite from the factory, so the clutch was getting no lubrication. KTM not only replaced the clutch, but also repaired the damage from the crash at no cost to me. The other two issues i had were minor - a small leak in coolant from a hose clamp that need to be tightened and the quick shifter on/off vanished from the TFT display - they just reset it and it has been fine since. The rally mode is, for me, overkill off road - too quick and hard of a throttle response, and for my experience level - it could get me in trouble real quick. I ride in the off road throttle setting all the time - it is perfect, plenty of power, but not too quick of a response, so that if you hit a bump or something and inadvertently hit the throttle, you have time to respond before flying into a tree or something. A lot of guys are saying that the plastic handguards are not good enough - I disagree, i have dropped the bike a few times and they work just fine. I would recommend the AXP racing skip plate - it is awesome and reinforces the footpeg mounts that bolt into the engine block. anyhow - i am rambling - but I love this bike and the tires - those Motoz made a HUGE difference in how this bike handles off road - i would go so far as to say night and day, especially in muddy slippery conditions.

[LincolnSixAlpha]

Just picked up my 2020 790 Adventure R last night, ended up having to ride it home in the rain on a 30-mile trip, but WOW what a very nice bike. I've had many bikes over the years and this bike impressed me! That mid-range punch of power is just phenomenal. The suspension is a little stiff but still feels very compliant on the road. Well worth the coin, and I'd gladly give my 2018 1200RT, and my brand new Honda CRF450L for this thing, though I still have the other two.

[Big.Ron]

I own the S version. I love it. I have some knobbies to mount up for the winter riding season and am looking forward to Forrest roads and desert riding. Its no enduro but for what I'm going to do with it its just about perfect. 850 miles so far.

[MIKROBI]

Best review I’ve seen - short but full information, fantastic image quality. I truly love the bike

[BigRockMoto]

Great review, great video. Hard to get all those shots without a cameraman! Keep the videos coming. I agree about the 790R, so much so, I just bought one to go along with my 1200GS and 500EXC! It's the most capable all around ADV ever made, in my opinion. Not without a few faults, which I will be covering in my future ownership videos. Again, great review, your presentation style is perfect for this.

[uno]

Hands down best review of 790 ADV R. Would really like to spend an afternoon talking to this man. wish I had the coin for this bike.

[alistairbernard]

I've not watched many reviews on new bikes of late. Must say you really give a good and very honest opinion. KTM is known for performance right? Super 👍

[whiterabbitt]

I own a 2020 KTM790S Adventure that I bought new in December 2020 for $9, 999.00 USD (price included tax and tags). I love the motorcycle ! My favorite all around ride of the 4 bikes I own. IMO it os a perfect blend pf a sport/adenture/touring motorcycle. As alwaus a great review. God bless

[karlmac]

I’ve had the 790 Adventure S for about a year, I traded it in for the R two weeks ago as I was disappointed with its performance off-road. The difference with the R off-road is night and day with the S, it almost feels as capable as my ktm 350 exc-f

[RichDunn]

A very nice review. I enjoyed testing it. A couple of minor points though: service intervals are every 15k 'kilometers' or 9k miles. KTM dropped the 'white' reference from WP some time ago, to be more PC. And the Yamaha is pronounced ten-er-ray (a desert).

[keyboarddancers]

I like the very straightforward and extremely informative presentation (better than many of the other reviews of this increasingly iconic bike).
1:29 15, 000 mile service intervals would be utterly astounding but even with the correct figure listed at the end of the video, 15, 000 kilometres/9, 300 miles is surely still asking an awful lot of that oil.
Some say that complex KTMs are not a wise choice if crossing less developed and less well served countries/continents. My suggestion: make sure you THOROUGHLY AND COMPREHENSIVELY test your bike on a tour or tours across Europe and/or America/Canada where dealer support is comparatively easy; get to know your machine intimately and THEN tackle more challenging continental routes like central Africa or the east Asian steppes.
Let's face it; if you're wealthy enough to buy (and equip) one of these exquisite machines, you've probably got enough money to plan ahead and maybe carry some critical/crucial spare components.

[iwanevans]

Very good review well explained!
I have the same bike having upgraded from the Suzuki DR 650 I find it a fantastic motorcycle just as good off-road but much better on-road when having to ride some distance to get to the trails.

[johnt.saylor]

I owned a 790 adv last summer. After having it for only 3 weeks, I was hit by a truck while stopped at an intersection. The bike and truck were totaled but I survived. I was not satisfied with that standard model because of the suspension and lack of sufficient torque at low rpm. I'm used to my 500exc, 690 enduro r and tiger 800xc. I finally received my 890 adv r. It's snowy and icy in Nw Indiana so I haven't ridden the 890 very much yet. But, I can already feel that the suspension and low rpm are much better. This 890 adv r is just what I was hoping the 790 would be.

[sushrutdongargaonkar]

Those are my ageing goals right there. Riding all day long and then settling in for a Jack Daniel's with Metallica playing in the background.

[twopot]

Now in the process of trading my adventure 1090r for a 790r. Had the 1090r for nearly 3 years and have loved owning it, but just found it top heavy when green laning. Also being on the tall side 6' 4 I was concerned about if it would fit me. But your review has answered alot of questions.

[gusreyes]

Very good review! I'm considering this 790ktm from a BMW GS and Tenere. I'm 5'7" in height and was wondering if this would suit me. Thanks 👍

[evanmacleod]

This may be apples to oranges here but I’d appreciate your input!... I saw you did a review on the husky 701 enduro LR. I’m planning on doing a round the world type trip for a year or two, and I’m heavily off-road focused (want to spend as much time as possible off highways and main roads) I also come from more of a dirt bike background.
Was considering the 690 adventure r, the 701 and the T7 tenere for the task. Everyone raves about how the 790 handles off-road, but for a true off-road centrec experience, how does it stack up to narrower, more dirt like bikes like the 701 & T7. Is this as capable as the husky off-road? And if I’d like to tackle single tracks whenever I can, is the giant dirt bike the way to go? Thanks!!

[javierf]

Great video with honest and useful opinions. That's no doubt the bike I want to get soon.

[raymondavalon]

Thanks for the review, I wish they were this simplified and honest...

As a 1290 Super Adv owner, I know how cumbersome and top heavy the 1290 LC8 Adv series are when tackling anything serious off road.
One day, in late 2018, , when my 1290 SA was in for a service, the dealer loaned me a 790 Duke, which I gladly accepted for the day
The 790 Duke's engine impressed me so much and I recall Posting in a Facebook 1290 Group that if KTM shoehorned this lump into an Adv chassis, I may have found my next bike
Well they did, and I recall all the static over the press release photos, some positive, but mostly negative comments, mainly from 9x0 Adv and 1x90 Adv LC8 V purists and of course those who ride other marques

A buddy and I did a tesst ride in April 2019 in Baden Wurttemberg, Germany. We both paid 50% holding deposits after the test rides

My 790 Adv R arrived on 1st August 2019. I opted for QuickShifter+ and cruise control, as I live in France too and the roads are worse than the UK when it comes to "cash cams" or safety cameras...
My friend and I skipped the Akro exhaust, it's a rip off at the price, the argument for most is "weight saving", which I achieved by removing rear foot rests and those hideous passenger grab handles.

It's been an incredible bike, by far the best suspension on a non-race orientated bike I've ever owned, and I've owned my fair share of bikes over the decades
2 weeka back I rode the 790 R from France to Holland, 670KM of tarmac each way, she cruised like a boss, the temperatures were 34ºC+, it felt just as good as any road orientated Adv bike and my average cruising speed was 130-150KM/H

When in Holland, I hooked up with a buddy and we did over 100Km of the Dutch TET, and this is where the 790 Adv R shows its true potential, as you said, not a "woods" or "enduro" bike, but one hell of a capable Adv bike.
The WP suspension is surreal, best suspension I've ever experienced on a non-race orientated bike, the RallyMode electronics are the game changer and it certainly helped with the Metzler Karroo-3's tyres limitations in the muddy sections..

As for the rumours of 790 Advs being made in Communist China, that crap has been debunked, and some are confusing the new KTM Philippines assembly facilities where the 790 Adv and others arrive in KDF (Knockdown Format) and are assembled over there and, of course, KTM's agreement with Communist China's CF Moto who are producing KTM engines under license for the CF Moto brand

A major issue for most is reliability. Mine and many, many others have had zero issues with ours, but some believe that the 790 Adv R is an enduro bike and ride them like they are, often resulting in rider induced damage and misleadingly being reported as "design flaws"

I've added an "Ian Chappel" (UK Made) 5mm alloy skid plate as I am not overly content with KTM mounting their skid plate on a bracket that attaches to the sump, I replaced the tiny little composite plastic luggage rack with a Perun Moto unit, added the TripleClamp Moto "Headstraight" reinforcement bracket for the headlight tower, the Camel Adv heat shield to keep the heat from catalytic converter off the rear shock and lastly, the Rottweiler Performance rear brake spigot guard and fuel pump guard.

I still have my 1290 Super Adv, because I believe I still justify the need for a 250KM/H+ Adv bike for the autobahns and longer hauls, but all I can say is the 790 Adv R certainly ticks all the boxes for me..

Thanks for the great video review and I am now stalking, oops, I mean following you on YT!