KTM 890 Adventure R Vs KTM 790 Adventure R

Since its arrival back in 2019, KTM’s 790 Adventure R has unequivocally established itself as the most off-road capable adventure bike on the market. And despite not being the cheapest machine in the segment, it’s sold well by appealing to a broad cross-section of riders.

On the one hand, with its lighter weight and a low seat height, the 790 offered a less intimidating pathway into adventure riding for inexperienced riders. On the other, its firm suspension appealed to all those experienced riders who like to take their adventure bikes off-road a lot and could never find a machine with a suspension package to match its weight and power.

But for adventure aficionados who were accustomed to the long-haul, high-speed comfort of a 1000-1250cc powerplant, the 790 didn’t quite offer enough torque or versatility. And that’s exactly why the 790’s successor, the 2021 KTM 890 Adventure R, gets more cubes and a lot of development to both its mapping and electronics package.

But just how different are the 790 and 890 Adventure R? And where does the 890 deliver the biggest improvements? To answer those questions, who better to speak to than Steve Robertson – a bloke who’s owned a 790 Adv R for a couple of years, and who got to sample the all-new 890 Adv R for first time at the model’s Aussie media launch over a three-day, 600km route that took in everything from cruise-control freeway miles to snotty singletrack…

[peterchown]

Had absolutely no problem at all understanding the audio, good review!

[lincolnduke]

I'm sorry, I can barely understand what they're saying and throughout the video do not know if they're talking about the 890 or 790.

[toddbenfield]

Does the 890 come with a foam filter? One thing I didn’t like about my 1090, was the air filter location

[PaulThorpeOfficial]

Brakes on the 790 are very poor. No self cancelling indicators either. Not good... Sorry I bought mine to be honest. KTM step your game up on the safety aspect.

[jasondalrymple]

That's no review. It's two blokes having an informal chat, sharing one muffled microphone whilst the rest of us pull strange faces trying to decipher it . I could barely hear nor understand them nor tell which bike they were on about at a time.
Take a tip and watch Big Rock Moto for a professional impartial review. Apart from pronouncing lever and route incorrectly, he does a really good job.

[defylifeadventure]

At 3k rpm an 890 will lugging a fair amount in 6th.