Adventure Spec

When I bought the BMW F800GS 3 years ago, I went to one source for advise and bits. David Lomax at Adventure Spec can be trusted to give the best advise and to supply you with the best bits available. But, if Adventure Spec does not have the right bits for you, he will know a man who does. From the start of this adventurous journey he has always suggested it was a learning process.  Dave was one of the first to suggest that light was right. So when I told him I was selling the BMW and buying the KTM, he hinted I was in the now on right track.

Dave like myself is a climber, and at the start of this learning process he said "compared to alpinism, adventure motorcycling will be the easiest adventuring you will ever have". In a way he is correct. Compared to climbing through a storm with fading light, freezing hands and teetering above a dodgy piece of protection, way too far below you, knowing that if you fall, doom awaits. Or trying to calculate if the snow slope you are about to try and ski, is going to stay in place or trigger and leave you buried in a cold tomb, he is totally right.

As an adventure sport, "ABRing" between one campsite in Sussex to one in Somerset, on a big bike, with a heated vest covering your gut, leaves me cold. At best, its uncomfortable camping, at worst its fooling your self is somehow, adventurous.

So obviously I am looking for something else, mountains, skinny trails, distant horizons, solo expeditions and rough riding is what I am searching. Something with a fizz of excitement, something a bit more unusual, something sweaty, dirty and physical.

Hence the KTM and my return to the shelves of Adventure Spec to source the best bits for the best adventures.

McCallum Ice Climbing in the French Alps 

Pirelli - MT21 Rallycross

Despite the fact that I asked, more maybe in hope than anything else, KTM Laguna did not supply the bike with the tyres I wanted. The bike came with the UK street option, Metzler Sahara's. Whilst these are amazing on the road and can cope with moderate tracks and trails, they are very poor on loose rocks, mud and the side walls seem soft. Oddly the KTM is supplied with the MT21's in the USA. So the MT21's arrived yesterday, they look taller than the stock and the business for the off-road. Described at a 10-90 or an 20-80 road/off-road, fitted with heavy duty tube, with tougher side walls and with a very aggressive looking knobbly tread, if they are not to loose on the hardtop, these maybe the perfect tyre. 

New Bits 1. Adventure Spec - Double Take Mirror

When standing up going over rough ground I found the stock mirrors a distraction, and once you notice them flapping about your ears they have to go.  So I wanted two things from my new mirrors...

1. They would fold away when off-road
2. They looked better when in use but could be removed completely

These Ram mounted Double Take mirrors work well and look much better. You get a bit of blurred vibration induced vision which you did not get on the stocks. But they are so much better.

http://www.adventure-spec.com/default/double-take-mirror.html

What a stupid idea!

What on earth would make you buy a food mixer that would only do dry food, when you really like smoothies, or a coffee maker that only did filter when you love Italian espresso. Buying a KTM 690 Enduro R is a little like that. It's really, really good at being itself, but its neither as stock a lightweight MX ragging machine or a comfortable travelling bike that is capable on the dirt. What it is good at is being an evening ride where you can zip along a bit of road before launching on to you favourite dirt trail. It does this very well. But if you dirt ride
more than 130 miles, this bike is not right.

So why get one. Well good question. I believe looking at the competition and there is not much to really compete with the bike in stock forms and it forms the idea platform to build into the perfect super lightweight Enduro tourer.

The competition comes down to the expensive untried CCM 450 Adventure, The Yamaha 660 XT and its big bro the 660 Tenere', or the lighter Yamaha WR250R. The XT is the closest and the newer ones are quite nice, but even then it needs tweaking for the type of trips I have in mind.

So to change a good bike into the machine that works for me I have to

• Add fuel range - about 100km
• Get a seat that is not like sitting on a knife after an hour
• Find a lightweight luggage system
• Add wind protection - not imperative but if it comes with better lights then great  
• Change the stock Metzler tyres for something more dirt capable 
• Change the plastic bash plate for one that has a flat base for propping up the bike
• Find an Aluminium Bash Guard that protects as much of the engine as possable
• Add some luggage carrying potential on the tail
• Change the grips so they are a bigger diameter and warmer

Cosmetically I don,t like the mirrors, so they will go, the stock exhaust is hot and heavy so maybe that will go to.  The foot pegs feel narrow.

Then I will hopefully will have created a great machine.

Part of the beauty of the KTM is that there are many companies who make aftermarket parts to do just this. The secret will be to choose the right bits for my job, and thats part of the fun.

Morocco - Bike Magazine Sept 14 Travel Competition

A story from Morocco May 2014 in Bike Magazine

UTMB

 

These are the first 4 runners on the 168km Ultra Trail de Mont Blanc; they run over 3 days and 3 nights without stopping, making over 9600m of ascent. They don't need much really for this the toughest off-road trail race in the world. Some tights, poles, a hat and lightweight waterproof jacket. They know that to carry to much slows them down. Just shows you you don,t need panniers full of stuff for a good journey. Inspiration for lightweight KTM packing.

KTM 690 Enduro - How it rides?

Its temping to get stuck into the discussion about after-market parts, tyres, lights etc before actually looking at the basic bike as a riding experience. But lets not, just yet.

Well, its amazing, but thats not quite enough if you are about to spank close to £8000 of your quids!
Ok, it rides like a hot wind stripping a cat?, a deification on a polished shovel or other meaningless superlatives. I have read so many of these types of comments they blur into cliche'.

So really, this is how I see it. It's a tall bike that feels small and light, a friend commented on when following me on and off-road that I looked completely "at one" with the bike. This is so, its very natural and balanced, with handeling that really inspires confidence.

The lack of screen at the moment, and having no petrol tank at the front of the bike leaves you feeling a little exposed but then off road you ride it like an MX bike, shifting your weight forward and dropping you leg out in the bends. It's a totally normal action and great fun.

And fun it is, it feels like more of a toy than anything I have ever ridden.

The short gear shift criticised by some is not an issue for me, yes you do use the gears a lot more on the road but the slipper clutch works very well on the road and downshifting even at high revs is smooth and very predictable. It feels safe and very useable.

When standing and downshifting without using the clutch is smooth and easy, great when you need a spurt of power on a steep trail.

When using the Yamaha 660 or the BMW F800GS I used to stand a lot, but on the KTM I find myself sitting a lot more especially in the corners, leg out and weight forward. It is the real deal off-road where as the BMW especially, was a big bike with an off-road sticker on it.

Throttle response - Well its very quick indeed, it will hike from slow speeds to overtaking much faster than the two bikes mentioned above. I have not been brave enough to put the bike in sport mode as the "Normal"map  is more than enough at the moment, and I am still riding it under 6000rpm.

The suspension set up may take a bit of tweaking. I though I would follow the manual and set it to "standard" after a couple of days on very rocky trails the rebound seems a little harsh. The result is that the rear end skips over loose ground a little to quickly and you don't have the lovely weight and unweighting I have on my DH MTB. So I have dialled the bike (in the slow settings) to 12 clicks softening the bike. Its much better, Maybe with another few long rides it will loosen up.

So on the trails I have gone from BMW survival mode to attack. Well more like go, it feels very planted and safe. Although travelling faster if something goes wrong it will will be a faster fall.

It rails in corners, accelerates quickly, the brakes on and off-road are very good indeed. I have to say its a bit of a revelation.  I its un-farkled state the bike is very good indeed. Its not a long distant traveller but an amazing platform for the evolution.