When most people look out the window of their cars and see a motor bike driving by, they have different feelings. Some wonder how he feels, some consider him brave, some will consider him lucky, and yet others will consider him crazy, but we cannot deny that many of us wish to be in the rider’s place facing the wind and taking the bike to its limit. For many of us, however, we would need a good powerful bike to safely enjoy our ride, and not only a powerful bike, but a good bike manufactured by a good company. Such a bike might convince an average person who has only ridden a motor bike twice in his life to go for a thrilling test ride both on road and off-road and live an unforgettable experience. KTM just launched new models with great technology that give the biker all that is needed for an enjoyable on road and off-road ride. Sports & Fitness magazine is proudly the sole media outlet present from Egypt.

It all started when I received a phone call from Khaled Hosney, the senior manager at Abou Ghaly Group, the importer of KTM motor bikes in Egypt . Hosney invited me to go for a press event in Cape Town, South Africa for KTM. “Amr, it’s a fantastic trip and a great opportunity to try the new KTM bikes,” he said to me over the phone.

"Thanks dear Khaled for the invitation, I truly appreciate it, but you may know that I have only ridden motor bikes twice in my life, and this trip most certainly will entail long rides and will include off-road rides as well, can I delegate someone else from the magazine to go?” I said to Khaled. He insisted, however, that I should go as he wants me personally to get the feeling of riding a KTM, especially since no other media personals were invited from Egypt. Khaled assured me that I could follow the group in a car if I didn’t want to ride bikes with them. It took me five seconds to say OK, I will go, and I will accept the challenge and will live the adventure.

I arrived to Cape Town from Cairo along with Haytham El Shayeb, the technical manager of KTM at Abou Ghaly Groupand a dynamic young man with great enthusiasm for motor bikes. "Look, tomorrow morning when we start our ride, I want you to be ready with the full riding gear. If you fell like riding then let's do it. I will be just beside you on my bike and we can go slowly and leave the group convoy," Haytham persuadedme.

At last the morning came, and I was standing in front of the monsters that are the new KTM bikes hearing its roaring engines like lions about to start a hunt. I noticed the happiness and excitement in the professional riders’ eyes. I said to myself, “Let's do it Amr; it is worth it, and if I feel uncomfortable then I can stop and get in the car. There is no shame in that; I'm not a veteran or even an experienced rider.”

I have to admit that all of my concerns—riding a strong bike on speedy roads, passing mountains surrounding Cape Town, and learning to drive on the left side of the road—just drifted away when I started my ride. Being on top of such a powerful bike really gave me the confidence and the right spirit to continue on for the whole day. I did it all, 250 kilometres in an eight hour ride, and surprisingly I also managed to pass some kilometres off-road, where I had to drive through mud and soft sand with small rocks on ground. When I faced the mud and sand, I thought to myself, “Here I am certainly going to lose my balance and will fail down,” but even though this was only my third time on a bike and first time on a bike off-road, the bike just did it and was able to overcome the slippery ground with great control. It is no wonder that KTM has secured the first position in the past 16 Dakar Rallies. I returned to the hotel that night with great pride and wonderful experience. The KTM officials and others saluted me for completing the day ride without causing them any unpleasant accidents or delays. A big thanks goes to my KTM instructor, Haytham, who gave me important notes, support, and inspiration as heaccompanied me that day with our modest average speed of 110 kilometres instead of flying ahead with other professional riders at a much higher speed. I'm thankful for him, and can say that his patience paid off as he gained a new KTM lover who is desperate to ride such a great bike again and take it to its limit, but next time it will be in the Egyptian desert.

It is amazing how the KTM bikes just love to eat the roads, and the new bikes, as I learned and tested by myself, enjoy great new technology that provides more power, speed, stability, and safety.  The following technical specs will give you more information about the two new bikes that I proudly rode.

The New KTM 1090 ADVENTURE R 

The Road Eater

CONCEPT 

The KTM 1090 ADVENTURE R is easily distinguished from its sister model KTM 1090 ADVENTURE by its laced 21’’ and 18’’ set of wheels, knobbly tyres, extra suspension travel, and the orange trellis frame to match the standard orange crash bar. 

WP suspension components with 220 mm of travel front and rear will even out the roughest of bumps while stiffer springs give the massive, 48 mm WP upside-down front forks extra reserves. Similar to KTM’s racing Enduros, the PDS shock absorber provides more progressive internal damping characteristics of the shock and this results in higher reserves, for instance when riding fast off-road stretches and when jumping. Pre-load, compression, and rebound are widely adjustable front and rear.

The KTM 1090 ADVENTURE R relies on the new  1,050 cc 75° V2 with a maximum output of 125 hp/ 92 kW. From the power assist slipper clutch to DLC coated components and the sophisticated ride by wire system, buyers get the same kind of cutting edge engine technology as on the KTM 1290 SUPER ADVENTURE models.

When accelerating, the rider benefits from the traction control (TC) with KTM ride mode technology. A key piece of safety equipment, it utilises the quick reaction times of the ride by wire system to ensure sporty but fully controlled propulsion on any surface. The ride modes allow different amounts of slippage on the rear wheel.

Dual 320 mm Brembo front discs with radial 4-cylinder calipers and a radial master cylinder provide ample stopping power. The Bosch 9M+ multimode antilock braking system delivers extremely short braking distances and outstanding control. In addition to fully disengaging the ABS, the “R” has a standard off-road mode for committed cross-country riding, allowing the rider to lock up and slide the rear wheel. Intuitive use of the assistance systems is ensured by the clear, dual LCD VDO dashboard and a handy menu switch on the handlebar.

ENGINE

At the heart of every great riding experience lies an outstanding engine, and the new KTM 1090 ADVENTURE R is no exception. At 1,050 cc of displacement and 125 hp (92 kW) of maximum output, it delivers ample power for great riding enjoyment on the street and off-road. Furthermore, the innovative 75° LC8 V-twin is distinguished by great fuel economy, which helps keep the range up and running costs down, especially when combined with long, 15,000 km service intervals.

A reliable and highly contemporary design, the 1090 twin could not be better suited to its purpose of powering an off-road oriented Adventure bike. An electronically controlled ignition system controls two differently sized spark plugs per cylinder independently of each other, ensuring outstanding combustion efficiency and adding refinement across the powerband. The power delivery, lowdown torque and degree of control and refinement simply need to be experienced

The KTM 1090 ADVENTURE R is equipped with state-of-the-art electronic assistance systems in order to make it easy to exploit its full potential under all conditions. Off-road optimum assistance does not mean maximum intervention. Therefore, each of these systems features a special “Off-road mode” as standard and can be deactivated if required.

ELECTRONICS 

RIDE MODES: The traction control (TC) offers four different standard ride modes, selected via the menu switch on the left handlebar grip. “Sport” works as a last-ditch safety net, allowing plenty of slippage. “Street” is focused on well-controlled riding, avoiding nasty surprises as well as overly harsh interventions. Both release the full, unrestricted engine power while both “Rain” and “Offroad” restrict the engine to a maximum of 100 hp. “Rain” mode ensures maximum traction in the wet with early interventions, while “Offroad” allows more slippage for drifting on loose surfaces.

CHASSIS SUSPENSION FRAME:

The foundation of the new KTM 1090 ADVENTURE R’s excellent street and off-road riding dynamics is a welded chromoly steel trellis frame in the typical design of the Austrian company. A rigidity distribution carefully optimised by combining complex CAD simulations with real-world testing is key for allowing the suspension components to perform to the desired specifications. Laser cutting and robot welding serve to maintain extreme levels of precision in series production. At just 9.8 kg of weight, the frame design also proves crucial for keeping the total engineering goal of 210 kg – which has been beaten by the bike’s final dry weight of 207 kg.

KTM 1290 SUPER ADVENTURE

The Beast

CONCEPT

Three years after the launch of the groundbreaking KTM 1190 ADVENTURE, which was already a steep proposition for attacking sport bikes, the Austrians deliver the next blow to massively shift the balance of power on asphalt: the KTM 1290 SUPER ADVENTURE S. Showcasing all the speed, refinement and safety that the KTM engineers can get out of a Travel Enduro when allowed to use first-rate hardware and every bit of cutting-edge technology, it has all it needs to eclipse any sports bike – notably, a semi-active suspension, the latest incarnation of the revolutionary MSC and 160 hp (118 kW) of controllable power.

The generational change is heralded foremost by the KTM 1290 SUPER ADVENTURE S’s striking new front. Once again, the KISKA design team proves that exceptional, highly functional shapes and solutions may emerge from Salzburg at any time. This breathtaking styling with new air intakes and tank spoilers fuses with a multifunctional aluminium structure to carry the LED headlights and cornering lights which at the same time doubles as a heat sink.

Integrated into the fairing is a contemporary 6.5“ (16.5 cm) TFT display in full-color for even more intuitive operation and keeping tabs on the comprehensive electronics array in conjunction with the new, illuminated menu switch on the handlebar. The bonded, antiglare glass instrument sits well protected behind a windshield which has a new, self-arresting winder for even easier adjustment. On the go, the rider’s mobile phone is kept safe and charged in a waterproof USB compartment and tethered into the dash via KTM MY RIDE for incoming calls and audio streaming.

ENGINE

Based on the 1,301 cc V-twin of the KTM 1290 SUPER DUKE R, aka “The Beast”, the KTM 1290 SUPER ADVENTURE S is clearly the Alpha in its segment. The engineers adapted the cylinders to a newly developed cylinder head and crankshaft to give this bike a powerplant that perfectly matches its aggressive appearance. Packing an extremely hard punch for fully loaded tours, it also has truckloads of torque from the bottom up and hardly ever needs hurried downshifts. These characteristics let the KTM 1290 SUPER ADVENTURE S cruise around town as happily as when it is giving Superbikes a run for their money when the chips are down. Power and torque top out at 160 hp (118 kW) and 140 Nm, 108 Nm of which are already available at a mere 2,500 rpm. The twin plug ignition system controls the two differently sized spark plugs in each cylinder head independently of each other in order to optimise combustion. The result: more power, better controlled power, lower fuel consumption, and lower emissions.

WORLD’S LEADING ELECTRONIC PACKAGE

Laid-back touring? No problem. Scorching up and down the backroads? Yes, please. Feel free to throw in a stretch of dirt on the way. This astonishingly wide range of applications, mastered by the KTM 1290 SUPER ADVENTURE S with great poise, is made possible not the least by the groundbreaking electronics package featuring Bosch MSC. And what’s particularly impressive is that the KTM 1290 SUPER ADVENTURE S’ different guises result in virtually no perceptible compromises. When riding in a relaxed manner, the bike can be quite tame. There is no overly sharp response and at the push of a button, the semi-active suspension becomes quite comfortable. But if  you do want to turn up the wick, there is no need to ride a rocking horse either – just switch back  to the “Sport” setting. The bike’s ride modes also seamlessly match any riding situation you might find yourself in, whether it is an alpine pass, a bone-shaking track, winding curves, or the urban jungle, the KTM 1290 SUPER ADVENTURE S is the ultimate Travel Enduro for adventures on all the  world’s roads. Even if they happen to lead you to  a racetrack. At the same time, the intuitive user interface of the new TFT display, as well as the optional “Travel Pack” with KTM MY RIDE and Quickshifter+, hill hold control (HHC) and motor slip regulation (MSR) deliver the latest contemporary benefits in connectivity, usability, and comfort.

SUSPENSION WP SEMI-ACTIVE SUSPENSION: 

The innovative WP semi-active suspension system introduces a new level of focus and safety in motorcycling. The rider has four settings to choose from: ‘Comfort’, ‘Street’, ‘Sport’, and ‘Off-road’. Based on information provided by a set of suspension stroke sensors and accelerometers, a sophisticated suspension control unit (SCU) matches the damping to the surface conditions and the rider in real-time. In addition, the spring preload of the rear suspension can be set to four presets (solo, solo with luggage, two-up, and two-up with luggage) providing the perfect geometry in all situations. The result: consistent road-hugging handling under any conditions.

Test ride by: Amr Selim in Cape Town Mountains, South Africa.