KTM NEW ZEALAND ADVENTURE RALLYE
P74
Feature
slick bits. Two chilis would be
quite a bit spicier and also means
you will leave the comfort zone for
v-twins and get into some more
challenging situations. Three chilis
mean the trail is rated for one that
is keen for some technical and
rowdy trail! You will most likely
break a sweat and need to have a
drink of water after this section.
On top of all this, the NZ Ral-
lye would also serve as a KTM
Ultimate Race Qualifier—a series
of challenges across the globe
aimed at fielding the best real bike
owners (not professional racers) to
race the all-new KTM 790 Adven-
ture Rs in Morocco!
I flew into Auckland with my
friend, Mike Brillanti, who had also
Bobbitt and fellow
adventures help retrieve
one of the rider's bikes
that landed in a deep
water hole.
been at the U.S. rally and partici-
pated in the KTM Ultimate Race
Qualifier in Utah. It was going to
be really interesting to compare
the qualifier in the U.S. versus
down here.
We made it to KTM NZ Head-
quarters in the morning and were
stoked when we saw a brand
new 1090 Adventure R and 690
Enduro sitting there prepped and
ready for us. Everyone welcomed
us and was incredibly helpful. The
bikes had custom event graphics
with our names and number as
well. I've been a professional racer
for a long time. And this felt like
Adventure-level factory treatment!
After mounting our GPS units and
a tank bag we jumped straight into
it, as we needed to ride 150 miles
north to Paihia, the starting point
of the event.
I appreciated the large "Keep
Left" arrow on my windscreen to
keep me on the proper side of the
road and I constantly reminded
myself, "short left and long right"
at every intersection. Within the
first five minutes of riding the
bottom fell out of the sky and we
got completely drenched. It was
proper product testing as it was
