HONDA AFRICA TWIN VS. KTM 790 ADVENTURE R
COMPARISON TEST
P86
The Honda's suspension
is relatively soft and soaks up
the freeway bumps like they're
not even there, and because
you're sitting in the bike rather
than on it, big-mile days are a
breeze on the Honda.
Conversely, the KTM isn't as
planted in general touring. The
smaller motor has to work hard-
er at high speeds, and because
the seat is flatter compared to
the Honda, long-day comfort
can be a bit of an issue.
The problem is mitigated
somewhat as you can fit cruise
control to the KTM, which
takes a bit of the strain out
of a big day, but overall, if it's
mostly road touring with a
few dirt roads you're planning
on—and you're above six feet
tall—go for the Honda.
GET DIRTY
But then, these are adventure
bikes, and we're going adven-
ture riding, not touring! And for
this, there's only one way to go.
When I (Rennie) rode the
790 R in Morocco back in
March, I was absolutely con-
vinced KTM had created the
ultimate bike for real adventure
riding. I'd just finished riding
the BMW F 850 GS Adventure
a few months back, and came
away thoroughly impressed
by BMW's version of a middle-
weight ADV weapon, but the
KTM moved the goalposts
even further.
There are so many little
things to the KTM that amount
(Above) The KTM
loves this sort of tight
downhill stuff. You
have to be a bit more
deliberate with your
movements on the
Honda. (Left) Both
the Honda and KTM
deliver adequate power
from the parallel-twin
engines, but the KTM
weighs a good 45
pounds less.
