HONDA AFRICA TWIN VS. KTM 790 ADVENTURE R
COMPARISON TEST
P88
off-road machine—far, far from it. For a bike that
weighs over 500 pounds with gas, the Honda is
exceptionally nimble and forgiving in nature. The
weight feels high, but it's centered and doesn't
get away from you without giving you plenty of
warning in loose top sand.
Couple this with Honda's well-mapped elec-
tronics (aside from an ABS that's either on or off)
and a motor that's as smooth as Morgan Free-
man's voice, and you've got a great machine
underneath you.
The Honda's gearbox is delightfully smooth
in application, although you need feet that are
to a brilliant adventure bike, such as the way the
handlebars sit at the right angle for stand-up attack
riding, or the way the chunky ADV pegs help lock
your feet into place, or the fact the gas tank is not
a gas tank at all and is thus much lower than what
you get on the Honda—just like a big dirt bike.
The Honda is a traditionally big bike by com-
parison. It carries its girth rather well, but, if we're
honest, the Honda is now a five-year-old design,
whereas the KTM is just over a year old. Since
2015, Bitcoin went from $450 to $20,000 at the
end of last year. Things happen in five years.
That's not to say the Honda is not a capable
The Honda (left) will handle almost anything you throw at it (within reason). But the KTM will handle more.
