2003 KTM 950 Adventure and 950 Adventure S
es of wheel travel front and rear,
while the Adventure S sports 10.6
inches. Unlike most other travelenduro bikes, you can actually plow
through stuff - ruts, holes and bumps
- quite hard rather than tip-toeing
around them. And you can even jump
the bike without too much concern
(within reason, though).
In an instant, it seemed, our ride
was over, and I was being whisked
away to the airport for another long
journey home. All told, I spent roughly
26 hours in the air as compared to
about three hours on the KTM, but it
was worth it. Unfortunately, the rain
and the resulting slick pavement and
goopy dirt roads (added to the relatively short seat time) prevented me from
getting a really good, detailed feel for
the bikes, but I do know after having
gotten a taste of the bike, I'm craving
more. I like that fact that it's far more
dirt worthy than some of the other
"travel enduro" bikes around, and the
powerful V-twin motor makes it far
more appealing on the pavement.
I want one.
eN
that point, I wasn't too disappointed; I
wasn't looking forward mud wrestling
the tall 950 for the rest of the afternoon. We hoped for better weather
the following day.
We got it (though we still got
rained on a little bit).
We finished off the off-road loop a 15-mile dirt road - the next morning, and it was here where I really got
to appreciate what the 950 has to
offer. Considering its size and weight
(453.2 pounds), the Adventure feels
unbelievably nimble - a lot of which
has to do with the 5.7 -gallon fuel
tank that isn't nearly as obtrusive as
it looks. You can actually move
around on the bike pretty well, which
comes in handy when you're working
the big bike through the turns on the
stock knobby-less tires. A more
knobby-oriented tread would no
doubt greatly improve the Adventure's off-road competency, though
sliding it around the turns wouldn't be
as much fun.
The Adventure has full-on off-road
suspension that divvies out 9.2 inch-
42
MARCH 12, 2003'
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