Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1488797
COMPARISON TEST I DUCATI DESERTX VS. KTM 890 ADVENTURE R P24 and off-road ABS. And, weights are within two pounds fully fueled at 492 for the Ducati and 490 for the KTM. The fuel capacities are close at 5.54 gallons for the Ducati and 5.3 for the KTM. However, Ducati has scored an ace over KTM in the travel department by designing the back of the motorcycle to carry the company's acces- sory auxiliary gas tank that pumps the capacity up to a massive 7.9 gallons, the same as the BMW R 1250 GS Adventure. Whether you actu- ally need eight gallons of gas is debatable, and we didn't test the Ducati with the extra tank, but long-range riders will be happy to have the op- tion for the Ducati. KTM's low-slung gas tank has always been one of its selling points, the low center of gravity by way of the fuel low ensures the 890 has plenty of stability over rough terrain even while the fuel load gradually decreases. You can ride over pretty much anything on an 890 R as the combination of this weight placement and the excellent WP suspension with a little extra travel makes for a se- riously impressive machine. As does that parallel- twin motor. KTM's created one of the best engines on the market today for any type of motorcycle in the 100 horsepower 889cc unit. Mated to all the elec- tronics the Ducati has, it's smoother on the initial touch of the throttle compared to the Ducati when in full power mode and has more than enough top- end for highway use. The Ducati's 937cc L-twin still retains a tiny bit of hesitation (tiny) when in full power mode but when it's dialed back for the dirt-level 75 horse- power, the throttle application is idyllically smooth. It's rare you need more than 75 horsepower on dirt, even at the best of times, so at least for me, off-road mode was where the majority of my dirt time was spent. However, Ducati missed a trick with the ease Ducati has stomped its way into the "midsize" ADV segment with the undoubtedly attractive and cool DesertX. This isn't a hospitable place. It's aggres- sive. Competitive. Tough. With established contenders covering the gamut across the performance-value-style spectrum, it's quite pos- sible a new face could get shunned and mocked and simply beat down by the pinnacle do-it-all weapons in this class. I'll admit it, I judged the DesertX bike before it ar- rived. I assumed it would be geometrically awkward with an unrefined power delivery for what ADV riders really want and need. Sort of like a hipster in- fluencer's ADV bike dream that doesn't work but looks super cool. I mean, Ducati doesn't have a ton of experi- ence developing off-road focused, sub-1200cc travel bikes. They are Multistrada V4S people. And as brilliant as that bike is, I wouldn't follow a KTM 890 Adventure R on one. The KTM 890 Adventure R is on the opposite end of this spectrum. It was developed to be unbeatable in this class. With the best handling off-road manners, fantastic weight distribu- tion, substantial tech pack of easy and effective rider aids, fantastic power and performance, and upward capability that will match any rider, it should be right- fully confident. It is very hard to beat. So, we rode them to- gether. DesertX vs. Adven- ture R. And a funny thing happened; the Ducati was awesome. Really awesome. It delivers a more stable ride, less precise maybe, than the tight and crisp KTM, but offers massive chassis control under power and while braking off-road. Stable is the word you'll hear a lot of when describ- ing this bike and to many JESSE'S TAKE The extreme enduro madman of Cycle News was pleasantly impressed with Ducati's first real ADV machine.