RIDE REVIEW I 2023 KTM 890 ADVENTURE
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ride, and once the rubber is
off—and in the trash if it were my
bike—the pegs are aggressively
spiked, as they should be for off-
road use. The newly shaped and
more grippy two-piece adjust-
able seat was set in the low posi-
tion (33 inches) when we started
the day, but after about an hour
of riding, I moved it up to the
higher position (33.8 inches)
and left it there for the rest of the
ride. I'm 5 9 with a 34-inch in-
seam, and the ergos both sitting
and standing suited my taste
perfectly. I found it easy to
touch the ground in either
seat position—and that's
part of why KTM says that
more riders should consider
this model over the R since be-
ing able to touch the ground in
technical off-road conditions is a
huge advantage.
The new 43mm Apex front
forks now include separate com-
pression and rebound damping
adjusters, and the rear shock
offers adjustable preload and
rebound. The suspension works
better than I expected. I'm accus-
tomed to high-performance sus-
pension components, and I fully
expected to be
bottoming and bouncing once we
hit the high-speed off-road sec-
tions, but even though the Apex
is KTM's more budget-friendly
suspension, it still works better
than a lot of other companies'
higher-end stuff. The 21/18-
inch spoke-wheel set with Pirelli
Scorpion STR tires keeps the
bike moving in all but the nastiest
mud while also providing surpris-
ingly good grip on twisty tarmac.
I would likely opt for more ag-
gressive off-road tires if I owned
this bike, but that's just me. The
Scorpions do provide a good
compromise from dirt to street,
and we pulled some pretty seri-
ous lean angles in the short but
twisty tarmac sections of our
The 890 Adventure has a sporty
and agile feel and is comfortable
enough to ride all day.
