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690 Enduro. With this confi- dence, you can push the 690 Rally more aggressively in turns without wondering when or if it will respond. The response is there, and as it moves through terrain, the entire platform sends a balanced feel to the rider. This is an impressive up- grade and deserves praise. Likewise, the rear end feels much more capable here. With a balanced weight distribution, the bike doesn't feel so rear-biased, but the rear is massively respon- sive at initiating turns or chang- ing of direction with throttle input. The direct connection to power output is still there— something the 690 Enduro had gobs of. You can and will abuse tires as you control this bike, and I think that's a great thing. Adding to the chassis' new- found handling confidence is the suspension performance. While the specs are the same as the Enduro model, the WP Xplor componentry has never played this nicely. Who knew you could slap some weight on the front and make this bike handle like a proper adventure machine? Everyone who's ridden a Rally-kit-equipped 690, that's who. And it's more than the bal- ance and predictability that is improved. The damping is very good at covering harsh small-to- medium bumps, with plushness at every speed I hit them. A very comfortable setting, indeed. Still, the fork and shock proved to have reserve damping in their back pockets—maintaining composure on the occasional jump and G-out just fine. I didn't Quickshifter+ tech. That will set you back $349.99. Before you go cross-eyed trying to add all this up, you can simply throw everything at your new bike with the Tech Pack, one upgrade that in- cludes cruise control, the Rally Pack and the Quickshifter+ for $649.99 and "save" $200 over buying them individually. Could KTM just add $649.99 to the MSRP, maybe? Yes. We don't know why they don't do that. DELIVERING THE GOODS Riding the new KTM 690 Rally is a great experience. Our two days of all-terrain adventure testing in the spectacular coun- tryside of rural Greece showed it to be a true performer, ready for longer hauls across techni- cal terrain. The bike now brings more comfort, balance and confidence to a proven engine. With the 690 Rally, this machine simply makes sense. And with that comes a better-performing motorcycle across the board. I don't think you will ever feel compromised with the 690 Rally compared to the Enduro. With the latest WP Xplor sus- pension updates and all the electronics, there's no reason it shouldn't. This bike adds weight, but it's all fuel and wind protection, both of which I can say are worthy investments. But what's important is the bike just works better. The front end now tracks more predict- ably, and the bike has a settled balance never felt on the stock KTM is releasing a WP Pro Components fork insert ($1400) and shock ($2000) for those looking for even more rally performance out of the suspension. P104 RIDE REVIEW I 2027 KTM 690 RALLY