This is the commercial version of the bike raced by about 80% of the entrants in the Paris to Dakar race. It is an outstanding adventure dual sport bike, comparable to the KLR 650, BMW GS, TransAlp, etc.
For some technical details and a picture, check out the KTM web site: ( http://www.ktm.co.at/english/modelle/adbike.htm). The July, 1998 issue of Cycle World has the only road test on the bike I have seen. (They also felt the Adventure was the Best Dual Sport Motorcycle.) Otherwise, this may be the only source of information on this relatively rare machine.
UPON CLOSER INSPECTION
The bike has a frame mounted fairing with small windshield. The tank is integrated with the fairing. Air blows over the engine radiators and then out two holes in each side of the tank. There is a fan on the left radiator for slow riding in warm weather. The round holes line up with the large KTM emblem and ends up spelling KTOOM, in an abstract sort of way.
The tank is made by Acerbis (as is most of the plastic on this bike). Because of how low the tank drops, a mechanical fuel pump is used to pump gas coming out of the pet cocks up to the carb. There is a pet cock on each side of the tank, and a third pet cock, used only for emergencies, that holds another quart or so.
The controls are nice. There is a light horn, actuated by a trigger-like button with the left index finger. The tach is an analogue dial; white face - very attractive. The speedometer is part of an electronic computer which includes two trip odometers, and a clock. Settings include mph versus kph, and English versus German, 12 versus 24 hour clock. The odometers are infinitely adjustable, and measure 1/100's of a mile. Very nice. Headlights consist of twin high intensity headlights mounted to the frame, one for low beam, one for high beam. ProTaper handle bars and Acerbis Brush Guards with Air Dams are standard.
The bike has a helmet lock and a steering head lock. The luggage rack is kinda small, and hard to bungy to because it is so close to the fender.
The foot pegs are metal with teeth, like most dirt bikes, but they have a rubber insert inside the teeth such that, if the weight on the pegs is light, the rubber soaks up vibration. The passenger pegs provide another place to put the rider's feet.
Brake cables are steel braided, and contribute to a firm brake feel. The brake disk's are beautiful; though plenty big in diameter, they are lightened so much that they look delicate.
Suspension is by White Power (note that KTM recently purchased WP). The forks are right side up and huge, with 50 mm fork tubes. The swing arm is a huge affair that looks very sturdy. The frame is chrome molly. I think these sturdy components contribute to a very stable feel while riding. Welds are not the prettiest, but look like they will hold. Nice paint on the frame. The forks adjust for compression and rebound damping (one fork leg each), but not spring preload. The rear shock is fully adjustable and has a remote reservoir. It works through a linkage (unlike some other KTMs that have gotten away from the variable rear shock linkage).
The chain guide is aluminum reinforced and appears very strong. The skid plate is a very strong looking aluminum affair. However, it is held on by some screws that look too small, and they bolt directly to the engine rather than to the frame.
The exhaust is two into one into two mufflers. The header is stainless steel that turned blue immediately. The mufflers are (surprise, surprise) very attractive, chrome SuperTrapps. I like the exhaust note - not too loud. The low exhaust will preclude riding trails or amongst boulders (else they will get dented - they are not protected by the skid plate), but this bike is not a trail bike, anyway. I think the purpose of the low exhaust is to allow room for luggage.
This bike has no center stand - side stand only - apparently because of the low exhaust. The side stand seems to be sturdy enough. At least there is no integrated kill switch. I have heard you can replace the low exhaust and side stand with an upswept exhaust and center stand from a 620 EGS-E standard dual sport.
Where did that obnoxious orange color come from? Actually, it is a pretty attractive bike in real life. The '98 is slightly redder than the '97's, which were slightly more yellow. The tank and fairing are lacquered and pretty shiny. The rest of the plastic is dirt bike quality, by that I mean it is flat (rather than glossy) finish, and should resist showing scratches. It looks pretty tough. I guess the fenders work pretty well - after all day riding in the rain on gravel roads, the bike still looked pretty clean.
The Weigh In
My bathroom scale suggests that the claimed dry weight, 166 kg, or 365 pounds dry (without panniers) is accurate. I weighed my Suzuki DRS 350 in at about 290 pounds, for comparison. Remember the Katoom holds about 60 pounds of fuel, another 5 pounds of oil and coolant.
Amazingly, the bike feels very nimble, and not all that heavy, or even top heavy. However, I can tell a full tank from an empty one.
How Does it Work?
It is a great bike - an awesome machine it is. Despite its weight and height, it has very nimble handling. It really doesn't feel like it weighs 400 lb. It is very stable. It is a bike that will perform up to or beyond my ability to ride it. Its rate limiting step is visibility of the road ahead, or tire traction, and not engine or suspension limitations.
The seating position is straight up, great for off pavement, but a problem on the highway because of the wind blast. The fairing is small, but very helpful. The upright seating position gets tiring, but the bike's ergonomics allow me to change position (leaning forward, or using the passenger footpegs to rearset my feet, etc.) so that I didn't get too uncomfortable.
The bike has the power and comfort to cruise all day at over 85 - 90 mph. I can easily pass traffic doing 85. I have ridden a bit two up. The extra weight back there did not affect handling too badly, and the passenger was reasonably comfortable.
This bike handles extremely well, on pavement or off. It is very nimble and it is a blast to ride on twisty paved roads. Flicking from one direction to the other is quite the experience, considering how tall the bike is. The bike comes with Metzler Enduro 3's front and rear, which are very competent on pavement, with a rear lasting 3-5000 miles.
Off pavement, the bike is extremely stable and confidence inspiring. Again, the rate limiting factor is my ability to concentrate on the road ahead and how comfortable I am sliding around turns. I mostly ride on high speed gravel roads that traverse Montana. There is a little high speed wobble above about 80 mph. The suspension soaks up potholes and washboard surfaces very well, and the bike remains stable. The ride is firm, but has softened with time. I have no problem riding this bike on rough jeep trails. The stock tires make me nervous in mud, but sand wouldn't bother me. The bike is too tall and geared too high for me to ride on trails.
The brakes are very strong, and have a firm feel.
The KTM has significantly more power than my Suzuki (bored out to 400cc and hopped up - see http://www.thumperpage.com/articles/DR350S.html). It has good low end power, and comes on the pipe steadily above about 4-5000 rpm: Power builds with increasing rpm. It starts easily, warm or cold.
The '98 model has an Eldebrock Quicksilver-II carburetor. The bike stumbles when too much throttle is applied at low RPM - according to my sources, this is a common problem. The mixture is adjusted by changing the height of the needle rather than replacing the main jet. Unfortunately, adjustments of the carb require removing the tank and fairing, about a 1 hour job.
Vibration was significant at first, but seems to be diminishing quite a bit as I put more miles on the engine (2200 miles so far). It isn't bad enough to be uncomfortable on long trips.
Gearing: 4000 rpm - 55 mph, 5000 - 70, 6000 - 85, in top gear. First gear seems low enough for all situations in which I am willing to ride this bike. The 5 speeds are widely spaced, especially from 1st to 2nd. The transmission is a bit chunky, and somewhat vague at times.
I have averaged about 42 mpg. The tank holds 7.4 gallons, including 1 gallon in reserve. This results in a useful, safe range of 250 miles, with another 50 miles in reserve. Running the bike dry then hitting reserve is not a good idea: it was a bit hard to start presumably due to the fuel pump taking quite a few engine cranks to pump enough fuel to fill up the carb float bowl.
I did the 600 mile service myself. The owners manual was not very helpful. I bought a service manual which isn't much better. This bike is not very easy to work on. Removing the tank and fairing is pretty tedious, and the air filter and carburetor are hard to get at. Too hard, in my opinion.
MODIFICATIONS
The stock seat was very uncomfortable - I was suffering after only about 75 miles. I called Corbin and ordered a seat for a "KTM 620". I didn't try to match the orange color, just ordered it in charcoal.
I think all KTMs have the same seat. However, older KTM seats are attached with two mounting brackets - one on each side at the rear of the seat - whereas the Adventure has a single bolt screwed into the center of the seat pan. The Corbin seat didn't have a place for that center bolt, so I drilled a hole in the seat pan, and put in a molly bolt. That has worked well. (A Russell Day Long saddle is built right onto the stock seat pan.) The Corbin seat is very comfortable, and is about 1.5 to 2 inches lower - a big difference. It looks very attractive on the bike.
A new seat is well worth the money on this bike. You'll never be able to take advantage of that large fuel tank without one.
I ordered the Touretech aluminum panniers from a dealer in Albuquerque. They cost about $750 and weigh in at 26 pounds including the frames to which they mount. (For comparison, my BMW R1100RSL hard plastic panniers cost about the same, and weigh 20 lb.) They are huge boxes, measuring 16.5 X 14 X 10 inches, with a calculated capacity of 38 liters, each. They look indestructible. The tops attach very securely, but are removed, rather than hinged open to get into the panniers. They have places to bungy further cargo on the tops of the boxes. They detach from the mounting frames easily.
Due to their square shape and huge size, the panniers spoil the otherwise excellent aerodynamics of the bike. They measure 36 inches from side to side, when mounted to the bike, and present quite a large flat surface for the wind to work on. I really noticed crosswinds with them on.
I will leave the pannier frames on the bike permanently (they take about 60 minutes to attach). They are painted the same as the bike's frame, and look very stock. For someone with Aerostich Dry Bag saddlebags (or other soft bags) that drape over the luggage rack, the frames are the perfect size and shape to keep the bags out of the rear wheel. In fact, unless you need a whole lot of luggage space, the best option would be to buy these frames then drape some soft bags over them.
I replaced the stock mirrors with some off a Suzuki DRS350, primarily because they are lighter, and, I think, help decrease vibration in the handlebars.
A-Loop makes a GPS mount that works with ProTaper handlebars (with no cross bar). My CycoActive Bar Pack holds a map and two pair of glasses and other small odds and ends - it is a really cool accessory.
SUMMARY
This is a Great Bike. It is the best performing mid sized dual sport on the market. List price for the '98 is about $7500. Though the KLR is cheaper, upgrading it (or any other dual sport on the market) to the level of performance of this bike will cost you at least as much. It will leave the F650 in the dust, off road. If people ever realize what a Great Bike this is, I think you will see them all over the place - maybe the Cycle World article will facilitate this. Buy one (with a replacement seat) and get ready for an Adventure!
Tom Warr
Bikermaniac
Great Falls, Montana
drwarr@montana.com
http://www.thumperpage.com/articles/DR350S.html