The middleweight ADV that combines lightweight control with long-distance muscle

Although the motorcycle market remains quite cold overall, adventure bikes continue to sell well. Within this growing segment, it’s the middleweight bikes that really capture the imagination, and it’s pretty easy to see why. They offer riders the opportunity to travel across the country in relative comfort and then tackle off-road trails.

However, they are also among the most compromised vehicles on the market. Even though the marketing may tell you otherwise, these bikes are still quite heavy and unwieldy off-road. On-road comfort is also limited by the off-road-oriented suspension and tires. However, there is one bike that offers a near-perfect balance between off-road capability and long-distance comfort.

In order to provide you with the most current and accurate information, the data used to compile this article was sourced from KTM. While the opinions are ours.

The KTM 890 Adventure R combines lightweight control with long-distance muscle

MSRP: $16,299

The 890 Adventure R is one of the best off-road medium adventure bikes on the market. But as good as it is in this area, it is still far from perfect. While it’s a purposeful-looking machine, it’s certainly not the prettiest ADV, and long-term reliability isn’t guaranteed. With so many adventure bikes to choose from, it’s fair to say that these days you can have your cake and eat it too, as long as you’re willing to pay for that cake.

The Ducati DesertX is an expensive machine, but unlike the KTM it is certainly beautiful. Thanks to an advanced electronics package, it is also very effective off-road. Being a Ducati, long-distance comfort is almost a given these days. The brand, once famous for building some of the least comfortable sport bikes in the world, now makes some of the most comfortable adventure touring bikes.

If you’re willing to consider another exotic Italian brand, the MV Agusta Enduro Veloce offers a more travel-oriented package for about the same price. If you prefer something more conservative, the BMW F 900 GS Adventure also offers an excellent all-round package. However, none of these options come close to the KTM off-road.

Uses the now infamous LC8c engine

Power: 104 hp

The LC8c parallel-twin engine was initially intended to replace the old LC4 engine in KTM’s middleweight street motorcycles. The old single reached its ceiling in terms of performance potential, and the new twin was going to be a giant killer. Over the years it has proven to be exactly that, at least in terms of performance. Unfortunately, KTM traded that extra performance for long-term reliability.

A complex problem without a real solution

Any engine that has that a special website for cam glitches is a bit of a red flag. KTM claimed to have resolved an oil starvation issue that only affected motorcycles made before 2020, but that oil starvation issue appears to have been only part of the problem. The data shows this is an ongoing problem, with newer bikes experiencing the same glitches.

Owners are also caught between a rock and a hard place, with KTM often voiding their warranties. All new bikes come with a four-year warranty, but in reality it’s quite easy to accidentally void this. Simple things like missing a service, doing the maintenance yourself, or adding an aftermarket product that isn’t on KTM’s approved parts list may be enough, depending on how reasonable or unreasonable your dealer is.

The 890 Adventure R has impeccable off-road capabilities

Even with this rather glaring problem, the 890 Adventure R is still an incredible motorcycle, and there’s a reason why owners keep these bikes even though there are potential risks involved. The truth is, KTM isn’t the only manufacturer to have experienced something like this, and it certainly doesn’t affect everyone. Despite glaring typos, an Australian rider claims he rode his bike more than 250,000 miles before the situation went pear-shaped.

Even Honda – the brand with the best reliability record in the industry – has suffered catastrophic engine failures. Unfortunately, KTM didn’t handle the whole thing particularly well, but people are willing to overlook this mess because of how good the 890 really is. The suspension that these bikes come with is incredible and offers quite good on-road performance and unparalleled off-road performance. With a bike of this size and weight, that’s not the only thing keeping you on track off-road.

Unparalleled off-road electronics

KTM stays ahead of the chasing players off-road thanks to an advanced electronics suite calibrated by professional riders from around the world. It’s the only manufacturer that has invested so much time and effort into allowing riders to simply use the electronics off-road. Most manufacturers settle for a switchable setup where the traction control and ABS work on the road but are essentially useless off-road. For example, the traction control is slope-sensitive and ABS when cornering is also standard.

What KTM has left behind a paywall is more curious. Both the cruise control and the quickshifter – where the hardware is clearly installed – are optional. It’s hard to say how much money the brand is saving/making from this, but after the whole demo mode fiasco we thought this wouldn’t happen again, but it looks like this trend will continue in the motorcycle industry.

The 890 Adventure R is incredible and terrible at the same time. Anyone who has ever owned an older European car or bicycle will be all too familiar with this kind of risk-reward situation. It’s unusual to see this today, but it clearly still happens. For some, the extra performance is worth the risk. For others, the less powerful Japanese bike may be a safer bet in the long run.

Chassis, suspension and weight specifications