Took the Adventure R for its Maiden Voyage

[DefyInertia]

This was my first time to Mendocino National Forest and my first ride on the KTM. Definitely going back and the bike is great.

MAP (road only)

Did a total of 600 miles – so about 450 on the street and 150 in the dirt

Left Saturday morning around 7:45


We took a bunch of twisty roads on our way to the National Forest, rode around some in the forest on Saturday, camped, rode around the forest for most of the day on Sunday, and then took a combination of highway and twisty roads home..got back at 8 pm Sunday.

Still in Sonoma County on the way up...no dirt yet


Headed inland from the coast a little ways North of Stewarts Point.


Camped off the road near Deer Valley


Had a good view


I ran my 17/19 street rims with the Avon Distanzias. They did pretty ok on the street and ok in the dirt. I was sliding around a little bit on the street at deep lean angles and did a whole lot of fish tailing, drifting, and washing the front in the dirt but it was a whole lot of fun. Next time I go off road I’m going to run the 18/21 DOT legal knobbies and now that the Distanzias are shot, I’m going to find the stickiest rubber possible for the front tire.


The big DL


Came from down there….some snow up top


Not getting through that!

 

[DefyInertia]

Headed back down


Got a late lunch in Hopland and then took good roads home


The KTM handles pretty well on a fast/twisty 2-lane road but I need to dial in the suspension (it's pretty far off) and get the front brake working better for street duty. The engine pulls really hard.

The bike is a dream off road, but again, I'll be running DOT knobbies in the future.

 

[tuningfork]

cool pics!

 

[lonesoldier84]

sweet! i really want an adventure tourer at some point too.

 

[LERecords]

thanks for the pics... looks like you guys had alot of fun.

 

[BusyWeb]

Thanks for the sharing...
Looks like my dream riding, ha ha ha
I hope that FZ6 could do on Dirt little more better like dual sports.
How is the KTM perform on the road (highway) compare to the FZ6?

 

[Kazza]

Stunning scenery. Glad you had a great time.

 

[DefyInertia]

sweet! i really want an adventure tourer at some point too.

yeah you do. so what's the status of your epic west coast ride?

How is the KTM perform on the road (highway) compare to the FZ6?

It performs well. It hustles down a twisty road at a pretty rapid pace without trying too hard.

More low end grunt, pretty good top end rush (it revs out to around 10,000 RPM), but not the top end HP of the FZ6 obviously.

TONS of ground clearance so you can lean until you run out of tire.

The FZ6 takes a slight edge of the smooth twisty 2-lane pavement at 60+ but the KTM does really really well too.

The KTM dominates super tight and bumpy 1.5 lane mountain "goat" roads

The KTM power wheelies at lower speeds than the FZ6.

The wind protection is about the same on both bikes and so is over all comfort (both somewhat different, but overall about the same).

The front brake on the KTM is way too weak for my liking.

The KTM has a 37 inch seat height and a 7.5 gallon tank! It's got two reserves and a third valve with a short hose connected to it that you can use to give fuel to your friends if they run out!

The KTM vibrates A LOT but you get used to it and with MX boots on it's no big deal. You don't really notice it off road.

The KTM is MUCH higher maintenance than the FZ6. But valve checks are easier (good thing because they come every 3,000 miles). An oil change take about 3 times as long and requires two seperate oil filters and bleeding the oil through the frame!

The KTM draws a lot more attention and gets thumbs up from all sorts of people...never had so many people comment on my bike.

 

[Motogiro]

Thanks for the great pictures and sharing the adventure! I don't think I could do that seat height. Maybe a lowering kit? Then I would be compromising the whole idea of clearances Haha! The DL was one of the bikes I looked at before the FZ6 again seat height was a factor even on the DL 650.