2023 KTM 890 ADVENTURE

WHAT WE ASKED FOR AND MORE!

- Dan DiMaio

KTM brought us to Óbidos, Portugal, to ring out the new 2023 890 Adventure on a wide array of country twisties and a ton of super-fun off-road routes at various elevations. Let me assure you that the Big Orange brand knows how to engineer a crazy-fun and powerful parallel twin, which is now lighter, more compact, and puts out more ponies. With redesigned bodywork, seat, TFT display, and more updated features, there's a lot to like in this new iteration of an all-around favorite.

ENGINE

First and foremost, let's talk about the compact LC8c parallel twin powerplant. For 2023, the engineers made it tighter and lighter, along with new fuel mapping and airbox to bring the 889cc parallel twin up to 105 HP with around 74 ft.-lb. torque. Portugal was a great playground to put the motorcycle through its paces on a variety of on- and off-road sections featuring sand, rocks and ruts.

The motor performed flawlessly on the mixed terrain with plenty of low-end grunts and lots of over-rev. I found the sweet spot was in the 5,500-7,000 RPM range, while it pulls hard in the upper RPM range. As I previously spent time on the 2020 KTM 790 and 790R, it's amazing how much difference 90cc makes.

Also worth noting, the first major service (valve check) isn't until 15,000 km (9,320 miles). This is impressive, considering how performance-oriented this powerplant is.

TECHNOLOGY

Although the original 790/890 had a great TFT display, the 2023 model comes with an all-new five-inch TFT display, which is bright and easy to read in all light conditions. Controls for the engine modes remain on the left side of the handlebars, also easy to use.