Saturday, November 19, 2011

The Bike

After deciding to embark on a epic journey, I needed to find the correct iron steed. KTM and BMW own the market on big enduro/adventure bikes. My 06 KTM 640 Adventure was great on short trips but rattles your teeth loose from the vibration. The BMW F800GS was to soft in the suspension. The 690 KTM was chosen over the 990 KTM adventure because of the weight. Minimize the weight, and you will thank yourself later. Fast forward to mid July and I am the proud owner of a '10 KTM 690 enduro R.

First day out on my first brand new bike!
Fuel range, carrying luggage, comfort and preventative maintenance were the reason for the following mods:
FMF Q4 titanium exhaust (shed weight and heat), Twinair foam air filter (just clean and reuse), Scotts dampener, Scotts stainless oil filters (just clean an reuse)  RallyRaid skid plate, radiator guard, countershaft protection,  RallyRaid auxiliary gas tanks (adding 2.5 gallons to the 3.2 stock), Touratech 29/35l panniers and rack and a Garmin GPSmap 62st for navigation.

All loaded up with camping gear and flyrod

The finishing touches are on order: RallyRaid Adventure fairing. To make this enduro into the adventure bike that KTM should make. The fairing doesn't add much weight and makes a world of difference buffering the wind.

Not mine, but what mine will soon look like.
Only a few more short months! I am getting excited!