Maybe..its certainly got cooling fins, and the pipe connection is not electrical so its not a data recorder from the fifties!! My initial guess was water or oil, maybe they are toying with the idea of radiators like the S10 to make room for the heavy duty fuel tanks. Rc 8 fuel consumption figures are not great and that runs with gearing that would push 290kmh...don't think you'd want to be on that doing those speeds...however the acceleration to 240kmh on the dirt would be mind blowing!
Seen these? http://www.infomotori.com/moto/2012/04/23/ktm-adventure-1200-foto-spia-della-futura-turistic/2/5/ older pics, from MCN: http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/N...2/January/jan2612-new-ktm-adventure-spy-pics/
Did we really need another one of these threads? There are already 3 of these floating around on the first 2 pages of the OC .... And this is all OLD news. Rant over....
yea. though I am not sure where the second 'new' model is coming from with the coming 1290, ain't that just one new model?
Not sure too, frame looks different from the old pics. Still hoping for a lighter(800?) model from KTM.
I asked the mods to merge the two threads that were created yesterday into one which they did. I'll ask them to merge this in also.
Lighter in an 800 could be cool. I don't know about anywhere else, but the Triumph XC doesn't seem to have caught on here in the Central Valley. I see a number of BMW 800's, but all I hear are complaints about "defects" from the one's that actually ride them "off road".
I almost pulled the trigger on an F800, but eventually. And to my senses and realized I probably would've destroyed it or at the very least, felt compelled to drop a fortune on suspension upgrades. That motor is pretty sweet though. And it has a screw on oil filter!
It's a Fahrvergnügen interface unit. It's often used by German engineers to suck all the passion and riding pleasure out of a proto-type before handing it over to the bean counters for final approval etc. When I saw the first "leaked" MCN pictures a couple months back... I thought; "yeah... them damned Bavarians have tricked the poor dumb-ass Mattigoffhonians into sucking all the Fahrvergnügen out of themselves..." But these latest photo's show (at least a little) promise... looks like it has sprouted a 21" front wheel assembly... maybe they've had the interface unit on "pump" mode, during the latest testing phase... instead of "suck"?!!
I dont know... anything north of 190km/h on a dirt road and the rear tyre seems to just break loose. No matter which tyre combo used. Stock suspension, mind.
800's blah,blah,blah.................the only thing better than a 990 cc dirtbike is a 1290cc dirtbike. What the hell is wrong with you people? Oh... by the way, I love it. Just show me where to sign
If this is what it's going to look like..................then I am rather disappointed!:huh Makes me glad I bought a new 2012 990R Adventure...................think i will be riding it for a good few years!
Had my 990A since 2008 and have put 50k km of Adventuring on it. At least 40--50% of that was honest to god gravel, dirt, and double track, usually loaded down with 50+ lbs of camping gear and other misc stuff. What most of my pics will include, is a jerry can on the back of my bike. This prototype does not look like a step in the right direction. I am looking for an Adventure bike that is at least as simple to work on as the 990, MUCH longer legs (I want 450km + minimum out of the box), and an engine not covered to the point that an oil change takes an hour or draining fuel from the charcoal cannister requires a half hour after my frequent tip overs. Honestly, I don't give a rats a$$ what the bike looks like. I think the 990A is UGLY, but it's my first pick for an Adventure bike. I want travel/suspension, legs, and power. If the F800GS had better suspension, I'd take it. Give me an 800-900cc KTM adventure with a 4-500km range stock (I'll farkle it to 800km + range) and drop 40 lbs and my 990A goes into the museum part of the garage. To summarize, I don't care what the new KTM adventure looks like... GIVE ME THE SKINNY on range, power, and off-road mannerisms.
I was all hot an bothered about the 800 XC until I got a chance to see one in person. Didn't look like it would be great in the dirt, and it didn't seem like a great long distance bike either. So I gave it a "meh" rating and bought a 990A
I've felt the same way about my RSV4, 1198S and now my 990, timing really is everything and I'm one happy rider! I'm not sure who the manufacturers are catering to but it sure isn't real riders, Starbucks anyone?
Ha ha! Yeah! I reserve judgement until I see the final version, and more importantly TRY it. More power is always welcome in my book... It seems there's a certain twisted pride in riding the biggest, baddest (and probably heaviest) bike places it probably shouldn't go. Will it have 10" or more suspension travel? Dropable? Lighter is always better of course, but if it's about the same heft as the 990 with a 30%+ gain in power I think that'd be cool. A 250+ mile range would be nice... I too am excited to see the mythical KTM 800, but if it is similar to the BMW or Triumph in size and weight and focus I'll pass. There is something special about the 950/990 Adventure: DAKAR WINNER! It'd be hard to top that...