KTM 690 Enduro R

Living in Sydney (or any major capital), you can sometimes forget about the sheer size of Australia. Sure the nightly news brings you closer to the various regions of the land and, on certain dark days, you can actually smell the smoke from bushfires, but generally, ‘out there’ remains just that.

That is until you have a vehicle capable of placing you outside the CBD and off the beaten track. Motorcycle-wise, there’s a selection of two-wheel Land Cruisers to get you deep. But just how deep and, just as importantly, just how often decides if you need to spend $14K or $28K for a new ’un. Yup, getting back to nature isn’t so eco-friendly on your wallet. Realistically, the choice comes down to either a big single-cylinder engine, twin or triple.

If you decide on a single, then you’ll be considering one of these. With a tagline of ‘Ready to race’, KTM lives at the hardcore end of the street and has pretty much dominated global off-road racing for quite a while. That’s great, but you want you adventure bike’s crank life to be measured in years, not hours…

With its trademark orange the dominant colour, the $14,395 690 Enduro R could only come from Austria. Luckily the company knows something about adventure racing (Dakar anyone?) so the bike isn’t all about top-speed and service needs.

The heart of the bike is the 690cc LC4 engine, the latest incarnation of their big thumper that literally ruled the roost before the smaller, reviver, faster took over. The 690 is about as big as a single gets and offers torque from tick-over and an 8K redline. Coupled to a fairly close-ratio six-speed gearbox, the KTM offers decent performance without resorting to complex valve arrangements and reduce service intervals.

So how does that performance feel on the road? Whacking the throttle open in first or second gears will loft the front wheel skyward, thanks mostly to the punch of the LC4 and the assistance of the rider being high and upright on the bike.

There’s so much torque that second gear starts can be performed with barely noticeable clutch slip, offering a less frantic drag from the lights. She’s vibey alright and this causes the mirrors to offer a vague rendition of what’s actually behind you – a bit like those pictures children draw you when you go, “That’s very nice. What is it?” If you need to see if that car behind is the police or just a P-plater, you’ll need to shut the throttle and pull the clutch in to sharper the image.

It’s on this climb through the gearbox that the bike’s major fault shows itself. Between a few gears, but mostly fourth and fifth, false neutrals tumble into the mix if the foot command isn’t just so, not aided but the off-road, stand-up ready position of the gear lever that sees it slightly higher than normal.

With the long travel suspension and Continental Twinduro tyres, there’s always a compromise between firm and controlled road behaviour and soft and controlled off-roading. Discs become thicker than what you’d find on a pure off-roader and allow for longer and more often application. With no anti-lock braking, it all comes down to the rider. Jab the front on and the large knobs of the front hoop will rip and slip, whereas leant over hard acceleration will see the back do the same.

And this is bloody good fun and the perfect antidote to the modern disease of computers ruling our ride. You can pretty much live out all your MotoGP fantasies on this bike within the speed limit. You can exit sharp corners with the front off the deck and back into others, with the slipper clutch helping you to smoothly overpower the rear tyre’s grip.

It’s a lot easier than trying to do the same on a superbike, that’s for sure. And when the road starts getting a bit one-dimensional, just throw a left and head bush.

Packing around 30kg more than a pure enduro bike, single track isn’t the 690’s natural home, but fast fire trails and bush tracks are. It’s as slim through the flanks as a competition bike, thanks mainly to the position of the fuel tank. It’s actually underneath the rider and takes the form of the rear subframe. This allows you to get forward on the saddle (the tank’s filler sits behind the seat, not in front), allowing weight to be placed on the front tyre.

About 95 percent of the time the suspension does a fine job on the rough, though landing from erosion mounds hit in third gear could see both ends bottom out. The smartest owners will have to work out where they want the best control (either on the tar or on the dirt) and favour the suspension to that.

The spindly stems of the mirrors have been designed to allow stand up attack without the rider’s forearms clouting them and the footpegs have aggressive teeth that will help keep motocross-booted feet secure. With handguards, small dash and tucked-in bodywork, it’s clear KTM knows how to make a bush-proof bike.

You could argue that, at twice the price of something like Kawasaki’s KLR650, the KTM is just a rich rider’s plaything. And that might be true. But that’s also like comparing a Jetstar flight to a trip in the space shuttle over the same distance. If you’re looking for an adventurous single experience, the 690 Enduro R offers you a seat in first class.

>KTM 690 Enduro R in Bike Showroom

PERFORMANCE
Claimed maximum power: 66hp (49kW) at 5000rpm
Claimed maximum torque: Not given

TRANSMISSION
Type: Six speed
Final drive: Chain
Clutch: Wet

CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR
Frame: Chrome molybdenum tubular
Front suspension: WP 48mm fork
Rear suspension: WP monoshock
Front brakes: 300mm disc with twin-piston caliper
Rear brake: 240mm disc with twin-piston caliper

DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITIES
Claimed dry weight: 139kg
Seat height: 910mm
Ground clearance: 280mm
Wheelbase: 1504mm ± 15mm
Fuel capacity: 12 litres

OTHER STUFF
Price: $14,395
Test bike supplied by: KTM Australia, www.ktm.com.au
Warranty: 24 months, unlimited kilometres