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When riding off-road , lightness pays big dividends . Since adventure tourers tend to be heavy , we started with a 340-pound dual-sport — the KTM 690 Enduro R — and made modifications to increase its touring capability : improving comfort , range and wind protection , and adding luggage capacity and crash protection .
MANY OF TODAY ’ S ADVENTURE BIKES are powerful , versatile , highly capable motorcycles , but they also tend to be expensive and heavy . If you ride off-road , falling down is a matter of when , not if . The first time you pick up a 500-plus-pound adventure bike on a steep , uneven dirt road , you ’ ll cuss a blue streak . The second time , you ’ ll shoot the bike where it lays and let the vultures come pick out its lifeless LEDs . Lightweight bikes are more maneuverable , less taxing to ride on technical terrain and , when the time comes , easier to pick up . But the trade-off is that single-cylinder dual-sports are often buzzy and uncomfortable during long street rides to and from the trails .
Our goal with this project was to transform a dual-sport into a lightweight adventure tourer . Rather than start with an old-school , carbureted bike such as the Honda XR650L , Kawasaki KLR650 or Suzuki DR650S , our test mule is the 2017 KTM 690 Enduro R . With an MSRP of $ 10,899 , it costs thousands more than the Japanese dual-sports , but it makes nearly twice as much horsepower and offers modern conveniences such as liquid cooling , fuel injection , switchable ABS , throttle-by-wire and a slipper clutch . Some of that extra money also goes towards high-end components like fully adjustable WP suspension , Brembo