Adventure 1190 Launch Blog: Day 1

For the next two weeks a fleet of 25 brand new KTM 1190 Adventures will be circulating the island of Tenerife for the official launch of the bike. This event is the precursor to the motorcycle finding its way into dealers and onto streets near you and is a pretty big deal. Several groups of around 20 journalists from across the world will be steering the 1190 Adventure for the first time and then transmitting their thoughts and impressions to your favourite sources of motorcycling media.

As something new we thought we’d run a small Blog from inside the workings of the event and nobody is better placed to let us know what is going on in Tenerife than KTM’s Comms manager Thomas ‘Kutti’ Kuttruf. In a nice reversal of roles we’ve asked Kutti to break out his creativity behind the keyboard. Before moving to Mattighofen he was a journalist and a bike tester so we’ve a good ‘man on the ground’.

Here’s his first entry:

So let´s go! We can finally get the final phases of a project rolling in which more than 200 technicians and development staff have worked on for over two and a half years. We want to show the world and all attending motorcycle testers what the new KTM 1190 Adventure really is capable of. In October 2012 at Intermot in Cologne we raised the curtain on the bike for the first time and it was received and applauded pretty well. But this was just the first step. Now the fun really starts: Riding, riding and again riding.

This morning I departed from Munich in -5 degree temperatures. After 4 hours and 37 minutes of flight I landed at Tenerife where there is a 28 degree difference from Germany! Pretty decent conditions – I like that, even if my hair goes a bit crazy with the heat. Product manager Jorg ‘Jorge’ Schuller is waiting for me at the airport. This trip will be a hard one for Jorg because he will not be able to ride himself after a recent operation on his hip. Everybody at KTM loves to ride motorcycles and if you cannot saddle the newest and arguably best and most important bike from the company, then this is pretty harsh! I feel for him.

In the hotel I meet all the others from our team. Eva Priewasser is responsible for the organization of this International Media Launch. She is the cream of the crop and until now – over ten years – no organisational ingredient has escaped her watchful eye. We head to check in.

Tomorrow we will shift up a gear or two. Scouting the route for the test-rides, checking the bikes, and clarifying the photo locations with the photographers. Next Friday the real thing will start. Keys will be placed in the ignition and the first group of hungry, grinning bike journos will set off from our hotel base in the morning and ride along fantastic roads well into the afternoon sunshine.

To be continued….