1190 Adventure Blog Day 5: First impressions

Part five from Kutti’s Blog and the inside line on the 1190 Adventure launch in Tenerife…
The first day of riding with journalists and after four days of introduction and preparation we go straight to the most important question: How is the new 1190 Adventure?

Here are some first impressions:

Robert Glück, Germany, Sportmotorradmagazin:
“The bike is extremely fast. So fast that, even if you could, you do not really want to ride slowly! I dared to switch off all the electronic riding assistance systems and the result was that I almost lost control. 150 ‘horses’ simply are 150 horses. Man, this is the shit. Off-road I prefer to stay with my own KTM 690 Rally…”

Marc Cook, USA, Motorcyclist
“Luckily the weather here is as good as back home in Long Beach. The first ride with the 1190 was great. KTM has put a lot of effort into it. This is a well-built and serious bike. Very strong, very light and the electronics work efficiently. I would like to take it on a ride-away back home but there´s just too much water in between!”

Blake Conner, USA, Cycle World
“Wow – the engine is so flexible – down, in the middle, up in the revs, it’s really strong everywhere. I like the way the electronic assistance systems work, also the adjustment of the drive modes is intuitive. You can feel the difference instantly. What do I not like? That I missed my flight in Toronto which finally cut off three hours away from my riding time. Got one question though: You don´t offer slicks for the Adventure, do you?”

After the first group of journalists have had their mileage and say here on the island I am pretty happy. No bent bikes, no sunburn, just wonderful roads with lots of grip and a bunch of grinning test-riders who seemed to have some fun. Hope it stays that way. Tomorrow the Tenerife dust will be washed from the bikes while we prepare the welcome cocktails for the second group from KTM-Country (read Austria), Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Portugal.

To be continued…