Jul082014July 8, 2014July 10, 201482Commentsby Adam Wheeler

KTM 690 ENDURO R – I love you

Posted in Bikes, Riding

Dear 690 ENDURO R … I need to tell you how I feel. It has been too long since our last union…

It has been two weeks now.

I’m writing this letter in a daze and in desperation. I never imagined I could be so struck at first glimpse and touch. For several years now I have been a content man. Happy to trickle along with my Yamaha 250F; a squirt of power here, a fourth gear blast there but I’ve never really been stretched in my emotions … until that fateful day in the sun of Catalunya and from when we took that journey together among the trees.

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KTM 690 ENDURO R MY14

I knew of your reputation. Your Austrian breeding and siren-esque power to enrapture but I didn’t believe I would fall so hard and be such a victim to your virtues. After the briefest time together I knew I was with someone special, who would treat me kindly and keep me safe.

Perhaps it was your strength that first captured my soul, made me grin and react with crazy abandon. I knew you had the power to carry me wherever I wanted to go. To take me on a carousel of joy. That single cylinder, 690cc liquid-cooled heart, fired by an electric start, and that enamouring blend of hi-tech material with the spirit of Enduro. Maybe it is the ride-by-wire or the new twin plug ignition system? I loved how your energy knew no boundaries. How your power started from nothing and continued until I dared to back-off. It was the first sparks of our chemistry.

But there was a point where we needed to stop.

It felt like the passion was burning too hot. We were getting too carried away, over the limit and reckless. It was then that I realised that our relationship would endure. Some might think your ABS character is superfluous but it was another way in which you would not let me fall or fail. I could be incompetent, hard, spiky and unsure but you would continue to be there for me: unlocking and unfailing. It was like a personal revelation. Another dimension to our relationship and another way in which you made me confident in myself. I thank you for that my dear.

Of course all of this is compounded by my attraction to you.

That dizzying blend of orange and white lines. The thin profile and those perfectly formed curves. It is true that you are a little tall. But nobody is perfect and when I saw your taught off-road aspect, I just wanted to lose myself. Wide aluminium bars and at 690 … you are ‘the full monty’ although I loved your gentleness and sensitivity. I also revel in the fact that we can get dirty together or take a stroll on the road and the feeling is just as comforting.

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KTM 690 ENDURO R MY14

How else can I worship you? I know you are low maintenance and we won’t argue until we reach around 10,000km together but that’s nothing compared to how relaxed and exhilarated I am when we are joined.

It has been a fortnight and some hours now. When will I hear from you again?

Photos: www.ktmimages.com

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