1190 Adventure Blog Day 3: Countdown begins

Anybody who thinks that the KTM team here in Tenerife is only busy scrubbing off sticky Conti Trail Attack tyres would be slightly wrong. Shortly before the start of our worldwide press test ride of the new 1190 Adventure the organisational countdown was officially started (accompanied by an slightly apprehensive state of mind). How to describe the feeling? Maybe like a tennis Pro a few hours before walking out at Wimbledon. Or like FC Bayern minutes before entering the stadium infield for a champions league final. Or Cyril Despres the night before the start of the Dakar…You get the picture. This is how the KTM crew with people from marketing, engineering and logistics feels moments before the official launch event for our newest creation.

 


A world premiere, of course, is also exiting, but it is a nervy excitement. A test ride presentation for the international press can be like flying on a dynamite keg. Anything can go wrong: 100 journalists, 25 test bikes, thousands of hard-ridden kilometres, innumerable photos, never ending questions and answers, special wishes, emergencies, moments of luck, nice dinners, short nights, internet malfunctions. Above all nonstop communication, organisation and sometimes improvisation. All in all, fourteen days of tension and high-voltage.

Tomorrow a long last breath awaits. The technical team will perform bike checks for the umpteenth time and polish gleaming surfaces like crazy. We will check decorations, format presentations, arrange press kits, check again all the flights, transfers and schedules, meet with hotel staff, brief photographers, prepare accessories – and then start everything all over again.

Nevertheless I would like to say that the launch event of this very important KTM promises to be huge and sensational. Shortly before it really starts nobody can take away the fact that there is an incredibly great new motorcycle waiting to hit the roads and our enthusiastic team delivers the same great performance!

More to come…