5 Days on a Big Katoom 990 Adventure

I've been looking forward to spending some time on one of the new additions to our fleet, KTM's '07 990 Adventure. I finally got my chance last week, and loved nearly every minute on it. "Nearly" every minute? Well, at 5' 6", and with the 990's seat height and a fully laden bike, there were a few heart-in-mouth moments on full lock up and downhill turns. One of these days I'm going to invent a bike that automatically lowers its' ride height at low speeds. As soon as I have my next spare nano-second.

Steve Butler and his partner Taryn Ellis from Be-Still riding another 990 (www.be-still.co.nz), my wife Jo (riding her Transalp 650) and I took off for New Plymouth on the North Island's West Coast. N.P. is a citý just in the Northern side of the big outward bulge halfway up the North Is. We covered about 1500km over the 5 days we were away and had an absolute blast.

Here's a 1 min 36 sec video clip of the two Katooms in rush hour traffic in New Zealand.. :-)

What did I like about the big Katoom?
Well, of course I found myself comparing it to BMW's R1200GS, and Triumph's '07 1050 Tiger.

I love the 21 in. front wheel on the Katoom - missing from both GS and Tiger, it makes a huge difference on loose surfaces. Plus, I just like the way narrow tyred bikes steer.

The Adventure seems as tall as either the BM or the Triumph....but it's waaaaay lighter. That meant that when I did have a tippy moment, I could catch it easily, whereas my chances of saving an off balance GS, are almost nil.

The Katoom has the nicest gearchange of the 3 - snick, snick snick. Luvverly.

The Tiger has fantastic power, but on tight twisty roads it feels a bit of a handful. The Katoom has less power, but feels like you can use it all.

The suspension is great, it really seems to handle any condition.

Despite having a monster looking fuel tank with impressive looking double filler caps, you'd better be looking for a fuel station every 250km/150m. Both Tiger and GS have far superior ranges - I guess it all adds weight though. And stopping every 250km means your butt and your passenger will still be talking to you.

I'd rate the 990 my favourite Adventure bike. The 1200 GS makes me feel like a gnat riding a giraffe, and the Tiger 1050? Well, I love that too...but it's not really an Adventure bike anymore, is it? It's a sorta Speed Triple/SuperMoto with a fairing. Fun, but for a different job.

Anyway, we've got 'em all in the GoTourNZ tour fleet. If you disagree with me, come and tour with us and prove me wrong... :-)


Cheers

John Fitzwater
GoTourNZ.com