Official Docs Confirm Twin-Cylinder KTM 490 Adventure Coming! – ADV Pulse

Looks like KTM is about to get hectic, um, busier than it already is outselling BMW in unit sales. A prospectus meant for investors of KTM and Husqvarna’s moms and dad company, Pierer Mobility Group, is making rounds in the lover sector, showing that more than a dozen brand-new bikes will concern market in the future, consisting of a really prompt 500cc parallel twin-driven Experience design.

News of a more sensibly-sized ADV entry for the 300-600cc sector throughout a model year changeover that has had statements of bikes in the 700-1000cc range going off like popcorn.

KTM President Stefan Pierer had previously gone over plans to establish a new 500cc parallel-twin engine, similar in style to the 790 Adventure R’s, in an interview with CycleNews previously in the year. Now we are seeing exactly what KTM means to utilize the new platform for. Examining the presentation file, we see the brand-new 490 will not be changing the much anticipated new-for-2020 single-cylinder 390 Experience revealed in November. Instead, it will represent one of 5 pillars in a brand-new line of 490 twin-based models hypothesized to consist of a 490 Duke, RC 490, 490 SMC R and an even more dirt-worthy 490 Enduro.

Considering that the 490 images in the presentation have actually been blurred for uncertainty, it’s tough to inform much, though the Experience version appears to come with spoked wheels, an upgrade from the cast wheels that come on the existing 390 Adventure, a bike that has currently stirred enjoyment for its lightweight, entry-level approachability.

And now comes this anticipation-worthy 490 edition, a model that will certainly bridge the space in between starter bike and real life all-rounder by combining the top-shelf suspension kitting we expect from KTM with more roominess and the smooth, highway-friendly engine character of a twin.

Filing in below the 390 in rank, two even smaller sized single-powered experience bikes are shown in the report, a 125 and 250 most certainly pointed at the Asian market, especially India, where KTM has partnered with mega producer, Bajaj Car, a relocation that assisted them increase worldwide sales at a blistering rate.

Of more importance to those who choose larger power and longer flights, is an 890 pointed out in the presentation. It appears to have a taller windshield in the blurry image, which might imply that the base, touring-focused 790 Experience could be bumped approximately a 890, while the off-road focused R design will retain the smaller sized displacement, a minimum of for the moment. Eventually however, this more emissions-friendly, Euro 5-ready 890 will likely change the 790 mill completely, hopefully without any weight charge.

In a season of offering, this news from Pierer regarding future models– and especially the twin-powered 490 Experience– seems like a gift. For far too long the major makers have actually been producing heavy, big displacement adventure bikes and paying little mind to the mid-weight segment, a classification that has buyers lined up like a Best Purchase on Black Friday.

So this more manageable, ideally dirt-leaning and presumably affordable 500cc adventure bike makes sure to gain traction in a market where street-focused choices like Kawasaki’s Versys-X and Honda’s CBX500 have been taking up all the air.

And guess what, that’s not the even completion of presents gleaned from Pierer’s comprehensive report. We’ll have those extra information for you to unwrap shortly, way prior to Santa is de-icing his sleigh.

Author: Jamie Elvidge

Jamie has actually been a bike reporter for more than thirty years, checking the entire series of bikes for the significant print publications and specializing in adventure-travel related stories. To date she’s written and supplied photography for short articles explaining what it’s like to ride in all 50 states and 43 foreign nations, getting 2 Lowell Thomas Society of American Travel Writer’s Awards along the way. Her most-challenging experience yet has been riding in the 2018 GS Prize in Mongolia as Group AusAmerica’s embedded journalist.