KTM 800 Adventure

There’s been a lot of chat and speculation about a new midweight KTM. It seems a sensible move for the Austrian company, and riders around the world have their fingers crossed.

At this stage the most credible reporting on the possibility of an 800 Adventure is from Motorcycle News in the UK. The website has images it alleges show a prototype being ridden. KTM’s CEO is fuelling the optimism with various comments as well.

Here’s the images from Motorcycle News and what the site has said:

“KTM bosses have been intimating for some time that a new mid-capacity engine was in development, but the suggestion was that it would be a V-twin, in keeping with the firm’s commitment to singles and V-twins, so the parallel configuration is both a surprise and a serious departure. This is the first time anything has been spied in the metal, and it’s clear that the project is pretty well advanced.

“There is no official technical information available about the new engines, but we understand there will be more than one variant stretching in range from around 600cc up to a maximum of 800cc. The spy photographer who took the images described the engine’s firing order as sounding like a V-twin, which suggests the firm have used a 270-degree crank to mimic a V-twin firing order, and to inject some character into the engine’s delivery, while boosting torque at low rpm.

“As with many recent KTMs, there looks to be a large amount of component sharing in evidence. Not only does this speed up bike development, but it massively reduces costs, something that will be key to the firms’ plans for rapid expansion.

“MCN understands that the lowest capacity of this new engine platform has not been set, but that the upper limit has been capped at 800cc. Our sources also suggest that these bikes are at least another two years from reaching showrooms.

“Once in production, these new engines will be also be made available for use in the Husqvarna model range, further bolstering the sister firm’s range options.”