| June 5, 2024
What would your dream bike look like? It would probably start with how you like to ride and what inspires you. Is that speed? Is that adventure? Is it horsepower? Or is it a combination of all those things? For some, it’s about having something unique, something rare but attainable, and of course, it must be cool.
What would your dream bike look like? Probably like this.
By Keith Dowdle
Enter the KTM 890 Adventure R Rally. Every few years, KTM makes a limited production run of their popular 890 Adventure R. They call it the Rally, and it’s dripping with cool right out of the box. For 2024, we were lucky enough to get our hands on one of these rare beasts, which are already bordering on dream-bike territory. But why not dream a little bigger? What if you wanted to take the Rally to the next level by installing the very best parts from the very best sources in the industry? Now we’re talking about a true dream bike. Unique, capable, powerful, and just plain cool. As I mentioned before, a dream bike for you might look very different from what someone else might want, and beauty is certainly in the eye of the beholder, but for us, there’s nothing more beautiful than a bike that can literally do anything you want it to. Whether it’s traveling across the country or running a hard enduro, we wanted to build a bike that could literally do it all and do it well.
We busted the bank for this one (and a few wheelies in the excitement).
It starts with premium suspension. The Rally comes equipped with the very best WP suspension money can buy, and it’s not cheap. In fact, the WP Xplor Pro suspension package on this limited-edition bike almost completely makes up the difference in price versus the base model 890 R. Off the shelf, the Xplor Pro suspension is almost exactly six grand, which, coincidentally, is the price difference between the base model and the Rally. But suspension is the most important component in making a motorcycle perform at the highest level. Being able to tune the suspension to the nth degree allows the rider to operate the bike at a level much higher than if that same rider were on a bike without tunable suspension—and the WP Xplor Pro suspension accommodates that level of adjustability. The front forks use Cone Valve technology and are fully adjustable for spring preload, compression, and rebound damping. The rear shock incorporates high- and low-speed compression damping, rebound damping, and, of course, spring preload. This suspension is the highlight of the Rally and the primary reason why the bike is so much more expensive.
Rottweiler Performance had a lot to do with this KTM 890 Rally build.
But that’s not the only cool thing you get when you buy this bike. The Rally also comes with heavy-duty D.I.D DirtStar wheels—add another thousand plus dollars for those—and a bunch of other trick parts from the KTM PowerParts catalog. The D.I.D DirtStar wheels are tube-type rims with a profile that is much narrower than the tubeless stock rims on the 890 R. With this narrow profile, you can run much lower tire pressure because the rim clinches the tire much tighter. It also forces the side lugs of the tire farther around to the side for more bite when riding off-road. The narrow width of these rims opens up tons of options when it comes to tire selection, and pretty much any dirt bike tire will work.
When we started this build, the first thing we changed was the tires, and the Dunlop Rally Raid D908 rear and D606 front were the correct choices. They offer amazing off-road performance, are DOT-legal, and last much longer than traditional dirt bike tires when traveling on pavement.
Rottweiler is the KTM whisperer; they know how to get the most out of a KTM motor.
With 10.6 inches of travel, the Rally is a tall motorcycle, but even the tallest of bikes still gets beaten up underneath when you take them through serious off-road terrain. So, we ditched the stock skid plate and reached out to AXP Racing for something more suitable. They sent us their second-generation 890 hard enduro skid plate. This new version covers more of the underside of the bike, which offers better protection for the fuel pump—and it comes up a bit higher on the sides of the tank versus the previous gen. It also has a new mudguard at the front to keep debris from the hot area of the header pipe.
An upgraded seat was the next thing we needed to outfit this dream bike. While the 890 Rally comes with a KTM PowerParts Rally seat, it’s simply too tall for anyone shorter than Shaquille O’Neal. Fortunately, Seat Concepts offers multiple seat options for this model, and they sent us their version of a rally seat for the 890. If you’ve never sat on a Seat Concepts seat, you owe it to your butt to try one. They’re simply the best seats on the market. And they look cool.
Manuel Lucchese of Rebel X Sports knows rally towers. His towers are strong, lightweight, easy to install, and offer a place for navigation components and a super-slick way to power them.
Once we had the height situation sorted, we wanted to address the fairing, lighting, and controls. Our idea of a true adventure machine requires room for navigation components and a source to power them. While at a recent press intro, we met Manuel Lucchese, a guy who’s a legend in rally racing and the man behind Rebel X Sports. Manuel and his team build what are arguably the best rally towers in the business. They’re strong, lightweight, easy to install, and offer not only a place for your navigation components but also a super-slick way to power them. The tower even incorporates a handy digital readout that tells you how your battery is holding up. We told Manuel about our dream bike build, and he was gracious enough to send us a complete rally tower. This $3500 kit was by far the most expensive single item that we added to this bike, and we could not have done it without Manuel’s help. After a couple of hours of following Manuel’s instructional video on YouTube, we had the tower installed.
The rally tower completely transforms the looks of the 890, provides plenty of room for nav components, and dramatically improves visibility for night riding with the addition of Baja Designs lights. It also includes the perfect spot to place a Kurt Caselli Foundation first-aid kit. If you’re not familiar with the Kurt Caselli Foundation, please check out their website. They’re a 501(c)3 charity, and if you buy something, like the first-aid kit, you’re helping to support the cause. Coincidentally, they’ll be giving away a 2024 890 Rally as part of this year’s fundraising activity, so you could win a bike like ours and build it up the way you like. [Entries close on June 8, 2024 at 6:45 PM PST] Kurt Caselli was an incredible human being and a friend to many of us. His legacy and memory live on through the foundation. So please check it out.
The 890’s WP suspension is already top-of-the-line, but anything can be made better, so we went right to the source and installed WP’s Xplor Pro suspension package.
Moving to the controls, the steering stabilizer is another place where stock just won’t do. The reference for off-road steering stabilizers is Scotts Performance—there’s simply no better system available. It’s fully adjustable, fully rebuildable, and is a must-have if you’re serious about off-road riding. There are various mounting options for the Scotts damper, but we wanted to replace the entire triple clamp setup with one from Rottweiler Performance because it comes ready to accept the Scotts stabilizer and offers upgraded mounting for the forks and a stronger, smoother-feeling tapered bearing in the head tube. The stock head bearings are basically oversized bicycle parts, so by adding the Rottweiler triple clamps, you’re gaining strength and stability, and—you guessed it—they look cool. We also tossed the stock mirrors in the trash and fitted a set of Doubletake mirrors because they’re indestructible, infinitely adjustable, and can be removed in seconds when the terrain gets gnarly. No tools required.
Rottweiler’s EnduroCell adds an additional 1.8 gallons of fuel neatly tucked away within the subframe of the bike. You can never have too much fuel.
We mentioned before that horsepower may be of interest when building a dream bike, didn’t we? Well, if you’re building a KTM—pretty much any KTM—then there’s no better source of power than Rottweiler Performance. They are KTM whisperers and know how to get the most power from a KTM motor. We begged and pleaded for their help with this project, and they finally gave in. In addition to the triple clamps mentioned above, they sent us their supercool Pro Edition Intake System, which completely replaces the restrictive stock air box and delivers an increase of 10 horsepower by simply installing the kit. No mapping is required, but Rottweiler offers numerous tuning options via the Dynojet Power Commander 6 if you want to go all in. They also sent us their latest 890 R part, the EnduroCell, which adds an additional 1.8 gallons of fuel neatly tucked away within the subframe of the bike. This very well-thought-out part fits perfectly and requires no additional fuel pump or electrical wiring. It feeds directly into the existing fuel system and can be run as an emergency reserve tank by closing the petcock until you need the fuel—or you can run it as part of your main fuel supply, and the gas gauge on the dash will read the correct amount of fuel, since the EnduroCell feeds into the same system. Having an extra couple of gallons of fuel onboard relieves a lot of unnecessary stress on long stretches between gas stops, so the EnduroCell is well worth the price.
Weight is always the elephant in the room with adventure bikes, and the 890 Rally is no exception. If you’re looking to save a huge amount of weight on any motorcycle, just changing to an AntiGravity lithium battery is by far the easiest way to do it. They are 70% lighter than the stock battery, have more starting power, and feature a built-in jump starter for convenience.
The finishing touch on our dream bike build is the graphics kit. SKDA, the global leader in off-road motorcycle graphics, produced this stunning design and incorporated the logos of all our friends and sponsors. The decals were surprisingly easy to install, and the quality is first-rate. Once your custom layout is done, you can call SKDA, and they can send you replacements so you can keep your bike looking fresh for every new adventure.
Now the fun part.
So, what’s it like to ride our newly built dream bike? In one word, awesome. The Scotts steering stabilizer and the Pro Edition Intake are the first things you notice. The stabilizer is so much better than what came stock that it’s not even comparable. The bike holds the line you want no matter how rough the terrain gets, and you never feel like the bars are going to jump out of your hands. It allows you to hold on loosely but still maintain control, which, in the end, keeps your forearms from becoming something akin to wet noodles. The Pro Edition Intake brings the low-end torque to a place where it’s much more usable and adds a lovely throaty sound. The Rebel X tower puts our Trail Tech Voyager Pro GPS higher and more in your line of sight, so it’s much easier to read at speed. We love how the Voyager Pro works while riding. It’s the only GPS on the market that offers Buddy Tracking so you can see where everyone else on the ride is, and you can download U.S. Forest Service maps for super-detailed navigation. We also mounted a cell phone to the tower using a Quad Lock mount with wireless charging and antivibration.
The Doubletake mirrors maintain a crystal-clear view to the rear, and we love how easy they are to adjust. We opted for their dual-sport style, and they’re the perfect size—not in your way at all when you’re riding.
Keith, living the dream.
The guys at Rottweiler really stepped up for this project, and we can’t thank them enough for their support. We asked for their help because they are simply the best, most experienced guys available when it comes to building a bike like this. They race KTM 890s in rallies and other desert races around the world, and they’ve been using that platform for their race bikes for long enough that they know everything there is to know about these bikes. The convenient thing for you is that every part that we described above can be purchased through Rottweiler Performance, so please send them some love. And speaking of love, don’t forget about the Kurt Caselli Foundation. Kurt certainly dreamed big and accomplished everything he set out to do. Unfortunately, his dream ended much too early. So, we fly his colors on our dream bike because Kurt was cool.
So, did we dream big? Well, when you consider that we purchased this limited-edition bike at full retail, $21,499, and then we added over $8000 in parts—some we purchased and some were donated—then yes, we did dream big. But part of that was because we wanted to build a bike that would draw attention to the Kurt Caselli Foundation and to the sponsors that helped us do this project. Now we want to see what your dream looks like, so build your dream bike and tag us on our Instagram channel @cyclenews so we can see how your bike turns out. CN
VIDEO | Cycle News 2024 KTM 890 ADV Rally R DREAM BUILD
