Holloway ratings
Four separate scores, not one blended number, so you can see what's actually driving it.
Full specs
Will your feet reach?
The KTM 790 Adventure has a 830mm seat. Enter your inside leg for a rough idea of how much foot you'll get down when stopped.
A rough guide only. A wide seat needs more leg than a narrow one, the suspension settles 20 to 40mm under you, and boots add a little. Many bikes offer a low seat or lowering link. Sit on one before you buy.
Tyres that fit the KTM 790 Adventure
It runs a 90/90-21 front and a 150/70-18 rear, on Pirelli Scorpion STR on later bikes (varied by year) from the factory. 44 tyres in our Tyre Finder are made in at least one of those sizes, ranked by green lane score.
Sizes are for the standard UK model and can change between model years. Check the size on your own tyre sidewall, and ask your dealer before fitting a different size. Our size lists come from maker and retailer listings and can miss sizes, so a tyre shown for one end may still be made in your other size. Check the maker's size chart.
What we actually found
The 790 Adventure is the road-biased sibling of the R, but it keeps a 21 inch front wheel and 18 inch rear, a slim 20 litre tank low on the frame and a punchy 799cc parallel twin. That makes it far easier to throw around on a rutted byway than the big boxers and triples. It has less ground clearance and travel than the R, so it likes gravel and stone tracks more than deep, rocky ones. Used prices are sensible, but owners report clutch and electronics issues that decide whether a bike is a bargain.
Pros for green laning
- Low centre of gravity from the belly-style fuel tank makes the bike feel lighter than it is when slow and loose.
- Proper off-road wheel sizes (21 front, 18 rear) give a huge choice of knobbly tyres.
- Torquey 95hp, 88Nm twin with lean-sensitive traction control and an Off-road mode.
- Narrow, easy to ride standing up, and a 200 mm travel suspension that copes with ruts and potholes on lanes.
Cons and limitations
- Wet clutch reliability: UK owner threads report a cluster of clutch failures linked to a blocked oil feed.
- Standard WP suspension has less travel and clearance than the R, and the standard tyres are road-biased.
- Early 2019 to 2020 bikes have reported fuel pump, throttle body sync and dash software issues.
- The bike resets to its safest ride mode on restart, so you re-select off-road settings every time you stop at a gate.
Sources: https://www.1000ps.com/en-gb/model/9238/ktm-790-adventure/2020, https://www.ktm.com/en-ph/models/adventure/ktm-790-adventure2022/technical-specifications.html, https://www.motorcyclenews.com:443/bike-reviews/ktm/790-adventure/2019, https://www.visordown.com/reviews/road-test/2023-ktm-790-adventure-review-and-road-chinese-built-adv, https://www.ukgser.com/community/threads/cluster-of-clutch-failures-on-ktm-790-adventure.305008/, https://maintenanceschedule.com/?p=12412.
Find where to actually ride it
Browse legal green lanes and byways across England and Wales, filtered by difficulty, on Holloway's map.
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