[Blwnbyu]

Spent the day riding my new 890R. Picked it up this morning and transfered the exhaust, mirrors and tail tidy off of my 790.. I have to say, the difference between the two bikes is NIGHT AND DAY. Unfortunately, KTM seems to be having an issue and pulled the tech pack from being available for download, so I don't have the quickshifter or other goodies yet. On a plus note, I did find the Akro EVO map in the options on my dealers tablet, so that is available for cat deletes. The biggest difference between the two bikes comes from the tires IMO.. The turn in on the 890 is incredible. It WANTS to corner. It lays down so easily it's insane. Also, there is a BIG torque difference from Idle to redline. Peak horsepower on the top end isn't that noticeable, which is fine, but you feel the the torque through the whole rev range. The suspension is more controlled and firm, and the brakes are outstanding. I was head over heals in love with this bike until it overheated. I had to pull over and let it cool down on a 45 mph road at around 55* F. I don't know if the cooling system was not burped properly or what. This happened at around 100 miles on the ODO after a morning of faster riding. I checked and noticed the fan wasn't coming on, so I checked all the fuses, which were ok, and wiggled the relays. Wiggling the relays seemed to do the job. But, the 890 still heats up idling, even with the fan on, while my 790 can Idle all day long and never get above 4 bars.. I don't know what the issue is here yet, but I have an incredible dealer and we will get it figured out..

*Update Today.
Since I have both bikes, I can do some testing. It's currently only about 35 degrees out, so I fired both bikes up in the driveway and let them idle. The 890R got to 4 bars in half the time that the 790 did. I video'd the whole warmup process. Both fans turned on at the top of 4 bars but the 890R kept climbing in termperature, eventually hitting 7 bars while the 790 was still at 4. I ended up shutting the 890 Down at 7 bars and let the 790 run for another few minutes, FINALLY hitting 5 bars with the fan running constantly. I will be taking the 890 back to the dealer on Monday. It has 130 miles on it, and the 790 is at 740. I've never seen the 790 above 5 bars.


Noticeable Differences between 790 and 890R
Mirrors.. The 890 factory mirrors look alot better.
Front Turn Signals are slightly revised.
TFT display is slightly different with different menus and displays. Size is still the same.
Black Tank
Tires. If you put these tires on the 790 It will turn it into a different kind of monster
Handle Bars on the 890 have alot less rise. I can post pictures of the two if you guys wish.
The daytime running light uses a different part of the LED headlight.
The 890 is SLIGHTLY louder with my SC exhaust than the 790 was.
890 owners packet is now a cheap chinese zipper bag instead of the traditional KTM hard zippered pouch.




890r by BLWNBYU, on Flickr

 

[YoungLion]

Happy, and sad for you! Thanks for the review!

Question - are the lower bars and higher pegs noticeable on the 890R or is it a very minor change?

 

[Blwnbyu]

Happy, and sad for you! Thanks for the review!

Question - are the lower bars and higher pegs noticeable on the 890R or is it a very minor change?

Barely Noticeable. But, like I said, the difference in Turn-In is INSANE.. Night and Day different cornering bikes.. I hate any straight stretch of road just because this thing corners so well, although I'm guessing the tires will only last 1500 miles...

Also, the menus in the displays are different. The 890R is setup for KTM heated grips which can be activated in the menus. That's a nice feature. I ordered the MYride Box as well, so I look forward to checking it out since I ride with galaxy buds in. Still waiting on an answer from KTM about not being able to load the Tech Pack.

Here is the EVO map in the KTM tablet, so I do know that flash is available. I kept the stock tune for now. Glad I did.
20200410_215256 by BLWNBYU, on Flickr

Here is the 890R display
20200411_171733 by BLWNBYU, on Flickr

VS the 790

20200411_171730 by BLWNBYU, on Flickr


And my overheating...

20200410_165214 by BLWNBYU, on Flickr

 

[Pat rides]

Great post 👍
I was thinking that the rev limit supposed to be higher on the 890 like 10500rpm ?

 

[Blwnbyu]

Great post 👍
I was thinking that the rev limit supposed to be higher on the 890 like 10500rpm ?

It will be after the 600 mile break in.. I just got my 790 out of the lower break in limit last week.

 

[colombo]

Have you checked the radiator to see if there's anything in it?

 

[J D]

Something sounds strange wt your cooling, doesn’t seem the norm. Any further developments?

 

[Blwnbyu]

Have you checked the radiator to see if there's anything in it?

Of course.. Overflow is where it is at full. Not pushing coolant. No bubbles. No coolant in Oil. I cannot see anything visually wrong..

 

[Pgm]

I would like to see the difference in handlebars if possible please, hope your dealer sorts the overheating issue quickly for you so you can get out and give us more feedback.

 

[Blwnbyu]

790 Bar
20200412_093032 by BLWNBYU, on Flickr

890R Bar

20200412_093024 by BLWNBYU, on Flickr

 

[YoungLion]

Any chance you can measure the height on both from the triple area to the top of the rise?

 

[J D]

Thermostat is working correctly?

 

[Blwnbyu]

Thermostat is working correctly?

HERE is a video to show what's happening.. The bottom of the radiator is staying cold on the 890 while the whole Radiator is at temp on the 790.. So I conclude 1 of 3 things. Thermostat sticking, radiator blockage or bad water pump. My parts guy bought a 1290 SA last year brand new. It was assembled without a water pump impeller... I really feel that could be the case here too..

 

[Mayhem]

Here's to hoping it's just a 🚽🧻 thermostat holding you up.

 

[Lonster]

I picked up my 890 yesterday morning. They had installed the techpak on friday, and it is ALL in there. Quickshifter, track pack, etc. I put 178 miles of twisties on it for the initial break in. Some serious hard riding. No over heating issues at all. Never got above 4 bars. The tires are great. No chicken strips on the rear and about 1/8th on the front tire. Suspension works GREAT in the stock settings for my weight. I thought I saw a preload adjustment in the owners manual, but i will have to double check. More later.

 

[J D]

So glad you fellas are loving your 890’s. 🤩

 

[Guest]

Blwnbyu- thorough diagnosing, hope you get it sorted soon.

Great info guys, keep it coming!

 

[Blwnbyu]

I picked up my 890 yesterday morning. They had installed the techpak on friday, and it is ALL in there. Quickshifter, track pack, etc. I put 178 miles of twisties on it for the initial break in. Some serious hard riding. No over heating issues at all. Never got above 4 bars. The tires are great. No chicken strips on the rear and about 1/8th on the front tire. Suspension works GREAT in the stock settings for my weight. I thought I saw a preload adjustment in the owners manual, but i will have to double check. More later.

I DEFINITELY have a coolant flow issue that other guys do not.

It's interesting you could add the Tech Pack. When my dealer looks it up on KTM's site, it says 636 after all of the options and does not allow you to add them. They have never seen this before. This was Friday Morning. It didn't say that on Thursday.

20200410_125703 by BLWNBYU, on Flickr

 

[Pgm]

The bars look quite a bit lower?
Thought I might order some until I saw the price £111.00 whereas the power parts set are £86.00 I can’t be doing with the orange tho.

 

[Blwnbyu]

The bars look quite a bit lower?
Thought I might order some until I saw the price £111.00 whereas the power parts set are £86.00 I can’t be doing with the orange tho.

The 890 is CONSIDERABLY taller but the bars have alot less rise. The bar height still ends up being higher off the ground, but lower compared to the seat. Even though the 890 is taller, it lays down much much more quickly. The handling is by far the biggest difference between the two.