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
*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.
