I wasn't sure if I was going to get another bike since I didn't drive my previous bike all that much.

Since I have the P38 range rover I didn't find the time anymore and somehow I didn't gel with the Ducati very well.

In the meantime the P38 broke down and it got me thinking that maybe I should keep a bike on the side just in case. I already postponed travelling because of issues with the p38 and I think that might be its modus operandi.

That's why eventually I started looking at bikes again,after all it was my 1st and most fierce passion. The current adventure bike market has exploded and thinks we all need screens all of the times and those farcles have somehow become more important than the actual bike and its performance. Yes I see a trend just like in the automotive industry for downsized engines with the exception of a few brands like KTM that ever increase the engine size and horsepower and stay true to their own slogan.

"Ready to race"

And so I turned to the 2nd hand market and tried an 1190 adventure. Just by chance I went to look at a KTM 1090 adventure that was not even on my radar. I bought it after driving merely 200m with it. Instantly I remembered why I like KTM's so much. There's just something about the way they deliver the power that puts an instant smile on your face.

Let me introduce you my new to me 2017 KTM 1090 adventure R

That's not to say everything went as expected. I bought it from a guy who has a car shop. He claimed it was in perfect condition which it actually wasn't.

A few weeks went by after we made an agreement and then it was time o pick it up. I drove it home because it wasn't far from where I live. I immediately noticed the headstock bearing was loose. When i arrived home I was able to unscrew the bolt by hand it actually nearly fell out.

That wasn't to promising right?! that was also the moment I realised why I started buying new bikes instead of used ones,

So to establish a baseline from a maintenance point of view I decided to go over the bike entirely and replace everything I deemed necessary.

This is what I discovered:

headstock bearing play
no coolant in expansion tank
coolant leak at water pump cover
clutch slave leak
it still had the original air filter from 2017!
battery terminals were corroded and the battery was swollen
Crankcase breather to airbox pipe broken
brake fluid was bad (very dirty)
Date on the bike was set incorrect to avoid service message

I dealt with the guy in good trust but that's whats happens if you do. This is not the bike's fault but my own of course. Of course needless to say the guy all but refused my claims. I decided to swallow it and give the bike a chance.

I continued disassembling the bike to get access to everything starting with the headstock bearings. They didn't look bad and I could not see any damage in the races either so I cleaned it up and applied a liberal amount of grease and put it back together as per the KTM repair manual.

After replacing everything I couldn't feel any play anymore so mission accomplished.

Upto the next problem. I ordered a unifilter kit for the airbox rather than a Rottweiler kit. To my surprise the airbox was actually in good nic and not dusted because that's one off the failure points for this bike. At the same time I installed a new crankcase breather. Next I replaced the battery.

I also removed a Touratech phone holder that the guy tried to remove before I went to pick it up. I installed another Touratech navbar with a DMD mounting plate for my RAM tablet holder. I also installed a 12v usb socket at the same time. I also had to replace the lid on the right side for the small storage box, it wasn't broken when I first went looking for the bike.

Anyways I also saw it was missing the toolkit so ordered that one as well. The bike was also missing the db-killer for the exhaust, I managed to find a company who makes them but I'll have to wait until january 2026 to get them delivered. I also ordered a ABS dongle or offroad dongle but here also some delay for the delivery and also estimated to be available beginning 2026.

I went ahead and replaced the coolant and the waterpump cover because the paint was peeling a bit. I performed the bleeding as per the manual and topped it off the next morning. Another job done.

At one point I',m going to replace the oil as well but I want to make sure there is not something else to do on the engine before I do.

I continued to cleanup the bike, especially the chain sprocket area on the bike. I decided, after some reading online to go to a 45 tooth sprocket on the back, I replaced the front one with the same 17 tooth type.

Then I continued to add frame protectors and a sticker set from Motopro works to give the bike a new more modern look. At the same time I installed a set of barkbusters with an aluminium brace.

There is still some work to do on the bike but for now it'll do. I received the evap canister and SAS delete kit but that's for later. I now can drive the bike for a bit and see if works fine.

I went for a ride past sunday, a short stint for 2 hours. I have to say that engine is a peach. It can be a handful in sport mode on slippery terrain but man the power and how it comes on. I really love it.

All in all given the way I bought it I have to say It really drives well and certainly better then it did before I bought it.

Next we be to slap on some Motoz tires and see how it perform off-road.

Bye for now👊