KTM arguably kicked off the big-bore, high-performance adventure scene when in 2002 Fabrizio Meoni won that year’s Dakar on the brand’s twin-cylinder 950 Rally. So powerful, so fast and so dangerous were these bikes that Dakar organisers banned twin-cylinder machines a few years later.

In 2003, KTM released the 950 Adventure, a dirty, Dakar-style bike for the road. Yes, there were multi-cylinder adventure bikes available at the time, but none carried themselves off-road like the 950. A few years later KTM released the 990 Adventure R, one of the last truly Dakar-inspired twin-cylinder machines – it was raw, and ferociously fast off-road.

The 890 Adventure R is the natural progression of KTM’s commitment to building adventure bikes that are focussed heavily on off-road performance. This isn’t just a claim that KTM are making, and there would be very few people who have ridden an 890 Adventure R that wouldn’t agree it is the most off-road capable big-bore multi-cylinder production motorcycle on the planet at the moment, if they’re being honest.

I’m no gun off-road rider; I consider myself competent, but closer to your average adventure bike rider than I am to Chris Birch and the like.

So, is a bike that lets Chris do the things he does going to be any good for little old me? Simple answer is yes.

Good chassis design, suspension, layout and engine are going to work for anyone looking for a bike of this ilk – which is to say a bike that is focussed on off-road competency. You can slam the 890 into just about anything off-road adventure riding will throw at you and the 890 simply laughs it off.

The 890 just gets better the harder you push, and that is a good thing. We all want to get better at riding, right? Well, when you have a bike that allows you to push past your comfort zone with predictability and confidence, it encourages you to push – to get better.

The WP suspension offers 240mm of travel at both ends and is fully adjustable, so you have the room to set it up to your preference. It is on the firmer side, so lighter riders might need to back things off a bit.

The other area that makes a big difference to how the 890 feels and handles is the layout of its 20-litre tank. The 890 carries a good chunk of its fuel payload down low around the engine, and that gives the 890 a lighter and far less top-heavy feel than any other big adventure bike out there.

The 889cc parallel-twin engine is a glorious thing. The minute you start it up it feels and sounds lively. It revs quickly, and the mid-range and top end are very impressive. But here’s the kicker: that meaty upper rev-range power isn’t at the expense of low-down grunt, and there is solid punch off the bottom. With such a wide range of chunky and progressive power delivery it is a very versatile engine that is also hugely entertaining because it’s fast – damn fast. With around 105hp, the 890 Adventure R has a power-to-weight ratio similar to some of the mega-motored adventure bikes without the excessive weight, so it absolutely bangs.

Now I know there are some questions around the reliability of this donk. I won’t comment on that too much except to say – beware online scuttlebutt which can blow things way out of proportion. I have owned many KTMs, including one of its multi-cylinder adventure bikes, and have had no more issues than with any other brand. And I have two close mates with 890s who have banked solid kays on their bikes and had no engine issues whatsoever.

And KTM stands by its products – the 890 comes with a four-year warranty, and you don’t offer that unless you’re sure about your product.

Because KTM Australia know that our dusty continent presents unique challenges, all Aussie 890s run a sealed airbox, with a foam air filter and a pre-filter so you can keep the talc-fine dust out of the mill.

Twin stoppers up front are on point and, like the rear, offer exceptional power and feel – you’ll not be craving more braking kung-fu.

If you’re looking for an on-road ride experience like a BMW R 1300 GS or Honda Africa Twin, you won’t find it here. The 890 has a rawer, less refined and less comfortable feel – think KTM 690 Enduro R and a 1390 Adventure had a baby – the 890 is the product of that coupling. That is not to say it is uncomfortable; on the contrary, there’s no reason you couldn’t crack out big miles on the 890. It’s just not super-plush like the big adventure machines. It feels like a big, comfortable enduro bike – racey and ready to bang.

For me, the single biggest barrier to big kays is the stumpy screen. It is no accident that the screen is so short, and if you’ve ever been throat-punched by the tall screen on an adventure bike in the rough stuff, you’ll know why it needs to be like this. There is a plethora of screen options out there if you want a little wind protection.

The seat, which for an adventure bike has a relatively flat profile, feels quite firm when you first pop your arse on it, but this offers good support, so you don’t feel like you’re sitting on the frame rails after a couple of hundred kilometres in the saddle. On the day we filmed this video, I was in the saddle essentially from 10am to 4pm and was pleasantly surprised how comfortable the 890 is – not just in terms of the seat, but also overall ergonomics.

There’s a range of rider aids and electronic do-dads onboard – from ABS to cornering-enabled traction control – so the orange machine has your back. Just about every parameter of the traction control, ride modes, power output and ABS can be adjusted via the TFT dash which, once you get used to the menu layout, is intuitive and easy to use. My only gripe is that there isn’t a dedicated ride mode button on one of the switchblocks, so you’ll need to dive into the menu to switch from Road mode to Rally mode, for instance.

So, the 890 Adventure R. It is still the most competent off-road big-bore adventure bike that Joe Average can roll out of a shop on. Its off-road focus is not an accident, and if you’re a rider that wants to venture further off the bitumen, then no adventure bike does it like the 890. It may lack the extreme comfort of some of the bigger adventure machines, but that isn’t what the 890 is about, is it? With that said, it’s capable of big miles, and I wouldn’t hesitate to load the 890 up and head for the horizon.

In a world of big and cumbersome adventure bikes that feel more at home on the blacktop than on the dirt, the 890 stands head and shoulders above the pack.