Tall, slim and good-looking - there's not much to complain about with the KTM 990 Adventure EFI, writes Tom Robert.
IT'S NO USE, I think I'm going to die of a fruit overdose. First Kawasaki hand me the virulent lime-green ZX-10 Ninja, and then, only a week later, here I am sidling up to a vibrant-orange KTM Adventure in bright sunshine - wishing I'd brought my shades.
Still, the vitamin C will come in handy.
To be fair, if the KTM was an orange, it would be a basketballing anorexic one: it's the tallest, slimmest bike I've seen since the Buell Ulysses.
This meant that all the way down the motorway, I was being flung from one side to the other during gusts, and a couple of times came close to joining truck drivers in their cabs.
Still, at least I was on eye level with them.
In town, things got a lot better. This is a bike whose ante-cedents are off the road, which means that its balance at low speed is superb, not to mention the fact that its slim build makes it perfect for filtering through traffic in order to be first away at the lights.
This may look like a big bike from the side, but it's also a very light one: within minutes of leaping aboard, you're flinging it around the corners like a kid who's just been handed his first pushbike.
Not that many pushbikes come fitted with a 999cc fuel-injected V-twin, mind you.
Especially one with 98bhp, including more torque and more oomph in the midrange than the 950 Adventure which it is replacing.
At the top end, that means you can cruise at motorway speeds all day behind that big screen and, sidewinds excepted, never get tired.
At the bottom end, the throttle has that snatchiness below 3,000rpm typical of KTMs, but you soon get used to being gentle with it at low speeds, especially when cornering.
All in all, KTM have put together a fairly flawless package of weight, steering, suspension and, for the first time from the marque, ABS brakes. And it's a package which makes this an extremely easy and unfussy riding experience.
This bike is, of course, designed as an all-round adventure tourer, both on road and off; off road it's even more impressive than on, with lightness and balance such that even a total idiot can keep it upright.
Call me wild, but I even switched off the ABS for the sheer hell of it, and lived to tell the tale.
So if you're planning to head to Timbuktu for the weekend, look no further. But do remember to bring your shades.
Factfile KTM 990 Adventure
Engine:999cc, liquid-cooled, DOHC, four-stroke, fuel injection, four valves per cylinder, 75-degree V-twin
Performance:130mph Power: 98bhp @ 8,500rpm
Torque:70ft/lbs @ 6,500rpm
Seat height:860mm (895mm)
Dry weight:204kg (199kg)
Bore x stroke:101 x 62.4mm
Compression ratio:11.5:1 Transmission: 6-speed
Extras:luggage rack/mounting kit, 35- or 41-litre aluminium panniers, 32-litre plastic panniers, 42-litre plastic top-box, Akrapovic end cans, alarm system and crash bars
Price:£8,945. Euro price to be confirmed.
Contact Killeen Motorcycles, Sundrive Road, Dublin 12; www.killeenmotorcycles.com
Test bike was supplied by Philip McCallen of Lurgan in Co Armagh; www.philipmccallen.com