I had been looking at adventure bikes for more than 3 years before I decided to go with a KTM 990 Adventure. At first, I was thinking about a F800GS.Some guys I was training with just got one and it looked awesome. I investigated other brands and discovered the KTM line-up. From that point on, I changed my mind back and forth between the 690 and 990 for a countless amount of time.

I ended up choosing the 990 solely on the fact that it could be ridden 2 up. My girlfriend at the time was really into travelling and I was planning to bring her along.  Unfortunately, the story did not end this way, but I will leave it there.

The bike was purchased used from the second owner. It was located in Ontario at about 12h drive from my place. My brother and I left on Saturday morning and came back the next day with it in the truck bed. The bike was really clean, frame was intact and there were no marks of a violent crash. The owner told me he bought it the previous year from a guy that toured the USA twice. It had 33000 km on the speedo, I had all the bills that followed the regular maintenance schedule in hand and it seemed like it had been very well taken care of. The price was OK and I did not drive all the way up there to come back without it….

Original Bike – Complete with plastic luggage, GPS and aftermarket exhaust

Happy new owner

Even though I entertained the idea of a RTW for more than 3 years, I only got my full motorcycle permit in August 2013. My idea was to get the bike early before the winter so I could ride it for a while and be able to work on it during winter.

Although the bike felt great, I had many things I wanted to improve on it in order to complete a trip that would last for more than a year. I detailed those upgrades in the other sections of this preparation tab.