Watch: Rally-Inspired KTM 690 Adventure R Prototype Spied

[Advpulse]

As the dust continues to settle around KTM’s protracted financial troubles, a comeback is taking shape—not in balance sheets, but in the form of new motorcycles like this nearly production-ready prototype, currently being referred to as a “690 Rally,” which was spotted in Austria undergoing testing. 

The bike, photographed by powersports paparazzo Bernhard Höhne, blends KTM’s 690 Enduro R dual-sport with its limited-edition 450 Rally Replica, a mix that’s sure to appeal to fans of the brand’s popular mid-sized lineup, especially those looking for a rally-style machine without the $40,000 price tag of the raid-ready 450. And that’s if you could get your hands on one at all, with just 100 units of the replica—based on the machine that carried Daniel Sanders to victory at this year’s Dakar—produced for 2025.

However, despite appearances, if KTM stays true to its current naming strategy, this new 690 likely won’t carry the “Rally” name once it reaches market. The brand typically offers a long-range “Adventure” version as a derivative of its “Enduro” model, such as the 390 Adventure R, 640 Adventure R and 990 Adventure R, so in this case this new bike will most likely be called the 690 Adventure R.

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Riders have been asking for a true lightweight adventure bike since KTM discontinued the 640 Adventure in 2008. When the 690 Enduro R launched the following year, many expected an adventure variant to follow—but it never came. Now, 16 years later, it looks like KTM is finally answering that call.

The most noticeable upgrades for this new rally-style 690 Adventure appear at the front of the chassis, where a tall, steeply raked windscreen wraps around a new instrument pod, which would replace the old-school small-window setup on the Enduro R. According to Höhne—who saw the prototype in person—the setup includes a new display housed within a rally tower-style arrangement. The overall effect is a more aggressive-looking machine that offers protection from the wind as well as safer line-of-sight to readouts on the dash.

The new transparent windscreen/cowling houses stacked dual headlamps, with an LED running light bar sandwiched between them, giving the front end a modern, rally-inspired look.

The most practical upgrade is the addition of two side-mounted front fuel tanks, similar in shape to those used on the 450 Rally. Positioned at the rider’s knee level and accessed via dual filler caps, the design would supplement the 690’s existing 3.6-gallon under-seat tank, which is filled from the rear of the bike. It’s a setup taken straight from the rally bike playbook, seen not only on KTM’s 450 Rally but also on models like the Yamaha Ténéré 700 World Raid edition.

While there are no reports on the capacity of these tanks, they appear slightly smaller than the aux tanks on the 450 Rally, yet are by no means insubstantial and could potentially double the bike’s range, nudging it into long-range travel bike territory like the old 640 Adventure with its 6.7-gallon capacity.

If carried over, the large platform footpegs seen on the test mule would be new to the 690 range, echoing an intention for travel. There is also the question of whether the small tail rack, which accommodates the test bike’s telemetry equipment in the photos, will be standard on a production version.

The new tanks reside behind redesigned side covers, with the updated versions creating a more cohesive, eye-pleasing line from the seat to the tip of the front fender. The upside-down shark fin shape on the side panels is also larger and positioned more vertically than before. 

The rest of this new 690 Rally-inspired prototype seems to be carried over from the existing Enduro R, including its frame, swingarm, wheels, seat, and rear fuel tank, along with the WP XPLOR suspension, which provides 250 mm (9.84 in) of travel front and rear.

On the surface, the engine also appears to be the same 692.7cc LC4 liquid-cooled single-cylinder unit used to power the Enduro R, paired with the same exhaust, as well as routing and placement, a combo that provides a claimed output of 74 horsepower and 54.2 lb.-ft. of torque from the existing 690 Enduro R.

Weight will be a big question for interested buyers, and judging by the addition of the dual tanks, there will be a bump in heft over the Enduro R’s 321.9-pound dry weight, though even with some added fuel weight, this Rally edition will still be lighter than most adventure-style bikes, including its most likely competitors, Yamaha’s T7 or Aprilia’s Tuareg 660, which both have a wet weight of around 450 pounds. 

As for price, we’ll have to wait on that figure too, though you can expect it to end up somewhere above the current suggested retail of a 2024 690 Enduro R ($12,999) yet a comfortable distance below the next Adventure R model up, KTM’s 890 Adventure R, which starts at $15,799.

So why would someone choose the 690 Adventure R over the Enduro R? Just ask the established community of riders who use the Enduro R as a starting point to build their own rally-style Adventure machines, often adding front fuel tanks and tall rally windscreens via aftermarket kits. Having these upgrades integrated at the factory means fewer headaches—not just in terms of fitment, but also in keeping the all-important KTM warranty intact.

As for KTM’s motivation to build the bike, we see this as a move for the Austrian mega-manufacturer to lean into its rally history while shifting toward lower-volume, higher-margin models in the midst of its financial recovery. After all, this addition to the lineup comes off as premium, niche, and should draw enthusiasts willing to pay a little more for a factory-issue rally-style machine, only without KTM shouldering the cost of developing and tooling an all-new motorcycle.

According to photographer Höhne, who clearly has insider access to KTM, operations at the Mattighofen factory have been back in full swing since mid-March. Production is gradually ramping up, and work on future models continues with a focus on high-margin segments. Bikes like this new 690 not only respond to growing consumer interest but also offer KTM a way to stabilize its finances after a difficult patch.

As for timing, we expect to see this model unveiled at EICMA 2025, making a distribution date in early 2026 seem reasonable.

Photos by Bernhard Höhne

Author: Jamie Elvidge

Jamie has been a motorcycle journalist for more than 30 years, testing the entire range of bikes for the major print magazines and specializing in adventure-travel related stories. To date she’s written and supplied photography for articles describing what it’s like to ride in all 50 states and 43 foreign countries, receiving two Lowell Thomas Society of American Travel Writer’s Awards along the way. Her most-challenging adventure yet has been riding in the 2018 GS Trophy in Mongolia as Team AusAmerica’s embedded journalist.