2027 KTM 690 Rally Review

For what seems like 20 years, I’ve watched the aftermarket finish what KTM started in the 690 Enduro lineup. I’ve enjoyed testing and riding completed rally kit setups. I’ve also thrown a leg over this bike’s spiritual predecessor, the 640 Adventure. And all those versions of a midsize, single-cylinder adventure motorcycle make a lot of sense. They do justice to the legendary LC4 motor by giving it wind protection and more fuel capacity. Now that we have the KTM 690 Rally in our grips, it’s like it should have been there all along.

Photos by KTM and Marco Campelli

I’ve even fallen into the fun trap of imagining my own perfect 690-based, off-road-first adventure/rally/dual sport weapon. You know the type: a Dakar-inspired 990-esque profile and some fat front tanks full of endless miles of road-drifting, water bar-hopping bliss and probably a million LED-fired lumens lighting the way. Budget be damned!

I guess we don’t have to do that anymore. KTM did it. They built the KTM 690 Rally. And it sure looks like they put the right pieces in the right spots.

Pieces of the 690 Rally Puzzle | 2027 KTM 690 Rally Review

KTM didn’t reinvent the wheel here. They started with the strongest single-cylinder off-road bike on the market and built in long-distance capability. And the timing is good. Using the latest 690 Enduro R architecture and electronics, they’ve walked into an off-road-focused, adventure-worthy setup. By blending a wild off-road bike with rally-based ergonomics and styling, the 690 Rally didn’t have to come at this from the wrong direction.

Most current adventure-class machines are hyper-tuned street bikes, built to tackle off-road terrain thanks to smart tweaks to the road-going-first chassis. The 690 Rally starts off-road first, a rarity in today’s product planning, even among the high-spec versions of larger machines marketed as off-road tools.

The 690 Rally is, without a doubt, the 690 Enduro at its core. It has nothing missing from the minimalist dirt bike version. It has the same seat height (36.8 inches) and suspension travel (10.4 front and 9.8 rear). The Rally has simply added key hardware and software to complete the package. The list is remarkably small. It includes two front fuel tanks, a handlebar-mounted switch to select which tank’s fuel is used (front or rear), the 450 Rally Replica-inspired rally tower, an LED headlight and windscreen, ADV-sized rally footpegs, and two different 12v accessory ports. It also includes a USB-C port and a standard cigarette lighter-style port. The 690 Rally frame is unique in that it has the front tank mounting points as well as mounts for the front navigation tower assembly. This brings the factory-level upgrade full circle. This is not simply a bolt-on kit that works on any 690 Enduro frame.

All this adds about 20 pounds to the bike before fuel. And thanks to nearly two gallons of capacity in the new front tanks, the new total fuel load bumps up to more than 5.25 gallons. In total, the bike will be around 30 pounds heavier than a 690 Enduro. That puts the 690 Rally at around 388 pounds topped off.

The rest of the bike is the same as the 690 Enduro R, including the seat, despite its “Rally” embossing.

Electronics and Options | 2027 KTM 690 Rally Review

Since the 690 Enduro R was just updated, the 690 Rally also features the same 4.2-inch TFT display you can connect your smartphone to and the clutch-side-mounted switchgear, where all the technical tools are accessed.

The standard electronics software package includes a suite of lean-angle-sensitive traction control and ABS settings. It also comes standard with two ride modes: Street and Off-Road. Smartly, Off-Road mode switches the ABS to the Off-Road ABS setting, where the rear ABS is disengaged, and the front uses KTM’s Off-Road ABS settings. ABS can also be turned off completely. Conveniently, the KTM 690 Rally incorporates settings memory, so you don’t have to remember the ride mode you were in if you switch the key off. You do, however, need to reset your ABS settings once you power it back on.

The optional software storm from KTM isn’t new, but it’s always worth mentioning because, in my opinion, not having these features is a disservice to the overall experience. Should the bike just come with these and save us the hassle? Yes. Does it? No.

Starting with the optional Rally Pack upgrade, you get Rally Mode, where you can select traction-control slip through 10 settings, from 0 intervention (traction control off) to intervention level nine, the most restrictive in Rally Mode. This is a crucial tool for reaching the maximum potential of this or any of KTM’s adventure bikes. Dialing in allowed wheelspin on demand is amazing, and the liberties the system gives you, as well as the control it provides, are quite astonishing. You also get the latest Dynamic Slip Adjust, an adaptive function that works inside Rally Mode to override your wheelspin setting when throttle input and wheel speeds indicate you’re encountering softer terrain like mud or sand. In these conditions, the system allows increased wheelspin to get you moving, then reverts to the selected slip level. There’s no need to stop, adjust your slip level or turn it off, get out of the soft spot, and then reset your slip setting. You can simply crack the throttle, and the bike figures it out for you.

You can also adjust the throttle response with the Rally Pack in three levels of aggression: Off-Road, Street and Rally. The difference between the settings is significant and changes the bike’s character immensely. You can also adjust the Motor Slip Regulation, or engine braking, with the Rally Pack.

The Rally Pack upgrade will cost $299.99 at the dealership. But there’s a lot more here to consider.

For the first time, the 690 Enduro-based platform gets optional cruise control. Since this bike is intended for longer miles in more comfort, this is a smart integration. Cleanly, the same single joystick switchgear also controls cruise control; there is no additional hardware, but the software upgrade will set you back $199.99 for cruise control.

Finally, there’s the Quickshifter+. KTM has a great reputation in its quickshifting integration and functionality. You can also add clutchless up- and downshifting with their adaptive Quickshifter+ tech. That will set you back $349.99.

Before you go cross-eyed trying to add all this up, you can simply throw everything at your new bike with the Tech Pack, one upgrade that includes cruise control, the Rally Pack and the Quickshifter+ for $649.99 and “save” $200 over buying them individually.

Could KTM just add $649.99 to the MSRP, maybe? Yes. We don’t know why they don’t do that.

Delivering The Goods | 2027 KTM 690 Rally Review

Riding the new KTM 690 Rally is a great experience. Our two days of all-terrain adventure testing in the spectacular countryside of rural Greece showed it to be a true performer, ready for longer hauls across technical terrain. The bike now brings more comfort, balance and confidence to a proven engine. With the 690 Rally, this machine simply makes sense. And with that comes a better-performing motorcycle across the board.

I don’t think you will ever feel compromised with the 690 Rally compared to the Enduro. With the latest WP Xplor suspension updates and all the electronics, there’s no reason it shouldn’t. This bike adds weight, but it’s all fuel and wind protection, both of which I can say are worthy investments. But what’s important is the bike just works better. The front end now tracks more predictably, and the bike has a settled balance never felt on the stock 690 Enduro. With this confidence, you can push the 690 Rally more aggressively in turns without wondering when or if it will respond. The response is there, and as it moves through terrain, the entire platform sends a balanced feel to the rider. This is an impressive upgrade and deserves praise.

Likewise, the rear end feels much more capable here. With a balanced weight distribution, the bike doesn’t feel so rear-biased, but the rear is massively responsive at initiating turns or changing of direction with throttle input. The direct connection to power output is still there—something the 690 Enduro had gobs of. You can and will abuse tires as you control this bike, and I think that’s a great thing.

Adding to the chassis’ newfound handling confidence is the suspension performance. While the specs are the same as the Enduro model, the WP Xplor componentry has never played this nicely. Who knew you could slap some weight on the front and make this bike handle like a proper adventure machine? Everyone who’s ridden a Rally-kit-equipped 690, that’s who. And it’s more than the balance and predictability that is improved. The damping is very good at covering harsh small-to-medium bumps, with plushness at every speed I hit them. A very comfortable setting, indeed. Still, the fork and shock proved to have reserve damping in their back pockets—maintaining composure on the occasional jump and G-out just fine. I didn’t override the suspension on this bike during our test, and I usually do that at least once on an adventure bike test.

With all this newfound confidence and control, I finally enjoyed the potential and performance of the latest LC4 690 engine. It’s a beast, for sure, with a midrange pull that will disrupt whatever’s in its path. Using the electronics to their fullest can ensure the bike behaves as you command, but in true KTM fashion, the bike goes past the limits of reason if you let it eat. And it’s hard not to. The bike is extremely fun to ride at high speeds while remaining calm if you desire.

Our time in Greece was 99 percent off-road, where this bike shines. That let me try every combination of throttle response and ride-mode trickery it has. Every change is noticeable and accurate, with the computer bringing what you’d expect. You’ll find some golden settings on this bike as you ride it, along with a few surprises. I think the most significant eye-opener is the Rally throttle response. It’s spicy! Get ready when you switch that thing on.

The Rally upgrades, apart from fuel capacity, impressed as well. The wind protection is very good, keeping me covered nicely as I hunkered down to avoid freezing during a day of rain. It’s not touring comfort, but it’s damn good for a huge dirt bike. Also, the rally-tower placement is superb. I found it with my helmet chinbar only once on a steep uphill with rutted-out whoops. But it’s otherwise out of the way and makes a great mounting solution for GPS devices, phones or tablets like the F2R rally unit we had installed for navigation purposes.

In my search for complaints, I found only a few minor annoyances. First, the transmission doesn’t shift as effortlessly under this single-cylinder as I’m used to in KTM’s other adventure machines or even its off-road/motocross models. Even with the Quickshifter+ firing, I consistently found a heavy neutral between first and second and occasionally elsewhere. Maybe after some miles it will smooth out and hit my high expectations of buttery shifts the 790/890 platform has spoiled me with. Next, there is some vibration. Most of this is expected out of a single-cylinder machine with this much output, but I did find a buzzing cable group routing down to the front brake in desperate need of some spiral loom or something to lock it down. Otherwise, I sort of enjoyed the grunt the thumper provided.

The KTM 690 Rally transforms a confused, nearly homeless and arguably unfinished 690 Enduro R platform into a functional dual sport motorcycle without compromise. It improves the platform in every way, retains the hooligan nature of the fat, thumping single-cylinder LC4 powerplant and without any more detail given, I can confidently tell you this is the KTM 690 you should buy to fill the midsize adventure-bike hole in your garage. Will it stand up to the competition in this crowded class? We can’t wait to find out!CN

VIDEO | 2027 KTM 690 Rally First Ride Test

2027 KTM 690 Rally Specifications

Click here to read the 2027 KTM 690 Rally Review in the Cycle News Digital Edition Magazine.