The big industry trade show in Milan is still a few days away, but our story-breaking Bothan Spies are working hard to be the first to bring you an advanced look at the new motorcycles for the 2018 model year. As such, we have the first photo of the new KTM 790 Adventure.

Sharing a platform with the KTM 790 Duke (another bike that we expect to see in Italy next week), the KTM 790 Adventure uses the same 800cc parallel-twin engine as the smaller Duke, though that seems to be where the similarities end.

Obviously the KTM 790 Adventure is equipped with larger wheels (21″/18″ by our eye) clad in knobby tires, but the chassis looks different too – at least, when compared to the KTM 790 Duke prototype.

What is notable though is how much bodywork surrounds the twin-cylinder engine, helping protect the engine case from rough handling while on the trails, and perhaps doubles as some low-slung storage space on the production bike.

The bike too just looks like a larger dirt bike, a nod to its being more focused on “adventure” than “touring”.

Designed to raise the stakes in the middleweight adventure-touring category, we almost feel bad for the other European brands, all of which are adding or updating their middleweight ADV bikes this year at EICMA (read more: BMW, Ducati, & Triumph).

It should be pointed out that the design here seems to show a concept model, not a production model, so that will at least give BMW, Ducati, and Triumph a year or so before they have to worry about the KTM 790 Adventure hitting showroom floors.

We expect KTM to give us a proper look at the new 790 Adventure on Tuesday. Come back then for more details, but be sure to stay tuned to Asphalt & Rubber, for more breaking EICMA show news.

Source: Bothan Spies

As always, Asphalt & Rubber will be covering all the new bikes debuting at EICMA this year. Be sure to follow our coverage for the most recent news and photos.