The first part of the trip saw me mounting the lovely little KTM 890 Adventure, prime territory for the Tourance Next 2 tyres. First impressions were good, with a little suburban riding showing the tyre to be light and nimble through the handlebars, with the feedback providing you with information on changing road surfaces. Both of those aspects are probably helped by the new stiffer design of the tyre, something that should also aid the Next 2s more in wetter weather.
Looping out of the town and pointing bikes at the lunch stop in Brugnello the roads opened up and the hills loomed into view. As the pace quickened it became apparent this wasn’t just another ADV hoop for schlepping out the days on the motorway. It felt like a genuinely capable sporty touring tyre. On the steeply banked corners, you could get the pegs of the 890 Adventure scraping in agony, no mean feat considering the bike’s 264mm of ground clearance.
