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Twisted Throttle
The crew at Twisted Throttle wanted to make sure we were protected for our off-pavement adventures and provided a few pieces of equipment to make sure we didn’t get stranded on the side of the trail. We installed a SW-Motech aluminum skid/engine guard. This particular unit is constructed of a 4mm aluminum base, and 3mm sides. Where the base plates and side plates overlap, it forms a riveted 7mm-thick rail for extra rigidity. Side protectors wrap around the engine block to provide both bottom and side protection. The unit was a breeze to install and is available in brushed bare aluminum or durable black powder coated finishes. The peace-of-mind that you are protected makes it worth the extra effort.
An area most of us overlook is the fragile plastic headlight cover. Not only is it susceptible to hazing from road blasting, it is also front and center to receive roost from your riding buddies when off pavement. We installed a product called “Light Saver.” It’s a 30mm thick film that covers you headlight unit in an optical quality, double polished polyvinyl film that protects the unit from roost and road debris.
The SW-Motech Auxiliary light mounts make sure the 990 can pack the lumens needed for evening adventure riding. The solid construction and relatively simple installation are big bonuses to this custom light rail and are perfect for their Denali series lamps.
Baja Designs—Squadron LED Lamp
We all know that you can’t expect much from your stock lighting and the KTM is no exception. With so many lighting options available, ADVMoto decided to try out the Baja Designs Squadron LED units.
Installation was a breeze with the optional wiring harness and the SW-Motech lamp mount from Twisted Throttle. Once mounted, all I can say is, “WOW!” These babies draw a hefty (for LED) 44 watts per unit but crank out a whopping 3600 lumens of “spotting deer through trees” power.
While out testing in normal traffic, if you angle them slightly down, you can ride with them on all the time, without getting the annoying high beam flash from oncoming traffic. The light spread is outstanding even with the lights aimed straight forward. If you do a lot of night riding, I highly recommend checking out all the lighting options available in the market place. While the Baja Designs are incredible units, they are on the high end of the price spectrum, but well worth the money if you want extra daytime visibility and safer evening back road riding.
Black Dog Cycle Works (BDCW)
The 990 likes to run at the top of the temperature gauge’s range, especially if you get caught in stop and go traffic. Also, if you do a lot of slower off-pavement technical riding, this is a must-add upgrade. We installed the BDCW auxiliary fan kit and no longer did we have to worry about rising temperature issues and turning off the bike at stoplights. Installation was fairly straight forward and didn’t take much more than an hour. I do, however, recommend removing both tanks for installation making it easier to find the fan wire.
Another nifty add-on from BDCW is the A990 crash bar bags. These little gems give you additional storage for tools and other items you might not use on a regular basis and sit relatively low on the bike. They are made from heavy-duty durable 1680 polyester denier ballistic with heavy coating. The inside of the bags are light in color to make finding your goodies a lot easier. Two bags included in set, one for each side.
Lastly, we wanted to try out the ultra-heavy-duty skid plate for our more hardcore off-pavement adventures. BDCW’s innovative design utilizes two steel supports on the front and back to brace the skid plate from hard impacts that would normally rip off the stock skid plate or other aftermarket skid plates that utilize only the four rubber shear bolts for mounting the skid plate to the bike. If you plan on spending more time off road with the 990, there’s no doubt the extra protection of this model is worth the added weight it comes with.
