A liter of adventure: the 2003 KTM 950 Adventure. (Riding Around).

Let's say you want one bike to ride across the Kalahari desert in Africa, one to carve canyons on the weekend, one to ride to the local store for light shopping, and one to commute to work on daily. But they all have to be the same bike.

A number of adventure-touring models might fulfill your needs, and KTM was determined to expand its sales in this lucrative niche. But until the new 950 Adventures came along, you could have any kind of bike from KTM, as long as it was a single. What the folks at KTM needed was a larger, more powerful multicylinder engine. So the engineers were locked in their offices for months and only let out for food and potty breaks. The result was an all-new, liquid-cooled LC8 V-twin design that's both compact and powerful, making its initial appearance in the 950 Adventure reviewed here, and in a 950 Duke street/sport machine later this year.

An unusual 75-degree Vee angle was chosen to reduce the length of the new engine. Dual overhead camshafts with bucket-type tappets are driven by timing chains via intermediate gears, to further keep the engine's dimensions small. Using camshaft drives with spur gears made it possible to reduce the size of the cylinder heads by roughly 25 percent compared to a direct-sprocket chain-drive setup. This allows the engine to be mounted farther forward for better balance, and permits maximum suspension travel. A "five-in-one" shaft located between the cylinders operates the water pump, timing chain, intermediate gear for the starter, acts as a centrifuge for crankcase ventilation, and helps mass centralization. To further aid centralization of mass and packaging, the starter is mounted between the engine's cylinders.

A pair of 43mm carburetors mounted nearly vertical draws in gulps of air and fuel. Denso ignition with stick-type coils at the spark plugs light the fires and keep things simple. Rated horsepower is 98 at 8,000 rpm, with 70 pounds-feet of torque at 6,000 revs, and the 11.5:1 compression ratio calls for premium fuel.

For more ground clearance, a dry sump oiling system eliminates an oil pan and ensures full lubrication in any riding position. An oil tank is located below the radiator and also functions as an oil cooler. The wet multiplate clutch with' hydraulic clutch actuation is self-adjusting. Preload on the clutch springs varies with engine torque, ensuring smooth engagement and reducing rider effort.

KTM has been a fierce competitor in the various iterations of the infamous and grueling Paris-Dakar Rally, and the 950 Adventure shares more than 90 percent of its chassis and engine components with the 950 Rally bike designed for competition. Both a standard 950 Adventure and 950 Adventure S with more suspension travel, ground clearance and a taller seat height will be offered.

On both bikes a chrome-moly tubular steel space frame bolts up to an aluminum rear subframe. The long swingarm is also made of aluminum, and connects to a WP single rear shock with hydraulic preload adjustment. Out in front, a huge 48mm WP maleslider cartridge fork with adjustable rebound and compression damping softens the ride.