Moving from side to side, countersteering the bike, it felt more maneuverable and flickable than before. The new wheels made an instant improvement in how the bike looks, and just going down the road a few blocks we noticed a change in how the bike felt too. Everything slipped on easily with a precision fit, and since the wheels came with their own sprockets, rotors and spacers, swapping rims was a relatively quick process. How They PerformedĪfter putting in some miles breaking in the new Dunlops on the stock rims, we swapped to the Warp 9 Racing wheels. By mounting both wheel sets with the same rubber, we could compare them back to back and confirm if we could feel a difference.
Recently, Dunlop started making the D908RR in size 150/70-18 (stock size for the KTM 990 Adventure), making this the first time we’d get to try these proven desert tires on the 990R. Next we mounted a fresh set of Dunlop D606’s in front and D908RR’s in the rear for the test, on both the stock and Warp 9 rims. The Warp 9 Racing wheels weighed a combined 5.3 pounds less than the stock wheel set. With everything except spacers installed, the front Warp 9 wheel weighed in 2.5 pounds less and the rear was 2.8 pounds lighter than stock for a total 5.3-pound reduction in unsprung rotating mass.
Simply put, the Warp 9 Racing wheels look sick!īefore we started testing, we first weighed the old and new wheel sets. Clearly, there is a lot of attention to detail that goes into building these and the quality is top notch. But first we took our time giving them a good stare. We’ll admit we were pretty excited, seeing the glint of anodized orange for the first time as we pulled them out of the box, and we couldn’t wait to get them on the bike. First ImpressionsĪfter ordering a set of hand-built Warp 9 wheels in the stock sizes (21×2.15″ front and 18×4.25″ rear), it didn’t take long for the new hoops to arrive. Read on to see how they performed on our KTM 990 Adventure R. Most people are aware of the benefits of reducing rotational mass on horsepower, but it can also positively impact handling as well. While we were expecting the Warp 9 Racing wheels to be stronger and lighter than the OEM wheels, we were interested in seeing if we could feel an improvement in performance too. And they let you choose the colors of each component for a custom look. We ordered a complete set with brake rotors, sprockets and OEM-spec wheel spacers included. Oversized stainless spokes and nipples further improve durability, while ABS-ready 300mm Floating Rotors on the front and a 240mm Floating Rotor on the rear help maximize braking performance. Their adventure wheels are built to be both strong and light, using 6061 T6 Aluminum forged hubs with 7050 grade anodized aluminum rims that are rolled 1mm thicker for increased strength. Warp 9 Racing uses the highest-grade Stainless steel and aluminum available in their products. They are also known for their reasonable prices.ĭon’t let the lower prices fool you though. Warp 9 is one of the only companies we know of that makes their own complete wheel sets, including rotors and sprockets. The company has been around since the mid-2000s building wheels for dirt bikes and recently started building them for Adventure Bikes. Searching for a worthy replacement for the OEM set, we came across the Warp 9 Racing adventure wheels. While our 2012 KTM 990 Adventure R test bike has been a workhorse, the stock wheels were looking particularly rough after all the years of bouncing off rocks and squeezing through boulders. Clearly, it was about time the 990 got some new kicks. Even after truing and balancing them, the front wheel seemed to get out of true fairly quickly due to metal fatigue. Years of bouncing off rocks and squeezing through boulders left them scratched, dinged and ugly. One area where it was looking particularly rough was in the wheels.
We aren’t done with our beloved 990 quite yet though, so a refresh was well overdue. It has had its fair share of crashes and rough rides with the battle scars to prove it too. Our 2012 KTM 990 Adventure R test bike has been an absolute workhorse for ADV Pulse over the years, participating in countless tests and comparos.
0 kommentar(er)
