Turning Wishes Into Wheels

At the tail end of the summer of 2015, I had a bug in my ear about buying a KTM 690 Enduro. The obsession could have been the result of one too many pints of Stella, a head injury, or simply that I’m attracted to things that aren’t so good for me. The 690 has always been sexy in a beastly sort of way. Like, it would pull your hair. And you’d love it.

Even with super-sleuth Kenny on the case, there were no 690s, new or used, available without purchasing sight unseen and having it shipped across the US from California. Emails to dealerships up and down the east coast, phone calls, Craigslist, Cycle Trader, ADVRider – all dead ends. All signs seemed to point to it being not being in the cards. So I just dropped the idea and moved on.

After all – it was a big bike. It was probably too tall, too powerful, too heavy; what would I do with it? It would just end up being another one of those pipe dreams that I get carried away about. Head out of the clouds, woman! 

Do you think it’s possible that you subconsciously make things come about? Because on Christmas Eve, I came home with my own Christmas pressie – 2014 KTM 690 Enduro R:

fuzzygalore ktm 690 enduro r

The funny thing about this particular bike is that it came looking for me. Someone else needed to get rid of it and wouldn’t you know? I needed to have it. Perhaps timing is everything after all.

 

 

Fuzzygalore

Rachael is the whimsical writer behind the 20+ year old Girlie Motorcycle Blog. As a freelance blogger, she is on a mission to inspire laughter, self-examination, curiosity, and human connection. Girlie Motorcycle Blog can be found on several Best Motorcycle Blog lists.

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22 Responses

  1. Danny says:

    Too sweet, my sister. I have a big 990 ADV and love it. But I’ve always thought the 690 was the perfect bike.

    Can’t wait to hear of the trouble you get into with that bike.

    Enjoy.

  2. Louise says:

    OMG, so jealous! You thought it might be too tall for you. Is it?
    I have a BMW f800GSA and a CFR250L. I have been going back and forth whether or not to trade the CRF for a 690. But the height issue keeps me from doing it. I get away with the height of the BMW by wearing my thick soled SIDI Crossfires and a custom low seat LOL.

    Ugh, that 690 is so nice!! I’m so excited for you! And to see another female rider is awesome. YAY 🙂

    • Fuzzygalore says:

      Thanks, Louise! it is definitely tall. I’m 5’7″ with 31 inch inseam and I have to tippy toe and sometimes 1-foot. But, given its weight and width, I feel like it’s manageable. I wear crossfires and Sidi Adv boots too. I have a Seat Concepts seat on the way that should drop another nearly half inch off the height.

      Find a dealer… You may be surprised 😉

      • Louise says:

        Looks like my F800GSA is getting a little Orange sibling *squeal*
        I went to the KTM dealer to check out the 690 (they didn’t have one in stock), but I couldn’t resist, I put a deposit down on a new 2016 690 Enduro anyway! It’s not going to be in till February, but I figure with all the snow on the ground that should be ok. And since it sounds like we’re about the same height and inseam, that’ll also give me time to order a low seat from Seat Concepts.

        I’ve been looking at the 690 for a while. I regret getting the CRF250L, super fun bike but waaaay to little power for slabbin’ it to the dirt trails. Seeing another female rider getting a 690 kinda kicked me in the butt to just go ahead make the change. So a big THANK YOU for being a positive influence 🙂 (even though Im going to be 11k poorer LOL)

        • Fuzzygalore says:

          Holy shit, Louise! What happy news 😀 You must’ve really been wanting one pretty bad because it didn’t take very much for you to make your way over to the KTM dealer 😉

          Yeah, i can see what you mean about the CRF. I actually know 2 people that have them and while they are wonderful little bikes it makes it hard when you want the bike to do everything. If you were trucking it somewhere – probably not quite as much of an issue. I am leaving behind a Husky TE310 for similar reasons. It’s wonderful and light and all of that but I can’t happily ride it to where i’m going. I can only ride it once i get there. I wanted something that i could wander around on.

          I hope that you too find that the 690 tickles your fancy. I’m absolutely in love with it.

          Do you have a blog or instagram or anything to keep tabs on what you’re up to?

          • Louise says:

            Yeah, I really, really wanted a 690. Even more so after I got the 250 (buyers remorse). I kept talking myself out of it, thinking the 690 was too close to what I already had with the 800GS. But I realized the 800GS just couldn’t do (or I didn’t want to try) what I wanted as far as off-road riding and the 250 was fun in the dirt, but a whole lotta not fun getting there… And like you, I wanted something I could wander around on. I love the 800, but I don’t want to get too far off the beaten track alone with a 500LB bike. And I pretty much go out exploring by myself.

            And I don’t have a blog. I have a twitter account (_eco2eco_) but I rarely if ever tweet (I gotta work on that). And same with the instagram, have it, never use it LOL >.<

            AND… Just got a call today from the dealer. My 690 will be here next week!! I think the snow will be tapering off this week (Im in Salt Lake City), but the temps will still be in the 30's. Hmmm… maybe I'll have them install heated grips 🙂

          • Fuzzygalore says:

            YES to heated grips! 😀

            Holy moly. It’s arriving early?! When does that ever happen? Sounds like it needed to get to its new home in a hurry 🙂

  3. Eric says:

    Nice grab! Get the suspension set the way you want it, and this is a FANTASTIC bike. If the F.I. (Fuel Injection) light comes on every once in a while and it bogs down to 10% power, just turn the key off and it’ll be fine after a reset. Well, I hope so. Worked for me this past year on about 3 occasions that it happened.

    Hope to see ya out there again sometime. Head west or south, would ya?

  4. Rosie says:

    Happy Happy Joy Joy!!!!! Don’t you just love when the universe does what we want it to.
    Congrats Rachael, wishing you safe and happy travels 🙂

  5. Ry Austin says:

    So, was it a stray, or is it more like a rescue bike?…

    Who saved whom?

    Congrats, Fuzzy, on the new-to-you katoom!

  6. Meaghan says:

    Congrats on the new bike! The Katies are really popular over here in Aus(other half’s got a 450exc). You’ve got something that’s dirt oriented so you get more of the ‘roads less travelled’ and that’s got to be a good thing 😉

  7. Chris says:

    Congrats on the bike!!! So let’s see, you bought two bikes in 2015 and got rid of one. Sounds like a fair deal to me!!

    Enjoy it!!

  8. Lesle says:

    Another 2 wheels? You are crazy girl but I love it.

    • Fuzzygalore says:

      1 in, 1 out. The Husky is going bye-bye everything will remain status quo except now I have more opportunities that don’t require *only* trucking the dirty bike places

  9. Teresa Bowers says:

    You rock girl! Good luck with it, they are tall.

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