Orange Heat: The 2026 KTM Adventure Rally Experience

Have you ever been on a Goa trip and never witnessed the sea? Never walked on the beach? Didn’t catch the sunset on the horizon? I did. And to be honest, I didn’t miss out on doing these customary activities. For the simple reason: I was getting muddy, dirty and having a lot of fun in the scorching Goa heat astride a bunch of happy and eager KTM off-road enthusiasts at the inaugural KTM Adventure Rally. 

EASING IN

The riding days of the rally were designed in such a manner that the difficulty progression ramps up, enabling the riders to up their skills rapidly. From a small plateau run to a full-blown hill climb, the intention was simple: paint the town orange. However, it wasn’t as serious as one would expect.

Going by how the international KTM ADV Rally events are conducted, the entire day’s activities were split into zones, or as KTM likes to call them “Chillies.” These were meant to provide unique challenges to the riders, training their obstacle navigational skills, competitive skills and bike control skills in varied situations. To get to these daily Chillies, the organisers had found some epic roads that got us in the groove, and considering we had to ride back on the same route, calming enough to lazily get back to the hotel.

SPICE TOLERANCE

Not everyone would be comfortable eating thecha with every meal. Then expecting every rider to be battle-ready for gruelling action wouldn’t be fair either. Hence, the eight or so Chillies across the three days felt like child’s play for the seasoned off-roaders, while some struggled on some of the easier ones as well.

I thoroughly enjoyed picking my path through a dilapidated quarry run on the first day as well as water crossings on the following day. There was also a timed course, where I put up a respectably competitive time on my steed for the event: the 390 Adventure X. What did become a bit obvious, though, is the fact that the event was not as demanding or as fearsome as the international versions. This turned out to be more of a glorified tour than a proper test of man and machine. Perhaps, this could be the learnings that KTM (or Bajaj now) takes seriously for the 2027 edition as rider segregation and willingness for something more challenging and demanding would be appreciated by many. 

For those who struggled, the KTM trainers were more than capable enough of helping the participants understand how to go about the obstacles and make it through. The likes of Dev Venkatesh, Ouseph Chako, Nilesh Dhumal, Sunny Dhore, and my own group leaders, Sangram Devekar Patil and Sherman Hale Nazareth, were skilled enough to just help the owners safely through the three days of mucking fun. And with someone as seriously capable as Chris Birch around to impart wisdom when asked, the owners couldn’t ask for more.

WOULD I DO IT AGAIN?

This being the inaugural event where KTM and the organisers had to find their footing as well as make sure that the participants went back enjoyed and (mostly) safe, one could give them a bit of leeway. Perhaps if the action was a lot more serious than a typical Sunday outing with friends, then I would definitely encourage KTM owners to mark it in their calendars for 2027.