​The Nomad-ADV 790/890 travel and rally kit
Nomad make travel and rally kits for lighweight travel and rally bikes. The 790/890 is, strictly speaking, a bike outside of their usual fare. It’s not a lightweight for instance and it’s complex. It’s also rather big compared to an EXC and 701. But it is also the first motorcycle thye've ever tried which actually handles its weight well! Usually when motorcycle manufacturers try to disguise their weight it comes at a cost of undesirable top heavy handling at low speed, but not with the KTM 790/890. It’s one of the forst the first big adventure bikes which you can actually take off-road and still enjoy it… and you don’t have to be an off-road ace to do so either. Sure it isn’t an EXC or even a 701 but they liked it so much they bought one for themselves!
They didn’t care much for the looks of the front though and wanted better wind protection. What they therefore set out to do is make is a front which matches the rest of bike, a front which looks like it’s supposed to be there, like it’s a factory job. They also made it much stronger than the OEM plastic construction, so you can add navigation or rally equipment without breaking the thin OEM frame mounting points. They used the same wind deflection system as in their other towers, as it works very well, but for the rest they redesigned it from the ground up.

​Styling
Fitting a narrow screen to a bike with wide and low tanks, makes it look like a bike with a belly problem. With the Nomad-ADV tower fitted, the front looks as it should have been in the first place. It fits the bike as the styling clearly fits a KTM. From the side it’s the same situation. The tank styling flows on into the tower, as if it was always meant to be there, creating a tower which is in one unit with the bike rather than a generic afterthought. Behind the bars the rider has a better view of the dash, can see the front wheel in tricky situations and yet is better protected from the wind to cover those long distances with ease.

​Mounting to the frame
Of course styling is nothing without proper engineering. The clamp with which a navigation tower is mounted to the frame is like the foundation of a house. That’s where it’s all build upon, that has to be able to take the weight of the tower and navigation or rally equipment, it has to be able to withstand the forces put upon it when hammering down a rutted track, and do that day in day out. On the 790/890 there was an additional challenge: there is very limited room to create a decent footprint. The larger the footprint, the less stress per cm2 you put on the steering head tube. 
And yet they saw clamps which are flimsy, clamps which looked anorexic and that in their opinion would have way too much flex, while others even fitted the tower to the original mounting points with a simple plate or two supposedly as a ‘reinforcement’. These long unsupported plates only causes vibration fractures and put even more stress on the OEM points, which are known to break anyway. Imagine what happens when you add extensive navigation or rally equipment to those same points, but now even less supported…

Instead of avoiding the OEM points or see them as an unimportant guide, we designed a clamp which clamps to the frame in three, yes three, places without even using the OEM mounts. We then included the original mounting points into the clamp design in such a way that the clamp both strengthens them and adds two more mounting points for the clamp. So what we effectively did is make a clamp which divides the forces over 5 points on the headstock, without making any change to the headstock itself and strengthening the OEM mounts in the process. A very complicated clamp to make but the end result is what we believe to be the strongest tower mounting clamp available for the 790/890, it’s also the only clamp which divides all the forces put upon the tower over 5 points on the frame, and does so over the largest clamping area of the 790/890 headstock of any clamp as far as they know. So it’s not only a better foundation for the tower but also better for your bike’s frame. 

​Dashboard mounting
The original KTM TFT display (dashboard) is a complicated piece of equipment as literally everything related to the electronics runs through the TFT display. It’s beautiful and works well, but like everything electronic, it requires protection from vibration. Undoubtedly its expensive to replace too. That’s why Nomad decided to properly machine a mounting for it, from a billet block of aluminium, rather than just a simple bent bracket of some sort which can cause vibrations. The dash mounting accepts the OEM mounting rubbers to further reduce strain on the unit. The KTM TFT display simply slots in place, with the original wiring untouched, and is in a better position for the rider too. Nomad didn’t mount it high in the tower as that will blind you at night or in that beautiful but dark tunnel, but they did mount it in such a way that you can easily see it both seated and standing on the pegs.
There is also room for a GPS or smartphone above the OEM dash, for which Nomad made an all new machined mounting as well, a mounting point which is strong enough for rally equipment too.

​Over-engineered?
Some claim Nomad ADV over engineer stuff… and that’s a bad thing is it? Not when you’re out in the sticks, miles from anywhere and you hit that massive rock! That’s when you’re glad your tower or mounting points don’t break and drop the tower on your front wheel, jamming the steering or blocking the front wheel. Apart from ruining your ride it could just as easily ruin much more than that… That’s why Nomad, perhaps, over-engineer rather than under-engineer. 

Easy to use
The Nomad-ADV tower gives better view of the TFT display when standing on the pegs. The front wheel is clearly visible and the wind protection is better. On the side you’ll find options for dual USB charging and 12V power outlets. The OEM cigarette lighter point is retained as well, but now mounted in a spot less susceptible to the weather!

• Solid construction from Marine/Aircraft grade aluminium 
• Solid connection to headstock
• High Quality Baja Designs Squadron headlights
• Strongest mounting clamp available for the 790/890
• Better wind protection than OEM
• Original KTM rally screen, replacement available from any KTM dealer​
• Can be used as an adventure and rally tower
• RAM Mounting option for GPS or Smartphone
• Beautifully machined TFT display holder
• No cutting, no grinding, no welding, no drilling required. Everything bolts in place. 
• No electrical modifications required as the OEM wiring is 100% retained. 
• The new headlights come with a plug and play connector which fits into the original KTM connector. 

• Enclosed wiring
• Fits the KTM styling
• Complete with CAN bus module
• Rally and travel proven​
• Choice of headlights
• Optional dual USB charging points
• Optional 12V outlet
• Optional weatherproof sturdy switches
• The kit is fully reversible.
• Road Legal​ (with optional Vision X lights)
• 100% bolt on

​The CAN bus system
The OEM KTM 790/890 headlight unit is connected to the CAN bus system. A small circuit board inside it lets the system know if the headlight is on, and if it’s on High beam or Low beam.

The Nomad-ADV 790/890 tower comes complete with a CAN bus headlight module. Not just an eliminator for the HLU failure message but a proper module which also lets the system know which lights are on (so that the high beam control light on the TFT screen works as well for example). 

Interfering with a CAN bus system can have some disastrous effects. Considering the ABS brakes, the engine management, the ECU computer as well as all the fitted sensors are connected to the same CAN bus. That’s why we’ve stayed clear of CAN bus modifications and ‘smart’ guys with a soldering iron. We enlisted the help of a proper CAN bus specialist company for this, to ensure we have a system which works now and in the future and does not interfere in any way with the CAN bus system. It’s not based on a CAN bus controller, which can wreak havoc with other CAN bus components now or in the future, but a passive system. We’re thus not affected by future system or CAN bus updates or frequency changes. The Nomad-ADV CAN bus module works with both Vision-X and Baja Designs lights (which we adapted to the CAN bus module) and the OEM TFT dashboard works as it should too. 

 

 

- Aluminium travel tower, all fasteners and mounting kit
- Frame mounting clamp
- Brackets for mounting KTM 450RR screen
- Fairing side panels
- Dashboard panel for original TFT display
- TFT Display holder
- CAN Bus headlight module
- OEM KTM450RR Screen
- Baja Designs offroad headlights (Vision X 'e' marked lights available upon request)
- All parts anodised black

- 890 tower sticker kit (Aussie Spec)

- Fitting instructions with photos

 

• Africa Eco Race
• Morocco Desert Challenge
• Tuareg Rally
• Hellas Rally
• Serres Rally

• Albania Rally
• Balkan off-road rally
• Enduro24 Rally
• Baja Rally
• Baja 4000

• Ilya Raid
• Desert 100
• Condo 750
• R3 Rally series
• Las Vegas -Barstow-Vega rally