My first bike, a Kibo K250, taught me to ride.
Gave me confidence as I learned to manage the bike.
I thought that it was a heavy bike, at about 160 kg (350 lbs) but I now understand that in the world of bikes, that's not really heavy.
Took it on long'ish rides from Nairobi to Mombasa (once) and many times to Kirinyaga.
And, of course, it's my hop over to the coffee shop, or run for groceries.
But there's the new KTM 390 Adventure, the 2024 series, that's about to come into my life.
Full of electronics, ride-by-wire, ABS, and speed. Yup, speedier than the K250.
The K250 would often struggle on Thika Road, at even 100 kph. The throttle was wide open and it would max out at 105'ish - refusing to give me more speed. And complaining all the time.
Some K250 owners claim an easy 120 kph, I don't believe it. My throttle was wide, wide open.
So now, I can get a comfortable ride to Embu, to Kirinyaga, and even to Nyeri without feeling as if I'm pushing the bike beyond its capabilities.
I'll probably sell my K250, only if the price is right. If not, it can happily stay and take me on the occasional ride to the outback. I trust it's off-road capability.
