By Chad de Alva
Rally Kits enable riders to significantly change the functionality of their motorcycles. In the case of KTM’s 7/890, there are multiple manufacturers who all make Rally Kits for these bikes, and that indicates that there is value in adding some rally sauce onto an ADV bike. Rally Kit benefits can include things like aftermarket lighting, improved wind protection, additional storage, and space to mount all of the electronic farkles you could want. And of course, there are the looks to consider – because Rally front ends do give bikes a certain go-fast appeal. Rebel X is an Italian manufacturer of Rally Kits, distributed in the United States by Rottweiler Performance. This is what it’s like to add some rally sauce to a KTM 7/890 with a Rebel X Rally Kit.
The 7/890’s factory headlight design can best be described by Yoda, in the respect that riders either do, or do not like it (there is no try). Yet no matter how someone feels about the stock headlight on a 7/890, I have yet to meet anyone who is not a fan of what a KTM factory rally bike looks like. The Rebel X Kit uses the same windscreen, air dam, and headlight as the factory bikes, so there’s definitely some Rally Replica resemblance in play here. These KTM parts are mounted onto a Rebel X made aluminum tower, which completely replaces the stock headlight assembly from the frame forward.
Installing any Rally Kit on a bike is a project – so do not expect to come home at lunch, slap this thing on, and be ready to ride when your buddies get off work at 5PM the same day. To do this kit install correctly, you’ll need to budget some serious time, be prepared to problem solve, modify parts as needed, and have the patience and attention to detail to properly route all of your electrical.
Rottweiler Performance has a YouTube Video that covers the install process, and they’re also a great resource for any questions you may have. The video will give you a good idea of what has worked for Rottweiler, but don’t expect your install to be exactly the same. I had to start problem solving as soon as I realized that no matter how I positioned my wiring harness, I wasn’t getting the left side tower plate on without smashing wires. My fix was to clearance the tower plate by a centimeter, and to radius all of the relevant edges on the tower plate. This is a great example of what to expect – just because the tower plate went on in the video without a problem, doesn’t mean that yours will too. You need to be able to identify potential issues and then come up with the best solution possible. Please take the time to make sure you run your electrical in a way where it can’t be pinched, pulled, or abraded on a sharp edge or threads of a fastener.
Here is a list of everything I’ve fixed or modified on my kit, just to give you an idea of the time commitment involved in this process:
- ·Clearanced tower plate to run wiring into tower without creating a pinch point.
- Routed wiring differently than shown in video, and wrapped with tesa (cloth wire loom) tape not shown for protection.
- Removed rivnuts from top plate, designed and 3D printed a spacer so I can mount Voyager Pro above factory dash (TFT display).
- Sourced and replaced various fasteners for better corrosion protection and proper length. Many supplied fasteners are too long and stick well into the tower posing a threat to wiring, while other fasteners barely engage a thread which isn’t acceptable. Rottweiler Performance sells KTM fasteners for this kit, which provide better corrosion protection, and the standard KTM Torx / Hex cap head for better tool engagement.
- Modified headlight bracket to allow for acceptable aim of headlight. As delivered, the bracket doesn’t allow you to aim the headlight anywhere near high enough.
- Sanded and refinished side panels. As delivered, my side panels were beat up and had sharp, splintered edges. Cuts and splinters from composite panels are not something you want in your life.
- Replaced supplied Dzus fasteners on air dam to side panel joint with a bolted joint. As delivered, Dzus fasteners cannot hold joint tight.
- Added third fastener to bike side of side panels. Video only shows installing two fasteners in the same plane, effectively making a hinge. Adding third fastener eliminates hinge, brings side panel closer to air dam for better fit, and enables side panel to provide more support to air dam.
- Designed and 3D printed mounts for front turn signals not shown. No provision for factory front turn signals as delivered.
Obviously, I’ve sunk some time into this. But I’m approaching this project from the stand point that the bike pre rally kit is the baseline, and the only acceptable outcome is to enhance attributes. Let me explain with an example: When you ride a stock 7/890 at night, you’ll notice how the low beam headlights are aimed just like any good modern headlight in that they cut off right before they make it into the face of oncoming drivers. Click on the high beams, and you get more light further down the road. Yet with the Rebel X Kit, the headlights are aimed way too low, so I had to modify the tower to be able to aim the headlights high enough, even after I went through every fastener I could on the kit to cheat out every little extra fraction of a degree. The point is – you need to be prepared to put some serious time and work in on this kit, just to make it work properly for ADV use.
I’ve also sunk time into things that not every rider is going to need to. If you don’t need to add any other devices to your bike, you won’t need to dink with the rivnuts, or machine a pocket in the top plate to run wires through. So the best answer that I can give as to what it takes to install this kit, is that it depends.
What does all of this time and effort get you? You’ll start to notice the changes as soon as you swing a leg over the bike. Forward visibility is greatly improved, and wind protection is better than stock too. There’s also no longer any risk of getting a throat punch from the stock windshield when lofting the front tire. The tower provides all kinds of space to mount devices like a GPS, and it’s nice to be able to stand up and not have your GPS block your view of your dash, like the factory mount does. The big pocket in the front of the tower is a great place to stash gear that is lightweight and fits in the pocket, but I would advise against packing your tools up there. Tools are a lot of weight to cantilever that far forward on the tower. The best way to quantify what all the tower can do for you, is that it’s up to you. Treat it like a platform to support what you do with your bike to get the most out of it – because it’s certainly flexible enough to accommodate everyone from Sonora Rally racers like Wes Van Nieuwenhuise, to riders that just need their phone front and center for using Waze to get to Starbucks.
The Rebel X 7/890 Rally Kit is a mixed bag. I can see the potential for racing applications, and the guys at Rottweiler Performance have certainly gotten after it with their racing efforts using this kit. But I’m not racing, so my use case is different. Things like good headlights, turn signals (mainly for at night), wiring that isn’t going to short out and strand me 84 miles down a dirt road are what matter for my use case. I have had to modify or undertake considerable effort just to make this kit work the same as stock in these respects. If I compare my 790 before I started this project to where it is now, and factor in all the time and resources I’ve sunk into this project, the Rebel X 7/890 Rally Kit is a hard sell for ADV use.
Installing this rally kit, or any rally kit for that matter is a big change to a bike and with this big change comes a big time commitment to do the install right. Be sure to take the time to route everything so it won’t get pulled, pinched, or abraded, and go back through the kit on a recurring basis to ensure fasteners are snug. www.rebelxsports.com
