It has the safety net of traction control, which you can switch off if you prefer on dirt, while the clever ABS system has an off-road setting to let you lock the rear. There are tricks up the KTM’s sleeves, however. Put a foot down and you’re aware of its tall seat height, too. On the lumps and bumps along a brisk gravel trail its suspension offers much less sympathy than rivals like the Royal Enfield Himalayan, too.Īnd while the 390’s motor feels frisky when ridden hard on the road, it’s a little breathless at the more sedate revs used on trails. Stand up and the low handlebars make you stoop forwards awkwardly. But how does the KTM 390 Adventure handle off road?ĭespite KTM's off-road credentials, the 390 Adventure, surprisingly, never stops feeling like a road bike. Each fork leg has its own spring, with the left regulating compression damping and the right looking after rebound. Adding five clicks of rebound damping calms it down, improving ride quality. The shock’s slightly excitable on rough roads at speed, however. This nifty little lightweight can be chucked into corners with gusto and the WP APEX 43mm upside down forks and rear shock work well. It also sounds good, too.Ĭarving through narrow alleys, up steep hillsides lined with old, derelict stone constructions and across bridges that look thousands of years old at the launch, the Adventure 390 pulls properly, using its 43bhp to good effect. The seamless action of the quickshifter makes the ride even easier and strong acceleration from low down means overtaking slow-moving is a breeze - perfect for commuters. Life on the 390 is easy-going, with the rider sitting comfortably in a well-proportioned, typically adventure bike position. There’s lean-sensitive ABS and traction control, too not bad for £5499 (2020 launch price). The LED instrument panel is clear and easy to read and a switch to the left gives the option of Tarmac or Dirt mode. Seat height is 855mm and at 5ft 7in our tester can reach the ground with her toes. There’s also a taller 19-inch front wheel to help it roll over off-road obstacles, with new tyre sizes of 100/90 x 19 and 130/80 x 17. The Adventure differs from the Duke by virtue of longer suspension, with 170mm of wheel travel from the adjustable WP forks and 177mm from the longer shock. It is, say KTM, "aimed squarely at motorcyclists who are profoundly curious but perhaps unaccustomed to light off-roading." The 390 is not a hardcore rally bike for square-chinned Dakar wannabes – instead it’s for riders dipping a toe in muddy waters for the frist time. Being a KTM, it's also not afraid to get its hands dirty - capable of tackling a light trail when the mood takes you, but slightly let down by its road bike ergonomics. If you want to cover some decent distance, it’ll also oblige, although wind blast and vibrations will take their toll eventually. In performance terms, there's enough on offer to serve up a decent road ride and its easy-going nature will make commuters or the less experienced grin from ear to ear. Thankfully, the thrapping single was well worth the wait, impressing both at its world launch and on England's undulating road network. With a water-cooled, four-stroke 373cc single in the middle, complete with a slipper clutch and strong six-speed gearbox, it is the final piece in KTM's A2-licence-friendly arsenal - sitting alongside the sports-centric RC390 and upright 390 Duke. Seven years, several spy shots and countless premature headlines later, the 390 Adventure finally arrived, complete with a spec sheet capable of delivering and more than a passing resemblance to it's mud-plugging bigger brothers the 790 and 1290 Adventure. Related: Best A2 licence-friendly bikes.The result could be everything from an everyman enduro, like a modern-day Suzuki DR-Z400S, to the starting point for a rugged rally replica, like a more affordable version of CCM’s GP450. What if the Austrian dirt experts could take that same lightweight, approachable and addictively engaging recipe, but mix in several scoops of unmatched off-road expertise? Roughly six seconds after the addictively rorty, naughty 390 Duke was launched way back in 2013, imaginations started running wild. It’s been a long time coming for this KTM 390 Adventure review.
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