KTM 390 Adventure
The most awaited adventure bike ridden to the limit
The mythical KTM 390 Adventure is finally here, and it’s as ballistic as you’d imagine it to be? But does it justify it’s off-road pedigree. We head to Pune to find out!
Ever since, KTM announced the 390 Adventure last year, we’ve been fantasizing about what it might be to swing a leg over. An enduro sized adventure bike with a Dakarwinning pedigree is exactly what the doctor ordered for the Indian market. On the face of it, the KTM 390 Adventure has all the right ingredients too, 43mm dia WP Apex front forks with 170mm of travel upfront and a 10-step adjustable rear mono-shock with 177mm of travel, a longer taller chassis derived from KTMs Rally 450, Off-road ABS, an on-board IMU and 200mm of ground-clearance! To seal the deal, the
Adventure gets a 19-17inch wheel setup shod with Metzeler Tourance on/off road tyres and an adjustable fly screen (which requires minimal tools to adjust). Needless to say we were almost frothing at the mouth by the time KTMs invite made it the office and hopped on a plane to KTM India HQ in Pune to see if the baby-KTM Adventure bike was as tempting as the ingredients that went into its making!
Look at the KTM 390 Adventure, and in many ways it’s exactly what you’d expect it to be! The sharp sinewy tank, the wider two-step seat and signature slim twin-LED headlamps with an adjustable fly-screen upfront scream KTM Adventure bike drawing on inspiration from the full size 1290 Adventure! Being a smaller, scrappier adventure tourer the 390 actually draws the remainder off inspiration from KTMs Enduro line. Things like the little winglets under the headlamp casing, the seat that runs almost all the way up from the front of the tank and the almost overengineered engine bash plate. A tip of the hat, in a way, to KTMs Dakar dominating 450 Enduros that inspired the 390 Adventure chassis and a lot of the electronics on board. The matte paint and livery ties it all together almost perfectly.There is no two ways about it, the KTM 390 Adventure is the best looking adventure bike in the segment.
We had expected KTM to tweak the gear ratios, to favour initial acceleration, instead though KTM have used the 373cc single in an as-is where-is basis from the 390 Duke. Before we get into the details though it is important to understand that KTM not only had to make a bike that would go well off-road but also do well out on the highway, it is after all an adventure TOURER! All of which could only be done with one engine map. Out on the highway, the 390 Adventure is as urgent as the
GET PAST THE 3000RPM MARK AND ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE, TURN THE TRACTION CONTROL OF FOR MAXIMUM HOON!
390 Duke, lighting up like Diwali every time you get past that 3000 rpm mark as 44 wild-Austrian horses make their way into the back wheel. Like the 390 Duke, the Adventure too is more than happy to sit at 120kmph without really feeling strained. The adjustable fly-screen is also key here killing most of the wind-blast. On dirt though, the KTM 390 Adventure demands a slightly more experienced rider, the almost non-existent lowrpm performance means that you either have to keep working the throttle and clutch or wring the throttle open and pray that rubber side stays down. Both can be a little tiring. Luckily, though,
KTMs on board IMU driven electronics package is simple to interface with but performs a myriad of complex operations to put the power down right in corners as well as in the dirt. The Duke derived slipper-clutch is another boon in the gravel allowing you to shift down aggressively with very little slip from the rear tyre. The only significant step away is a larger radiator that gets too fans, to keep the engine cool even in the most stressful offroad environment!
The KTM 390 Adventure uses a new chassis that is a derivative of that’s used on KTM 450cc Rally Enduro bike, meaning that the adventure is ,both, longer and taller than the Duke 390. This means that it’s not as precise through the corner as the Duke, but it’s almost as good, and that is saying something! This comes courtesy an extensive electronics package, great suspension, brakes and steering geometry which maximise confidence as you push your way into the apex. The electronics suite uses information
from the KTMs on-board IMU to ensure that the brakes and traction work in unison to maximise adhesion in the corners. Once you move off-road though, you can opt to turn off the traction control entirely and switch to off-road ABS which allows the rear tyre to lock up, making it easier to steer using the rear wheel. The WP Apex Suspension is a really critical addition to the KTMs ride-quality both on and off the tarmac, on the road, its communicative with very little wobble to report. Off it, the 170 mm and 177mm of suspension at the front and rear means that even bad roads and rutted off-road patches are easily dispatched. The seat is 855mm off the ground, which might be a little tall for people under 5’7’ but the cushion is absolutely sublime, neither too soft, nor too firm. Long rides with a happy posterior will definately make KTMs baby adventure all the more enticing.