The fastest-growing sector of the dirt biking world has to be Adventure bikes right now. The aging population, the money they have and the hoopla around Dakar, adventure rides and people like Chris Birch doing impressive things on huge bikes have all culminated into a perfect storm for ADV.

With a seat height of 855mm the 390 is accommodating to a whole host of riders.

But for a long time, Adventure riding was for the big guy. The bikes were big, the price was big, and unless you wanted to take your Adventure bike purely on the road, which is what most people did, you’d still buy a dirt bike for that off-road fun. Or you would put lights on your old DR.

Bikes have gotten better over the years. There are more size options, brand choices and aftermarket add-ons. Plus, for those who just can’t be seen dead on anything under 1000cc, the large bikes have even become somewhat off-road-able. But beginners who wanted to take to the dual-purpose life still had to endure heavy, high-powered machines. That’s just how it was.

BMW G 310 GS - the only competition for the 390 Adventure.

The BMW GS310 was the first real beginner ‘Adventure’ bike made for masses. Though it was a BMW which meant its place was still more focused on the road than off it. But it gave a snapshot of what was possible for beginners when it came to ADV. Then KTM came along like they always seem to do, and one-up’d everyone……..again.

The 390 Adventure is based on the 390 Duke. Same engine, frame, etc. The differences are in the suspension, seat height, look and feel, turning the popular duke into something that can handle the rigors of off-road life pretty well.

The 373cc engine on the 390 Adventure is a little peach of a thing. Having never ridden the Duke, I could imagine that the road version would be the perfect commuter to shuffle through the Auckland traffic. The 390 Adventure feels very nimble both on-road and off-road, being a smaller frame and having a smaller seat/pegs/handlebars ratio. But for some reason, it never felt cramped, even for a bike that was designed for someone much smaller than me. The handlebars are a tall bend which I think helps that aspect. It just feels like a comfortable bike.

I first took to the street to get that terrible part out of the way. If there was one good aspect about being able to ride on the road (there aren’t many) it’s that you can ride from your garage to the track and back again without the need for bike transportation. Or ride to another track when you have worn that one out. Otherwise, I tend to stay off the road for the mere fact that drivers don’t look for motorcyclists and I would rather we all be traveling in the same direction.

Lots of weight slung really low in the chassis.

Never the less, I took the 390 Adventure for a 15-minute blat down the road and it was a pretty comfortable ride. I found the sweet spot at 90km where I could tolerate the wind blowing my helmet. At around 100km the noise in my helmet was annoying and the neck strain was real. I am told the windscreen has the same mounting system as the 790 so a larger screen could only be a few screwdriver turns and some dollar bills away.

The ABS was amazing and pulling on the front brake as hard as I could, slowed the bike down super-fast and safely. So I like that in a road-going bike. I couldn’t fault it and like I said earlier - I could imagine the Duke version is a little traffic weapon.

Comfortabel on road if thats tickles your fancy. — Comfortable on road if thats tickles your fancy.

But 10 minutes was enough time dodging the grim reaper, so it was back onto the dirt to see have much Adventure KTM had put into this 390.

Straight away I was thankful that the owner had fitted a more aggressive tyre to the back on the 390. The standard tyres are classed as Adventure hoops, but the only real adventure you would be interested in doing is gravel road. I, like a lot of dirt riders, want to go a bit harder. The front was standard and did surprisingly OK in most situations. Though add a little damp grass to the front and that is something I don’t recommend.

KTM use the fly-by-wire system on the 390 and I honestly didn’t even think about it until I started looking closer at the components. The purists would say its BS and you can’t beat a throttle cable. However, I’m a fan of the electronic throttle because it is light, instant and doesn’t change its feeling over the years. Yes technically its another piece of tech that could stuff out, but I haven’t heard of many systems taking a dive.

Minimal farings allows you to see whats inside.

That electrical impulse if connected to the 373cc liquid-cooled, single-cylinder, four-stroke engine that powers this little pocket rocket. If you want to get all numbers-y it produces 43 horsepower and 37 Nm of torque. And if you are trying to be as green as you can, the 390 runs two catalytic converters and a fuel tank ventilation system (EVAP system) making the 390 extremely eco-friendly and compliant with the strict EU4 exhaust emission standards.

The engine delivery is super smooth and revs far enough that we didn’t want to find its limits. But power delivery seems to be best utilised from around 2500-6000 revs. That from about just above idle to maybe half throttle. The rest is just extra noise and an engine that is revving too fast for any real use off-road. Ride it like a 450 and use all that bottom end to your advantage and your dirt riding experience will be beautiful.

The FTF display is your hub of information and tells you why th ebike wont start. Eg: kill switch is still on. — The TFT display is your hub of information and tells you why the bike wont start. Eg: kill switch is still on.

The MTC (Motorcycle Traction Control) is a lean-angle sensitive traction control system that reacts immediately the instant rear wheel rotation speed becomes disproportionate to the riding situation. It also works when you’re not leaning too and when you want to give it a handful up a hill climb. Initially, I turned that off via the TFT display (which is a process where you much be stationary, in neutral and rev the throttle while holding down a button on the handlebars) to see how it felt. Again being dirt orientated I liked that ability to get the rear wheel spinning and feel the rear step out a little.

But then I tried it with the MTC turned on and was actually pleasantly surprised. Obviously you have to remove from the equation any possibility of having to power up a slippery hill or sandy climb, because the spinning rear wheel will tell the computer that ‘we are in trouble’ and cut power to the rear wheel, severely hindering your ability to get to the top. However, take that aspect out of the equation and the MTC actually worked really well off-road on relatively flat flowing trails.

The traction control MTC kicks in when the roost starts to kick out.

The biggest benefit I found was when it got tricky in situations like tree roots, slippery tracks ruts. The MTC kicked in when the back started sliding on a tree root and helped keep the rear end from spitting out the side. And when I found a slippery flat corner, instead of the rear end lighting up it made the bike stable and the urn easier to complete. It is obvious now when some of the KTM Off-Road bikes have a Traction Control setting now as standard.

The MTC proved terrible in climbing loose dirt hills but if you are not going to be getting that adventurous I would seriously look at utilizing the MTC. It would just be so nice if it was changeable on the fly. Oh, and if you turn the bike off you have to reset the MTC to off again. Every single time!

The slipper clutch is a nice addition but I never really noticed it off-road. The 6-speed transmission is smooth and the gearing is also spot-on for its roading and gravel adventures. But for serious off-road, dirt squirting, mud flinging, single-track finding - it’s geared much too high.

The KTM 690, which is actually 12kgs lighter than the 390 - but doesn’t feel like it.

Now if I told you that the KTM 690 Enduro was heavier than the 390 - would you believe me? I sure as hell wouldn’t. After my first little stint and some time to reflect, I discovered that this 390 comes in at 158kgs - 12kgs heavier than the 690. That blew my mind! I had ridden the 701 Enduro (the White 690) extensively and there is no way the 390 feels heavier. In fact, it feels much lighter.

If you look at the two compared, you can see with the shorter seat height. More compact centre of gravity and the majority of the weight of the 390 hung very low in the bike - all giving that lighter feeling when riding. It is actually quite well done and I’m still wondering how they did it.

I definitely look big on the 390 - there is no denying that. But at no point did I feel out of place or overwhelming. If this is your first ADV bike and you are coming from a dirt bike lineage, you will notice the bike being wide between your legs when you are sitting down. This feeling seems to dissipate when you stand and the control you have on the 390 through the legs is very comfortable. That’s great because these bikes are not designed for you to be throwing your legs out on every turn. So being able to maneuver the bike and input movement through the legs with ease is perfect.

The agressive rear tyre was a surperb addition to the bike.

On the suspension side of things, the target audience will be able to do anything they want on this Shock/fork combination. It rode well on the road and it was very competent off-road too. The top part of the stroke is super plush and seems to float over the small bumps like tree roots, rocks and choppy terrain. At what I would call adventure pace, it was a really comfortable ride and didn’t do anything silly or unexpected.

The suspension was good for regular adventure. BUt found its limits quickly when logs were involved. — The suspension was good for regular adventure. But found its limits quickly when logs were involved.

The WP APEX shock gave 177mm of rear travel with adjustable spring preload and rebound damping. The WP APEX USD spring forks, originally developed for enduro offers up 170mm of travel with each fork having a separate function - compression and rebound.

The limits were found when we started doing dumb things like drop-offs and jumping logs and getting speed on through G-outs. It’s just not made for that kind of use and the limits of the suspension started to show. I think for myself a set of heavier springs would do wonders for its off-road capabilities. But I think for the average Joe/Jodie, you are going to be fine on these settings.

A solid clunk on landing and ever inch of travel was used during landing. — A solid clunk on landing as every inch of travel was used during landing.

That is why Chris Birch puts spec'd suspension on his 790 so he can do all that impressive jumping on his bike. The stock suspension would perform terribly in that kinda stuff. So take that same logic here, the suspension is good for everything that this bike is designed for. But I can’t help but imagine what the 390 Adventure would be like with heavier springs. We may never know?

Janelle found the 390 manourable through the trees while utilising the bikes great handling while up on the pegs.

The brakes were good and on closer inspection, they are a model I had not heard of before - BYBRE. The 320 front disc and 230mm rear disc provided more than enough stopping power for both on and off-road. The ABS system by BOSCH is fully adjustable for off-road. Using the slick TFT display you can toggle the ABS on and off on the fly, which is great for off-road. It is not terrible on the dirt and for pure beginners, it might be worth leaving on in some situations. Just not steep downhills! But being a dirt rider I prefer being able to lock the back wheel up if need be. In this mode, ABS is deactivated on the rear wheel, while ABS activation on the front wheel is reduced.

While the bike may look far too small for me, it is actually quite comfortable to ride.

Fuel economy is claimed at 400km for the 15 litres of fuel which if correct is a pretty decent range. That will get you from here to there with ease and some gas to spare. And it is of course, a LAMS bike so anyone with any class 6 license can get on the 390 and enjoy all it has to give - which is a lot.

The price is $9799 for the 390 Adventure, plus any on-road costs. So if you were frugal enough and you have a friendly dealer you could be on the road and into the bush for under $10,000! To me, that is crazy good! I think KTM seriously under-priced this bike, considering the 2020 690 Enduro is $19,000 and the 790 Adventure is $22,100. You are literally getting two bikes for the price of one. If you were a couple wanting to get into Adventure riding, just go and buy two 390s. Save your money on more power that you don’t really need and have a bike that anyone can ride. Well, two bikes that anyone can ride.

If this bike doesn’t get more people into adventure riding, or at a very minimum, more people trying it out…..then nothing will.

Adventure awaits those who dare to explore.

KTM 390 Adventure Specs
PRICE: $9799 + ORC

ENGINE

DISPLACEMENT: 373 cm³
POWER IN KW: 32 kW
TORQUE: 37 Nm
BORE: 89 mm
STROKE: 60 mm

CHASSIS

SUSPENSION TRAVEL (FRONT): 170 mm
SUSPENSION TRAVEL (REAR): 177 mm
FRONT BRAKE DISC DIAMETER :320 mm
REAR BRAKE DISC DIAMETER: 230 mm
STEERING HEAD ANGLE: 63.5 °
GROUND CLEARANCE: 200 mm
SEAT HEIGHT: 855 mm
TANK CAPACITY (APPROX.): 14.5 l
DRY WEIGHT: 158 kg

Thanks to Janelle Walker for allowing us to test out her brand new KTM 390 Adventure and for showing how easy the 390 is to ride.