St. Hippolyte, QC — KTM 's latest 390 Adventure vibrates at altitude, has a seat that only a dominatrix might appreciate, and runs on cast aluminum rims apparently inadequate for serious dirt donking given its off-road appearance. What I'm saying is that the little Katoom doesn't stand out particularly in the increasingly crowded junior adventure section, individually defined.
The first thing you note when stepping aboard is that, unlike so many budget bikes, the 390 Adventure is full-size. The seat height is an adult-like 855 mm, the seat-to-peg distance is enough to fit even tall riders and the reach to the big, dirtbike-like handlebar looks like it would be for some other adventure touring ride. Nevertheless, on the one hand, that full-size status will prove a roadblock for some newcomers looking for something a little more authentic than the CB500X from Honda. On the other hand, its fairly range seating location means that the 390 won't be outgrown easily.
Cheerful little engine by Ditto KTM. The 390 is still fantastic for 44 horsepower, featuring one piston. More remarkable is the eagerness it wants to express said 44 hp. The bulk of single-cylinder engines are reticent revvers, not pleased at all when twisted to redline. Not the smallest KTM. Not much happens below 5,000 rpm but the 373.2-cc single appears to develop an extra valve somewhere about six grand.
In reality, keep it on the boil and the 390 can keep up with other big-bore bikes as long as the riders with their right hand are not too extreme and the gap between hairpins is not gigantic. On the digital pace, I saw 160 kilometers an hour, and more impressively — compared to the other bikes in this section — I sat bolt-upright, completely unaerodynamic in my bluffed frame. Apparently, there is enough power to cruise at a buck-thirty all day without actually straining the engine. Not bad for a little one, at all.
Nevertheless, the price for all that high-rpm joy is some vibration greater than 6,000 rpm. It's not a paint-mixing rigidly fixed Harley, but when you zoom down the highway, there's a clear vibration! The 390 has an auxiliary balance shaft that quenches some of the quaking but could use its bigger, i.e. more powerful, parallel twin siblings' superior balancing mechanism. That said, the vibration is not an obstacle to comfort on long distances.
Cheerful little engine by Ditto KTM. The 390 is still fantastic for 44 horsepower, featuring one piston. More remarkable is the eagerness it wants to express said 44 hp. The bulk of single-cylinder engines are reticent revvers, not pleased at all when twisted to redline. Not the smallest KTM. Not much happens below 5,000 rpm but the 373.2-cc single appears to develop an extra valve somewhere about six grand.
In reality, keep it on the boil and the 390 can keep up with other big-bore bikes as long as the riders with their right hand are not too extreme and the gap between hairpins is not gigantic. On the digital pace, I saw 160 kilometers an hour, and more impressively — compared to the other bikes in this section — I sat bolt-upright, completely unaerodynamic in my bluffed frame. Apparently, there is enough power to cruise at a buck-thirty all day without actually straining the engine. Not bad for a little one, at all.
Of course, the seat is. I'm not sure if the designers of KTM have some kind of fetish for ball-busting seats or if CEO Stefan Pierer has an important position in Corbin or Saddleman, but the perches of the company are traditionally board-like. And, even though the 390's are better than others — we've checked a Duke 890 along with the 390's and their seat should have made a proud medieval dungeon — after an hour you'll always squirm. The good news is that touring(ish) comfort is the only thing standing in the way. Like I said, the seating location is excellent, the noise passable and the streamlined fairing defense remarkably turbulent-free. Fork a few hundred for a personalized bench-don't worry about KTM 's attachment gel seat — and the little 390 is set for long-distance adventure.
You'll also have fun getting there, doing nothing short of excellent on-road handling. There is a surprising amount of stability built into KTM 's trademark steel trellis chassis, although this time no surprise, its light dry weight of 158 kilograms and steep 26.5-degree rake make an agile corner carver. Even the Continental TKC 70 tires are gripping tenaciously when the little orange flash is healed over, ostensibly a 70/30 street/trail compromise. And the ByBre front four-piston caliper (made "by Brembo" in India) is well up to the job of stopping a lightweight, moderately paced touring bike, its radial-mounting no doubt more for bench-racing bona fides than any real performance requirement.
Equally remarkable could be the 390 retails for $6,799. Okay, relative to its rivals in the market, that's not a screaming steal, but when you realize that it has switchable ABS — something even my V-Strom 1000 lacks — traction control and Bluetooth TFT screen, not to mention a slipper clutch, a ride-by-wire throttle and LED headlights, the price looks more than correct. There's also a — bless soul of KTM for being so positive — built-in GPS mount over the dashboard, a feature that remains a luxury even on the most luxurious of touring bikes.
Nevertheless, the latest 390 Adventure is not without its drawbacks, but one tiny bike that rides high. The KTM 390 is a nice little choice for anyone new to the sport, those looking for a genuinely lightweight adventure bike for (mild) off-roading, or even the older, seasoned rider looking to downsize from the heft that looks like creeping into new adventure bikes.
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