KTM 390 Adventure

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. This proverb not only encourages optimism, but also eggs you to turn adversity into opportunity. But this isn't about lemons, it's about oranges. And the orange in this context is the KTM 390 Adventure with the new 350cc motor.

Now, Bajaj-KTM has done exactly that by downsizing the 399cc motor to a 349cc unit to benefit from the lower GST rates. As much as it may sound illogical, KTM has taken the logical approach. The purists may disagree, but allow me to explain.

We will also tell you whether the new engine has lost the KTM character, and more importantly, whether you should consider buying one.

Apart from the new 349cc engine, the 390 Adventure remains largely unchanged. Its design continues to feature the same ADV styling and sporty stance. The colour scheme, too, is carried over from the 390 Adventure S, with the familiar white and orange combination.

Even overall fit and finish levels are similar to the rest of the 390 Adventure range. That said, the motorcycle could benefit from tighter panel gaps and better-quality plastics. On our test bike, the multi-function switchgear often required multiple firm presses to respond, and one of the buttons eventually stopped functioning by the end of the day. Additionally, the bike also suffered from a faulty front brake sensor. Mind you, this was a brand new bike, and if I were the owner, I’d be fuming! Sometimes we wonder if KTM will ever get their act together and come up with good-quality bikes.

While these may be isolated cases, such quality control issues on a brand-new motorcycle don’t inspire much confidence.

Powering the 390 Adventure is a downsized 349cc, liquid-cooled motor. This has been done by bringing down the stroke from 64mm to 56.1mm. The end result is lower power figures of 41bhp and 33.5Nm of peak torque. The engine continues to use a six-speed gearbox along with a bi-directional quick-shifter.

The motorcycle is underpinned by a steel trellis frame, while WP-sourced USD forks and monoshock complete the suspension setup. The bike rides on 19/17-inch alloy wheels, wrapped in Apollo Tramplr XR tyres.

The 390 Adventure comes equipped with the same set of features as the X. It gets IMU-based rider aids such as cornering ABS and cornering traction control, along with multiple ride modes and cruise control. Riders can further customise the ride modes, traction control settings, and ABS intervention to better suit their riding style and road conditions.

Other features include a five-inch colour TFT display with Bluetooth connectivity, a bi-directional quick-shifter, full-LED lighting, and switchable dual-channel ABS with Supermoto mode.

The first thing you will notice as soon as you crank the motor is that the engine feels more refined than the 399cc unit. And this is not just at idle, but throughout the rev range. Even the resonance is well-controlled, and we didn’t notice any panel rattling. That said, the vibrations are omnipresent at the handlebars, fuel tank, seat, and, more so, at the foot-pegs.

However, the vibes across the rev range are noticeably less compared to the 399cc motor, and they don’t become irritating as speeds go up. Strangely though, the 390 Adventure was a touch more buzzy compared to the 390 Duke with the same 350cc engine, which I also tested briefly.

Now, on paper, the power has gone down compared to the 399cc unit. And that is confirmed immediately as soon as you start riding the bike. Although the engine feels tractable at low speeds, the throttle response is slightly subdued. This is especially evident in the mid-range and top-end.

The difference in performance may not feel significant if you are gentle with the throttle, but it immediately feels a bit mellow if you are in the mood for some KTM-style hooliganism. It lacks the strong mid-range surge of the 399cc motor, but in isolation, it has enough poke to keep you entertained. That said, you need to downshift and open the throttle slightly more to make quick overtakes, especially on the highways.

Even the top-end performance is noticeably down. It does get to high triple-digit speeds, but the progress is a touch slower, and that sense of urgency that you associate with KTMs is missing. Now, we can say this because we recently tested the 390 Adventure R. IN isolation, however, the 349cc motor is still quite powerful and won’t feel underpowered or lacking for the majority of riders.

The 390 Adventure retains the same underpinnings and dynamic character as the X. Despite its large proportions, it feels remarkably agile to filter through traffic, with the wide handlebars offering excellent leverage and making direction changes feel natural and effortless.

The bike is equally confidence-inspiring on winding roads. It tips into corners with commendable accuracy and feels responsive to switch from side to side. Meanwhile, the Apollo Tramplr XR tyres provide reassuring grip levels despite their block-pattern design.

Ride quality, too, remains largely unchanged. The suspension setup has a slightly firm edge to it, but it strikes a good balance between comfort and composure. It does bob around over broken or undulating roads, but even then, the motorcycle remains composed. That said, the bike nosedives under hard braking as a result of the longer-travel suspension.

Braking performance is another strong suit of the motorcycle. The front brake offers strong bite and makes short work of shedding speed, while the rear brake feels predictable and complements the front brake.

Even with its downsized engine, the KTM 390 Adventure is quite a likeable adventure touring bike. It is a fairly quick, nimble, and comfortable motorcycle. Yes, the 349cc engine is slightly down on performance, but it still is an entertaining unit. And the fact that it comes packed with the same set of features as the X is another positive.

That said, it does come with a few shortcomings. The motor isn’t obviously as exciting as the 399cc unit, and it still has that persistent buzz on the foot-pegs. The overall quality isn’t great, especially for the price and segment, as seen in our test bike.

The KTM 390 Adventure, then, is a bike that you buy with your head and not from the heart. Ideally, you should buy the X to enjoy the full KTM experience, but you can’t ignore the fact that the 390 Adventure is Rs. 80,000 (on-road Mumbai) more affordable than the 390 Adventure X. And, the jump in performance isn’t as significant to warrant you to shell out the extra cash for the X.

Photography by Kapil Angane