[Red Liner]

If the naysayers here can do 10% of what Adam Riemann just did with a stock 390 adventure and tell me they didn't have enough fun, the rest of us will shut our mouths.

[Cyborg]

Originally Posted by Sheel

I mean, 95% of bikes for 95% of times will spend its time on tarmac, so, this needs an opinion too.

Here you go Sheel, Rishad talks about the on road abilities of the bike around the midpoint of his review.

https://youtu.be/DrTzME5qnG4

Cheers

[Stribog]

Originally Posted by avinash_m

I may be in the market (subject to Vitamin M), in the later half of the year for a dual-purpose bike. Thanks to the traffic in Hyd, a bike is increasingly making sense for the daily office commutes, apart from those occasional longer/early morning rides (if and when I fancy one). It'll be after almost 10 yrs, that I'll resume driving a bike, having owned a T-Bird and a Pulsar 180 DTSi. The GT 650 was making good sense, until this one came by; and it makes a compelling case given how feature loaded (especially the traction control) it is. The only thing I feel I'd need to check is how maneuverable it is to drive in the city, as that'll be where it'll spend most of it's time.

Out of curiosity as someone in a similar boat (looking at a bike to beat traffic in my daily 8-10 km commute, after a decade of only pottering around on my Activa locally), would not a smaller 'city' commuter make sense? Or do you plan on taking it on the highways as well?

I am just planning on rebuilding the engine of my old Apache, tweaking it a bit to get it to around 22-23 BHP and then riding it for a year post which will mostly pick up something like the Dominar 250 (if it is available by then) or the Duke 250.

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

On the color front White actually looks much better than what is seen on pics but i have opted for the Orange since i already have a white bike. Will await a call for test drive next i guess.....

Congratulations! Have you opted for any of the Powerparts at the time of delivery?

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Congratulations! Have you opted for any of the Powerparts at the time of delivery?

Nothing available for a month. Maybe a few weeks later. And they are all hell over priced. Side cases are 60k. Ergo soft seat is 20k.

[parrys]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

So apparently the traction control issue will be fixed via a software update in a bit. Almost everyone one at the press ride complained about this, and i think KTM will take action.

One primary reason why everyone from the media ride complained about it a lot is because most of them were stalling the engine every now and then. The system reboots and turns it on every time you fire up the engine. If you are PRO enough not to let it stall once turned off, then no problem at all. Nevertheless, it's great that it will be fixed soon.

How many are going to ride with the traction control turned off? Just curious...

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by parrys

One primary reason why everyone from the media ride complained about it a lot is because most of them were stalling the engine every now and then. The system reboots and turns it on every time you fire up the engine. If you are PRO enough not to let it stall once turned off, then no problem at all. Nevertheless, it's great that it will be fixed soon.

How many are going to ride with the traction control turned off? Just curious...

The traction control reduces power at the wheel when it slips off-road, which usually happens on gradients, and to suddenly have that power taken away from you is very dangerous. Many complained that even after switching it off, it erratically came back on.

Hope KTM fixes this. I would rather not have TC at all.

[parrys]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

The traction control reduces power at the wheel when it slips off-road, which usually happens on gradients, and to suddenly have that power taken away from you is very dangerous. Many complained that even after switching it off, it erratically came back on.

Hope KTM fixes this. I would rather not have TC at all.

It didn't switch on by itself while riding is what I meant, when I was on the media ride. It came back on every time you switched the engine off or stalled the engine.

On one or two sections, where I tried the bike with the TC turned on, it was choppy for sure to gain momentum, but still a welcome feature when newbies might just wring the throttle too much to get out of an obstacle. The problem is, 'Complaining' has become a cool thing these days and expecting too much is way too common. For anyone who is planning to buy a go-anywhere (almost) motorcycle, this is enough.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by parrys

The problem is, 'Complaining' has become a cool thing these days and expecting too much is way too common. For anyone who is planning to buy a go-anywhere (almost) motorcycle, this is enough.

Agreed. Hence my opening comment about not trusting any of these guys and their larger than life opinions. Good to have you weigh in here.

[Jaggu]

Offroad TC on tiger is annoyingly interfering on rocky terrain. This much I can tell you. Ask anyone who does Offroad on bikes with tc, it’s always all the way off or your clutch is swaha.

[ashwin1224]

I think a lot of things about the 390 adv show some quirks between bajaj/KTM india and KTM austria. First, the Indian side decides this bike isnt worth putting resources into, even though there's a VERY vocal, albeit a minority, being very clear in their needs and expectations from it. Then, Austrians decide to just do it anyway without inputs from the Indian side, as per their vision of a touring motorcycle. And then they do it.

Clearly KTM knows what it's doing, and the 390 adventure is not KTM's "attempt" at making an Adventure bike for the first time. It is meant to be a long distance mile muncher and that it seemingly succeeds in doing. However, here is where Bajaj comes into the front with their "we sell 1000% more bikes than you we know how to market it" attitude. And then they chalk out the brilliant plan of showcasing the bike as a thoroughbred offroader, inviting media drives on a dirt track and calling Mr. Reiman all the way from Australia [On a side note: Have you guys seen him in Motonomads!? Mad skills doing 100+km trail days, for WEEKS!]. Not to forget the funky promo video of the (other) dude just slaying it on the dirt.

It's blatantly obvious the marketing department is trying to desperately cash in on the KTM Rally pedigree while the development department seems to just be doing its own thing. Instead of this "trail" KTM should have given the bike to the journos for 2-3 days for them to film something like a weekend trip(at the very least). The bike seems like it's a long distance machine, and you cannot simulate that in 3-4 hours. And then, the criticism is valid and is completely called for. It's like Mahindra inviting media to test the new Thar at BIC (overkill I know)

As a first gen 390 owner, I know the low end sucks, but it's no where near "barely any pull under 3000rpm". And that's for the old uncultured 390, the next generation was a lot better and this newer well mannered 390 would definitely be better than that. Maybe if you find yourself going up hill on a sketchy gravely bit, then the low end would be problematic, but it's still a lot.
The only real issue I have with the 390 is how tall it is, and the lack of a low seat option. And that's something that only becomes a problem when you're doing the most mundane tasks, dragging your bike in line at the petrol pump, stoping at a steep incline, stopping at a red light where you couldn't stop close enough to the road divider (shorter people will get this).

The point of this whole rant is, I'm gonna wait for long term reviews from experienced users here and Moto journalists in India and abroad before putting my money on this horse. We waited for so long, might as well wait some more.

[petrolhead_neel]

Here's Adam Riemann talking about the 390 Adventure. Notice how he says the bike will evolve when the Indian riders do.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/B71bh0g..._web_copy_link

Originally Posted by Jaggu

The ride modes and setting returning to safe ON option is claimed as a "safety feature" by KTM world over. The issue has been there in other adv bikes from their stable for a while. Logic though is hated by almost every rider. Am not sure if the shortcuts can be customised to go to these settings, which would be the easiest workaround if you ask me.

As far as I know, on the 790 Adventure, you can have it on Rally mode or the other modes even after switching the engine off. The only option that gets deselected every time is TC and ABS completely off. Seems like the best way to do it! Just the off-road ABS staying on will be enough!

There would be No R as far as 390 is concerned, they might provide a spoke wheel sometime next year. That's about it.

As I said, if wishes were horses! That said, there's of course a lot of room user upgrades down the line if someone wants to make it more off-road friendly! Spoked wheels, off-road tyres and the glorious adjustable suspension, just like you said! Perfect light-weight bike to blast over everything!

Originally Posted by Red Liner

If the naysayers here can do 10% of what Adam Riemann just did with a stock 390 adventure and tell me they didn't have enough fun, the rest of us will shut our mouths.

Exactly! It is still an awesome bike if someone does seriously intend to go off the beaten path. With a few mods, this will be the travel-enduro that KTM likes to call it. For someone who plans to pick up skills on an XPulse, I hope to graduate to this when I can. Fun times!

Neel

[Motard_Blr]

After going through the messages here and the online reviews, I don't understand why everyone is so focused on the off-road performance, or lack thereof, of the 390 adventure.

If you look at any adventure bike available in the USA or in Europe, none of them are off-road focussed, except the hardcore variants. They are all road-oriented, with tyres, suspension and brakes selected for good performance on-road. These are basically soft-road bikes, not off-road bikes. This is because manufacturers understood that the majority of riders of this type of bike wanted good performance on paved roads with some capability off-road. Nobody wants to give up on-road performace. The rugged looks are mainly for show.

I have no off-road experience but what I do understand is that a good off-road bike, needs to have:

1. very long travel suspension to absorb bumps and holes
2. Appropriate off-road tyres for grip
3. Brakes that are not too strong to avoid lockup on loose surfaces
4. More low end torque to be able to easily pull oneself up steep slopes
5. Low weight for easy handling
6. Wire-spoke wheels to be able to withstand bashing from bad roads without breaking
7. Good ground clearance for obvious reasons

Most adventure bikes presently available offer only some of these characteristics, not all.

As far as I can see, the 390 Adventure is only following the same path of its bigger siblings (690, 790, 1290, etc) as well as the BMW gs range (800, 1250), the Yamaha Tenere, etc - good to great on the road to help cover long distances on the highways and decent off-road when the situation demands.

I don't think KTM had ever promised an off-road bike so I don't understand what the big fuss is about. The 390 adventure may be a flawed bike in some ways, but in my opinion, the limited off-road ability is not a flaw. Anybody who is disappointed with that only has their own expectations to blame.

Those is only my opinion so feel free to debate or criticise it.

[Red Liner]

I think i spotted twin cat cons on the bike. One under the engine, and the other near the exhaust. So that's where the weight went.

[ihrishi]

Any word on when are the deliveries going to start?