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-   -   Ownership Review | KTM Adventure 250 (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorbikes/256060-ownership-review-ktm-adventure-250-a-5.html)

Thanks for this.

I might not use my next bike for regular office commute. Given that I need to stay in office till late night, I might use my car. For shorter city commute, I have TVS Jupiter at home.

I would be using these bikes for occasional breakfast rides or leisure rides with my better half.

When you say "Ktm has no torque in lower end" what does it mean ? Dumb it down for me please.

I did take a brief TD on both these bikes, I liked the ergonomics on KTM, Suzuki has a slight bend forward posture. I fell in love with the look and feel of KTM for some reason. :)

shravansp24 is absolutely spot on here about the suspension. KTM's whole architecture is to push the rider to ride a little faster: from the angled footpegs to the slight forward reach of the handlebar, the engine power delivery as well the suspension setup. The Suzuki is slightly on the softer side compared to the KTM but it is still engaging enough.

On triple-digit plus speeds, I have felt a little wobbliness on the rented V-storm. But as Sebring has pointed out it could be that machine that has the problem which I will confirm in some time after riding a well-maintained V-storm.



Again shravansp24 is bang on. V-storm will be able to squeeze out a little more than the KTM ADV 250. In sections of highways where the KTM was able to give 38kmpl, V-storm has managed to give around 41 kmpl on the Kerela Trip.

One important point is the difference in compression ratios. V-storm has 10.7 while the KTM ADV 250 has 12.5. Although the KTM Indian owners manual says that it can run on 91RON but I have felt an observable difference when using XP95 as mentioned in #31. The higher compression ratio allows KTM to extract more power out of the engine at the cost of it being more susceptible to bad fuel quality in the form of the cold start issue as mentioned in #39 post.

Now, this is where shravansp24 might have made a mistake. The KTM 250 ADV service interval is 6 months/7500km both as per Indian and EU owner manuals.



The relatively high cost of the KTM ADV 250 is because it shares almost all the parts and consumables with KTM ADV 390.

What we mean when the bike does not have great low-end torque is that bike needs to be revved to get it going. This will be more apparent in case of luggage+pillion. Please check post #37 as it mentions the speed before and after installing Fuelx.
So a better low-end torque gives you the ability to use the bike in higher gears and at lower speeds without lugging the engine. Better low-end torque also reduces the number of gear shifts required as the bike will be able to go through speed breaker in 2/3 gear instead of coming to 1st.
In the case of KTM, the low-end torque can be improved by using fuelx to a certain extent but still lags behind the V-Storm even then.

The V-storm's slight bent can be corrected by using handlebar risers.

As you want to also go on leisure rides with your partner, I would suggest to rent both vehicles for a couple of days and check the pillion comfort. No amount of short test rides can match up to a day's worth of riding.

My bad! Thanks for pointing it out. I vaguely remember my svc mechanic telling it's 4 months or 5000kms(He even set the service km left to 5000km on the console) during my first service!

and apart from the spares, my KTM svc mechanic said that the labour costs are different too! for example a general service labour cost for the KTM 125s/200s is around 900-1000 but for the 250s and 390s, it's a bit higher

That makes sense as parts (like spark plugs etc) are harder to reach in the ADV platform.

I think your questions are answered by Shravan. I found the VSTROM a 'grounds up' ADV, and not just another mod. If you read my ownership review, I've explained it there. Paid service bill was 800 only. Mileage is 2-4 KMPL more that KTM. The engine is good, and on my Chennai trip I held it at 120KMPH constantly for few hours. But the best part is the seating comfort/ergonomics/rider triangle. Sorry, but I don't want to hijack this thread, a test ride should answer your queries

Here’s a video I recorded tonight on an empty road. You can hear the buzz very clearly in this ��

https://youtube.com/shorts/YPQ8N52u2Jc?feature=share

True! I replaced my fuel filter in the last service and they had to remove the side shrouds and lift the entire tank whereas it was much simpler on my 2015 duke

Yes, it's the exact buzz that I was hearing. And since holding that boomerang shaped plastic mutes the buzz, it looks like that's the cause(The same plastic was the one troubling me too). See the connection points of the boomerang shaped plastics on the sides are proper and not broken(service center may help you with this). If it's broken, replace them and if it's not, try the Mseal or double side tape solution where I have applied for a quick fix and see if the buzz is gone

Yes, my opinion of the VStorm was based on your ownership review along with my experience with the Gixxer only as I have personally never ridden a VStorm :)

In my case, the buzz was not this loud. Maybe it was just getting started and I fixed it (if you can call it that) before it got prominent.

My personal experience and few private garage owners including Mr.Rajini krishnan advised me to stick to 4500±500 kms for my Duke 390.

Beyond 5000 kms, the oil becomes black and thin.

Very interesting reading that aerodynamic link. Thanks for sharing @advstreak :thumbs up
Could you share the buying link for the Angle Adjustable Wind Deflector.

http://www.motoplanetdelhi.com/unive...pid-2031854563

I got it from here. He has two sizes: 12 inches and 15 inches.
I got the 12-inch one as it fits the KTM ADV and also the 15 inch one will become too heavy and wobble a lot more.

Did you try orienting it almost horizontal - like the OP shows in the advrider post? Which angles were the most comfortable for you?

You can refer to post #56. I am also quoting the related part below:

So I switched to normal fuel more than a couple of weeks back. I have done approx. 1000 km till now using normal 91 RON from random fuel pumps.

Now the cold start issue is kind of back. In the morning and also in the evenings (after the bike has stood still for more than 8 hours) the RPM fluctuates in the first crank. Right now the bike does not require a second crank and is able to reach stable RPM after warming up a little.

My feeling is that it will get worse if I keep using 91 RON fuel from random pumps and it will require multiple cranks to start.

How hot do your bikes get in traffic? Mine stays constant at 4 bars with the exception of yesterday morning, when I saw the 5th bar for a few seconds before it went away. The fan kicks in whenever I stop at signals.
Interestingly, the coolant had reached the minimum mark last Sunday on a highway ride (odo was at ~200kms then). Got it topped up at the KTM service centre on the way back. The level hasn't gone down since then.