[Piston_head]

Originally Posted by rssah77

Hey team, I am planning to buy newly launched KTM adventure 390 X. I test rode and for now I don't need spoke wheels or suspension adjustability. But I want that chip which gives all the rider aids including cruise control.

Also, I do mostly touring and city driving, I don't want spoke wheels because alloy wheels provide much plushness.

I saw early reviews and came to understand 390X is good allrounder. So, what to do? Any suggestions?

PS: Because in future, some other manufacturer comes with great value motorcycle with all these bells and whisltes (rider aids) and I don't want to feel bad.

I’m considering the same. The Adventure S comes with all the bells and whistles, but they aren’t necessary for my use case. At the same time, I don’t want my bike to feel outdated down the line. I also looked at the Scrambler 400X, which offers additional traction control compared to the Adventure X. However, while the Scrambler feels taller, it doesn’t give a true big-bike presence, and I feel it doesn’t quite justify the premium price.

I should take a test ride of the Adventure once they become available and then decide.

[BullettuPaandi]

Originally Posted by rssah77

alloy wheels are more rigid and offer more feedback there by making them plush (in terms of feel).

scarn is right on this, but I don't think the difference would be noticeable. Your statement is confusing, as 'plush' usually means 'comfortable' and 'feedback' usually means 'vibrations'; 'plush' and 'rigid' obviously don't go together. At any rate, the size of the wheel is the major factor. Your mostly on-road requirement is best served with the shorter wheels on the X.

The Standard is only VFM for those who are reluctant to spend more on- but interested in- CBU bikes in my opinion. With the Standard, you get plenty of rider aids with the 390s above-its-class performance, making it a 'frugal' alternative for those interested in much costlier CBU bikes. With the Standard, you won't be missing much on what most bikes up to twice the cost offer; with the R, the gap is closed even further. This is the sole selling point. In all other cases, X makes the best sense.

[AulusGabinius]

Originally Posted by rssah77

I actually have ridden it. It feels top heavy.

Compared to a street bike, absolutely. But then so will every other adventure bike.

[jaganm]

I wonder if this is the right time to complain about the length of these 390 adv videos. Motorinc is close to 2 hours, I saw a video from Big Bear customs that comes in at over an hour. I like Shumi but hearing him drawl for 2 hours is just not my cup of tea.

Maybe it's just me, but I prefer the nicely edited 10-15 minute ones. And I hope that the tide will turn and we will get more print content instead of these insanely long videos.

[TheHelix0202]

Originally Posted by rssah77

I say my requirement (not based on specs) -> I NEED light weight motorcycle which is effortless to drive in city traffic and has enough top end without being stressful and when the roads get dangerous I need rider aid especially traction control as it's obviously a powerful engine.

Get the 390 Duke. It’s the superior road motorcycle of the two.

It can handle most of whatever you’d be putting it through. Don’t look back.

[TurboTrailblazr]

Originally Posted by jaganm

I wonder if this is the right time to complain about the length of these 390 adv videos. Motorinc is close to 2 hours, I saw a video from Big Bear customs that comes in at over an hour. I like Shumi but hearing him drawl for 2 hours is just not my cup of tea.

Maybe it's just me, but I prefer the nicely edited 10-15 minute ones. And I hope that the tide will turn and we will get more print content instead of these insanely long videos.

I enjoy long videos, especially when the speakers are genuinely passionate about what they do and discuss. In my opinion, capturing everything a bike is capable of within a 10–15 minute video is quite challenging.

[nasirkaka]

I wonder if this is the right time to complain about the length of these 390 adv videos. Motorinc is close to 2 hours, I saw a video from Big Bear customs that comes in at over an hour. I like Shumi but hearing him drawl for 2 hours is just not my cup of tea.

I saw both the videos yesterday (being sunday and relatively free). I enjoyed the Motorinc video. Its long but well captures smaller nuances, details and emotions. Helps understand the bike not just from facts and figures point of view, but also from the feel-factor POV. Also last 30 minutes is mostly Q&A from their subscribers, which can be skipped.
I was not too impressed by the Big Bear video as it felt like missing the soul. Saw it as I had time at hand, but fast-forwarded some sections.

Compared to a street bike, absolutely. But then so will every other adventure bike.

I have had the 400X for 7 months and covered 11k kms and do not feel the bike is top heavy. Seat height may give that feeling but on move, the bike feels very well balanced with good mass centralizarion. It is nimble enough and very easy to ride even in natourious city traffic like that of Bangalore's. Ok, the speed 400 and likes may be more flickable with 17-17 combo but for a 19" front, the scrambler feels quite flickable IMHO.

Someone also mentioned 400X not justyfying its premium price which I completely disagree. To begin with, its not overpriced and is actually great value for money. Good mix of well built product, fit-finish, good suspension, adequate electronics, super torquey engine and looks good too. I have bashed it on trails almost every weekend and the bike it held very well. One wash and it looks as good as fresh out of oven. Agree it may not have a big bike feel but that also works in its favour for many.

ok, let me stop praising another bike too much on the 390 adv thread.

Coming back, have the proper test rides started for the S variant in Bangalore? Last I checked, they were waiting for some paperwork.

[PatienceWins]

Originally Posted by jaganm

I wonder if this is the right time to complain about the length of these 390 adv videos. Motorinc is close to 2 hours, I saw a video from Big Bear customs that comes in at over an hour. I like Shumi but hearing him drawl for 2 hours is just not my cup of tea.

Maybe it's just me, but I prefer the nicely edited 10-15 minute ones. And I hope that the tide will turn and we will get more print content instead of these insanely long videos.

Agree. I also prefer nicely edited videos where the bike is shown and there is some visual entertainment. Podcasts, that too going into 2 hours, is not my cup of tea. But having chapters in podcast helped to pick and choose as needed.

I watched Motorinc (separate videos for X and S) and big bear customs. Impressed with the level of knowledge that Shumi has on the intricate details and the ability of Karthik to make it concise. I watched them fully.

Big bear customs - selected the chapters and watched it. Can be made concise and to the point. Can be skipped if you are watching motorinc.

[shady]

I got a chance to take the new Adventure 390 S for a short spin on tarmac and dirt at a recent KTM PRO-XP event. Sharing some of my observations when compared to the previous gen ADV that I ride.

• The bike feels light on the move and easily flickable.
• The narrower seat makes it easier to flatfoot than the previous gen.
• Engine vibes are evident on the bike especially on the footpeg.
• Tyres are Apollo Tramplr XR tubeless type.
• The suspension is on the softer side but it's well balanced for road and off-road. I didn't get a chance to meddle with the suspension settings.
• The crash guard comes with a slider type extension from factory.
• Offroad mode is the most responsive street mode is slightly subdued. I didn't test the rain mode.
• The rally tower inspired console, headlight and windshield is higher than the previous gen. I found it a bit challenging when seated and looking for obstacles ahead of me on the dirt track. Probably needs getting used to or the upcoming 390 Enduro will be much easier on dirt.
• The white side panels are a scuff magnet since the rider will eventually grip it with the knees. The previous gen had black unpainted side panels.

It's been improved a lot more compared to the previous gen. The learning curve for off-road usage is much easier for the new gen model. Dirt enthusiasts should wait for the Enduro 390 which should be launching soon.

[acex]

Originally Posted by PatienceWins

Impressed with the level of knowledge that Shumi has on the intricate details and the ability of Karthik to make it concise. I watched them fully.

Indeed the level of research done by Shumi is something that I found really appreciative. For example the type of plastics on the motorcycle are of the ones found on dirt-bikes. Also that KTM has a scale for measuring off-road capabilities of motorcycles.

This Podcast is of genuine help if one is really interested in knowing the details on the bike.

[rssah77]

Originally Posted by BullettuPaandi

scarn is right on this, but I don't think the difference would be noticeable. Your statement is confusing, as 'plush' usually means 'comfortable' and 'feedback' usually means 'vibrations'; 'plush' and 'rigid' obviously don't go together. At any rate, the size of the wheel is the major factor. Your mostly on-road requirement is best served with the shorter wheels on the X.

The Standard is only VFM for those who are reluctant to spend more on- but interested in- CBU bikes in my opinion. With the Standard, you get plenty of rider aids with the 390s above-its-class performance, making it a 'frugal' alternative for those interested in much costlier CBU bikes. With the Standard, you won't be missing much on what most bikes up to twice the cost offer; with the R, the gap is closed even further. This is the sole selling point. In all other cases, X makes the best sense.

May be my wording is not right. But in the review that is given by Shumi at Motorinc regarding X motorcycle, they say the combination of wheels (19in alloys), suspension settting in X does make the ride quality more plush and closer to himalayan's.

All I mean about is the ride quality on X is more superior with its tyre and suspension setup than that of S's. I'd like to think like this - along with suspension the alloys make more accurate feedback on chassis and hence suspension doesn't jitter too much making it more comfy. These are my opinions.

Nevertheless, on the contrary, the statement -> spoke wheels are more plush doesn't make sense too.

[Rman88]

This Sunday, KTM India organised a trail experience of the new ADV390s, both the S and X variants. I got to ride the S variant on this light trail setup inside the Farm at Semmencheri, for people who know. Folks from the school of dirt (Ousef Chacko and team) had come to organise this and Ousef gave us a short session on the bike features as well as a quick brief of the trail.

Coming to the bike, It is a highly capable machine for light to medium trails and I took a while to understand the machine. We were a group of 5 bikes in each batch and I was one of the first few batches. The experience lasted just 10 minutes but it was an exhilarating one and an eye opener for me.

The bike was kept at the off-road mode and the tyres did a great job on sand and slush. I can’t imagine the fun this bike would give me once I ride my own bike into the trails. For all beginners into trail riding, this is a perfect bike to start things and KTM says that this machine is Level 3 ready, meaning it’s good for light to medium trails. Anything more hardcore and this bike is going to be out of its depth for sure.

[BullettuPaandi]

Originally Posted by rssah77

long with suspension the alloys make more accurate feedback on chassis and hence suspension doesn't jitter too much making it more comfy.

If by 'jitter' you mean 'low levels of up and down motion', it has to be the rigid alloys that produce 'jitter', which is what we feel as 'feedback', but is really just vibration. I'm still confused by the wording. So let me use technical terms instead (of 'plush', 'feedback', etc) to share what I know.

At the scale of the flexibility spokes provide for on road usage- meaning the amount of undulations absorbed by the flexible spokes- suspension won't absorb any of that. This is why alloy wheels feel better on road. With alloys, such minute vibrations are not absorbed and gets transferred to the rider, who feels this vibration and calls it 'feedback', because it helps them get an idea of how much grip they have while, say cornering at speed. This is what makes alloys 'predictable' and spokes un/less-desired for on road usage. But it is worth noting that such differences are only noticeable at very high speeds, where everything is amplified.

Just to make the point, consider if there's a hypothetical suspension that is so micro-tuned to absorb even the minutest undulations. Well then spokes and alloys won't make a difference in terms of comfort. As, whatever vibration is there on the 'unsprung' region would be handled by this suspension, and our sprung bodies won't feel any of it, effectively making alloys just as 'unpredictable' at high speeds.

[scarn]

Originally Posted by Rman88

. For all beginners into trail riding, this is a perfect bike to start things and KTM says that this machine is Level 3 ready, meaning it’s good for light to medium trails. Anything more hardcore and this bike is going to be out of its depth for sure.

Now, what if we happened to swap the suspension of the Enduro R/Adventure R once we hit the limits?

[TheHelix0202]

Did the PDI of my orange baby today! After a lot of wrestling with my thoughts, I landed on the X!