[masterChief007]

A Long wait to this day - pre-history and history

It was a bad time personally, when I got a good idea of restoring my RE Bullet 350 CI which started off my Phase 2 of motorcycling journey. You can read that story and some trips I did with that here: Restoring My Bullet 350 CI (Resurrecting a Bullet Std 350 CI - Suggestions on the important work)

I had many fond memories with that old throbbing machine, you name the issue that is posted as negative for youtube reviews nowadays, it had it: conked up electricals, siezed engine, finicky shifting, gaskit leaks both clutch cover and engine, clanging tappets, and of course vibrations and what not. But I was in a phase of life when it was difficult just sitting home. So got the idea of getting the bike restored. Did a few trips here and there and from that day of getting it restored to this day, it has given me a pleasurable 12,000 kms of comparatively good times. Did goa, chickmangaluru, Kolli hills and numerous other small trips whenever the mind will try to take me into paths which I didn't want to take, so would kickstart the Bullet and forget all thoughts with that sweet thump.



But that machine had it's limits and reliability issues, so started my search for another more contemporary motorcycle. Even celebrated the Bullet's highway retirement by a visit to Goa RE Garage Cafe. Then started the search: visited a few showrooms and did test rides for Xpulse 200 4V, Honda highness (to practice left side shift levers before testing the old KTM 390 Adv), Interceptor 650, RE Himalayan 450. Past 2 years of my test-riding career (yes it's almost a career as I have been trying to figure out the right one for me). Meanwhile did Spiti in 2023 with a KTM 390 Adv, and Himalayan 411 was my steed in Ladakh 2024. The KTM was a hit with the Spiti trip and thought this is it and almost planned for the old Adventure X. But every time I will fixate on a bike there will be news of an upcoming machine - First came the H450 and I started my wait for that, and as usual it got released with all those typical RE niggling issues so kept waiting for the issues to come down, once I rented the bike for 250 KM trip and was impressed by the bike and had almost got it when the news of new 399 Adv dropped in.

Booking Experience

The second round of wait made me restless, kept waiting for the new release and kept bothering my KTM showroom with random visits, they were always accommodating with test ride vehicles and finally did test the 2025 390 Adv X, it was impressive compared to the previous gen and a real value for money. Now the next dilemma started of getting the S or the X, which kept me restless, as I was not able to test ride the S even after visiting 2 showrooms, I thought let's stretch the budget a bit and splurge for this time, after all have been waiting for 2 years so some luxury I should not be ashamed of.

People having financial strains I will suggest got for the X as you won't be losing out much in terms of experience and feel. I decided to go for the S due to safety features and that I will go for 2-3 major solo trips this year. Again visited the showroom and they informed they have got 2-3 new bikes in their lot for the orange color (I had pre-booked the white but then decided to go for the orange as the coloring seemed more balanced). Told them to keep 2-3 bikes ready for pre-registration inspection where I will select one and make the payment for sale the next day.

The team obliged and I did a detailed inspection of the vehicle, checked the engine noise/vibration and selected one which I felt was a bit smoother. Made my payments and next day was scheduled for delivery. Took some pics of the chassis number, VIN and engine number and left home excited like a boy getting his first expensive toy. This was the selected rocket:



Delivery Day

Since it was just the very next day I planned to do a very short and crisp PDI. Got my mother ready for the big day for the showroom visit, not being of great health I decided to just get her involved in the delivery process and drop her back home and get the bike after this and not make her pillion in that already narrow seat !! Took my car and got the showroom staff some sweets, there was no fanfare like the way RE people make you feel so great on getting a new bike (from videos at least). It was a very mellow delivery experience, but I am a man with less needs and tantrums so got that activity over with and dropped my mother back home.



After delivery took and auto and got the remaining paperwork collected, got the keys and removed all wrappings, I am the guy who removes all wrapping at the first instance unlike people who prefer to retain the seat cover etc !! Checked the tool kit, medical kit, spare kits and hit the road. Got it refuelled and observed high coolant temp warning - which went out automatically. This has prompted me to keep the engine on for sometime after stopping and after killing the engine keep the ignition on so that the radiator circuit is able to finish it's job.

New member with the older gen:


The first ride

It is a stark different machine than the bullet, where even if you wring the throttle to max I would hear protests and the speed will crawl to 80 kmph and the the juices will start running dry. Here I had to actively be careful due to the running in restrictions to avoid getting the speed high. Ride was extremely comfortable and I didn't have to saddle at every speed breaker which I have a habit of doing in the bullet. It was like riding on a sofa. Next day I took it to my daily commute to office at the crack of dawn 5.40 am as I was too hyped up and awake throughout the night to ride it. Was awake since 2.30 am due to this



Today morning did a 110 km quick ride before punching in for the office. The usual STRR ride is my staple for such times. A few pics on the great ride experience. My takes on the first ride experience:
- Vibrations: Doesn't bother as it is located around 3.5k and 5.2k RPMs in certain narrow bands, since I am in run-in period my speeds were around 70-80 kph at peak and mostly 60-70 KPH.
- Comfort: Ride comfort is super, rumble strips/potholes loose their bite to make you uncomfortable so fatigue will be very less on longer trips
- Narrow Seats: This might be a problem, though in this short 110 kms I couldn't feel it, but felt some hard points developing at the end. Will do a 250 km trip in the upcoming weekend to figure this out.
- Windshield: Boon in the highway, bane in the city. Was sweating more than in my bullet in the city but highway it is very good protecting from the worst of the wind buffeting. However it directly throws the wind stream just near the ear of helmet so had some amount of wind-noise. Have to fine tune and test with my other helmets
- Highway Stability: Extremely stable and nimble bike with sure footing. Decent amount of braking performance and confidence.

Now this is my first ride pics, posting here to keep it memorable for eternity:

[anilp]

How's the new one in terms of cornering feeling? Feels planted, or is the plush suspension affecting it? Also did you get to play around with the suspension settings?

[masterChief007]

Originally Posted by anilp

How's the new one in terms of cornering feeling?

Not yet pushed the bike so hard, max speed I am doing is 80 kph during running in. With that constraint I didn't have any problems with my kind of riding, a bit more spirited rider can comment on this, or once I start doing some hills I will have better inputs here. For now, it feels planted, with long radius turns on the expressway. Short quick turns is the place where these will come forth ... will update once I experience those conditions.

[Rman88]

Congrats on the purchase, brother ! Rather than going by the speed of 80 limits, ensure to not exceed 7500rpm until first service, which in itself is around 100 speeds. But treat him like a baby for the first 200kms and then slowly start pushing him in varying gears, infact keeping it in city conditions for the first 200kms helps. Once you have crossed 500kms, you can push him upto 6k-7k rpm regularly, for a good engine tune. Ride safe.

[masterChief007]

Thanks !! It is quite a luxurious experience to ride this motorcycle after my Bullet, feeling everything is so comfortable !!

Originally Posted by Rman88

ensure to not exceed 7500rpm until first service, which in itself is around 100 speeds.

Yes that's the aim, currently pegged at 150 Km on the odo. I don't want to push directly to 7.5K just now, first getting it accustomed to 5.5K rpm till 300 Km, then will do next 300 km to bed into 6K-7K and then 7.5K in the last phase.

Even after that I will gradually increase the operating RPM, doing around 50-50 riding city vs highway for now. I am trying to be extra cautious with my bike, if it takes time then let it, also getting used to opposite side gear shifters (bullet is right side shifter) is a new thing for me. Enjoying my time with this bike.

[justwheels]

Many congratulations on the new KTM Adv. As a fellow Adv owner, albeit the previous gen, I can relate to the exhilarating experience of owning this bike, especially when you transition from a Bullet. I was transitioning from a Thunderbird 350, so was smitten by the speedy character of the KTM.

Great to see you have been able to munch few early morning miles so early, always good to experience this machine on the highways, it has amazing composure on long runs. You will surely love the power on tap of this bike.

Wishing you many more miles on the Orange machine, keep sharing your travel stories.

[masterChief007]

Just read news that KTM has shut production again due to lack of parts !!! Problems are not stopping for KTM. Anyways trying to finish off my run-in period, now my odometer stands at 430KMS. Went in for a 220 km ride today and did a max speed of 106 kmph. Now I can say I have better understanding of the bike's behaviors.

Vibration: There are 2 RPM's where even as a bullet rider I don't like to stay around too long, rest all vibes are not bothering me as of now. One is around 4.2K rpm and the other is just around 5K RPM. The 4.2K RPM vibration is violent, sometimes I felt that if there is something wrong, the 5K RPM vibration is also another pain-point where one feels to rev it and reach a plateau point around 5.3 K rpm which is quite good. 92-97 kmph in 6th gear is around 5.5-5.8K RPM and thats a sweet spot for me, in 5th gear the sweet spot is at 85KMPH where I tested my cruise control.

Cruise control: This is definitely a great addition for those stretches where you want to relax your wrist. But even though there was no traffic, I would keep it on occasionally just to relax and then get back to operating it on my own. I have seen if I am not operating controls I start becoming a spectator than actively riding.

Accessories: KTM is not planning to bring its own luggage solutions as of now so went and got moto-torque tail rack and saddle stays and the side stand extender. The tail rack is heavy and will load up your bike, I believe they designed thinking of the metal top boxes, so that's a bit overkill for my use, either way got it fitted even though I will be using navigator tail bag + my extremely old cramster saddle bag (for at least now).

I must say that after fixing these accessories the bike's looks have increased, specially I like the tail rack covering that ugly unfinished tail of the bike (somehow didn't like that tail design from start )

Tail Rack:


Saddle stay:


Stand extendor

[b16h22]

Originally Posted by masterChief007

Just read news that KTM has shut production again due to lack of parts !!!

That's at the Austrian plant. 390s won't be affected.

[masterChief007]

Ride to penukonda:

Since I have bought the bike I am having sleepless nights just in excitement to ride it and of course finish the 1st service and see how it is in it un-bridled form. So trying to rack up the service limit miles, decided to do a penukonda fort ride. Purpose was pure riding and non-stop riding experience of 300 km. So didn't take any coffee/tea/breakfast breaks in between. Only stop points were to click a few photos and drink some water.








Started off the day at 5 am, previous Trip 1 was reporting 28kmpl with 70/30 highway/city ratio (highway ~300 kms city ~150 kms) at 450 km total odo. This trip 300 km it gave around 30 kmpl with speeds mostly in 85-95 kmph ranges. With occasional 70 kmph sedate riding and a short burst at 110 kmph. I would say these are great numbers.



Also first time felt that the tyre noise is quite a bit at 90+ kmph speeds, as this time around I had my LS2 Storm 2 in place which reduce the noise from the stormy winds outside . The quickshifter works very well when going up or down the hairpins, though I do 90% of my shifts manually, when there is too much going on this is a good option on steep sections, as pulling the clutch and engaging the new gear time difference is reduced down to almost zero. But since I don't want to loose any skill learning, I was shifting manually.

There were 100s of bikes parked and people taking reels etc on the road, I went to the top, and parked it and drank some water and switched the engine off after it ran 150+ kms non-stop. After 5-10 mins started my ride back. 21 inch front I am not used to so held myself back from leaning too much. It is a skill and confidence I will gain more and more I adjust to the bike, but just off the bat, the 19 inch setup in such cases will be more easier to get adjusted too.

Some notes/observations based on this ride:
1. Buzzing noise after fixing the new number plate, I think they will tighten the screw/add some padding if I complain.
2. Tyre noise at 90+ kmph speeds, it is a bit loud but not much of a deal breaker if you ignore - sort of when in childhood bicycle is under inflated you get some noise, that is the nearest I can explain the sound.
3. 21 inches needs getting used to in hairpins during leaning, not worse than himalayan, but definitely 19-17 inch setup will be more intuitive.
4. Some noise from engine (?) - I have to keep my ears open for this. Observed it when bike was idling at top of penukonda fort. Not the valve/tappet clatter but with more bass tok-tok-tok sound, forgot to record this time !!
5. Some sound from the front tyre? - When pulled in my clutch and at slower speed, some sound was coming from front tyre. Ignored after found a stone stuck there. But have to look for this too in my next ride.

Finally some narcissism with my twin (same orange accent on both of us ):

[TheHelix0202]

Originally Posted by masterChief007

Purpose was pure riding and non-stop riding experience of 300 km. So didn't take any coffee/tea/breakfast breaks in between. Only stop points were to click a few photos and drink some water.

You’re supposed to let the bike cool down every now and then before the first oil change. Also, what’s the run in method you’re following? Hope you’re not just maintaining a constant RPM.

About the engine clatter, get the crash guard mount bolts replaced for free if you haven’t already.

[masterChief007]

Originally Posted by TheHelix0202

You’re supposed to let the bike cool down every now and then before the first oil change. Also, what’s the run in method you’re following? Hope you’re not just maintaining a constant RPM.

About the engine clatter, get the crash guard mount bolts replaced for free if you haven’t already.

It is a mix of highway and office commute, so both type of riding was done. I mostly exercise the engine between 4.5K - 6K rpm and blipped it to 6.5K rpm 2-3 times in highway. Office/city commute is around 200-300 kms and rest being highway. For highway I will stop around 100 kms (initially it used to be 50 kms before a cooling break) give 5 mins break to cool it and then run again.

Tomorrow will be the first service, 980 kms odometer reading as on when the service will be taking place. Will get the fork seal gaitors installed and the bolts replaced while at it.

[TheHelix0202]

Originally Posted by masterChief007

It is a mix of highway and office commute, so both type of riding was done. I mostly exercise the engine between 4.5K - 6K rpm and blipped it to 6.5K rpm 2-3 times in highway.

Just an FYI, the manual says 7k. However, you can safely take it up to (redline-1000)RPM.

[masterChief007]

Completed a Bengaluru-Goa-Badami-Bengaluru circuit of 1500 KM after the first service. A complete update on the trip will be upcoming next week. Now that I have done 2500 KM on this bike I am in a pretty good position to chip in my few observations.

First Service Experience: Nothing to complain about as the first service tasks were minimal. Service was quick and clean, waited for the service in the service waiting area. The service center was out of the new crash guard bolts and fork covers. After the service the bike was smoother, with better gear shifts and running cooler by 3-4 degrees. However though a little bit muted, vibrations are still present at 5K rpm, though I have learnt to skip past that rpm range asap. I was told that KTM is planning to release accessories soon, but when that no one knows

Observations for improvements:
1. Vibes at 5K rpm still present - will update after the crash guard bolts are changed
2. Need handlebar risers as getting stiffness in neck and shoulders due to reaching out.
3. Have to find a solution to knee getting irritated due to rubbing against the riding pant armor - unrelated to bike.
4. Seat after a 500 KM ride makes the behind sore (starts from around 250 KM onwards), not worse than my bullet, but on a multi-day long rides this problem will accumulate. - For 3 & 4 maybe a higher with more cushioned seat will be of help, will await OEM parts for this, will try air-seats/padded shorts for cycling till then.
5. The sygic navigator(from KTMConnect) also is affected by screen lock, everytime I will keep the mobile in pocket, screen will lockout and the navigator will pause, so this is as bad as Himalayan console, went back to google maps finally.

The Good parts:
1. I am extremely glad that I bought the S instead of X as life is much more easy with this, special mention is the cruise control which makes life so much easy when you have to give some rest to the throttle hand.
2. Highway speeds of 90-110 kmph is a piece of cake, this is the zone where I prefer to stay most of the time. The power on tap makes life so much more easy when the jigsaw puzzles of perpetually overtaking trucks present themselves.
3. Excellent suspension, those rumble strips become much more tolerable, haven't yet played with the adjustable forks, taking my learnings slowly, so will try them from next week onwards. Even with default setting, I barely stand up for speed bumps anymore.
4. Smooth shifting gearbox and quickshifter, except once or twice didnt have any false neutrals, and after the first service the issue of shifting from 1 to N in traffic red light has become much precise, earlier it would shift to 2 instead of N.
5. Very stable at high speeds, sure a bit of wind stream from heavy trucks does try to move you, but the bike is precise and it never loses composure at high speeds.
6. And boy it's a looker, both my bikes the bullet and the KTM are lookers, one in classic sense and this one a rugged mean look !!
7. No side stand issues yet :P
8. Highly maneuverable even in city traffic in spite of the 21-17 setup, majorly because you are faster than most other vehicles and it is quite nimble, X will do better here I suppose.

Overall I am pretty satisfied with my purchase till now and my advice will be to go for S if one can manage their finances and stretch a bit as the cruise control itself makes like so much easy on the long highway stretches. However I am sure X is the more VFM out of these two.

If anyone has apprehension with vibrations - yes it's an irritation, but you will soon learn to bypass it by not staying in that dreaded RPM range. I believe that flaw should not cloud your judgement as this is an excellent bike overall. Having ridden Himalayan 450 and now owning KTM 390 Adv S, I would say it was worth the wait. My vote for the Adv S between these two contenders.

[PatienceWins]

Originally Posted by masterChief007

3. Have to find a solution to knee getting irritated due to rubbing against the riding pant armor - unrelated to bike.

I have faced the same issue on right knee while frequently saddling on adventure motorcycle. The issue is that it gets worse on long tours spanning multiple days. I solved the issue by using a thin knee support that was lying at home. Just search knee support on Amazon.

[masterChief007]

Originally Posted by PatienceWins

I solved the issue by using a thin knee support that was lying at home.

I too tried that with the knee support (decathlon) I used for tennis/badminton off late due to meniscus tear, was actually looking for a bit more padding as the thin one is not able to reduce it completely. Will get a padded support and have to keep it loose/2-3 sizes bigger as it was causing constriction near the knee area. Also will try an air seat/padded cycle shorts to alleviate the posterior discomfort