2020 K TM 390 ADVENTURE
R I D E R E V I E W
P56
Rowdy, the KTM 390 Adven-
ture is not. But it is spirited in its
refusal to back down, and it has
stood up to everything we've
thrown at it, so far.
In our first few weeks of testing,
the pitter-patter of its non-threat-
ening piston pulse quickly tran-
sitioned from cute to tenacious.
It doesn't impress with race-level
power, but it certainly tries really
hard. It's sort of old-school Honda
XR-like in that sense. And it brings
ample tech to the table that will
certainly attract new riders.
Power delivery is fun, but not
explosive. It really shines when
the ride-by-wire binary is buried to
the stop and you modulate output
with clutch and shift control. Our
test bike came with the optional
Quickshift + system. The ability to
pounce on cog clicks at will—dirt-
bike style—is addictive and effec-
tive and with limited power, using
gear ratios to grunt or scream on
demand is wise.
If you stay in the seat, pound
through the gears and let the bike
work, the KTM 390 Adventure is a
responsible rallying machine. It has
the chops to back-in and spin out of
dirty corners without scaring you to
death. Brakes hold up well with just
a bit of fade after aggressive corner
entries or prolonged squeezing on
It's priced at the
pointy end of the
small capacity
ADV market, but
we feel the 390
Adventure is
worth it.
