Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1237845
2020 K TM 390 ADVENTURE R I D E R E V I E W P52 and 390 Duke spec, we're pretty sure you'll be getting the same from the Adventure version. What is different, however, is the exhaust. The stainless-steel header pipe and pre-muffler (containing two catalytic converters) is the same as the two road cousins but the Ad- venture gets a much beefier muf- fler for off road toughness, if at the expense of some good looks. You'll also get a slipper clutch on the 390, making it only the second bike in the category to fit one after the Kawasaki. The chassis is a trademark tubu- lar steel trellis design with a steel subframe, so if you dump it big style you can just bash your seat back into shape to at least get you home. The tubular steel design harks back to the original KTM adventure bikes like the 1997 LC4 and has become a mainstay of KTM bikes ever since, right up to the MotoGP RC16 racer of Pol Espargaro. Suspension duties fall to KTM's in-house brand at WP, with the 390 getting a fully adjustable 43mm Apex fork—a first for the small ADV class— and a preload and rebound damping adjustable shock. Brakes are taken straight from the RC 390 in the single Bybre four- piston caliper and 320mm disc, with a single-piston caliper clamping on a 230mm disc out back. As is now law in the European Union, the 390 is graced with un-switchable Cornering ABS as part of an electronic suite that features lean-angle sensitive traction control—although the ABS has an off- road setting (a bit like the Supermoto setting on the Super Duke), whereby ABS on the rear is disengaged and is only active on the front. Like the bigger brother Adventure models, the 790 and 1090, the 390 gets a brilliant little five-inch TFT color dash that's miles better than many bikes twice its price. This also allows for the rider to use the KTM My Ride system that pairs your phone to the bike and lets you use turn-by-turn navigation, take calls, messages, etc. Aesthetically the 390 is a pretty close replica of the base model 790, just smaller. The LED head- light is the same, with the side pan- els closely following the contours of the 790. You get a 3.8-gallon tank with the 390, which is about in the middle ground for the class with the Versys offering 4.5 gallons and the BMW giving a rather puny 2.9. KTM claims you should get up to 250 miles on a single tank, which if true, is a remarkable claim. Our test came back with 59 mpg, about 224 miles for a full tank. (Far right) Jesse hears the CN crew are stopping at Julian for apple pie. (Right) Plastic guard is not going to stop major hits from damaging the motor, but it's certainly better than having nothing at all.