KTM 250 Adventure

It might be the smaller (engine-wise) of the two KTM adventure bikes in India but the 250 Adventure still looks properly big. The design has been carried forward from the 390 Adventure with no changes to the body panels whatsoever. The only visual cue helping you differentiate the two siblings is the halogen headlamp on the 250. It doesn’t get the LEDs from the 390 in order to save costs.

We are particularly impressed with the matte finish on the large 14.5-litre fuel tank. The metal tank has this lovely sort of smooth plastic coating on it, making it one of the few premium touches that you can find on this bike. 

Since there is no connectivity system here, it doesn’t get the switch cubes from the 390, which are better in feel and to operate, but rather the same switches from the 250 Duke. 

We were hoping that the same sensibilities of the 250 Duke would carry forward on the ADV, which to a certain extent are evident. The motor is free revving, zippy and fairly tractable. Plus, the clutch action is very light and gear shifts are slick. But the 250 Adventure is not really a quick motorcycle. Considering the performance on tap, it is just a second quicker than the Royal Enfield Himalayan to 100kmph. That’s a motorcycle that makes 6PS less and weighs 22kg more. It is neck and neck with the Himalayan in roll-on acceleration too, which is quite a surprise.

Out on the highway, the engine is quite happy thrumming along at 100-110kmph, with a light buzz felt at the pegs. What is a bit of an issue is the lack of drive present below 6,000rpm. If you have to slow down to get past highway traffic, you will have to work the gearbox to make up for lost momentum. It is something that you could live with but considering that this was not as much of an issue on its Duke counterpart, here it feels a bit disappointing.

The 250 Adventure is a simpler motorcycle than the 390. There is no LED headlight here, no colour TFT screen, no Bluetooth connectivity and no electronic rider aids like traction control and quickshifter. The halogen headlight is what was there on the previous 250 Duke and now is found on the 200 Duke and 125 Duke. The LED DRLs flank the halogen headlamp with a nice thick black bezel around it. 

The LCD console has the same shape as the 390’s TFT display. The readouts are laid in a similar fashion with a circular bar type tachometer surrounding the digital speedo. You get trip and fuel consumption related data as well as a clock, engine temperature gauge and fuel gauge. While Bluetooth connectivity is a miss, the 250 Adventure has a provision for a GPS/phone mount. A 12V charging socket is also present.

We aren’t going to moan about the absence of traction control and quickshifter here as the 250 is clearly meant to be the more affordable KTM adventure motorcycle. Plus, the traction control system didn’t really enhance the riding experience on the 390, and was somewhat of a deterrent to off-roading rather than a useful feature. So, we are glad they didn’t include it here.