In 7 Pics: KTM 390 Adventure Spoke Vs Standard Differences Explained

The newly-launched spoke-wheeled (SW) KTM 390 Adventure charges a solid Rs 21,254 premium over the standard variant. And that begs the question if it’s even worth the extra money, or are you better off with the standard bike? If you’ve the same confusion, fret not. Here’s a comparison of the two bikes through a bunch of images: 

The biggest visual difference, as the name suggests, is the spoke wheels on the new bike. Handling rough roads should be a tad bit easier given that spoke wheels are more flexible and easier to fix if broken. The standard bike, on the other hand, makes do with alloys. KTM claims that the new ones are lighter and tougher and since we’ve not heard about the older ones cracking, these ones should do the trick well. In fact, alloy wheels with tubeless tyres will make puncture repairs a whole lot easier.

But what’s the one update we were borderline begging for is the adjustable suspension. The new variant gets WP Apex suspension that’s straight off the international bike with 30-step preload and rebound adjustability at the fork and a 20-step rebound and 10-step preload adjustability at the monoshock. The wheel travel, though, has remained unchanged. One of our biggest gripes with the standard 390 Adventure was its stiff suspension making for a rather bouncy ride when tackling trails. Even going over broken patches of tarmac tosses around the rider.

The last bit of update on the SW 390 Adventure is the Rally Orange colourway, which, in typical KTM fashion, is loud and quite attractive.

If you want the standard 390 Adventure, it can be had in two colourways- Dark Galvano Black and Atlantic Blue.

The final piece of difference between the two bikes is obviously their price. At Rs 3.60 lakh (ex-showroom), the spoke-wheeled bike is a whole Rs 21,254 more expensive than the standard trim. 

Other things haven’t been tinkered with on the SW trim. The peaky 373cc mill with 43.5PS and 37Nm, the suite of electronics and the vertigo-inducing 855mm seat height have all been unchanged. 

So is it worth the money? We think these new bits address almost all the major complaints we had with the 390 Adventure. So if these bits really work as intended, they will be quite priceless, for which paying the extra money is justified.