KTM 390 Adventure Explained In 10 Images

The new GST rules that are lenient for bikes below 350cc have made Bajaj spawn another bike and that’s the new 350cc KTM 390 Adventure. And while the bike sounds like a bit of a downgrade from the bigger 399cc 390 Adventure, we actually think it’s a good bike at a lower price. 

So if that has gotten you thinking about it as well, here’s a closer look at the new 390 Adventure through 10 detailed images:

Looks the same

The 350cc bike looks the same as the bigger one and that’s a good thing. The 390 Adventure is a tall, lean, rugged-looking bike that looks ready to munch miles as well as attack trails. We quite like the way it looks, so it’s good to see that the slightly smaller bike looks the same. The tall stance, plenty of suspension travel and ground clearance make it look like what an adventure bike should look like. 

2 colourways on offer

Ceramic White and Electronic Orange are the 2 colourways on offer for the KTM 390 Adventure. Of the 2, we think the Ceramic White is what more people might gravitate towards, for the white colour looks classy and attractive, while having orange inserts to remind you that it’s a KTM bike. The Electronic Orange, meanwhile, might be a bit too orange for some people. That is, unless you’re a hardcore KTM fan, in which case you might quite like the orange. 

Is still feature-loaded

5-inch TFT, Bluetooth connectivity and turn-by-turn navigation, the KTM 390 Adventure has what you’d expect from a modern-day adventure bike. Apart from that, there are the safety bits like dual-channel ABS, traction control as well as cornering ABS and traction control. 

To increase the fun factor, there’s the brilliant quickshifter which works very well, especially at speed. Both the traction control and ABS are switchable to ensure you can slide the bike around and have some fun when going off the road. In short, the bike is still loaded to the T with features, the best in its class.

Smaller engine still makes sense

Yes, it’s a smaller engine than the bigger 390 Adventure but it still makes more than 40PS, meaning it’s still quite a fast bike for our roads. There’s also 33.5Nm of torque and that means that even if the engine is smaller and less powerful, the difference in power might not be even felt. So it’s still a fast and capable motorcycle and it shouldn’t feel like you’re downgrading big time. 

The hardware’s fantastic too

A 320mm front disc and a 240mm rear disc, mean that the 390 Adventure not only has big sharp brakes, but they also have to stop a kerb weight of just 181kg, meaning the 390 Adventure is quite sorted in the hardware department. 

Add to that the bike’s adjustable suspension and you have a bike that’s definitely ready to take on our roads. The bigger 390 Adventure’s base setup is already quite good but there’s no harm in tuning it further, in order to suit the way you ride and your weight. 

Still plenty capable off the road 

200mm of suspension travel at the front, 205mm wheel travel at the rear and 228mm of ground clearance is no joke. While the bike has a 19-inch front wheel setup (against the larger 390 Adventure’s 21-inch front wheel setup), it is still very capable off the road. Time and again, we’ve seen that these KTM alloys can take a beating so you shouldn’t worry too much about taking the bike off-roading. 

Comes at a great price!

At Rs 2,80,905, ex-showroom Delhi, the 350cc KTM 390 Adventure comes in at a great price. It undercuts its rival, the Royal Enfield Himalayan 450, by quite a margin and still packs an absolute punch, with a powerful engine, solid features and good hardware to back it up. In fact, its lower weight makes it the more approachable of the two: a bike that you’d be more confident to take wherever you feel like. 

To sum things up, the bigger 390 Adventure was already a lovely bike but unfortunately it’s been bitten hard by the GST sting and even the affordable KTM 390 Adventure X costs as much as Rs 3,43,250. The KTM 390 Adventure S, meanwhile, costs an eye-watering Rs 3,96,744 (both prices ex-showroom Delhi). That said, both happened due to factors not in KTM’s control so we’re happy the brand has been proactive about making bikes more affordable in India. So is the 350cc KTM 390 Adventure a good deal or is it a compromise? We think it’s definitely the former.