Yamaha Tenere 700 VS KTM 390 Adventure

The two bikes that I have seen riders bounce between are the Yamaha Tenere 700 and the KTM 390 Adventure. I have seen comments and videos of riders ditching their KTM 390 Adventures for the Yamaha Tenere 700 and other riders going the other way. These bikes have a lot of similarities and also some differences, but what are they. The spec sheet can be used to compare these two bikes but does it really tell you what to expect between these two bikes. Tune and see my experience on these two bikes and the comparison you won't see in the specifications.

[Hammerhead]

I love my 390. Perfect for me and my situation. 67 y.o. all major joints replaced so I wanted something that if I drop it (which I have) I can pick it up myself. I ride alone 99.9% of the time. As far as reliability issues, none. Even the common ones you here about stalling and not finding neutral, none. I'm a firm believer in taking care of the bike and, it will take care of you. I've done numerous mods to the bike (too many to mention here. (besides my wife may read this).

[johnman]

This comparison was well thought out and very thorough Matt. You brought up a lot of things that most of us don’t consider when bike shopping. As much as I like Yamahas there was no way I could consider the Tenere. It’s too tall and top heavy. The 390 is approachable in both size and price. I wanted to add an adventure bike to my dirt and street bike stable and this little KTM has far exceeded my expectations.

[nestrada]

One of the best videos I´ve seen. Well explained, good topics to compare. Thanks.

[dudemakingtracks]

I will not call myself a 'biker' just yet and intend to start a bit of dirt trail riding soon. I ride a Honda Magna V65 which is beautiful on distance tar but too heavy for me off-road. I am no longer as fit or strong as I should be (78) for this bike. I take delivery of my KTM 390 ADV tomorrow and why I have been watching/ following up on the channels promoting and reviewing the 390. I have enjoyed the honesty of your channel Matt, have subscribed and will follow. Thanks

[Hutchie]

I owned both at the same time. Loved the Tenere 700, but kept the 390 Adventure.
Reason was primarily weight and height. At 65 years old, very unfit and with a wrecked shoulder, always solo riding, I was increasingly fearful of dropping the Tenere offroad and being screwed.
The 390 is so much lighter, and on the roads and trails I ride, easily as quick. Much better fuel economy, plus (and I know it is really subjective but...) tubeless tyres for the win every day. Easy sticky worm plug and ride on.
And the fuel cap on the Yamaha is a nightmare, got to find somewhere to put it (with the key still in it) while filling up, and as you say, the filler hole is horrible.
Never had an issue on either bike, other than a rear indicator (blinker) that failed due to water getting in it on the 390, easy fix.

The 390 is grossly underrated and overlooked. I love the thing. Traction control, lean sensitive abs, backlit controls, bluetooth music etc etc, it's a high spec easy to ride do it all bike.
(But the Tenere does look much cooler ;)

[bacbladerunner]

A great review with a different slant. I enjoyed it. And it just shows, again, how great our 390 is.

[OneOldManRiding]

Excellent video Matt. I like the inclusion of maintenance costs. When shopping for a rear tire for my 790, I nearly went into shock at how high the prices can be! - Frank

[johnherrera]

Good analysis. The reason the KTM 390 lacks appeal to me is that it had the linkless rear suspension. It has to move oil to provide damping that linkage based suspensions partially address with rising rate levers. Way more effective. The Husqvarna dual sport 350 is a KTM but offers linkage based suspension. Way better platform

[tomthornetech]

I wish I had this video about a month ago XD I traded my 390 for a T700 at the end of June and I agree with you across the board. I needed my bike to cover some use cases that were just outside of the 390's capability. Taking a passenger is far more doable on the T700 when I alone am 1/2 the weight capacity of the 390. The additional power obviously helping there too. I'm 6' and 245lbs and the ergonomics difference is massive. I was looking at the cost to get the 390 where I needed it and it was going to cost about as much as it did to get the Tenere. Standing on the bike in particular is way more confidence inspiring on the T7. My brother in law is 6' 2" and has similar ergonomic struggles with his 390, particularly while standing.

I live in Utah and my commute takes me over the point of the mountain with a solid headwind 9/10 times. I found that in their stock forms, the wind protection and buffeting was significantly better on the Tenere, and the additional torque make dealing with those headwinds on I-15 significantly better. The wind noise is notably quieter, I can get another 20mph faster on the T7 before I start needing earplugs.

So far I've found the Tenere far easier to take over long distances. I can cover about twice the distance before I start to feel it. That's generally translates to 2x the distance overall with 1/2 the stops. I'd attribute a lot of that to the difference in wind buffeting, and the other part to the ergonomics. I had the Ergo seat for the 390 (for those owners that haven't upgraded yet, 11/10 would recommend) and I found that I was more comfortable on the narrower front part of the 390's seat and the Tenere's seat is really just a long cushy version of that. For folks that like the wider part farther back, you will likely be unhappy with a T7's stock seat. The one exception to that is the wrist pain/hand cramping caused by the throttle spring. It is *significantly* stiffer. I intend to try the throttle preload adjustment that Adventure Tomek shows in his "No More Wrist Pain..." video. I'll try and follow up here if it works. The wind screen is a little short on the T7 stock, but is still notably better than the 390's.

So far I have felt that the suspensions seemed to be aimed at different obstacles. The 390 felt far more active which did better on the road and handled the small things a bit better, where the T7 feels like it wants me to jump it. It takes bigger hits a lot better, but I feel a lot of the smaller stuff. For me the T7 inspires the confidence to just send it offroad (tbh probably more than my skills can really support) which has made it a bit easier to stretch myself when out solo. The way that the the bike pushes the front wheel down when you apply throttle keeps it from being a wheelie machine, and a big it's part of why I haven't really noticed the lack of traction control.

I found balance point or "tippiness" between the 2 to be about the same. The only difference is that as you cross the tipping point, there's an extra 50lbs you've got to stop on the T7. You do feel that weight if you've got to lift or load it. Getting the T7 into the back of a truck is 2-3x as hard and you definitely feel the weight if you've got to pick it up. Luckily I wasn't loaded that day.

At higher altitudes the 390 struggles even more at low RPMs meaning you've got to ride it like you mean it. The fuel-x was on my wishlist but I didn't end up pulling the trigger on it before I traded in the 390. From the homework I've done, that seems to be a meaningful upgrade but for most of my time with the bike <4000 rpm was asking for it to stall. That wasn't the end of the world as the fun was all above 6700 RPM. This made it a riot on a twisty road and off the line, but a little more precarious on slower more technical terrain. The T7's power is extremely linear all the way up the power band. That's a blessing and a curse. The positive is that you can run the bike down to like 2000 rpm and can still get the power down (there's a bit of lag that low but at about 3k that goes away). That said, I do kinda miss the jolt of speed the 390 had.

I definitely miss the quick shifter and slipper clutch. The gas cap on the T7 is a complete PITA. I haven't had as much range anxiety on the T7 as you've experienced, but I also have been a bit more fuel conscious and short shifting when doing longer runs. So far the overall distances per tank I've been getting have been about the same between the two, but I did ride the 390 like I was racing XD

Part of what pushed me to the T7 was the overall reliability and better maintenance schedule. KTM's "ready to race" bikes nearly come with the maintenance schedule of race bike. I didn't have the time nor skills to do a lot of the maintenance myself so it was a pretty spendy 3 years. I had the rear shock failure and ended up needing to redo my front fork seals when I hit the first valve check. As a mechanical noob, DIY maintenance on the T7 is far more approachable.

TL;DR On pavement the 390 was more fun to ride, but the Tenere has let me enjoy my journeys more. Off road, the T7 has been way more exciting. If I was shorter and lighter I'd have probably kept the 390, but if you're 6'+ on a 390, it's a *rough* ride (don't skip leg day).

[MySeniorMoments]

I had both. I downsized from the T7 mainly because of weight and top heavy. I dropped the bike too much just moving it around, and it is not easy to lift. The 390 is light and nimble, but the ergonomics are not good if you are taller than about 5’9”. It also lacks in low speed torque compared to the T7. However I find the stock suspension to be just fine. I really enjoy the 390, but I wish the spoke wheels were tubeless (2023 and 2024 models).

[Interbeing_CDN]

Thanks for sharing Matt. I have had my 390 Adv for about 10 months now and put just over 7, 000 miles on it, enough to have pretty good feel for it. I would say that I don't believe that I have ever had to modify my previous bikes as much as I did the 390 to get it to the point that I had it dialed in to my liking. I do wish it had tubeless wheels, but it's not the end of the world. I may attempt a tubeless conversion at some point. That being said, for such a small bike, it has performed admirably, and while it struggles at highway speeds at times, especially with wind and semi traffic, it is an absolute hoot to ride around town, and is fairly competent off road, realizing that it isn't a enduro bike. I have had a few issues with the bike, but, like you, I have never been stranded on the side of the road, . and although I trust it more and more the longer I ride it, I still leave my ramps in the back of my truck when I am heading out riding, just in case my wife has to do a rescue run. It is a KTM after all, lol!

[chrisbrown]

Great Video! I do love riding the 390 through the mountain west. However, the Mountain West wind factor is definitely one for prospective 390 riders to consider. I appreciate your thoughtfulness and the 390 Adv content. It's been super helpful for my journey with this bike.

[naustin]

One of the best real world comparisons of any two bikes I’ve ever watched. I don’t have or intend to buy either one, but I still enjoyed it a lot!

[verbalwidget]

I would love to see a comparison of a DR650 and a KTM390 they seem closer in actual size. I never had a 390 but I know you and Frank have proven the design many times over. I rode 10k miles last June coast to coast on a 2021 T700 and coming off a 650 Vstrom the lack of fuel range of the T700 literally was a constant pain is my a$$! The fuel gage warning comes on way too soon, and there is always more fuel in the tank than indicated, it's very inaccurate. The gas cap not really a big deal since I have other bikes where the gas cap is not attached to the tank, but I understand it's not as convenient. My current 2022 T700 has an Acerbis 6.1-gallon gas tank, and it is worth every penny, I'm at 250 miles and still have over a gallon remaining. For $300 If I could only do one mod it would be the gas tank. I never had spillage issues when filling the stock tank, but the Acerbis tank has a large opening. I was always in the 50+ mpg range but I had a 16 tooth front sprocket too. I used the Kaoko throttle lock last year and it held the throttle just fine for long distance breaks. I believe with the Tusk 2Track tires you tested the T700 now has the tire advantage. On the road the spin on oil filter of the T700 makes changes a breeze, and filters are found at Auto Zone and Wallymart at $7 bucks. Riding across Wyoming where the speed limit is 80mph the T700 ran 80-90 all day long no issues with full luggage and very stable. I ran my longest leg ever on the T700 from Checotah, OK to Phoenix, AZ at 1120 miles in one day no issues the entire trip. Thank you, Matt, for the review.

[RYwoodview]

Thanks for another wise video, Matt. If I weren't so biased by owning and enjoying a 2023 KTM 390 Adv SW for all the reasons you describe, I'd say that your review leans strongly toward the KTM! Excepting only high speed highway travel in high winds--which I have no problem planning to avoid.

[johnking]

I picked up my 2023 390 two weekends ago. I'm 40 years old and just got back into riding after 13 years without a bike. I didn't want to commit to a lot of money, power, or size to start with. So far I think I made a really good choice.

[SBMotoZ]

Sounds like 390 for the win
Curious about the Tuareg saga

[RideMoreNow]

Great review! I've had them both and honestly liked the 390 better. I had a 1090r and 390 and thought maybe the T7 could replace both. Sold the 1090 and bought a T7, but after a short time sold the T7 and bought an 890R, which is awesome! Have since sold the 390 and bought a 690, but the 690 is really not a replacement for the 390. The 390 handles travel better than the T7 and 690 IMO. Thanks for the review.

[musique]

Had 390 adv switched to t7 after 2 years of ownership. While I liked 390 at the time I have never looked back since. T7 is complete package for me.

[tdragger]

Well thought out comparisons, much interesting. Thanks!