Is This The Best Beginner Adventure Bike? KTM 390 Adventure Test Ride and Off Road Test

With the 390 Adventure, KTM has obviously set out to create the best beginner adventure bike possible, but does it earn the title? In my extended test ride and initial KTM 390 Adventure review, I had a chance to spend a bit of time with the bike on the street as well as an opportunity to take the KTM 390 Adventure off road for some gravel exploration and testing.

The 390 is definitely a beginner friendly motorcycle. It's easy to maneuver, light weight, low to the ground and the power delivery is very unintimidating. Any brand new rider would have an easy time learning to ride on the road with this bike.

On the road, the 390 handles very well. It corners exceptionally and has enough power to keep up on the highway and the freeway, but is also very flickable and easy to maneuver on city streets.

When you take the KTM 390 Adventure off road, however, you start to notice a few flaws. The biggest of which is that it's not terribly comfortable to stand up on. The 390 Adventure is clearly designed to be an excellent street bike that you can occasionally take off road, and after spending a little time throwing it around on gravel, you start to see some of the limitations of the design.

My overall KTM 390 Adventure review is this: it's a great adventure bike for beginners (as long as you're not planning to do a ton of difficult off road riding on it), but more experienced riders are going to find it a little mellow and...dare I say...boring after a while.

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[DorkintheRoad]

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[PETERTRITSCH]

I'm now 72, sold my big, heavy adventure bike, and the 390 is now my best non-beginner adventure bike. I love it !

[david_houston]

I bought this as my first bike a year ago. I love it and it has been perfect as my beginner bike. I like it so much I don't have any plans of upgrading anytime soon.

[brettce]

S Defiel mentions below that the bike has not cycled through the break in period yet and is limited to 6500 rpm. After 650 miles there is a service requirement and the bike is reprogramed and can then be taken to red line. I think you will find the bike to be much more spirited once this is done.

[wheelsdown]

Hey dork I hope you read this! Long story short- you and your videos got me into motorcycling. I’m 27 and live in Phoenix, never rode before and initially I wanted a dirt bike. But seeing as I didn’t have a truck or trailer, I started YouTubing dual sports and came across your channel. This was probably 7 months ago and since then I’ve financed my very first bike. You guessed it the Ktm 390 adv. this thing is truly a blast and the perfect weight/power ratio for a beginner to learn how to ride on. I also got my Moto endorsement on this bike and it’s very nimble yet has great low down power. Thanks for sharing your experiences here with everyone- I bet it’s cool to see how you influence so many different ppl. Stay safe!

[TheTaylorfam]

I disagree with your comment that the 390 is not a real adventure bike. I own a 2022 and can go everywhere my buddies on their 1250's go and when I drop it I don't need everyone to stop and help me stand it back up. I am subscriber and watch a lot of your videos however I think you missed the mark on this one. Foot pegs and risers are an easy mod to get any bike to fit. And at less than $8k out the door, 65+mpg and less than $200 per year on insurance, it's a great bike for anyone. I've been riding for 42 years and my last bike was 1350cc and I am completely satisfied with the performance of this bike.

[TheKernables]

I’d beg to differ that it’s not a “off-road” bike. Megan is absolutely loving this bike off-road and MVDBR has been ripping hers off-road. Currently working on a walk around and review of our 390 but we’re really happy with this bike and don’t think a different bike would have worked for what we do. Good review 🤙

[Roadghost]

I have 10, 000 on mine so far. I'm not a beginner. I rode my first dirt bike in 1975. I agree it's not a good off-road bike because of the ergos mainly. The arguments against cast wheels are overstated though, just don't lower pressure. It's real problem is that it's a sport-touring frame pretending to be an ADV. It is however excellent on any roadway - light, handles extremely well, engine is amazingly peppy for a 370cc single. It's also the most modern in its class, with all the modern features. A beginner bike? No, I have to disagree. There's not much this bike can't do, in fact it will do more than larger ADVs can off-road because they're too heavy. It's suspension putts the rider too high to be a beginner bike. Get a Yamaha 125/250 dual sport, or a CB300f so your feet can stay on the ground. I recommend it for commuters, weekend or long-distance adventurers, but not for high-skill trails. You'll also need an aftermarket seat because the stock one is uncomfortable.

[bakedwater]

I can't tell you how many videos I've watched about this bike lol. I don't have a motorcycle but I'm working toward it and this is what I'm wanting as my first bike. It looks so fun and it's just perfect for me I will mostly be onroad just cruising but occasionally hit some gravel roads. I am always asking my brother if he will take me to our nearby motorcycle dealership but he works alone. But when we do, I go straight to the ktm adventures haha. I go right ahead and sit down on this bike. It's kinda my dream to have this as my first, wish me luck!

[RG-ebpb]

Just saw this. Owned this bike for a year now. 7, 400 km down, so far so good. I did buy risers and upgraded the tires to k60 scouts, foot pegs to pivot pegs way more stand up happy now. A lot better grip off road too. Also upgraded a number of other things just to make it more durable. I'm a short guy so this bike is pretty comfortable both on and off road. I also agree with another commenter, once you're out of the break in period its got a bit more pep. I've taken this up some good hill climbs and have done a fair bit of off road. The small Adv market is sure getting tight. But of all the bikes I looked at, this gives you pretty good bang for you're buck. I tried the Versey 300x, and the Himalayan, honestly almost bought the Himalayan over all of them. But one thing both the 390 and the 300x could do that the Himalayan fell short on is keeping up to highway traffic. Seems petty, but I have a fair bit of road miles to get to the good spots and being confirtable on the hwy was a concern.

I think the small bike segment is getting pretty awesome with so many more options coming in the next couple years.

[ronsexton]

You so butchered this review. Fir example, 37.5 hp? No it's 37.5 nm of torque. It's 44hp. Didn't you notice it severely limiting the rpm due to it's break in period ? It showed on it's flashing screen in the video even! Of course your DRZ400 seemed more exciting! Wow. Sorry, but you totally blew it here!

[georgemorissette]

It’s a great bike even if you are not a beginner. I have a bunch of bikes as well as the 390 ADV . The 390 is allot of fun and pretty peppy if you do a tuner, cat delete, and exhaust. It pulls pretty nicely in the higher rpms. Smokes my friends BMW 310 badly.

[davidroan]

Man I wish I had a dealer around me like you have access to for test rides. Even just to look at something; Dealers around me ( Montana )have show rooms full of tumbleweeds, timbersleds and mowers right now - no new bikes around here since last fall basically. Getting a look at something with 2 wheels, anything with 2 wheels - I have a feeling I’ll see Bigfoot first…. Thank you for sharing the info and keep up the good work. Love the videos!

[emfl]

Great timing, just finished some work, sitting down with a bourbon and watching your new video. Life is good!

[soilsmanadv]

Thank you for doing these ride reviews. I think they help a lot of us!

[skylerlovell]

Good on Power Motorsports in Sublimity for letting you do these videos. Hope they give you the reigns on many more!

[Wabbit]

I think your main gripe about but standing up on this bike is an easy fix. One that most owners already know - bar risers and better foot pegs.

[krazokid]

All of the fun with this motor happens above 6500 rpms. They love to rev! What I love about it, is that it has more power than a KLR 650 but is much lighter.

[espmind]

When you are a beginner...that bike will be fun! I bought new wider and flat pegs from Black Dog, added 1" spacers for the handlebar, took it on the real dirt trail, not gravel! and had a lot of fun with it.

[OregonMotorcycle]

Cool vid.
This bike is great for advanced riders too. My latest video shows the off road capabilities of this machine.