Love your honesty Andy, "I'm an off road novice". I choose to ride my Tenere1200 to town from my farm in rural NSW, Australia and I've got 40 kms of gravel roads to do it on. Like you I'm no expert but having the right tyres makes a massive difference combined with correct pressures. When I bought the Tenere1200 I did so because I couldn't afford a GS and my goal was touring here in Australia, nearly all on bitumen. But after forcing myself to take the bike to town to collect mail etc I'm now entirely comfortable doing so and I'm 68 years old. Bottom line, be sensible and practice. Here in Australia we've 10x's as much gravel as bitumen and touring opportunities increase by as much. Keep up the great work.
Put some Dunlop TrailMax Mission tires on it. Put them on my KTM 390 Adventure and on my DR 650, best 50/50 I have ever had. I also up graded to the better KTM skid plate and hand guards, And put the GIVI Trekker 33/46 liter hard bags on, for comfort and features the KTM but for off road and torque the DR650. Bough great bikes and 2 in the stable always better than one. The DR 650 have to put a 20 liter tank to get some good range. That is one thing I would like to change on the KTM is go to at least a 18 liter gas tank, as with the 14.5 I can only get around 400 Km per tank on gas while on the DR650 with the 20 liter tank around 500 Km per tank of gas. KTM calling it a Adventure bike but limiting on range, with the small gas tank. I want to do Newfoundland and Labrador and need more than 400 km per tank, or carry extra gas which I do not like to have to do., I even wish I would of went with the 25 liter on my DR 650 but had trouble finding one at the time, and wanted to ride,
Snobs on horses always frown at motorbikes. I had to stop and turn my engine off for a woman on a horse today, out on the road and the animal was nervous as a nun in a barracks. Shouldn't have been on the road, but they think you shouldn't be on bridleways. I used to have sticker from Performance Bikes on my TZR250 that said "I speed up for horses" lol
The TKC 70s are fine for most applications - on a R1250GS that is. ABS offroad will switch off (most) of the ABS on the back tyre and leave most of front one on.
A 70/30 will work well on groomed dirt and gravel. Mud and soft sand is too much for any tire in that category. They also do well in the winter on snow and ice. Everyone goes straight for knobbies but they aren’t actually the best tire for packed dirt.
I can see Mr TMF swapping his CRF250 for this little beauty :) I am also purchasing one in March next year as an addiction to the garage for a all rounder.
Hi Andy the 390 is growing on me got to say, shame they don't come with spoke wheels? i have taken out the CRF 250, great bike but not so for dual carriageway speeds, have lived in the area for 30ish years & the Icknield way / byway used to be open completely, but as the years have gone by they have closed a lot of it, we used to drive 4x4's along it's entire route, was such fun, ATB Wayne..........
You can buy the spoke wheels from KTM as a power part in the catalogue. Not everyone will want the spoke wheels and they will cost extra again if you wanted tubeless
Gday mate im about to replace the tyres on my 500x ive chosen to go with the shinko 705 its an 80/20 type tyre and from reviews from other riders they get good millage and the tyre is good on road even in the wet and good for back roads and fire trails. I did some checking and i rekon you could almost get a ncx 750 honda for around the same price as one of these here in aus , but like everything it is up to the rider and what he is looking for unfortunately neither the 500x or the 750nc have exceptional hp its pretty sad really , getting back to a previous video you did and you asked what was wrong with the hondas setup on the grips ,if you have a look at a f,x,r 500 you will see the horn is above the indicator switch so when you want to give some fool a blast you end up pressing on the indicator and not the horn well at least i do ,im pretty sure most other biles have the horn below the indicators i think honda stuffed up .
@@splodge5714 I have a 2014 BMW f800gs. To be honest I would have a cb500x. Would be better on bigger road it's a reasonable size twin engine Vs a 400cc single. And has a 160 tyre Vs 130 on the KTM. And I still don't trust KTM
Still think you have to fit wire wheels (alloys go out of shape if you hit big dongas/holes) and knobbies especially in mud/slush and raise the front mudguard.
Just a comment on adverts, I always let them run on channels I support such as TMF, after all it is free content, the only exception are ads that are over a minute long that I don’t watch for anyone (well maybe Itchy Boots!) 🇬🇧🏍
Ah. I just picked up a new motorbike yesterday that I've had on order for what feels like forever. (CCM spitfire six) so you mentioning it being summer hits hard. Bloody road salt ey?
Another fine video. This bike would have eaten the tracks on Salisbury Plain but would it have been more comfortable? And keep the reviews of the kit coming along. (Darling, you’re a wonderful male model) You are right about horse riders, they are a miserable lot and downright cranky when on public roads. The worse thing is that many are too highly strung to be safe amongst traffic, their horses are even worse. When their horses lose the plot because they see the wrong sort of crisp packet or plastic bottle it’s your fault it crashes into you because you shouldn’t have been there (on their road) - off the clock entitlement. Then there’s the mess they leave behind. Maybe if drones have to be registered and marked for safety the same should be done for horses if they are taken on public roads.
I took a KTM 390 Adventure out on Wednesday for a test ride from Jim Aim motorcycles in Essex. I did... Um... Test it!!! I seems to be perfect for what I want it for... I'd have an Orange one though. A YT vid out on Wednesday (shameless plug, sorry) I will be buying one, thanks for your opinions and advice... SIYMI.
I think we all used to ride down similar lanes on whatever we had to reach campsites. TKC 70's on my old cx500 might have been a good look! Have to agree off road much more likely on a smaller bike, for me at least. My ability is limited. Nice one Happy travels
The cb500x looks great with the rally raid spoke wheels. An absolute must. And now the new bike has a 19" front they go straight on. They say if you fit the 19" on the old bike with no suspension work the wheel will hit the radiator
Met all my friends in there just got chatting out side started riding around on the bikes almost every night met all the rest of their mates at pubs etc... And one of them introduced me too my partner I'm with now. Almost like on fast and furious. This was in 1997. I'd bough a brand new Suzuki GS500E from them. Don't think that would happen these days. Much harder to make friends people don't even talk anymore or trust people.
"maybe horse riding isn't as fun as they make out" Which set me thinking.... Do you think that if someone with Alan Milyard's desires and abilities had been brought up with horses instead of bikes, he would now be accepted as a groundbreaking Dr Moreau type creating eight legged four lunged horses or would he be in a secure hospital and not allowed access to animals, sharp implements or copies of MBN (Monthly Butcher's News) ? Food for thought...
ABS is removed from back wheel(When switched off).Always switch of the Traction Control on that 390 otherwise it can bite you.It lacks suspension travel for the heavier riders sadly.Cheers.
looks like a great bike for both worlds. Tyres are always a compromise on adventure bikes but what can you do ? They have to perform on tarmac and gravel , all my previous adventure bikes have had dual sport tyres and have coped well with both situations..(various brands over the years)..they'll never be knee down track tyres or full mud rut defeaters but a fair proportion of both is all we can ask for.. peace and love brother 👍🏻☮❤
Continentals are excellent tires in regards to performance; my Triumph Scrambler 1200XC came with a set of TKC80's. My only complaint was that you could almost watch the tread evaporate off the rear tire.
Nathan Millward doesn’t rate the 390 off road much at all. He’s got a BMW 310GS, a Honda CRF250 Rallye, a 390 Adventure & a Royal Enfield Himalayan in his stable (Dorothy’s Speed Shop) & he’s inviting customers to rate all 4 bikes back to back. So far (as I type this) the Himalayan is winning, followed by the CRF & the BMW & KTM are bringing up the rear...
I like this bike,it's no WR250R,but it's good enough for the UK . As for rims you can get tyres with stronger side walls ...watch M.A.D TVs review he knows his stuff in off road adv ,your never far from help in the UK so reliability isn,t something that would bother me ..good effort in your off road jaunt ,baby steps and all that.Real world biker
Loved the horse rider comment. I often mutter similar words to myself about walkers on our green lanes. I've contemplated the 390 Adv to replace my XT660R. The I know they have similar HP but I reckon the Yam will mash the 390 on real life motorcycle travel, which is where KTM have planted the 390 Adv.
G'day Mr TMF.. Glad you enjoyed your day in the sticks. Seems like you and the bike got through the roughies ok. I believe riding in the sticks sharpens your reflexes, balance and skills for the road. Havagooday.
Never mind the KTM, it's the kit you are wearing that amazed me. All the mud and filth and water and stuff just seems to vanish, like the film The Man in the White Suit. Just kidding! In many ways dry, rutty paths are the worst. I do a lot of offroading in the Falklands and dry ruts can beach your wagon more than the wet ones. Funnily enough, I am watching this in November and the weather looks the same (albeit about 30 degrees colder!)
We seem to be missing decent green lanes in South Bucks - I ride MTB on that lane (Ramscote Lane) regularly. There's a few short lanes around - but nothing like the choice Lamb Chop Rides seems to have, which puts me off buying something offroad focused like your Honda. Anyway, try that lane now and it will be a different story after the downpours we've had recently :-)
I wouldn't generally talk about one channel's content on another one. But I am compelled here to mention about one "Dream Chaser" guy on 390 Adventure in India. In one of his recently concluded Ladakh/Leh series on the bike, he has dealt with the most treacherous trails of the highest valleys of the world. Rubbles, sand, steepest of all trails, boulders at times, water crossings. Highly recommended to see what this light weight category motorcycle can do, though no comparison with the heavy weight champions, but in limited budget you can do what can be done. And a lot can be done.
Did this trail this afternoon on my 390 Adv with a chum also on a 390 Adv. It was a lot muddier than when this vid was made. Great fun and the bikes did well even in our offroad novice hands. Now to get the hosepipe out!
Hello again TMS. Can this bike double up as a green laner as the 250 Honda does ? Thus making it a good choice as a first bike that you then keep for green laning.
Exactly the sort of thing I’ll be doing on mine. Like you, I’ll not be pretending to be an off road god, but riding green lanes on a light bike seems like a whole lot of fun. I was trying to work out where you started and ended Andy. Looked like Chesham somewhere? Can you recommend an App for finding these lanes or is it an old fashion map?
Yes Steve it is Chesham, ride through as if heading towards Hemel and go straight on at the right turn near the petrol station (instead of turning right) - it's up there on the left about half a mile....
@@TheMissendenFlyer clearly, but to have that Swiss army knife option is tempting. Where I live I'm lucky to have miles of forest service roads and to take advantage of that would be very nice. I'd be tempted to leave my insurance on all year.
Great review Andy. Good to see you back in Bellingdon (the end of the Green Lane), you are welcome to drop by for a brew next time you are passing through. Hugh
Of course! We can continue the conversation from the Bike Show in Feb. I am still looking to convince Moto Adventours that they should take you on their South Africa tour. :-)
Dedicated dirt riders wouldn’t dream of running those tyres, I’d rate them as 90 road/10 dirt. It’s great if this sort of modified road bike attracts riders into genuine dirt riding but there is no way that cast alloy wheels have a place on trails. You could have easily dented a rim on that lane and then you are stuck unless you carry spare tubes. And let’s face it, nearly every ride can be called an adventure. When I see the word Adventure associated with a bike like this, it is purely advertising spin unless you look at the 790R.
Brill to see you putting it through it's paces on a lane. I def think with a few mods or at least Powerparts, these would make an awesome dualsport adv bike :-)
@@TheMissendenFlyer aye, the KTM Powerparts wire spoked wheels, bash plate and radiator guard would probs do the trick, maybe some mirrors that fold in as well... be mint! :-)
Well I have read a lot of comments here about this not being really off road but give the Flyer a sodding chance. He never claimed to be an off road ace and I for one really enjoyed his video tho' I would have enjoyed it more in mud!
Wonder if you'd be saying those tyres don't need changing if it had been raining for a few days?...... I just wish KTM's had a different designer as they are not pretty bikes. The small ones look better than the big ones though. Realising where you are is always a happy moment! 😁
Nice to see you going, ehh hem, off road. Thanks for all the vids you put up. Entertaining and informative. Have you got a video detailing all of your camera gear and accessories?
That was a brilliant video Mr.MissendenFlyer, absolutely fantastic rewiew. I hope you will soon do a Scotland trip again, with some historic photos and history learning on trip😎☀️🇩🇰 Yours sincerely The Danish Viking 🇩🇰 ☀️ 😎
@oh well - I had the bike for over 2 weeks and have made several videos on it as Rikky noted - including a review - this was just intended to see what it was like on an easy off-road section....
