2021 KTM390 ADVENTURE Modifications and Long Term Test 

0:21 intro 1:56 footpegs 2:58 Skid plate 4:03 wheels 5:34 tires 6:41 ecu control 9:15 handlebars 10:13 mirrors 10:33 rottweiler freebies 11:23 saddle bags (aftermarket clutch shown) 12:10 exhaust protector 12:39 wrap-up start 12:47 suspension 13:20 fork issues 13:42 tft issues 14:19 battery issue 14:58 abs/mtc delete 15:32 final wrapup 15:43 top speed 16:06 clutch remembered 17:29 final final wrapup

At 70 it is time to transition from dirt bikes. I had to check out this video to see if this bike would be good a choice to make the transition. After watching the answer is "yes" moreover, I don't have to figure out how to make it more dirt worthy. Thank you for spending the time on this bike.

I love mine. Ride it within its limitations and it is a very competent and capable bike. Throw camping gear on and hit the backcountry trails. BTW, Hyperpro has progressive fork springs and tunable shock.

Thanks for the kind words! Cold start issue has now been completely fixed 👍

This is my very first motorcycle and I just got it about 6 months ago. Perfect beginner bike and this thing is a blast.

I love the review. As ADV Matt stated, I ride mine within it's limitations and it's a blast. I did change the rear tire to TK70 Rocks (outstanding tire for off and on road) also added a real skid plate. I Just took it on the UTAH BDR and it did fantastic but the old mining trails in Colorado is my primary stopping grounds and it will take me just about everywhere I want to go and on these trails you'll never see a large Adventure bike ever and you shouldn't. Single track over rocky ground and steep sections are no problem if you have the off road skills.

I have a 2021 KTM 390 ADV on order, it should be here in a couple weeks! Thanks for all the suggestions! 👊🏽

Expert, informed testing. I guess my take-away is - buy a different bike if you need to make all these mods to make your ride. I am guessing you're into +$4-5K and with the price of the bike, you're into T7 territory which has a lot of these things taken care of already (though not perfect I suspect). As you say, maybe wait for the "R" version of the 390 if it's the platform you love. Anyway, good info - thanks.

Nice video, another option for pegs that I went with was the pivot pegs. Both on and off road they've been great. I've upgraded a lot of my bike already, 790 windscreen, bark busters, 22" risers, Adv Tribe radiator guard, toe guard, double take mirrors and larger kick stand base plate, and GPS mount. I did go with the upgraded KTM skid plate, however after watching Adv Matts video, I'll be saving up for a black dog. This video highlighted that fact even more. Once my stock rims pack it in, I will be going spoke. Upgraded to the k60 scout tire, so far I've been pretty happy with them, very tough tire good traction for what I'm doing off road, and other than humming like a mofo on the hwy, really not a lot of complaints. Might try the Midas E07 next time around. The K60's did change the handling on my bike as they are heavy and I find the bike likes to stand up, but after a little time with them, easy to get used to. The TKC 70's were a great street tire, just didn't cut it for me off road. I've only got about 5,500 km on my bike, about 1,200 of it has been off road and I am loving it. Love watching these videos, I love to see how others are just making this bike better.

As always, the gold standard of review and mod commentary. Still using all the skills you and your wife taught me at Dirt Daze a few years ago and your 450L vids were helped me buy that bike…which I’ve now modded the crap out of……:-). Thanks for all you do!

Including the wheels and Rekluse, you prolly spent 50% of the MSRP on farkles and fixes. Still much less cost and weight than a 690 or 890, but still, would be nice to see an Adventure R with proper 21/18 spoked wheels and flat pegs. Perhaps they are going to leave this bike as "entry level/world bike" and sell the 490s in Duke, ADV and R trims.

I had a 990 ADV, 1190, got down to a G650GS Sertão and CRF250L, after watch this video I understand the corks of this bike and they can be fixed, now I'm considering buy one. Tks for the video, no BS talk straight to what really need to be done!

Needs a custom downpipe that goes under the clutch casing and under the RH footrest, there's 2" extra ground clearance there, the fork extenders are a must to, and Indian guy has them CNC milled out,posts W/wide. The replacement for the Suzuki DR-Z400, DR650 and KLR650, jumping forth into the 2020's! Oh,the Powerparts 1 piece seat too, a must!

Your original review of the 390 ADV was one of the best out there; thanks for the follow up. As others have pointed out, KTM now sells a spoke wheels set. I'm waiting to bend my alloys before I go for those. [UPDATE: for some reason KTM discontinued their Power Part spoke wheels set.] The Doubletake Mirrors are great. Also added a stronger bash plate and bar risers. The one thing I found after going to flat pegs on my 390 ADV was that getting the brake pedal adjusted ideally was tough for the standing position, so I went with a two level step plate (AltRider and SW-Motech make them). Loving the bike as a dirt newbie; very confidence inspiring. My last mod was I went to a 14T front sprocket but haven't checked it out in the dirt yet.

It's a great little bike. I have over 5000 on mine with no problems. I put an air seat cover on for comfort then installed risers, but I really wish it was 2" higher at the front. There's some fork extenders being sold from the UK that will raise the front 1-2" but the jury is still out on them. Lots of front-end dip on this bike - normal for real dirt bikes but they have the length to make it tolerable, not so with the 390A, feels like a sport bike, hard on the forearms. Anyway, because of its weight it will go anywhere. MTC is a pain though.

In my experience. When you start trying to put in products that mess with the motor/transmission performance to make your bike into something that it's not, you start having issues.

great video , you didnt seem to mention the muffler / exhaust . ? in your power section , i have a 2021 model , do agree with most of the other mods , i have replaced my muffler and pipe which makes the bike sound like a bike and not a sewing machine ,and doesnt seem to have made any difference in starting or running , so ill see how it goes and let you know , im keen on swapping the foot pegs , and mirrors too. cheers Steve/Australia .

I think that for the ABS you can set up a shortcut with the up/down switch so that you could arm and disarm it with one push of an arrow.

Great video. This helped me settle on getting this bike! Thanks.

Spoked wheels are available from KTM powerparts catalogue. They require tubes though.

To me this just doesn't have the ground clearance to be an adventure bike. It's a gravel road friendly duke.

What do you think a rider weight limit would be on something like the 390?

Great upgrades. I went with an AXP plate, I should. Have waited for the Black Dog one!

I think after hearing all your mods o the KTM, I will look at the Triumph and Kawasaki adventure series . Thanks, Sorry Shana T B…my favorite motorcycle race rider.

Actual entry level adventure is 250, which I ride in India now as an expatriate working here, enough power and speed for here :)

I have no idea how someone can say this has linear power delivery. The one point every review makes is it does not have have linear power delivery, it comes on strong at 5,000 to 6,000 and revs to about 9,000...first time here and found that an odd comment. Respectfully!!

Excelente y honesta prueba de una de las mejores motos de su segmento. Tengo una KTM 390 Adventure que cambié por una BMW F800GS y voy más seguro y, ágil y ligero que con la bábara. Un saludo desde España.

Bro i want to go on light off road adventure not compete in the Dakar tour. JK most normie riders say the seat is too tall, the suspension is too hard and a pro offroad adventure is like the opposite, thanks im getting one asap

While I totally dig this bike. Hopefully the 490 will arrive and and save me some coin on modifying a CB500X

are ktm's reliable enough to keep for 4-5 year without much issues?

Do you know the 2021 electrical power output in city driving vs. highway speeds with everything stock maxed out (e.g. high beams, display brightness etc)? It would be nice to know for planning to add heated and other power gear. How many watts to we have to work with after the bike draws power for stock systems?

That top speed you showed was in 4th gear. Is it the same in 5th or 6th gear?

2023 version comes with spoke rims from factory

@5:14 you can see a lump on the front tyre.

Great video and just what I was looking for. Can tell you really know your stuff. Waiting on delivery of mine and will be ordering some of these items for sure. I'm an experienced rider but only 5'6" and 130 lbs so I'm hoping this will work well for me. Thanks for all the work, stuff like this really helps the community.

Can you guys drum up a video on the 2023 version Adv SW and probably look at the mods all over please? Its been a while.

I know they are not really the same types of bikes but has anyone ever compared the KTM390 and the DRZ400?

Nice video, About KENDA tyres , How many km you can do with the Big rock K784 on KTM 390?

Great reviews. Really the best. But what I take away from this review is that you're going to be another $7,500 - $10,000 into the bike after purchase just to bring it up to where it needs to be. And this is if you are handy and do most of the proposed work yourself. .

Have you tried going back to the stock ECU and adding the FuelX?

Can you expound a bit on replacing the fork seals? My brother and I have both had leaky fork seals after riding our 390's through the mud and dirt of a BDR. I assumed it was just due to typical dirt particles getting hung up in the seal, as I've had happen on other bikes. Did you guys find something more problematic with the stock seals?

Those wheels u guy!!! I love.

nice bike indeed but i hate how it looks at front:(

I hope to add a 390 adv to my street and dirt bike stable. Now that the ‘23 version comes with spoked wheels and tubes, the wheels have to come off to fix a flat. That’s a lot harder than plugging a tubeless tire. I understand the advantages of spoked wheels but I’m curious how you adventure guys deal with this out in the middle of nowhere. I ride alone most of the time too. I Always carry a plug kit and Co2 with me on the street and have used Tubliss on the dirt bike, also repairable with tire plugs. Thanks in advance for any insights! 👍🏼

Pass on the (way overpriced) black dog products and pass on the rekluse clutch. Otherwise good info.

How tall are you? People over 6 feet will be able to be comfortable riding long terms?

Hi, is this video shot in Pahrump, NV?

Think you need to give one to Taco Moto... and Then see what is able to be done.... for a good price...

The footpeg thing seems like a major oversight on KTM's part.

I've the same bike and same mirrors. Love the bike but if we're honest let's just say the doubletake mirrors do vibrate more than the stock ones. And I've done my due diligence in tightening them correctly.

Any idea where I can buy a fuel pump as a spare for 390 Adventure? Mine broke after just 500 km and the estimated arrival time is more than 2 months. Even if it is replaced under warranty I still want to have one, just in case, as the original one is so faulty. Cheers!

Maravilloso tu video , Felicitaciones ...una pregunta el elevador de manillar donde lo puedo comprar ? y cuantos cm sube ?

Ride the way it was designed to be ridden, as an adventure bike and there are no mods necessary.

Why did'nt you change the ugly scooter like exhaust and manifold ? Also no change to the suspension ? How many Hp and Torq did you gain ?

I have a 21 390 and i simply Cannot imagine it would do well offroad. You have to ring the hell out of it for the power. Granted im comparing it to my crf450L but still.

Its too low from the ground

I’m 230 and 6’ 1”. I’m about to get this and wreck it’s whole world. Lol.

Jimmy, what do you think of the 390 Adventure versus the Svartpilen 401? Which is a better all around and light off road motorcycle for a beginner?

Brother how much money did you spend on this bike?

Hi...1 question regarding abs and traction control is it possible to disable fuse without removing abs sensor

Dears from DBT, your first part of this video made me consider this 390ADV, I ordered one and might get it in two weeks. Nevertheless, KTM reliability is a matter of discussion all over the internet. What has been your experience regarding reliability of this model? any recommendation? ….. I can still change for a Japanese brand ; ) (I’d not go for BMW, my mechanic, a former BMW mechanic recommended me to stay away from recent 3xx/8xx BMW models).

These guys are gawds!

How u have improved the low end torque

In last years bikes there were a lot of reports out of India of low rpm stalling when the clutch was pulled in for a downshift. Has anyone heard whether this has been addressed prior to the US launch?

Topsspeed?

What is the total weight increase with all the mods n parts ? with ecu mapped increased power n torque... .. how does the new weight to power ratio compare with the original stock bike ?

Did you use the decat coober kit or just the ecu?

Groan. If you have to modify any motorcycle that much it’s either not the right motorcycle for you or you simply aren’t in their target demographic. It would be interesting if you could evaluate the motorcycle from the standpoint of their targeted customer, someone who’s just looking for a fun and light adventure bike. And someone who wants something reliable so they are not stranded alone in the middle of nowhere.

Great two part review. Need a DBT on the 790/890.

I'm surprised y'all didn't delete the cats and straight pipe out with a slip on haha

$6600 on a bike, $2000 on wheels and tires, $500 on a new computer for a bike that cruises at 70mph on the highway. Hmm, or you could just spend $7690 on a Kawasaki Versys. Tough choice.

The only good thing about this bike is the HP from this little engine, otherwise it is ugly as F, crap ground clearance, terrible headlight design, plenty of issues mainly electrical. Better buy a Honda/Kawasaki/Yamaha.

So much money, for what feels like such a cheap bike in person. Reminds me of the no name scooters you rent in third world countries

Forget the foot pegs don’t bother me the clutch shit it self in 3000 miles the wheels are good stranded all wheels bend

We'll just throw a stupid amount of money into a dollar friendly bike and ruin the point of the thing.

instead of messing around with wires and ECU just chuck a 1 tooth down sprocket on it and it gives you the same result for 20 bucks

Stock they start and stall numerous times even in warm temps.

spending so much money on a bike just to make suitable for off-road which he is not designed for? one should just get a more suitable bike. it looks like commercial to sell different parts.

That’s a lot of issues for a new bike

It is made in India by Bajaj.

It is a really good bike, except that it is really crap. So you just have to invest about $10.000 in it, so it would be really good.

It's not what you ride it's where you going??? Naaah m8 naaah. :D

Bottom line… it was designed/engineered/manufactured/marketed as a 3rd World TOY…. No matter how much money you throw at it to make it “off road” worthy will easily hit the $10k (includes original OTD cost) .. throw in a Rekluse and aftermarket wheels you’ll hit $15k…and you’re still left with a TOY… only a fool would spend that type of money when there are so many adult options available….and the build quality is horrible.. KTM should be ashamed… save your money and buy a T7 as a starting point….

Just buy a 690 Enduro

Cool bike but god damn is it ugly!