A KTM 390 Adventure. Top 5 things I love about this bike. 

I’m a 68 year old who has ridden more than 53 years, and I have found that the joy I felt when I got my 305 Honda dream is embodied in the 390 but with a crap load of torque.

You’re videos helped me pull the trigger on the 390. I’m also coming from a R1200GS. Sold my ‘15 a couple months ago, and picked up a ‘22 390ADV last weekend. I wanted something a lot easier to handle on the trail, but still interstate capable. Can’t wait to see how it is when I can go past 6500 rpm’s. As a smaller guy, the 390 is sooo much easier to handle than the GS. It feels like a scooter! Makes me want to ride like a hooligan. Thanks for your content.

Yep, yep, and YEP to all 6 points, especially the “surprise” factor from riders on the bigger, more dirt-oriented, or more expensive ADV machines. To add to the weight and size note is the bike’s low center of gravity. Even though it’s almost 100 pounds heavier than my last ADV bike (WR250R), it doesn’t handle like it’s any heavier. In fact, combined with its stiffer suspension, the low center of gravity makes it handle better than the WR loaded with gear. The sacrifice is the ground clearance but that’s not a show-stopper for me.

For you people that own the 2021s, there is a flash update from the dealership. It gives the features of the 2022s.

Had mine for two weeks, 700 miles. First oil change done and ecm updated. Couldn’t tell any difference. What a fun bike to ride! Keep it 6000 to 8000 rpms and what a hoot. Loaded down with all the camping gear and it still does fine. You’re right, you just have to shift a little more. Great dash and controls and the quick shifter is amazing. Brakes are good.

I've only had my 390 adventure for 2 mouths. So so good. The handling for me is it. It's my First street bike and its really fun.

Totally agree with all of those points. The feel you get when you're at 6000rpm and you twist the throttle wide open, parts you're hair and that's a neat trick when you're a baldie like me 🤣 Here in Australia, fuel range is a massive plus as well. Other blokes topping up and I'm doing all day on the same tank.

Another amazing feature on the 390 adventure is that it comes with Cornering ABS which is mostly only found on fairly expensive, higher-end motorcycles. I don't think enough people bring this up! It's great for newer riders, and well just for safety in general when cornering.

390 owner from China, for the 500 miles trip last month, with top and side aluminium cases I got over 70 mpg calculated at the pump. on highway, if the speed is under 70 mph for most of the time, then you definitely can get over 70. in town, probably under 65 but it is very rare.

Spot on! It's a fun bike and on curvy backroads it can easily compete with the bigger more powerfull bikes. It is like a swiss army knive. So usable in many departments. Traveling with luggage, a hooligan bike on moutainpasses and going offroad.

Good to see you finally coming around to the 390 Adventure Matt! 😎 - Frank

Another benefit of the short turning radius - twice in one day I found myself in someone's dooryard at the very end of a dirt road I was exploring, with a massive barking dog running full speed at me. I would have been dog food on a bigger bike; it was a close call as it was. It's surprising how far back in the woods some people like to live.

Thanks Matt All great points, just picked up a new one two weeks ago. Working on the Mods Fitted the Rade Garage Windscreen yesterday, and yes I copied you by blacking out the lower half with a rattle can, keep the great content coming 🤘

Nice Video i had a VFR800 and now to a 2021 orange and white KTM390 and love it

Definitely on point. For the price it is a hard one to beat for what you get. Now I just hope they listen to the people and give us that 390 adventure r.

Nailed it. All categories and yea the mileage. Rode tug hill last weekend averaged 79 miles to the gallon at 32 miles per hr . So glad you did this video if anyone unsubscribed they didn't give you the chance to tell both sides of the story. P.S. You have exactly twice the mileage I have. Loving it.

Your enthusiasm shines through. I would add one more 'top thing'. The gearchange on my 390 Duke is the equal best I have experienced. The 950 Adventure I mentioned on the other video and a DR250SH I had in Tokyo in the early '90s is the other.

You are right Matt. I have 2 rides on my 2020, and this thing is just so darn fun. I agree with your 5, or 6 tops, but Fun is the word of the day.

Great points Matt . No one is the fun factor . Thats why we ride Hopefully you'll keep it

Your videos are very entertaining and informative. The "how to" videos are great and I like the level of detail you go into when doing the work. I also like your ride and product reviews. I found you on RU-vid when looking for information on the 390 Adventure as a potential purchase last year. Finally pulled the trigger on a 2022 390 Adventure a couple of weeks ago. I had to wait as the supply in the US was non existent this year. Deposit in early March and just picked up my bike in first week of Sept. Well worth the wait. Keep up the great work! I'm really enjoying your videos. Thank you!

About 350 on my 22 and it get better every time I ride it. Change oil way more during run in. At 114 miles and now as soon as new filter gets here. Folks always talk about gearing being wrong, to high, to low ect. I am happy with gearing stock. 6k = 68 mph. So far an awesome bike.

Front fender mod looks great on your bike.

After moving from New York to Georgia 2 years ago I started looking into the 390 when I got here.. It was unavailable Until the beginning of September.. In New York I had a Yamaha V star custom 650 cruiser.. Which spent most of its time taking up space in my garage.. Being used to the cold winters in New York ,I feel down here I could probably ride all year round.. So I picked up a 2022 .. 390 adventure.. The difference between the cruiser and this bike is night and day.. being more or less a beginner rider... At 1st I was a little intimidated by how tall it is.. At 5' 8 and a 160 pounds and Pushing 60 ..I had my concerns... I ended up finding this bike surprisingly easy to ride.. With greater visibility To the road ahead.. So far for me, riding on the road it's Really nice.. And once I'm comfortable.. I hope to start taking it on some light off road... But right now it looks so damn nice... I don't want to get it dirty😂😂 So far ,as far as power goes.. I've seen videos of people doing wheelies On this bike.. I am nowhere near at that level a rider yet.. But the only way I could do a wheelie on my cruiser ,would be to drive it off a cliff..🤪 in closing, So far I love this bike🤗👍

It is a fun bike. Many miles, crashes and +1 repairs/mods later... even better! 6K and I finally got mine dialed in. I can't even imagine trying to replace my 390 since it does single track, mud bogs, sand traps, twisty backroads and highway slogs well. The range of this beast is amazing. I'm in NH so if you get into the granite state let me know, I got all of these lined up for you. My only gripe with you is the handle bar upgrade you inspired me to do that turned into a summer long love affair with my UPS driver. Clutch cable from Germany, 3 sets of completely wonky bar mounts from amazon, avoiding Rottweiler and cursing revzilla whilst having to spend more in tools than parts. But, what a bike and what an experience!

I love my RE Himalayan. It is a fantastic bike. A year later I bought the 390. I LOVE this bike. Yeah, the Himi can do anything and get you out of any type of trouble, but the KTM is so much fun! I have shamefully not taken the Himi out much since then. In two weeks I'm giving the RE to my son as a birthday surprise. Gah! I think my wife has already given so many hints to him that he knows what's coming. We should have fun hitting the trails together. The few times I've ridden with others I have noticed two things. I keep up with everyone else and when we get back to the camp (or wherever) at night, I am the least worn out and I'm usually the oldest. LOL Thx Matt, I suffered through your "5 Things I Hate" vid and now I appreciate this atonement. :) S

Thanks for sharing your loves and hates. I'm thinking about getting back into riding and this is on my shortlist to check out.

Just managed to find one so deposit down can’t wait

Great review! I just picked mine up 3 weeks ago and have about 450 miles on it. Haven't had a chance to take it on a campout yet but I'm hoping to hit up the Mt. Rainier or Mt. Saint Helens area in the next few weeks before the weather turns too cold and wet.

I agree, this bike is so fun to ride. I ride daily, weather permitting. I have not been able to get off road due to back and hip pain.

Top five for my 2021 390 ADV: Weight (Deciding factor for purchase), Price, Tech (good TFT and modes for price category), Features (adjustable and quality suspension, ABS/MTC and offroad mode), and finally to sum it up…. VALUE, hard to believe the price for such a bike, nearly half of the next adventure bike you can find.

I have 13000 miles on mine. Best bike I have owned. Sold a 2018 goldwing dct because I wanted off road ability. One major improvement to my 390 was installation of mccruise electronic cruise control. Perfect all around bike for me.

Matt, thank you for all your content, I totally agree with everything you said, I love my 390, mainly because it is so light, yet so capable off and on road, it is the first bike I want to ride all the time, even in the wet (UK weather). Please tell me people didn't really unsubscribe after the 5 things you hate video. 🤣😁 You should come to the ABR Festival in June 2023 in the UK, you would love it.

Fun Factor, #1. Love it.

Hey Matt, nice vid! I have 2018 duke 390 (around 20k miles) that i had made into a little scrambler (adv tires/skid plate/hand guards) then 1 year latter they came out with the 390 Adventure, Dooh! Anyways, maybe a video idea for the next one could be what parts you had to change or fix up to now and if there's anything that might need to be taken a look at soon (ex. i saw a vid from someone else that at around the same millage as ours tore down the engine and the cam chains needed to be changed, as well as the cam chain tensioner! Take care!

Looking forward to meeting you Matt at Overland Expo in Oct.

Thanks!

Hey mate. Thanks for the vid. I am looking very seriously at buying one of these and this video has sealed the deal as it were. Take care.

Thanks

Great job on both the love and hate videos. Your points are spot on, and it's easy to see your passion for the 390 Adventure shine through. 👍 My favorite "love" of the KTM 390 Adventure is that scratches from getting out and having fun make me smile.

Getting one soon, a 2022, or if I miss out 2023, can't wait, so I avoid one of your hates, the resetting electronic helpers. My sister got a RE Himalayan and we have a ton of off road places between or near our houses. Gonna buzz by a lot of jeeps on the way up to the Wildomar OHV area in southern california... or not :P

Love it!

I am Patrick from India. After watching all your videos, I have decided to pick one up. Thanks

Really liked mine. If they ever Enduro R with this motor I'm back into KTM land.

PS: what makes a noticeable difference is a 21" versus 19" front wheel. Let's hope KTM later this year comes with a 21/18 version!

I do love how they underestimate this bike as well! Wouldn't be the first time someone says "you rode this all the way here?!?" LOL

try to update motorcycle computer software to last Ver the you will get offroad mode and you can start have fan from riding offroad and small mount of traction control

i agree on all accounts except maybe the luggage. I haven't found much in the way of luggage racks except seeing one that goes behind the rear tire. Also was wondering if you did a video on changing the rear blinker assembly. Mine got damaged and are just hanging and having a bit of a time figuring out the fix. If not maybe your next video :) If you get to MD stop by :)

Hi Matt, would you consider doing an updated review on some of the mods you’ve done. Would like to hear how you like the windscreen, handlebars, if you’re still running the shock extenders? Thanks!

Quick question Matt! How you dealing with Valve checks? you getting it done by a mechanic? if so, how much you paying? Since every other oil change it should be done. Cheers and another great video indeed.

Hello Matt, I can only confirm your 5 positive tops. I also have a lot of fun on and off road with the 390. What kind of front fender did you use, that looks very good. Greetings Joerg

Would love to hear how it is better than a Honda cb500x, if ever! What puts me off is the single cylinder, as apposed to a parallel twin. It is lighter, great advantage, that. Thanks!

Great video Matt (as usual.) Regarding #2; I think you are mis-reading your arrival upon a bunch of big bikes...The big eyes are actually "I should be riding one of those!" not "what's he doing on a 390." You know I ride a big pig so I think my interpretation is valid. 😁 Keep up the good work.

I think you are wrong about the lower service cost of the 390, compared to the 790/890/901. Not if you let a workshop do the service to retain the warranty. Parts might be a bit cheaper for the 390, but let's do the math for the service TIMES. Service intervals for the 390 is only 7500km, compared to 15.000km for the 790/890/901. I am using the service times numbers from the KTM homepage. Let's look at the labor cost for 30.000km! 390: services will be at 1000km+7500km+15.000km+22.500km+ 30.000km which take 75...102min + 86...116min + 127...157min + 86...116min + 127...157min = 501...648min = 8.4h...10.8h 790/890/901: services at 1000km+15.000km+30.000km which take 82...119min + 118...168min + 174...230min = 374...517min = 6.2...8.6h. So the summed up service time for the bigger bikes is significantly shorter over 30.000km and will be even for a higher mileage! Considering (here in Sweden) an hourly rate of 1100SEK/hour = 100USD/hour the cost advantage for parts of the 390 will at least be partially be compensated by the lower labor cost. Considering oil: the 790/890/901 take 2.8l of oil, which is less than twice the amount of the 390, but oil exchanged twice as often at the 390. So the overall amount of oil required for 30.000km will be roughly the same! You can of course do the service yourself (at least the ones, that don't require opening up the engine for valve clearance check), but then you lose factory warranty. Depending on legislation in you country this might be an important aspect. The service times in my calculation are taken from the KTM homepage, www.ktm.com/en-se/service/Maintenance.html

Hey Matt, what tires do you recommend that would fit the stock tubeless rims if I’m generally trailering this to BDRs and doing some highway mileage (20% of use). Thanks

Good video Matt. What is that front fender from?

Where did you get that windscreen ? Does it work well? Stock 2023 windscreen, even with a clip on deflector at the top, still buffets my helmet on the road too much. Thanks!

Been meaning to ask if your Galfer brake rotor warped yet... I've replaced 4 of them over 61K miles on the 390 Duke and I hardly ever touch my brakes (haven't even changed brake pads yet!). I also flush my brake fluid annually and everything works perfectly except they seem to warp after 5-6K miles which makes me look like a spaz when trying to stop smoothly at a stop light (don't feel it above 10mph). I talked to Galfer about this and they replaced one at no cost but I had to pay for the others.

You think the low weight offsets some if the need for a higher ground clearance? Doesn't compress the suspension as much

I see your RU-vid banner is Engineer Pass. Did you take the 390 over that pass? I have been over many times on a KTM250 WXC and it is not too bad. I was looking at the KTM 690 and Engineer is a reference point of what I would and would not take over that and the others in that area. I would not have fun doing Engineer on the 690 for it is a little too heavy for me on rougher trails. FUN is what it is about and now I am looking at the 390 and I think it may work but the dealer does not have any in stock yet. So, did you take the 390 over Engineer and how was it for you?

Matt....66 years old here....6 ft 180 healthy sound body. A '15 GSA + 2016 250L in the garage. I don't do "hard use" off road and considering just using a receiver hitch carrier to carry bikes now out of central TX to NM CO AZ AR etc etc to do camp/ride outs etc etc. Thinking of selling the GSA and 250L to do a 390 Adventure 2022 model [new]. I love the laying down miles travel....but haul and ride is looking more and more attactive. Is this 390 a bike to do that...??? That QS is key, have had the DCT AT and the Tiger 900 Rally with QS and the GSA has QS so will not want to ever again be without that on a bike...!!! What think you...??? [or any others input too]

I sold my 2018 690r because I rode a 2021 790 and loved the smooth twin engine. I’m a bit intrigued by this bike, I’m a big rider 6’1” and 250#, will this 390 be “big” enough?

Interesting that a 1200 rider would question how can you do this... Note a KTM 350 is easier to ride that the 390 and a 250 is easier yet and guess what a KTM 200 is even easier. I could take a BMW1200 or even an Electraglide down a trail, I have done it. Not fun. And isn't this all about the quality of fun on a ride. I will be buying a KTM390 as soon as my local dealer gets on in. Oh I do have an Electraglide and a BMW F800 (going to sell) and a Triumph T1200 Bonneville and a KTM WXC250.

Got 4200 on mine, where has this bike been all my life?

What did the skpoke wheel upgrade cost and where did you get them

I think of this bike for my first bike. I'm 184cm and 100kg. Can it be an god bike to start?

Do you think this bike would be tall enough for a 6’2” @ 230 lbs????

I want a 390, but it feels tall. I'm only 5' 6" and I'm coming from a Harley with a 26.5 inch seat height.

Why would jaws drop when you pull up to a trail? I have nothing against the 390 but it won't do the freeway miles like my 890 S, but trails, why wouldn't it do better? its lighter.

surprised its still running with that milage

“Sup” 😂

Why the need for the fat front tyre please?

20k! I thought 6k was a lot