2025 KTM 390 Adventure

[Eastmidsbiker]

i think i figured out how the Knob system works -- but i got thrown out if Edit - just as I was about to save !

then i found

Gnoblin_Installation_Instructions_2023_Mosko_Moto.pdf https://share.google/XLL1CkMxbc9DyJj8M

Here's some pics that 'might' help, but yes the mosko instructions are pretty good.









This ones a bit fuzzy, but just shows it clamped together. The top is a thumbscrew just to tighten it.

 

[Apex]

Was chatting to the Mosko guy at the bike show about this fitting system. It looks bang on. They do this small soft luggage for it.

 

[Apex]

Good to see the pro's out bike testing

 

[Arsey]

Sell your bikes .It’s too heavy !

 

[Guru Gora]

Piss poor lifting technique

 

[Eastmidsbiker]

So he put an ugly heavy ass rack on then bike, and then spent the video fretting about the additional weight as well as explaining in excruciating detail about the luggage system.

I agree the bike deserves a sympathetic addition of accessories to not add too much weight, for example I'll put barkbusters and a better bashplate on but won't put on front bars. I'll also bin the poor quality Auto Engina rack I purchased as well in favour of the rather neat Rally Raid rack.

Sell your bikes .It’s too heavy !

 

[Apex]

Yep. That's one ugly looking rack. But He's right. There are so few things of quality available just now. Worth waiting for proper kit though.

 

[Eastmidsbiker]

In 390 news today....

R&G are now taking pre-orders for Barkbusters. Typically I've just installed the KTM flip levers to help reduce the chances of being immobilised when crashing. I think they are teasing me by sending me the handguard plastics but not the hardware.. https://www.rg-racing.com/browsetype/barkbusters-moto/KTM/390_Adventure_R/BB-BHG-146-00-NP/



I see bashplates are nearly ready for market from Rally Raid, Outback Motortek and AXP. The AXP one looks especially interesting to keep the ethos of he bike light. It might not be quite strong enough to jack the bike up underneath from, but think that would be my preference.

• https://www.axp-racing.com/en/search/ktm-1/390-adventure-r/2025
• https://www.rallyraidproducts.co.uk/products/ktm-390-adv-r-enduro-r-engine-guard
• https://outbackmotortek.co.uk/product/ktm-390-adventure-r-skid-plate/

Article in the TRF Magazine between the Enduro and Adventure R, 3 out of 3 testers preferred the Enduro R.



A lovely few hours out on Peak District lanes this morning with an ex Himalayan owner, him on a GPX250. Very wet as you would expect, but lovely to be out for a few hours and look at the weather !



Finally, I find the suspension OK, but a little harsh on large stones so am starting to investigate what options there are. It looks like there are two options:

Rally Raid are about to bring out cartridges for the front and a rear shock.

• The Rally Raid Products shocks, both standard travel and “plus 25mm” travel have all the same spec as the WP upgrades, plus PDS (to help resist bottoming-out on the last 20mm), and a wider choice of spring rates (at no extra cost) and finally a Hydraulic Preload Adjustment option. (this is a quote, not sure how I can verify "same spec as WP upgrades")
• All our shocks and cartridges are made in Holland by Tractive Suspension to our specifications.
• Likely to be slightly cheaper than WP Pro Xplor set up

WP Pro Xplor upgrade front and rear, this will cost about £2K, but I do have a £500 voucher from KTM for the price re-alignment.




So far the bike is exceeding my expectations and is a joy on trails, its so playful. It's likely I will throw a bit of money at the suspension early next year as I'm happy that this will do as a single bike for now. I may look at the 990 Adventure R when that appears in a year or so but want to get some miles under my belt on this both in short tours and on trails.

Nothing has gone wrong, mapping seems much better with the latest fix, and other than needing to adjust the clutch cable as I've fitted the Powerparts flip levers everything is good.

 

[Apex]

In 390 news today....

R&G are now taking pre-orders for Barkbusters. Typically I've just installed the KTM flip levers to help reduce the chances of being immobilised when crashing. I think they are teasing me by sending me the handguard plastics but not the hardware.. https://www.rg-racing.com/browsetype/barkbusters-moto/KTM/390_Adventure_R/BB-BHG-146-00-NP/

View attachment 467539

I see bashplates are nearly ready for market from Rally Raid, Outback Motortek and AXP. The AXP one looks especially interesting to keep the ethos of he bike light. It might not be quite strong enough to jack the bike up underneath from, but think that would be my preference.

• https://www.axp-racing.com/en/search/ktm-1/390-adventure-r/2025
• https://www.rallyraidproducts.co.uk/products/ktm-390-adv-r-enduro-r-engine-guard
• https://outbackmotortek.co.uk/product/ktm-390-adventure-r-skid-plate/

View attachment 467540

Article in the TRF Magazine between the Enduro and Adventure R, 3 out of 3 testers preferred the Enduro R.

View attachment 467541

A lovely few hours out on Peak District lanes this morning with an ex Himalayan owner, him on a GPX250. Very wet as you would expect, but lovely to be out for a few hours and look at the weather !

View attachment 467542

Finally, I find the suspension OK, but a little harsh on large stones so am starting to investigate what options there are. It looks like there are two options:

Rally Raid are about to bring out cartridges for the front and a rear shock.

• The Rally Raid Products shocks, both standard travel and “plus 25mm” travel have all the same spec as the WP upgrades, plus PDS (to help resist bottoming-out on the last 20mm), and a wider choice of spring rates (at no extra cost) and finally a Hydraulic Preload Adjustment option. (this is a quote, not sure how I can verify "same spec as WP upgrades")
• All our shocks and cartridges are made in Holland by Tractive Suspension to our specifications.
• Likely to be slightly cheaper than WP Pro Xplor set up

WP Pro Xplor upgrade front and rear, this will cost about £2K, but I do have a £500 voucher from KTM for the price re-alignment.

View attachment 467566


So far the bike is exceeding my expectations and is a joy on trails, its so playful. It's likely I will throw a bit of money at the suspension early next year as I'm happy that this will do as a single bike for now. I may look at the 990 Adventure R when that appears in a year or so but want to get some miles under my belt on this both in short tours and on trails.

Nothing has gone wrong, mapping seems much better with the latest fix, and other than needing to adjust the clutch cable as I've fitted the Powerparts flip levers everything is good.

Thats great that you're enjoying it so much. I just blew my £500 voucher on heated grips and footpegs. The cruise control switch gear arrived so that's on.

I've reached a point where this might end up being a keeper for a very long time. Mainly because these days I have other pursuits on the go which are taking up time. So I'm seriously considering the blow out on suspension too. The shock is a straight swap and the fork cartridges look easy enough to swap back. So my thinking is to get it, have the plush sorted ride and then if ever I end up selling it, take them off and sell.

I spent £1700 on K-Tech suspension in the the Honda 300 Rally. The front was ok. I would say the stock 390 front is significantly better than the K-Tech! However the rear K-tech shock was very poor indeed. Yes, it sorted the soft stock rear, but it let me down badly a couple of years ago on the Spanish TET. Boing Boing! Probably fine of you're riding like Norally or Wandering Honda's, but I was doing my best to get through miles to do as much as possible, it was hot and it couldn't cope with the constant drainage ditches across the trails. The Xplor will sort that 100%.

I'm planning to go to the KTM adventure rally in Italy next year and I think the 390 will be perfect for it. So the suspension upgrade will be a good investment if I do go. Assuming the world hasn't gone mad by then and KTM are still in business

 

[Apex]

AXP bash plate - I had one on my 790 AdvR. It got some proper groundings one way or another and with the fuel tank sticking out it ended up on the side part of the plate a lot. It never broke, but did look a right mess by the time I sold it.

They aren't as light as you might think. Though lighter than a thick ali one I imagine.

Barkbusters ordered. Thanks

 

[Eastmidsbiker]

Thats great that you're enjoying it so much. I just blew my £500 voucher on heated grips and footpegs. The cruise control switch gear arrived so that's on.

I've reached a point where this might end up being a keeper for a very long time. Mainly because these days I have other pursuits on the go which are taking up time. So I'm seriously considering the blow out on suspension too. The shock is a straight swap and the fork cartridges look easy enough to swap back. So my thinking is to get it, have the plush sorted ride and then if ever I end up selling it, take them off and sell.

I spent £1700 on K-Tech suspension in the the Honda 300 Rally. The front was ok. I would say the stock 390 front is significantly better than the K-Tech! However the rear K-tech shock was very poor indeed. Yes, it sorted the soft stock rear, but it let me down badly a couple of years ago on the Spanish TET. Boing Boing! Probably fine of you're riding like Norally or Wandering Honda's, but I was doing my best to get through miles to do as much as possible, it was hot and it couldn't cope with the constant drainage ditches across the trails. The Xplor will sort that 100%.

I'm planning to go to the KTM adventure rally in Italy next year and I think the 390 will be perfect for it. So the suspension upgrade will be a good investment if I do go. Assuming the world hasn't gone mad by then and KTM are still in business

I had exactly the same thoughts on the suspension, remove it and sell it once I come to sell the bike as you wont get the money back keeping it on the bike. I've already cranked both preload and rebound up on the stock rear shock and its much better, but I expect the Xplor kit to transform it. Looks like Feb for the shock but May for the 120nm spring .

KTM Adventure rally sounds like fun, will you trailer/van it or ride there ?

AXP bash plate - I had one on my 790 AdvR. It got some proper groundings one way or another and with the fuel tank sticking out it ended up on the side part of the plate a lot. It never broke, but did look a right mess by the time I sold it.

They aren't as light as you might think. Though lighter than a thick ali one I imagine.

Barkbusters ordered. Thanks

Thanks thats useful to know, the AXP one states 3.6KG which is probably a little bit more than then stock one with fittings, so will be interesting to compare to the others. As I spend most my time in the peaks I quite like the idea of the gravel not pinging off the bashplate every few seconds.

For the 790 I assume the AXP bashplate was humungous to cover the low fuel tanks as well. I'm fine with a bit of patina.

 

[Eastmidsbiker]

 

[Apex]

I had exactly the same thoughts on the suspension, remove it and sell it once I come to sell the bike as you wont get the money back keeping it on the bike. I've already cranked both preload and rebound up on the stock rear shock and its much better, but I expect the Xplor kit to transform it. Looks like Feb for the shock but May for the 120nm spring .

KTM Adventure rally sounds like fun, will you trailer/van it or ride there ?



Thanks thats useful to know, the AXP one states 3.6KG which is probably a little bit more than then stock one with fittings, so will be interesting to compare to the others. As I spend most my time in the peaks I quite like the idea of the gravel not pinging off the bashplate every few seconds.

For the 790 I assume the AXP bashplate was humungous to cover the low fuel tanks as well. I'm fine with a bit of patina.

I haven't thought it through fully. But its a long way down there so probably in the van. 1100 miles one way, for a three day event

The other easier option is to jump on the ferry and do more of the Spanish TET instead. Feels a bit more achievable, but one oof the KTM events has been a bucket list thing.

 

[Apex]

For the 790 I assume the AXP bashplate was humungous to cover the low fuel tanks as well. I'm fine with a bit of patina.

It was huge, yes. Did the job though

 

[Eastmidsbiker]

I hate tubes , this would have been a 5 min fix with a tubeless tyre (probably). Oh well, I didnt want to go trail riding in the peaks today, really....

I just need to man up and get some experience changing tubes on the bike. Slime got me home, but the tyre is not holding pressure. I did have a tube with me, but as wasnt far from home decided to go for a temporary fix rather than change the tube.

 

[Apex]

I hate tubes , this would have been a 5 min fix with a tubeless tyre (probably). Oh well, I didnt want to go trail riding in the peaks today, really....

I just need to man up and get some experience changing tubes on the bike. Slime got me home, but the tyre is not holding pressure. I did have a tube with me, but as wasnt far from home decided to go for a temporary fix rather than change the tube.

View attachment 468384

Wow. That's a really small banana

 

[Eastmidsbiker]

I decided to pop out just to target a couple of lanes in the Peaks just before Christmas, all good fun, and got the first drop out of the way. Inevitably the plastic handguard fractured as soon as the bike fell over at walking pace. I think I'll wait until I've got my Barkbusters fitted before I do much more.

 

[Apex]

Still waiting for Barkbusters. The plastics arrived.

Yesterday I did a road ride to see the old chap. About 80 miles. Comfortable as.

The new fuel map is chalk and cheese better and I didn't really feel it was that bad before. So much more grunt now, as others have said. But the best news is that the bar and foot-peg vibes have all but disappeared! Thats good news because they were noticeably bad before. 70/80 on dual carriageway absolutely no problem at all.

Cruise control is great. A welcome addition.
The heated grips are poor. Thats really surprised me. Shame. They might improve with better hand guards as shields to the cold. I always fit the STORM ones so should be better after.

Appreciate the Honda 300 has a massive following, but this 390 blows the Honda out of the water. I'll get a Seat Concepts seat when they're out and still haven't sorted lighting, but I'm not rushing.

I'm at 250 miles (I know I know) so I thought I would drain the oil because some are complaining about how terrible it is by first service. The oil was quite dirty but the screen is actually pretty clean. I think it's been a good decision to change it. Doesn't hurt. In terms of aluminium particles and the like, I've had more come out at an oil change on a dirtbike. Maybe I've got a good one, don't know.

 

[Apex]

Ride in the Cotswolds. Broadway tower bottom cafe is a great stop, if pricey. Not sure they appreciated the offroad gear though

 

[Eastmidsbiker]

Cruise control is great. A welcome addition.
The heated grips are poor. Thats really surprised me. Shame. They might improve with better hand guards as shields to the cold. I always fit the STORM ones so should be better after.

Good to hear the cruise control works well, I want to take the bike on a couple of longer runs and will then decide if I go for the retrofit. The heated grips is interesting, I've started using some heated gloves and I'm really pleased with them, so may not bother given it sounds like the grips are mediocre at best.

I ordered the Rally Raid heel kick plates and have just fitted these, replacing the huge things with integrated pillion pegs that KTM supplies. You do get a couple of smaller kick plates from KTM with the bike to replace the pillion peg integrated ones, but they arent particularly well made, they stick out too much and have the strapping point anchor at the wrong angle for using luggage.

I've also splashed out,using my £500 voucher to contribute to the cost of the Xplor shock as well as a slightly heavier spring. Can't wait to get and fit that.

I'm hopefull the barkbusters will turn up at the end of Jan or beginning of Feb, and the next significant order will be the bashplate.