2023 KTM 390 Adventure | First Look Review

2023 KTM 390 Adventure

KTM has announced details of the 2023 KTM 390 Adventure, which will be available in dealerships in March. The 390 Adventure has been given a new look and increased off-road capability, for a bike that KTM says offers “sheer usability, superb power, and incredibly light handling.”

2023 KTM 390 Adventure

In our review of the 2020 model, our reviewer said the KTM 390 Adventure was “a lot of bike for the money, with an impressive list of standard features that make it a serious threat to value-oriented Japanese competitors like the Honda CB500X and Kawasaki Versys-X 300, as well as BMW’s G 310 GS.”

Related: 2020 KTM 390 Adventure Road Test Review

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The 2023 KTM 390 Adventure still features a compact 4-stroke DOHC 373cc Single with four valves, a balancer shaft, a PASC slip/assist clutch, and electronic fuel injection. Two catalytic converters ensure the system breathes within emission targets, and the vapor design of the 3.8-gal fuel tank also contributes to its eco-friendliness.

2023 KTM 390 Adventure

Also returning for the 2023 model and contributing to the bike’s off-road persona is the Offroad ride mode (offering more rear-wheel slip) and linked Offroad ABS (disengaged on the rear, reduced on the front), as well as throttle-by-wire, Motorcycle Traction Control, and cornering ABS. Stopping power comes from Brembo BYBRE brakes (320mm front and 230mm rear discs with a 4-piston calipers on the front and single-piston in the rear), and the bike has adjustable WP APEX suspension.

2023 KTM 390 Adventure

See all of Rider‘s KTM coverage here.

The KTM 390 Adventure also still has 19-inch front and 17-inch rear wheels shod in Continental TKC70 tires, but for 2023 the wheels are spoked (but still tubeless) and have black anodized aluminum rims. The bike also comes with a two-tier seat that can be easily removed to reveal storage space or swapped out for other models in the KTM PowerParts collection, LED lights, and a windscreen with two positions. It has a claimed wet weight of 379 lb.

2023 KTM 390 Adventure

KTM says both the lightweight steel trellis chassis and the new 2023 colorway take design cues from the company’s work at “the sharp end of rally competition.”

MSRP is $7,399. For more information, visit the KTM website.

31 COMMENTS

  1. I’ll be that guy. Spokes are great, but tubeless would have been better. I likely would have bought one if they had gone tubeless. I don’t ride that hard off-road, and I’d rather patch a hole than replace a tube.

  2. I’m with you Jay. For that weight and tubed tires might as well get a DR650. It wasn’t just that that though that led me to buying another DR650 for adventure riding. It was all that made in Japan reliability vs. that made in India reliability. Worlds apart.

    • Agreed, the reliability of a Japanese bike is a known quality, but with KTM it’s rather spotty. Anyone actually going the distance off-road needs to consider that.

  3. With tubeless wheels and cruise control, this could be a great down-sizing option if my 790 ADV R gets too big as I get older (I already downsized from a Tiger Explorer 1200). Of course, I’d have to spend as much money on farkles as I have on the 790 to improve its comfort and function.

  4. Way to heavy for a 390. When are the manufacturers going to start thinking about the weight? We need too be able to tool down the road and then do some trails and not be punished by an overweight slug.

  5. Much needed/appreciated improvements for 2023, but not sure being a 260# rider will keep the Adventure’s 373cc going up a long grade without gearing way down. My old BMW G650GS struggled in headwinds, long grades and minimal load. Don’t want to have to hoist a 500#, loaded, high-centered bike from a lay-down, but not ready to give up 6th gear for the extra ccs of a DR-Z400 SM. The next stop is extra moolah for a KTM 690 SMC R and pop again to fit it for adventure. Could that be a future article?

    • Why not just buy a KTM 690 Enduro R? It’s already a great off-road bike, and with a few mods to improve seat comfort and add fuel capacity, it makes a great lightweight ADV.

  6. It amazes me how many people comment on this bike without actually learning the specs. It IS tubeless.
    I have the 2022 model and absolutely love it! I don’t ride hard enough to necessitate spoked wheels, but it is a hoot off road. Currently planning an Eastern Oregon adventure this June!

  7. Just remember this bike weighs in at 364 lbs wet, has 43 hp , does 13.67 sec 1/4 mi, 0 to 60 in 5.5 sec,and gets 50 + MPG. with a top speed of 104 mph! according to Cycle world and Wikipedia. How could you go wrong with a price of 64 100 dollar bills.

  8. something about the protruding cluster/headlight assembly doesn’t feel right to me. Like it is just asking to have its lights punched out. Could they not have tucked that in tighter/closer to the bars? Any owners have bad crash experience with this? Or is it really a non-issue?

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