For a bike with the world-weary A-word in its name, I wasn’t that impressed with the 390SW rental we tried in Morocco in early 2025 (left): a naked, low-barred road bike with tubed tyres. For unsupported trail touring it was the worst of all worlds.
Emerging from their their annus horribilis, for 2025 KTM have brought out a 390 Adventure X (below left) for just £5400, a higher and better sprung Adventure R for £6100, and an Enduro R trail bike for £5700 with the same R-level springs. Meanwhile the 2024 Adventures are currently being very heavily discounted from their formerly high prices and presumably, once they’re gone they’re gone.

MODEL	Adventure SW (2024)	Adventure (2024)	Adventure X (2025)	Adventure R (2025)	Enduro R (2025)
Weight	170kg	173	176	176	165
Tank	14.5 litres	14.5	14	14	9
Seat	855mm	855	825	870	890
Wheels	17/19	17/19 cast TL	17/19 cast TL	18/21	18/21
Suspension	170/177mm	170/177	200/200	230/230	230/230
Price UK	£5600	£5200	£5400	£6100	£5700

All data above copied from KTM UK and unverified. Both 2024 models are heavily discounted

Here we have Bob’s brand new 390 Enduro R with a 9-litre tank and a 890mm (35″) seat height. It’s supposedly only 5kg lighter than an Adv SW, but has more and better suspension travel, a basic display, all costs nearly the same.

Bob’s spanking Indian-made Enduro R arrived just in time for him to run it in, sling some throwovers onto an Indian-made rack and roll it into Simon’s van. A few days later it got rolled out near the start of my new High Atlas Traverse at the Tizi n Test pass. I was on my 250 Serow (830mm seat, 9.6L tank, 139kg wet) and Simon had his over-bored 350 TTR (890 seat, 14L tank, 145kg wet).

Bob is 6′ 4″ (1.93m) so the yard-high Enduro R didn’t really bother him. I realise it’s actually the same seat height as my old 300L from two bikes ago. A only 6′ 1″ no wonder it bugged me. He brought an 11-litre fuel bag which we needed a couple of times. I seem to recall he got up to mid-70s mpg (27kpl) which gavce a pretty good 250-km range a tad better than Simon’s carb’d TTR, but way behind my Serow which got well over 100mpg a couple of times. The KTM makes twice the power of the Serow.

I had a quick spin on revised Stage N of the TMT for as long as it took Bob to needlessly fall off my Serow on a switchback. Sadly, my bike had that tendency (more here soon) so with better suspension it’s no surprise I liked the KTM more than my Serow, but not as much as Simon’s custom-barrelled 350 TTR. The masses of extra power didn’t really come into it on the trail.

Good suspension rolled over rough stuff with no deflection or correction needed by the rider, the cable clutch was much nicer, and the bike quickshifts up and down from new (no unlocking required). I found this worked better on the dirt than on the road a few days later, but by then my ankle wasn’t pivoting like it should. For once I could stand up properly, and for a KTM the seat looked hard but felt pretty good and Bob never complained (I wore – and needed – Moto Skiveez most days on the Serow). A bit of air could have been lost from the tyres for a softer ride all round. I didn’t get into the KTM on the road so much. Everything felt typically KTM-hard and Bob was often shaking out his vibration-numbed hands, though I didn’t notice this on my brief spin at <100kph. A few more miles may have changed my opinion.

If it was me, I’d probably get the bargain-priced Adventure X at £5400; it’s lower, has a bigger tank plus a screen and tubeless cast wheels. Would I soon regret the unadjustable fork, basic emulsion shock and 19-inch front over the nimble Enduro R or full spec Adventure R? We may never know, but for £6100 the full-spec Adventure R is more bike for your money if doing more challenging dirt riding and weighs 20 kilos less than my 450MT, but lacks the charismatic engine. Apart from the inner tubes, for easy trails and roads, I’d say the X marks the spot.