Unless you are living under a stone, these images shouldn’t surprise you. Enough images of the test mule of the 2025 KTM 390 Adventure are on the internet to tell that a 2024 EICMA unveil is on the cards. This time, though, KTM decided to willingly showcase the bike to the public at the KTM Adventure Rally in South Dakota.
Just like the new 390 Duke, the 2025 KTM 390 Adventure is built on the new platform, which means that this bike will get the 399cc liquid-cooled single that produces 45.3 bhp and 4 kgm. And considering how the engine fared on the Duke, it should be a riot on this bike, too. Thankfully, KTM seems to have given the right tools to exploit all that performance.
For starters, unlike the current 390 Adventure that is a tarmac-biased tourer, the new model fits right in with the bigger bikes that bear the ‘Adventure R’ tag. So, there’s long-travel suspension with presumably compression and rebound adjustment at the front, and rebound and preload adjustment at the rear, similar to the current SW variant. But unlike the SW model, the new bike comes with a 21/18-inch wire-spoke rim setup and not a 19/17-inch wheel pair like on the current bike. Interestingly, KTM has opted to go for an axial brake caliper at the front, making it a first in all of the 125s, 200s, 250s, and 390 range of motorcycles.
Another interesting bit is the design of the motorcycle. Not that the current 390 Adventure was a wide, heavy bike, but the new one looks definitely narrower and taller than before, adapting to the new design language of the new 1390 Super Adventure bikes. Even with its underbelly exhaust, which may not seem like an ideal choice, the ground clearance looks way more than the current model. What raises some questions is the narrow fuel tank. Will it still continue with a 14-litre tank, or will the capacity drop down?
KTM has been offering lean-sensitive ABS and traction control, and quickshifter on its new 390 Duke and there’s no reason why these won’t be carried over to the new one. In fact, the Team Orange could make it more sophisticated with multiple intervention levels and perhaps even throw in cruise control.
The 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R will be joined by a standard or road-biased version, and even a supermoto. Will all of these make their debut here? We hope they do, because though the Adventure R is a big update, the supermoto (SMC-R) is what could cause some real havoc on the streets.
