The All-New 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R Review

Despite the extreme financial downturn KTM is facing right now, it is still trying its best to save itself from going broke. It is surprising that KTM is still fully operational, working on its current lineup and introducing new models.

No doubt, no motorcycle rider on earth would want KTM to stop producing motorbikes. The company is known for making one of the best adventure bikes. The ADV bikes from KTM are quite adventurous, fun, thrilling, tough, and agile.

The KTM 390 Adventure is among the very well-known KTM models that have recently been updated for the year 2025. There may be a very few similarities from the old-gen 390 Adventure model. However, the 2025 KTM Adventure is a completely new, revamped model with a modern engine design and features.

The KTM 390 Adventure R became the talk of the town as soon as the images from its testing phase were released. Let’s find out why this middleweight ADV bike was one of the most awaited bikes of 2025 and how it is supposed to fill the gap. Continue reading this article to learn in detail about the all-new 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R.

The 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R is now taller, sharper, edgier, and tougher than ever. This middleweight adventure bike boasts a rally-style look that would make you want to go off-road. The size and stature of this ADV bike make it look perfect for adventure rides that include extreme off-roading.

Most of the 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R is similar to what KTM is used to building. However, it still has a different aura. You must admire KTM for still producing such cool-looking bikes despite all the money issues.

The 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R features a pure rally-style off-roader look. It boasts a tall height with an exceptionally high ground clearance of 10.7 inches. This bike comes with standard crash bars or engine guards.

The 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R is only available in a single color option. Despite the black and orange combination, it is available in white and orange colors with certain black accents.

There is a high-mounted orange front mudguard towards the front. The windscreen is not adjustable, but it is tall enough for adventure rides. The orange-colored hand guards also come standard on this bike. The seat installed on the 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R is a rally-style saddle, capable of two-up riding.

The colorful body panels you can see on this bike are made of plastic. However, the gas tank is made of metal, along with the grab rails. The 21-inch front and 18-inch rear wheels wrapped under Mitas Enduro Trail E07+ tires add to the functionality of this bike for both road traveling and extreme off-roading.

The 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R features an all-new 399 cc Single-Cylinder LC4c engine. This power mill is capable of delivering almost the same power figures as the previous-gen model, with only a slight increase in the torque delivery.

This new 399 cc LC4c single-cylinder engine was first introduced by KTM in the 390 Duke. Previously, the 390 KTM models used to have a 373 cc engine. It may sound similar, but the new 399 cc LC4c engine has been completely rebuilt, with a more compact and lightweight design.

The 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R feels decently quicker considering its class and size. In the low- and bottom-end power and torque range, the bike feels considerably fast and lively. Also, it doesn’t lack the top-end grunt, which makes it a very fun and thrilling ADV bike.

Other changes include an increase in the number of teeth by three in the rear sprocket. This has resulted in a slight increase in the acceleration of the 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R.

The quickshifter on the 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R works quite smoothly and effortlessly.

Though the overall riding experience is considerably smoother, riders may start to feel a bit of vibration at the footpegs at around 4,000 rpms. The side mirrors will also start vibrating a bit at this rpm, but there is nothing major to cause any trouble.

From the look of this bike, you can consider it to be a perfect rally-style, off-road bike. You can say it for almost every KTM adventure bikes that they are exceptional when it comes to dirt riding.

As far as the 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R, it is also good for paved road traveling. Not to forget, KTM adventure bikes are widely used around the world for road traveling and long-distance touring.

You can ride the 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R as much as you want on paved roads. Considering its engine size and lightweight nature, this ADV bike can also be used for riding within the city.

The 399 cc LC4c single-cylinder engine is very capable of riding on highways. The weight of this bike is enough to ensure stable rides on freeways. Riders can easily maintain highway speeds of 60-70 mph and above. The optional cruise control feature makes it easier to ride this bike on long, open stretches. The liquid cooling on this engine is very helpful in dissipating the heat. The windscreen installed on this bike is also adequate for wind blocking while riding it on open roads and highways.

Being a mid-weight rally-style off-roader, the 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R is a perfectly sized ADV bike for off-roading. It is not a pure dirt bike, but you can do maximum off-roading with this bike, as you can expect from an ADV bike. It ensures an ideal weight and a perfect size for even hardcore off-roading.

Other than its new engine, the biggest highlight of the 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R is its top-end suspension. Towards the front, there is a 43 mm WP APEX open cartridge fork that is both rebounding and compression adjustable.

On the other hand, we have a WP APEX split piston rear mono-shock with preload and rebound adjustability. Both the front and rear suspensions provide an impressive wheel travel of 230 mm (9.055 in), which is considered to be the premium for hardcore off-roading.

The 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R is a more off-road-biased variant than the 2025 KTM 390 Adventure X. The 21-inch front and 18-inch rear wire-spoke wheels offer the perfect balance for both road and dirt performance. Such a wheel height setup offers the maximum capability for dirt riding. Above all, the off-road-biased Mitas Enduro Trail E07+ tires turn out to be the best of both worlds, including paved roads and dirt tracks. Though they are not fully knobby, they still ensure more than enough traction and stability in a wide range of conditions.

The 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R has a substantial ground clearance of 272 mm (10.7 in). The bike also features a sturdy skid plate, offering good engine or belly protection from different off-road obstacles. 

The 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R, unlike the big ADV tourers, is smaller, less powerful, and lighter. However, this doesn’t mean that the bike should be considered a dual-sport bike. Even in its lighter middleweight ADV category, the KTM 390 Adventure R is a decently heavier bike.

The 2025 390 Adventure R weighs 165 kg (363.76 lbs) without the fuel, which makes it a fairly heavy bike for beginners. It is a decently tall bike and looks like a proper mid-weight ADV bike. Also, if you consider a fuel tank size of 14 L (3.7 gallons), this will be around 10.57 kg of more weight of the fuel. So, in total, with a full gas tank, the overall weight of the bike will be around 175.57 kgs.

A lightweight motorcycle doesn’t weigh 175.57 kgs or 387 lbs. However, the weight of the 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R is generally due to its top-quality components, including top-end suspension, sturdy frame design, body panels, windscreen, large wheels, skid plate, and the crash bars add a good weight to this bike.

The all-new 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R is a decently comfortable bike in the ADV category. However, it is a tall ADV bike with a seat height of 34.25 inches (870 mm). Usually, such a tall seat height like this isn’t good for vertically challenged riders. However, you can comfortably ride this bike with no issues even if you are 5 ft 5’’ tall. You will not be able to balance the bike with both feet flat on the ground. Still, you can easily tiptoe the 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R.

On the other hand, the 2025 KTM 390 Adventure X variant has a slightly smaller seat height of 825 mm (32.48 inches).

Being considerably taller and bigger than its segment, the 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R offers comfortable ergonomics. It is a popular bike for long travels on paved roads around the world. Most importantly, this bike offers an upright riding position, along with a comfortable arm position.

The foot controls position is somewhere in the mid or a little backward, but the bike isn’t too congested. The legroom is decent enough for riders to avoid too much bending of their legs. Being an ADV bike, the ergonomics are designed to help riders operate this bike while standing on the pegs for better off-roading.

The all-new 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R is believed to perform exceptionally in the market. There are many good features of this ADV bike that make it stand out in the category. There are many competitors that have made their place in this lighter mid-weight ADV bike category. These include the Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 and CFMoto 450MT.

Before a certain point, adventure bikes were only getting bigger and heavier. They were becoming adventure tourers. These bigger ADV bikes were losing their ability to go off-road to a certain level. However, riders have started realizing the need for more off-road-capable adventure bikes. It was only possible with lighter and more maneuverable, rally-style ADV bikes.

The Yamaha Tenere 700 started a trend, followed by the Aprilia Tuareg 660. These adventure bikes were lighter, smarter, and much better for off-roading.

Similarly, the KTM 390 Adventure R is expected to fill a huge gap that will make ADV bikes more accessible to adventure riders. Whether beginners, intermediate, or expert riders who want a lighter, highly versatile, and capable ADV bike, they can go for the 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R. This bike is for serious adventure riders who want to take on both on- and off-road challenges in style.

The 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R has the potential to save the brand from sinking and cover the losses to a certain extent.