Written by SHERMAN HALE NAZARETH Images by DATTARAJ BODKE
It’s been said that the miniscule flapping of a butterfly’s wings from days earlier could alter the outcome of a tornado thousands of kilometres away. Of course, the butterfly was added for effect and originally the example of a seagull was used. What Edward Norton Lorenz’s theory was trying to prove is that minor changes in initial criteria can cause a quantum wave function to diverge wildly, cascading with time. Essentially, this is the path KTM has chosen with the new 390 platform.
While it may seem like not much has changed from the new 390 Adventure, the minor tweaks made to the 390 Enduro R have a snowball effect in the grander scheme of things. I would’ve loved to have spent more time riding the 390 Enduro R. But enough time on the 390 Adventure (roughly 3,500km) meant I had a pretty strong baseline to compare the differences. The longer I rode the Enduro, the more its nuances started to reveal themselves. It’s quite clear that this bike has a mainly off-road focused agenda and isn’t that the whole point of its name.
The Powder Room
KTM’s Enduro DNA makes its presence felt in the new headlight of the motorcycle. Of course, for India there’s also a provision for a front number plate. Ditching the fairing and windscreen from the 390 Adventure has reduced the overall girth of the front-end of the motorcycle, which is an inherently good thing when it comes to off-road adventures. There’s just one less thing to break off in the event of a tumble.
Sitting behind the neat headlight fairing is the new compact speedometer as you’d expect on an enduro motorcycle. Its minimal layout is supremely easy to read; something that really enhances the off-road experience. The less attention you need to spare on the details, the more you have to focus on riding.
The last visual change from the 390 Adventure would have to be the tank. Although, to the untrained eye this’d be quite hard to spot. It has retained the design lines but gotten more diminutive in size. The tank capacity has shrunk from 14.5-litres to 9-litres on the Enduro R; it’s also metal now and not fibre. Cross-country adventures on this motorcycle would definitely require you to get a larger tank, or a mental-health check-up. I’ll leave that up to you to decide.
The tail section remains unchanged and is exactly the same as is on the Adventure, which isn’t very far off from the 690 Enduro’s tail.
Cockpit Diary
Once in the saddle, you immediately notice the taller seating position. Since the in-seam is still quite narrow on the Enduro R, the 30mm bump in height from the 390 Adventure isn’t all that dramatic. It’s still 10mm lower than the Adventure R model that isn’t yet on sale in India. But it isn’t all just the seat. The bike has also gotten taller off the ground thanks to the rear now having an 18-inch wheel. KTM’s party trick, however, is keeping the wheelbase exactly the same; give or take 10mm either way. The physics sorcery from the R&D team doesn’t end there. They’ve also managed to keep the rake and trail angles exactly the same.
The seat’s contours have also changed. Aside from being flatter and taller, the dip where you’ll actually be sitting on the motorcycle has moved further forward. This is also thanks to the more compact, narrower tank. While it’s great for transitioning from the sitting to the standing position, it also puts the foot-pegs directly beneath you now; instead of the forward positioning on the Adventure. These new foot-pegs can also be mechanically repositioned to customise them for better leverage.
The stretch to the handlebars, while fairly comfortable and neutral, is also customisable. Aside from coming stock with 25mm risers, the handlebars have now got three positions where they can also be moved further forward or back. The customisability of the bars and the pegs are definitely going to be a boon for riders of different statures.
For the gizmo nerds out there, the speedometer is quite barebones compared to the TFT-dash on the Adventure. But it’s something I quite like. While I’m still a big fan of analogue dials, this minimally designed one is something I got used to almost immediately. There’s even a minimal mode that gives you just the critical information. Navigating through the menu is easy as chips with the joystick on the left handle-bar. Gone is the button layout from the Adventure. Given the abusive riding this bike is intended to handle, how long that joystick stays on without snapping off is left to be seen.
The Enduro R skips out on the in-built turn-by-turn navigation, call controls, contacts, and music control available on the Adventure. But it’s still got the USB Type C charging slot to keep your gadgets charged.
While the ABS, traction-control and quick-shifter settings are customisable, just like the Adventure, gone is the Rain mode. Now you’ve got just Off-road and Street. Because who needs sensible power-delivery when you’re meant to ride this one like a bat out of hell. As with the Adventure, these settings do not revert to the default settings once you switch the motorcycle off.
The throttle response and traction control are tailored to have a more subtle or aggressive reaction to your inputs depending on which mode you’re in. This is via the Ride-By-Wire throttle. All these different levels of intrusion are governed by a 3-axis IMU system. But, doing what the Enduro R name suggests will definitely have you switching these off at the first chance you get.
Tales from the Saddle
It’s fair to say I’d have loved to spend more time riding this motorcycle to fully understand it. But with about six hours of saddle-time, you take what you get. The feeling you get on this bike once you get moving is a lot edgier than the Adventure. It’s clearly got more aggressive ergonomics and that’s what really makes you want to get off the beaten path.
While it is quite beginner friendly to appeal to a wider audience, the bike is also oozing with the potential to pull off gnarlier moves and tackle harder terrain than you normally would. It’s gone a level up in off-road capability from the Adventure. And this Level-4 off-road competence earns it the ‘R’ badge in KTM’s nomenclature.
While power and torque figures remain the same as the Adventure, the wide spread of both allow you to get into the rev-range that you’re comfortable with. The Enduro R is up 2-teeth on the rear sprocket and sports 48-teeth instead. The bike is as happy to be cruising down easy trails as it is to be blazing up steep, dry stream-beds with loose rocks and gravel. Ground-clearance is up to 253mm from the Adventure’s 237mm. Still short of the Euro-spec Adventure R’s 272mm.
Suspension also remains unchanged from the Adventure. While it may handle a decent off-road beating, it does leave something to be desired when the terrain gets more technical. Most owners in India won’t be pushing the bike to this level. But for the ones that do, upgrading to more serious hardware should definitely be a consideration. Hopefully, the Adventure R suspension is available as a power-part in the near future.
For now, the same 30-clicks on either fork for rebound and compression is available. The rear monoshock has 20-clicks of rebound and 10-clicks of preload. Fiddling around and experimenting with these settings will get the bike to where you like it most for the terrain at hand. The bike’s front-end definitely feels more responsive now than the Adventure, but it has also gotten slightly twitchier. This isn’t a dealbreaker per-se. The bike straightens itself out fairly well, too.
Weight on the Enduro R is down about 5kgs from the Adventure to 177kg now. But strangely, the centre of gravity seems to have shifted higher up on this one. The bike’s weight is slightly more noticeable now than it is on the Adventure, despite its slightly more diminutive stature. The bike gets a new airbox that has been integrated into the new tank and seat design. This allows the engine to sit higher and increases ground clearance. It’s what has allowed the bike to have a more off-road focused rider triangle.
The Enduro R comes with Mitas Enduro Trail + tyres to keep up with its dirt focused agenda. The tyres work decently well once you get moving. With the hard-pack, dusty terrain I rode this bike on, a lower air-pressure definitely made a world of difference when seeking traction. For softer surfaces, I imagine these tyres will have the necessary tread-depth to get you out of hairy situations. I didn’t get to see what this bike rides like on tarmac much. But for the few stretches that I did get on, things were fairly smooth.
Where this bike shone the most was off the trails. On actual surfaces that hadn’t been ridden on before. It just flattened the terrain out and found the grip it needed. It’s a definite indicator of what to do with this motorcycle when you do buy one. Just get out, pick a direction and explore.
Head for the Horizon
Like the title says, the tiny changes from Adventure to the Enduro R truly have had a butterfly effect. It’s definitely a more purpose-oriented machine. India’s true motorcycle enthusiasts have been craving approachable dual-sports for decades now. It seems like with the demand, we’re finally there. So, while this Enduro R is certainly a beginner-friendly motorcycle, the unintimidating size, the rugged build-quality and the overall tractability of the engine are really going to allow you to push the limit of the bike and yourself. It’s going to allow you to build the confidence to tackle harder terrain and get to those places that once only featured in your spectacular landscape photographs.
This India-spec version of the Enduro R has been priced at ₹ 3.36 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), between the Adventure and the Duke. And KTM India has been listening this time. An additional variant with the 230mm suspension travel (front & rear) is also open for bookings and will be available soon.
