KTM 390 Adventure thread. Reviews mods etc

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garyboy
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Re: KTM 390 Adventure thread. Reviews mods etc

Post by garyboy »

Suitable do-it-all bike for the more mature gentleman ??
Richard Simpson Mark II
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Re: KTM 390 Adventure thread. Reviews mods etc

Post by Richard Simpson Mark II »

You might be able to import from India and get a UK SVA registration. My neighbour used to import cars from Japan and the USA, get them SVA and registered in the UK, and then exported to Spain/Germany etc. It was impossible to register them in mainland Europe unless they had Euro Type Approval, but once they had a British plate on it was OK!

https://specialised-shipping.co.uk/iva- ... on-testing
dave h
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Re: KTM 390 Adventure thread. Reviews mods etc

Post by dave h »

Been busy with the grinder and welder this weekend made bar raisers 20mm and lowered foot pegs 20mm
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Dave.
Agent Orange
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Re: KTM 390 Adventure thread. Reviews mods etc

Post by Agent Orange »

I take there are no aftermarket parts for the foot pegs and bar risers then. Was planning on test riding one at the ABR festival in June 8-)
bikenav
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Re: KTM 390 Adventure thread. Reviews mods etc

Post by bikenav »

not studied one but probably would not be to difficult to do something with the pegs with a mig and a few hours in the garage, the other 2 corresponding controls may pose a more tricky challenge though.
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Re: KTM 390 Adventure thread. Reviews mods etc

Post by phil_h »

Having just done Nathan's 'Best of Four' I thought I'd try and let you know my thoughts.
Now bear in mind that I'm 6'1 so my knees just dont fit most of them.

The 390, which I rode first, as no-one else wanted to, was always going to be interesting to me as my wife has a 390 duke which I really like... but its just too small for my legs. The 390 adventure felt sooo much better. I had enough room, the tank wasnt pushing me into the 'wrong' place sitting or standing, and everything felt 'comfy'.
The crf, which I was very keen to ride, was just pants on the road for me. Off tarmac, standing, much better, with a willing engine and a good bottom end, but I just felt it was a crap engine to haul its weight on road, so I guessed that I'm not a fan of bikes like that.
The 500x sounded really nice, was quite comfy, and the suspension 'seemed' good, but when pressed it actually didnt pull its weight very well, and when pushed a bit harder off-tarmac, the suspension didnt impress - too harsh.
The himmy was just a hoot. The mid-range felt so fat and the front-rear suspension balance felt so, well, balanced, that it was very relaxing to just push it faster and bring on the giggles. A good sign that, a bike that makes you giggle, as its giving you more than expected ;)
The 310 actually wasnt comfy for me on-road cos the tank shape it complete pants for longer legs, and off-tarmac, standing, its still crap as the tank is so slippy you cant grip anything with your knees. But, ignoring its love of stalling at sub-10mph, its engine just kept on giving. Now I dont like revvy engines, but this one felt smooth and progressive, not no-bottom-end-and-all-at-the-top like a 4.
At lunchtime I preferred the himmy and the bmw because they made me giggle.

After lunch we had all ridden everything, but we all wanted to ride everything again. Surprise!
I simply cannot describe how much better this was than taking a bike out for a demo. If you're even just tempted a bit, just go and book a place with Nathan. Its a hoot.
So, I had concluded that I was not really experienced at riding small bikes, and was rising them _all_ too low in their rev-range, so I had to try harder (sorry Nathan). Well, everything changed. Surprise!
Er, well, not everything. The 2 hondas really didnt feel any better to me. I was disappointed about the crf, as I wanted to like it, but didnt. (I'll blag a ride off a friend's 300 fairly soon, but...) I dont think I'd buy one. The 500 felt even less impressing as it didnt seem to have anything up top.
The bmw didnt get any better, but I think it was the one that taught me that I should be revving them more. But it did teach me that if you worked hard on your body position going uphill (remember the tank doesnt let you grip with your knees), it delivered the goods very well, and then when you turned around and came down, it was _much_ better balanced and I got to hear a lot of action from the bash plate, and giggles would have been heard.
The himmy didnt get any better either, as it runs out of steam and doesnt really feel like a full 400, but the suspension copes with the extra pace just as well, and it still delivers the giggles, as you really dont expect a bargain-basement-bike to be as well balanced.
So that leaves the ktm 390 adventure... the bike I liked but so far seemed to prefer something else... until we sessioned a bit of off-tarmac and I revved it a bit more than before. Well, all I can say is that I waited 'at the back' and left a biiig gap after the last bloke away, and still overtook everyone and was about to overtake Nathan but he waved me down. As I picked the pace up, the ktm just kept its poise and delivered more. We then rode back along the same lane and at the end Nathan told me to calm down as he had seen it bottoming out too much. Good karma for the ktm then, as it really hadnt complained about it.

So at the end of the day, I had to choose the ktm as my favourite. I had expected to choose the himmy as it punches much higher than its pricetag, but I'll choose performance over economy every time if its about enjoying your ride.
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Agent Orange
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Re: KTM 390 Adventure thread. Reviews mods etc

Post by Agent Orange »

A bloke 'Ash' on the UKGSER forum just posted he bought some of these. Adjustable foot pegs
https://www.sportouring.co.uk/shop/comf ... o-bracket/
Bolt straight on, forwards and backwards rotating.
Also bought some bar risers of Amazon, bolted straight on.
dave h
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Re: KTM 390 Adventure thread. Reviews mods etc

Post by dave h »

Practice load up for next week's camping weekend,
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