[Aditya]

Exceptional, unbiased & detailed ownership reviews of bikes have started going to our homepage reviews box. It's the ultimate stamp of trust from Team-BHP (as a platform) because lakhs of visitors every month check out reviews from there & make purchase decisions.

Your review has also been included here. Thank you so much for sharing .

[surjaonwheelz]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

The wheels and tire's. A view of the 'Spoke Wheels' the official name of this variant. Tubed tyres are a concern.

First of all congratulations! This thread will be referred for the adjustable suspension details you shared.

For the SW concern, you have two options:
1. Change to alloys (Then the bike's namesake is gone!)
2. Opt for Outex or Way2Speed tubeless conversion kits

Give them a thought and choose one! I've a question are these aluminum or steel wheels?

Happy riding,
surjaonwheelz

[sgmuser]

So, for a potential mixed use buyer like me, this won't work it looks like. On paper, it sounds like a terrific product but constant gear shifts and maintaining it in high revs is not for city usage friendly. I will have to look for something else. I need something more forgiving in terms of gear shifts (or low rev friendly city/highway mixed use bike) and occasional off road capable bike. Still searching it.

[Cyborg]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Did not get riding boots for now. Felt that can be a later purchase.

Congratulations Rajeevraj! Super review of a lovely bike. If you don’t like spoke wheels you could always change to alloys.

Please get proper riding boots at the earliest, it’s an often overlooked but very, very important aspect for our safety.

Enjoy your bike!

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by aviator47

Hey, I’m trying to adjust the rebound on the rear shock. On my ADV390, the location of the screw for rebound adjustment is on the left side. And it is in a very inaccessible position.
From your post it seems like the rebound screw is in the right side. Can you confirm this please so I can take this up with service center guys, thanks.

Rear rebound adjustment is on the right side only and is fairly easy to access with a screwdriver. Strange that it is on the left side for you. Guess you need to check with the service center.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Downside of the Spoke Wheels-Comes with Tubed Tyres. So have a nagging worry about a puncture in some random place. Like the DSG worry that is always there with my Vento.

There is one big difference here. You can fix a tube tire yourself, if you have to. Fixing a DSG gearbox yourself, well, good luck with that.

I would not worry too much about a tube tire. Roads in India are much improved today. Unless you're heading down some broken patches of road, its rare to get a flat. Maintain good tire pressure and don't delay changing a tire a little earlier if it starts wearing out. This will reduce the chances of a flat tire. Carry puncture patches if you're doing multi day road trips and keep Roadside assist number handy. You may have paid for this service. Might as well use it when you're in trouble.

Having owned the first generation of the 390 Duke, it is no doubt a capable engine. Just not the most refined or particularly pleasing in the way it sounds. The Adventure has a nice exhaust so should sound pretty good.

The motor is also effortless when it comes to munching miles. The presence of a 6th gear ensures you can sit at the ton all day.

I can't tell for sure from pictures. It still looks like a compact motorcycle. If pillion comfort works for you, then great.

It was a similar approach in terms of the buying decision for me too. I knew the bike will be good and it turned out to be an absolute stonker of a machine. Booked one before a test ride. What you have is complete make over of the 390. I am amazed at the kind of standard equipment on offer.

Enjoy your new motorcycle.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by Aditya

Exceptional, unbiased & detailed ownership reviews of bikes have started going to our homepage reviews box. It's the ultimate stamp of trust from Team-BHP (as a platform) because lakhs of visitors every month check out reviews from there & make purchase decisions.

Thank you Aditya for the feedback and putting the review into the official reviews page.

Originally Posted by surjaonwheelz

First of all congratulations! This thread will be referred for the adjustable suspension details you shared.

For the SW concern, you have two options:
1. Change to alloys (Then the bike's namesake is gone!)
2. Opt for Outex or Way2Speed tubeless conversion kits

Give them a thought and choose one! I've a question are these aluminum or steel wheels?
Happy riding,
surjaonwheelz

Thank you. I intend to wait and watch. My only concern is that if there is a puncture, the tyre will have to be removed and I am not sure how easy or difficult it is especially if it happens on highways or any remote locations. I have read that many puncture shops don't touch it as it needs some know-how to do it properly. Lack of a center stand even as an accessory also adds to the bother.

I hope I will not encounter punctures and if it happens, it happens in locations where there is easy access to qualified repair folks. Will see how it goes.

As to your question, the rims are aluminum and the spokes are steel.

Originally Posted by Cyborg

Congratulations Rajeevraj! Super review of a lovely bike. If you don’t like spoke wheels you could always change to alloys.
Please get proper riding boots at the earliest, it’s an often overlooked but very, very important aspect for our safety.
Enjoy your bike!

Thank you. I actually like the spoke wheels, just the thought of tubed tyre and punctures have got into my head. Although maybe worrying unnecessarily.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

There is one big difference here. You can fix a tube tire yourself, if you have to. Fixing a DSG gearbox yourself, well, good luck with that.

I would not worry too much about a tube tire. Roads in India are much improved today. Unless you're heading down some broken patches of road, its rare to get a flat. Maintain good tire pressure and don't delay changing a tire a little earlier if it starts wearing out.

Thanks for the wishes and inputs.

I can't tell for sure from pictures. It still looks like a compact motorcycle. If pillion comfort works for you, then great.
Enjoy your new motorcycle.

It is definitely bigger than what the pictures indicate. Having said that, it is more high than wide due to its 855mm seat height. In addition it is long which adds to pillion comfort.

[rahul4321]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Thank you. I intend to wait and watch. My only concern is that if there is a puncture, the tyre will have to be removed and I am not sure how easy or difficult it is especially if it happens on highways or any remote locations. I have read that many puncture shops don't touch it as it needs some know-how to do it properly. Lack of a center stand even as an accessory also adds to the bother.

I hope I will not encounter punctures and if it happens, it happens in locations where there is easy access to qualified repair folks. Will see how it goes.

I recently had a puncture on the way from Ahmedabad to Mount Abu where the wheel had to be removed. Even though the tyre was tubeless, a nail had pierced a tyre groove which meant that the puncture had to be patched from "inside" the tyre as a tyre patch from outside would not hold. This then meant the entire wheel had to be removed

(a) Lack of a Centre Stand - check. You need a car jack.

(b) Roadside Puncture wallah's not willing to touch the bike - check. Paid 400 rupees more just for labour in addition to the cost of patching.

(c) Is removing / reinstalling the wheel a 2 man job where one person's job is just to lean the motorcycle - check. That job was given to me by the puncture wallah

(d) After the tyre is repaired and the chain is installed on the sprocket, does the chain make abnormal sounds which can only be fixed by a visit to a KTM dealer - check

The puncture wallah did his absolute best. But there was no way he could match the tolerances of the KTM guys who have the tools and the knowledge needed to adjust the slack perfectly. I rode it all the way to a service station with the chain clanging away.

I hope it does not happen to you.

[skviknaraj]

A beautiful and crisp review Rajeev.

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

The Navigation is a bit of a mess. KTM says it is supported by using the KTM My Ride App. ........... The problem is that the phone needs to be active and cannot be locked. That is not ideal as in this usecase the phone will be in a pocket.

Regarding the navigation, you will need a Paid subscription in KTM Connect app. In the app, it mentions Basic service as free for 2022+ bikes. The paid version has a trial period for 15 days. I did not find this app to be useful as even using the KTM Connect app I was not able to get navigation displayed on the Console. It just ended up heating my phone. You can may be make use of the trial period.

Regarding the other 3rd party app, do recheck the settings. I am using the app with the screen locked and it works well.

Happy Mile munching!

[Rajeevraj]

In continuation of the process of running in + getting comfortable with longer rides + getting comfortable riding with full gear, did a fairly long 300km round trip. No particular destination. Still kept to the familiar Bangalore-Hosur-Krishnagiri-Chennai Highway. Always enjoy driving the stretch from Krishnagiri to Vellore and hence went that way on the bike. Went till Sai Sangeet Restaurant which is one of my favorites in the stretch. Unfortunately was very crowded and there was a waiting list. Faced a bit of single person + biker discrimination , the guy managing the list was not even willing to put down my name and was trying to ignore me. That kind of irritated me and I left from there. Overall, was an enjoyable ride and did the trip without much hassle. This trip took the Odo to 870km.

Used the quickshifter quite a bit during this ride and must say it is super convenient especially if you just want to go between 4-5-6 on the highway. On the quickshifter performance, sometimes it seems a little clunky and sometimes very smooth, but worked well all the times I used it especially during upshifting. While downshifting, I am still a little confused as the natural tendency is to close the throttle when slowing down and the manual says hold the throttle steady for both upshift and downshift. Using quickshifter for shifting from 2-3-4 is definitely jerky.

Am also generally not clear if I can use the quickshifter all the time or only for specific situations (like upshifting in the higher gears). Any suggestions from experts on this?

Also got this cheapo motorcycle headset from Amazon. Don't need an intercom capability and was also not sure of the usage, so got the cheap one for now and will get a proper branded one later when needed. The Axor Helmet had the provision for inserting the speakers and it fit well. Call quality was decent, music is loud but quality is average as expected, which is ok as I won't be listening to music when riding. Main use case is to know who is calling(which the cluster will show me) and stop and take quick calls without removing the helmet, pulling out the phone etc.

Product Link

Originally Posted by skviknaraj

Regarding the other 3rd party app, do recheck the settings. I am using the app with the screen locked and it works well.

Happy Mile munching!

Thanks for the inputs. Tried this again today during a ride. Looks to be something with my phone. When locked, seems to be losing gps connection. Changed the battery optimization and couple of other settings, still seems erratic. Will check again.

[Red Liner]

You can use the quick shifter all the time across all gears up or down. Lube chain well, adjust slack correctly, maintain the right clutch lever play, and make sure the shifter lever at the foot is also adjusted right. Just a tap and the gear shifts

[adizone]

Congrats on your machine. Damn good choice.

I know its too early to ask, but have you tweaked your monoshock to your liking.
Have you done any trails/off road after adjusting the monoshock? Did you notice any difference?

I'm getting mine on Saturday, and just wanted to check if its worth upgrading.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by adizone

Congrats on your machine. Damn good choice.

I know its too early to ask, but have you tweaked your monoshock to your liking.
Have you done any trails/off road after adjusting the monoshock? Did you notice any difference?

I'm getting mine on Saturday, and just wanted to check if its worth upgrading.

It was delivered with the standard setting and I have changed it to the 'Comfort' Setting after the initial 200km. Definitely felt a difference over bad roads. I have not done further adjustments as I thought I will do 1000-2000 km before fiddling further with the settings. For within Bangalore City commute, considering some of the road sections, I feel it can be made a little more softer to be more comfortable.

Not done any off road or trails other than some small sections of dug up, bumpy untarred road sections which are present on the route to my office. Handles these very well in the comfort setting.

[adizone]

Thanks for assurance. I've been told that the new (adjustable) monoshock makes world of a difference within the city.

It also prevents the rear from bottoming out when out on trails and off road.

I'm aware you wont be doing off road. But just a suggestion, attend a few Pro-Xp rides and you'll unlock a whole new set of abilities. Our machine is just too much fun off-road as on road.

[Rajeevraj]

The 1000km and First Service Update

So exactly 4 weeks after taking delivery, the odometer rolled crossed the 1000km mark. Personally a big deal as I don't think I have done 1000km in 4 weeks ever. While the excitement of a new motorcycle has obviously contributed a great deal to this, I am happy with the fact that I am enjoying it, eager to go out and ride and have been able to step up the time and distance spent on the motorcycle gradually over the last month without facing any major discomfort or issues. Started with doing a few 50-60km rides, then did a 150km ride and then did a 300km round trip.

Also gradually making adjustments to my riding behavior to align with what works best for a KTM Bike. So learning to delay the shifts, keeping the rpm in the 4000+ range, learning to ride in 1st and 2nd smoothly when needed in the city without hurrying to shift up. My brother in law took a ride couple of days back and he was shifting early like he does on his bike and I could see the bike protesting and becoming jerky and slow. That is when I also realized I have been modifying my riding behavior.

Have not made any further suspension changes. Set in 'Comfort' mode for now. Also figured out the navigation issues which was due to the aggressive battery optimization in my Samsung Phone.

Service Update

The first service was pretty straightforward. The KTM Marathahalli Sales Person had already given me the contacts to the service center- Divakar from TKM Marathahalli. Earlier this week, with the odo at around 950, I messaged him and set up the appointment for Friday(yesterday). He asked to come around 9. Reached the center on time. Divakar and Ganesh are the 2 main folks at the center(Khivraj). Initially told me to come post noon to pick up the bike. When I told him it does not make sense for me to go and come back and I would wait if he can do it quicker-being the first service, he immediately said he would then do it quickly and ensured that the bike went in for the service. Was done in around 90min and I was out of there in couple of hours. Only additional thing I asked was if the air filter needs to be changed as I saw some posts indicating it would be good to change in first service. KTM does not have that in first service and the techs said not needed. Did not push on it. Bill was INR 2120. Decent first experience with KTM Service. Not ridden much post service, but in the short ride home, as expected, already feels better than before.

Ready for the next phase: