KTM’s 390 Enduro R aims to disrupt the lightweight dual sport segment with adjustability, electronics, class-leading power, and a staggeringly low MSRP of $5499.
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00:00This is the all-new KTM 390 Enduro R. It weighs 364 pounds, makes 44 horsepower, has adjustable
00:08electronics and costs $5,500. It's drastically different than KTM's 350 EXCF which is a high
00:15performance competition spec dual sport. This 390 is more of a do-it-all everyday dual sport and
00:20it's really KTM's first entry into the lightweight dual sport segment. It competes against bikes like
00:26Honda CRF 300L, Kawasaki's KLX 300 and the new Suzuki DRZ4S which we just rode last month and
00:34we're really impressed with for its performance and features but on paper the KTM is pretty comparable
00:40and costs considerably less. So is the KTM 390 Enduro R the best value in dual sporting? Let's
00:46throw the helmet on click it into gear and go find out. The 390 Enduro R is powered by KTM's LC4C
00:52engine. It's a 399 cc liquid cooled single, good for about 44 horsepower, 28 pound feet of torque.
00:59It's got a six-speed transmission and a slipper assist clutch. This LC4 engine, very similar to
01:05the one on the Duke. It's very quick revving. It doesn't have a whole lot of bottom end response
01:11partly due to the fact that we're at altitude but this engine has always been tuned for mid to top
01:16end performance. You can just keep the thing on the rev limiter and it continues to make good power.
01:21Very quick revving but very linear throttle response and power delivery. Our bike today was fitted with
01:26the optional quick shifter. It's an add-on after you purchase the bike. It's not quite available yet.
01:31It's still in its beta version but our bike was fitted with it and we really enjoyed it. So this
01:36engine is very quick revving, very lively. It doesn't have a whole lot of bottom end which is something I
01:41wish they would have added to this bike being a dual sport. It feels pretty geared high. So at altitude
01:47it was something that I kind of struggled with using second gear and tight corners. I wish I had a
01:52little bit more instant response the bottom end just for torquing through a corner kind of steering
01:58with the rear or jumping up and over a rock. But once you get into the mid-range and really into the top
02:03end it works amazing. It likes to be spooled up and it works even just really well even just bouncing
02:09off the rev limiter and it makes really good power. We're cruising at highway speeds over 70 miles per hour
02:14and the bike is very comfortable. It's still only halfway through the RPM range. I think this bike
02:19is easily capable of 90 plus. 80, 90. It's not very buzzy. It's very comfortable. Let's see how fast we can get this thing out of the band here. Watch it.
02:31We're on a slight temperature. Yeah pretty close. Let's see how easily go 100 miles per hour. The chassis on the 390
02:38enduro r is comprised of a two-piece steel trellis frame with a bolt-on steel subframe and a cast
02:46aluminum swing arm. This is a different chassis swing arm and subframe than the 390 dupe. Of course
02:52it is similar. The whole chassis has been reworked to handle off-road duty. It feels more like a street bike
02:57chassis adapted for the dirt than a dirt bike chassis adapted for the street and that's not that surprising
03:04since this is based off the 390 dupe platform. The suspension consists of a 43 millimeter inverted WP
03:10apex fork with compression and rebound adjustment. You have 30 clicks of adjustment and 9 inches of
03:16suspension travel. At the back you have a WP apex shock with rebound and preload adjustment also offering
03:239 inches of travel. So I added some compression to the bike to the fork just because I felt like it was a
03:29little bit too soft. It was comfortable. Wow it's working better and like very comfortable for road
03:35riding and some of the smoother fire roads. I'm five clicks out from all the way in on the compression
03:40and that's just giving me more hold up which has given me more confidence. The adjustments are very
03:45noticeable. And then you have proper off-road wheel sizes 21 inch front 18 inch rear and that'll give you
03:51a good tire options if you're going to be doing a lot of off-road riding. It comes stock with Metzler
03:57Crew 4 tires with tubes. I was really impressed with their off-road ability but also just how
04:02smooth they are on the pavement and the edge grip. This thing just feels very stable very hunkered to
04:08the ground but these on-road banders are very good. I noticed that on the twisties too even with these
04:13knobby Metzler Crew 4 tires. I was really impressed with this tire for jumping back and forth from off-road
04:19to pavement. And then the braking system consists of a 285 millimeter disc up front with a two-piston
04:25bi-breed caliper. At the rear you have a 240 millimeter disc with a single piston bi-breed
04:30caliper. It worked really well. I was able to get a couple no-stoppies, lock up the rear. It's just
04:35very responsive and that's kind of the whole bike. The ergonomics on the 390 Enduro R are very
04:40comfortable. It's very neutral upright. You have an aluminum tapered handlebar that's very wide and gives
04:46you good control of the bike. The seat is very comfortable. Seat height 35 inches which is very
04:53manageable especially for shorter riders like myself right around 5.7, 5.8. The handlebar and
04:58the riser. I really like the bend. The riser is nice. It's comfortable for me but I think taller
05:04riders that are have a lot of off-road experience might find that they have to bend over to reach
05:09the bars a little bit. Foot pegs are very sharp, very KTM off-road ready to race-esque. And then of course
05:15one of the major talking points with the new 390 Enduro R is the electronics package. You have a 4.2 inch TFT
05:22display which gives access to two ride modes, street, off-road. You have three levels of traction
05:27control. You have street traction control, off-road traction control and then you can completely
05:31disable traction control. The same can be said with the ABS. You have street ABS which is a street
05:37oriented system active at the front wheel and the rear wheel. Then you have off-road ABS which disables
05:43ABS at the rear wheel and is a less intrusive off-road calibrated ABS system at the front or setting I
05:50should say. And I really enjoyed the electronics package in the dirt and on the pavement. I was
05:54really impressed with the bike's ability to let you slide a corner steer with the rear but still have
05:59that safety net of traction control. If it gets if it steps out too much it just tailors it back in and
06:04it was something that gave me a lot of confidence to just really steer with the rear and try to connect
06:08the corners kind of flat tracking through these gravel roads. So what do you get for $5,500 bucks? We've
06:13talked about the suspension, we talked about the engine performance, the chassis, the electronics,
06:18everything has been checking all the boxes. What about the style, the fit and finish? I think the
06:23styling looks great. Very KTM, ready to race, very sharp. The inbold graphics are killer and these
06:30graphics stay good looking for longer. That's something they started doing on their motocross
06:34bikes and it's slowly worked its way into now most of their models. What about fit and finish? I would say
06:40pretty on par. We've spent time on other bikes and if you look very closely you'll find some things that
06:46point out you know oh this bike was manufactured you know maybe not in Austria but in general I would
06:51say the finish is pretty dang good. The dash is killer, it's clear, the brakes, everything is really
06:58just it's a really nice package. So I don't don't think you're getting you know something cheap for
07:04your $5,500 bucks. The one thing this bike doesn't have I guess is maybe a little bit of a disappointment,
07:09no fuel gauge. So there maybe is one of the cost cutting measures. Not really a deal breaker for
07:15me but something you should know. Where the 390 Adventure R does have a fuel gauge. Performance and
07:20adjustability. That's the name of the game here and it only costs $5,500 bucks. I think this is the best
07:26value in dual sporting because it's less expensive than a Honda CRF 300L which has been the benchmark for
07:32affordability for dual sports. So it costs even less and it's just as featurized as the new DRZ 4S
07:38which costs $9,000. So I think if you're on a budget or if you're not I think it's hard to deny
07:44the fact that you get a lot for your money with the new KTM 390 Enduro R. There was one thing I
07:49would like different as I mentioned a little bit more bottom end and a little less weight. That's
07:54something I noticed over the DRZ 4S. This one feels a little bit porky but has way better road manners.
08:01We're able to get up to almost 100 miles per hour on this thing and it was still very comfortable.
08:06Rip up a pavement road. It feels like a supermoto. So overall to me the KTM 390 Enduro R is the best
08:13value but also just one of the best all-around dual sports on the market on and off-road performance.
08:19That's going to wrap up this review of the 2025 KTM 390 Enduro R. Of course if you enjoyed the video hit
08:25the like button subscribe and let me know in the comments what you think about this bike entering
