KTM 390 Adventure spotted testing in India

KTM's entry-level ADV offering spied on for the first time on Indian roads; potential launch time pegged for mid-2019. 

The 390 Adventure has been a much-anticipated product from KTM, ever since the spy shots of an early prototype emerged in Europe. However, it looked like the Austrian brand had put the reveal on the back burner due to its absence at the 2018 EICMA. Well, KTM fans can now heave a sigh of relief, as a test mule of the bike was recently caught testing in India.

Despite donning a full camouflaged body, the bike seems more or less ready for production and bears a strong resemblance to the prototype seen in Europe. Up front, the 390 Adventure gets the signature split LED headlamp (as seen on its elder sibling, the 2019 790 Adventure). While the light assembly sits in a larger housing, with a decent size windscreen, the headlight could be identical to the one seen on the Duke 390.

Overall, the bike design comes across as neat and non-fussy, with protective side frames and a tyre-hugging front mudguard. While the exhaust design on it's elder sibling looks better-finished with the silencer pointing at an upward angle and attached to the body through a brushed-aluminium holder plate, the one on the 390 Adventure looks like a bit of an after-thought, as it is placed close to the swingarm, leaving an awkward gap above it. At this point though, this is all conjecture as there is no official word or release from the company about the final design.

Expect the 390 Adventure to feature the same 373.2cc motor that powers the 390 Duke but in a different state of tune, keeping in mind the different application of the bike. While it is hard to put an estimate on the bike's debut in India, we do expect it to be some time in the middle of 2019, if the previous launch pattern of KTM is anything to go by. Other than that, it will compete with the likes of the BMW G 310 GS, once it goes on sale in India.

Image Credits: Swaroop K