If you’re a fellow petrolhead or are just a fan of all things internal combustion, there’s likely a chance you’ve heard of the Paris Dakar Rally (now just Dakar Rally), and whether you follow it or not, there are some properly cool machines that take part.

This year (2026), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Rider Luciano Benavides won it, and from the back of that, KTM have been inspired to make some cracking adventure bikes with that distinct Dakar look to them.

What happens if you’re on an A2 licence, though, and want a slice of the KTM Orange Dakar pie? Well… let me introduce the 390 Adventure R! And at just £6,199, surely this is a bike that finally gives A2 riders real off-road capability at a price that actually makes sense, or is that too good to be true?

According to KTM, every adventure bike they produce is directly derived from the 450 Rally factory race machine which battled the Dakar Rally over 15 days and 8,000km.

How true that is when we’re talking about a 45hp A2 category bike is up for debate but after a couple of weeks of testing it out, I can firmly say that it is a cracking bit of kit in both looks and performance (even if it only gets used on British green lanes!).

I get it. 45hp doesn’t sound like a lot, especially for those on an A licence who are likely used to machines with 100hp and up, but for real-world use, it is all you realistically need. Acceleration is brisk, happily maintains 70mph on dual carriageways with more to give, and is generally just easy to live with.

Unlike higher power machines, the little 390 means you can use all that power, which makes it somewhat more enjoyable, although, as I found on the 390 Enduro R (which we also had in at the same time), I found it to be a little soulless or lacking in character. It gets the job done, but at least in my experience, it’s not particularly inspiring.

You may also recognise the engine from the Duke, and that’s because it is the same liquid-cooled 399cc single cylinder unit, meaning you also get 39nm of torque, and not only that, it is also pretty road compliant too, but don’t mistake it – it’s not just a Duke in a suit…

Being a KTM, of course, it’s well stocked on the tech front. Even the 125s come with some decent kit, but the 390 Adventure R takes that up a notch, especially for a machine at this price.

Our test model featured equipment such as; KTMs Quickshifter+, Cornering Traction Control, Cornering ABS, Off-Road ABS, a USB-C port, and three rider modes – namely Street, Rain & of course, Off-Road, which obviously all worked a treat.

I usually prefer machines without a load of tech which is why I tend to prefer older bikes but to be honest, there were a few times when the cornering traction lit up on the dash which was great to see but did leave me wondering if you’d get in the mindset of relying on it instead of taking a corner a little easier or pulling away less aggressively, as an example.

The quickshifter helped speed things up, though, making 45hp feel considerably quicker, and I enjoyed the large, well-placed 5” TFT in front of me. It felt intuitive and easy to use, with the four buttons on the left switchgear, and, unlike some other bikes I’ve ridden before, didn’t take any getting used to.

I just jumped on and immediately found my way around the menus, which sounds minor, but when you’re riding along at 60mph trying to get a bike out of rain mode, it can be frustrating, and this was something I never had an issue with on the Adventure, top job, KTM.

As I mentioned earlier, it comes with three ride modes. Street has practically everything enabled, which feels safe, predictable and reassuring, whereas off-road disables everything aside from front ABS, and rain just adds another safety level to the traction and so on.

In real world testing, street mode worked well but I did find the same issue on it as the Enduro R.

The traction is rather aggressive when it kicks in and sometimes jolts you forward as it cuts the power so suddenly, a nice feature to have and I’m sure the bikes computer tells it to cut power for a reason but as with everything on the bike, it is configurable in the menus.

Off-road mode worked well because it disables all of that, allowing you to spin the back up and leaves the somewhat sedate street mode behind, proving that the Adventure can also be a rather entertaining machine, especially when powering through a tight wooded trail at 35-40mph. It also comes with a pared-back display mode showing just the essentials, which is nice.

If you’re going to call something an adventure bike, it usually means it must be a jack-of-all trades – able to tackle the daily commute, a tour and general road use as well as it does on the dirt (although some bikes forget about the last part).

The KTM is no different here, which is somewhat surprising for a small capacity bike, as I found it surprisingly good on the road and sometimes left me forgetting I wasn’t on the road-focused X variant, it was that good.

Yes, it comes on semi-aggressive Mitas Enduro Trail tyres, but if you can live with the noise of them and the harshness at slow speeds due to the blocky tread pattern, it actually handles really well.

It even proved to be a bit of a laugh tipping it into a sharp bend on a 60mph road, which left me wondering why you’d choose the 390 Adventure X as the R is such a versatile machine, unless you really had no intentions at all of touching a trail or wanted to save some cash (£800!).

You guessed it. It’s a KTM, of course, it’s going to have WP suspension. The 390 specifically gets 43 mm WP APEX open cartridge forks up front with 230 mm travel, adjustable compression and rebound with 30 easy clicks of adjustment paired with a WP APEX Separate piston shock absorber on the rear with 230 mm of travel which is also rebound adjustable with 20 clicks on the fly, whilst preload adjustment can be taken care of with a tool, so it’s certainly plentiful.

Leaving it in factory settings, on both road and dirt at varying speeds, it provided direct and consistent handling even over large ruts at speed through the trail with no immediate signs of bottoming out, excessive dive or wallowing.

In my opinion, this is where it sets itself apart from similarly priced rivals, as it comes with proper suspension. No need for upgrades here, I reckon.

Another factor of adventure bikes is their ability to tour or cover some distance in relative comfort.

Naturally, the 390 Adventure R leans more into ‘lightweight off roader with a windscreen’ territory, but nonetheless, it is perhaps a little more capable than you may think.

That doesn’t mean to say it’ll be comfortable to spend all day on motorways as that is relative to the rider, but in my short stint on the dual carriageway I found the windscreen deflected near enough all the wind away from my chest and put it over the top of my lid, thus reducing a considerable amount of pressure on my torso and also my hands from the factory fitted handguards.

The riding position itself is also pretty comfy. The bars aren’t particularly narrow, nor are they particularly wide; the reach to them is fairly relaxed, and my knees and hips weren’t under any sort of pressure.

The seat itself, while tall at 870mm, was surprisingly approachable too and not as bad as you may initially think once you take the suspension sag and narrowness into account, coming from a 5ft 9 rider, and it was relatively comfortable too.

I’d be more than happy to throw a dry bag over the back with some Rok straps, head to the Peaks with a tent and enjoy some laning, which is exactly what the 390 Adventure R is all about.

Unsurprisingly, for a KTM at least, it’s a very sharp tool when you take it off the asphalt. Off-road mode works really well, disabling practically every rider aid and hands the controls back over to the rider.

It’s precise and predictable, even at reasonable speed and the WP Apex suspension soaks up the worst of the ruts and undulations in the trail with ease giving direct handling, balanced rebound and no risk of bottoming out.

I don’t know why I was so surprised at its performance off-road, I mean, it’s a KTM – of course it was going to be good but I think I’d gotten so used to it being a great road bike you sometimes sort of forget just how capable it is in the dirt too. It really is a jack of all trades.

The Mitas Enduro Trail tyres it came on were equally good, and just how I remembered them from when I used to do a bit of laning with them on my Transalp 700 around 7 years ago in the winter.

Predictable, grabby and perhaps the perfect tyre choice for the Adv R. Even when the back twitched out a bit under load they didn’t go beyond the ‘out of control’ zone and soon got back into line.

Overall, it’s a great machine for the dirt and a great machine to get you there in the first place too, especially with its 14L fuel tank which should be good for a fair bit over 150 miles.

Closing thoughts? Cracking bike.

I don’t believe there is such a thing as the perfect bike, unless you can build it yourself or have enough cash to commission a build. The KTM certainly isn’t the perfect bike either, it’s a small capacity single cylinder meaning it’s buzzy, vibrates a fair bit and the engine isn’t particularly characterful or exciting but what it is, is a fantastic do it all machine for a newly licenced A2 rider or someone wanting a lightweight bike to travel and take to the dirt.

I’d appreciate some more colour variety too. I get the orange is iconic, but Honda have managed it. You can get the CRF300L in classic Honda red, or, if you’re wanting something a little subtler, a nice dark grey which leaves me thinking just how good a stealthy black 390 Adventure R would look with some orange highlights – perhaps that’s something for the future?

Overall, though, the Adv R is a brilliant bike even if you’re used to bigger bikes and want something smaller and lighter for green lanes with the added wind protection of the Dakar styled front end. It’s got stacks of tech, a decent price, good looks and genuine dirt performance with genuine road handling. Go try one for yourself!

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this review. If you’re tempted to get a little slice of Dakar in your garage, don’t forget about insurance. Lexham provide specialist Adventure Bike Insurance provided by enthusiasts who understand dual-purpose riding so grab your quote today. Thanks for reading, ride safe and we’ll catch you on the next one.