KTM 390 Enduro Global spec review

The KTM 390 Enduro R is a bike that can be viewed two ways. Cynics with finely-honed social media commenting skills will fixate on calling it a neither-here-nor-there motorcycle that has compromises for both road and off-road use. On the other hand, motorcycling optimists will see that it is a rather unique thing with the capability of being able to handle both situations rather well. 

Being the sort who likes their glasses half full, I have always enjoyed the 390 Enduro. That’s because it's fun to commute on, has surprisingly pleasant highway manners and can take on off road trails well too – with the caveat that you treat it more like a stripped-down ADV rather than a true Enduro. Even the current India spec 390 Enduro with its reduced suspension travel has ended up being my favourite of the current KTMs, but there was always the lingering thought of how good the export -spec bike would have been with its full suspension travel. Today we get to answer that question.

KTM 390 Enduro Global spec Design: 9/10

Its visually identical to the Indian bike

You really wouldn’t be able to tell the India-specific model and the global-spec bike apart by looking at them unless you stand close and notice the latter’s taller seat. That’s because the only major difference between them is that the Indian model gets a tweaked version of the suspension set-up from the Indian-spec 390 Adventure which has 200mm/205mm of front/rear suspension travel. The Global model takes that up to 230mm at both ends and that has some bearing on the bike’s capability as well as its accessibility. Ground clearance rises from 253mm to 277mm, but so does the seat height which jumps from 860mm to 895mm.

The immediate thing you’ll notice is that this is a tall  motorcycle – a good deal more so than anything else made in India. In traffic, you’ll be looking over the roofs of Innovas and Ertigas and it’s a fabulous point of view. The downside is obvious because short riders will struggle, not just to get their feet down, but also to raise the side stand when seated. For reference, I’m 6’1” and I’m able to get both feet flat on the floor. 

You’d need to look twice to tell this apart from the India-spec bike

KTM 390 Enduro Global spec off-road capability: 8/10

Similar, but better

Of course, skilled off-road riders will be able to work around the seat height challenges regardless of their height, and they will discover a motorcycle that feels familiar but elevated in its capability. The added suspension travel has not transformed how the bike feels and behaves, but there is a clear sense that you can throw more at it. The suspension still has a tendency to blow through the stroke on big demand impacts, especially at the rear where there is no compression adjustment. However, you can also tell that it takes more aggression to make this happen than on the India-spec bike.

The new setup feels a bit more capable, but don’t expect a whole new bike

Like before, this suspension is Compression/Rebound damping adjustable at the front and Preload/Rebound at the rear. Also like before it doesn’t have the squishy-plush, absorptive feel that you’d get in a Kawasaki KLX 230 and you’ll feel more of the terrain through the handlebar and chassis. That said, the extra ground clearance gives you more confidence to ride over bigger obstacles. The 50/50 Mitas E07 Enduro Trail + tyres are also quite nice in gravel and rocky situations, although serious riders would probably swap them out for more knobby rubber

Overall, the 390 Enduro certainly feels a little more capable than the India-spec model, but it's not a night and day difference, and the overall sensation is still very similar. At the same 177kg it's far too heavy for the Enduro badge on the bodywork and it's more in line with single-cycle adventure bikes. Treat it like a slim and stripped back ADV and you’ll enjoy it. 

The 390 Enduro shows a slight edge over the India-spec version in capability, though the difference isn’t dramatic.

On the topic of weight, the engine guards are functional, but I find my knees making contact with them and I’d take them off. The same goes for the saree guard and rear grab handles, all of which should help save 3-5 valuable kilos. 

KTM 390 Enduro Global spec Engine and performance 7/10

Its a road biased engine and that has its ups and downs

Nothing changes on the 399cc single-cyl engine, including 46hp/39Nm power figure as well as the tuning, gear ratios and sprockets. On the road, this is a nice engine with plenty of power once you get it past 6,000rpm and a docile side at lower revs inside the city. Nicely spaced gears also result in surprisingly pleasant highway cruising and you can sit at triple digit speeds with very low effort. A decently wide seat (for a bike like this) and a bi-directioncal quickshifter add to the on-road pleasantries. 

It’s fun around town and holds its own surprisingly well on the highway.

With its light steering, commanding POV and utterly bad-road agnostic suspension, the 390 Enduro is great fun to commute on and the chunky Mitas tyres even find good grip on wet roads.

Unfortunately, the engine does have some compromises off-road. It doesn’t like low revs just off idle (something that’s very common in slow and tricky off-road situations) and you’ll have to feather the clutch to prevent it from stalling. The spike in power delivery at 6,000rpm also makes the bike a little more work, although you can also view it as an exciting thing to try and tame. If I owned this bike, I’d definitely look at an engine remap as well as a sprocket change for better slow speed manners.

KTM 390 Enduro R Global spec: Features Price and Conclusion 8/10

It's well equipped and there’s nothing else like it

With things like a sleek TFT display, traction control, switchable ABS (front and rear) and the up/down quickshifter, the 390 Enduro is quite luxuriously equipped for such a bike. The only two things I miss are a fuel gauge (thankfully, you get a low fuel warning and a reserve fuel distance to empty readout) and tubeless tyres. Beyond that, I find this to be a thoroughly enjoyable bike because it can do everything and be quite entertaining in the process. 

It's nice that Bajaj now offers the option of both models for India, but for those considering the lower seat model solely as an off-road play thing, you must also think about the Kawasaki KLX 230. It now costs far less, it's nearly 30 kilos lighter and is much easier to manage off road. It’s also entertainingly quick despite the modest power figures and can keep pace with the KTM in the dirt until you cross about 100kph.

It’s good to see Bajaj offering both versions in India now.

The only downside with the Kawasaki is that it's not very nice on the road and that’s where the KTM excels if you want that one bike to do it all. Thankfully Bajaj is one of the only manufacturers that has absorbed the hit of the new GST rates for 350cc plus motorcycles and the 390 Enduro price remains unchanged. 

As before, there is a roughly Rs 20,000 price difference between the India-spec and Global spec models. Between the two models, I think the latter is definitely worth it because it gives you the full experience of what this bike was meant to be. That is, as you can manage the seat height, of course.

Also see: 2025 KTM 250 Adventure review: Calm but capable

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