2025 · Adventure · Buyer's Guide
Auto-Shift, Full Attack
The 1390 Super Adventure S EVO is built around a 1350 cc, 75° V-twin making 173 hp and 107 lb-ft (145 Nm), which puts it at the sharp end of the big adventure class. That engine sits in a steel trellis frame with WP APEX Semi-Active Technology (SAT), 3rd Generation suspension and KTM Ride-by-Wire engine maps, and it drives through an automated manual gearbox. Radar adaptive cruise control, a TFT touchscreen with navigation, smartphone connectivity, keyless ignition and tire pressure monitoring are all standard, so very little of this motorcycle sits in an options list.
On the road it works like a fast tourer that happens to run a 19-inch front wheel and 8.7 in (220 mm) of travel at each end, which keeps gravel, fire roads and desert two-track well inside its range. It suits riders who cover real distance at a real pace and want the electronics carrying part of the load. The honest caveats: the seat sits at 33.3 in (847 mm), and neither the fork nor the shock takes a manual adjustment, so setup happens through the menus.
Spec sheets don't ride bikes, but they set the baseline.
| Power | 173 hp (127 kW) @ 9,500 rpm |
|---|---|
| Torque | 107 lb-ft (145 Nm) @ 8,000 rpm |
| Displacement | 1350 cc |
| Engine | 75° V-twin |
| Cooling | Liquid-cooled |
| Gearbox | 6-speed |
| Front brake | 320 mm |
| Front tire | 120/70-19 |
| Rear tire | 170/60-17 |
| Ground clearance | 8.8 in (223 mm) |
| Front travel | 8.7 in (220 mm) |
| Rear travel | 8.7 in (220 mm) |
| Seat height | 33.3 in (847 mm) |
| Fuel capacity | 6.1 gal (23 L) |
Equipment check
Chassis
Comfort
Connectivity
Drivetrain
Lighting
Safety
Years of paddock conversations, owner chats at club nights, and the emails and messages riders send me directly have built a consistent picture of this one. The praise lands in the same places every time. The complaints are quieter, and they point at what the bike leaves out rather than what it gets wrong.
Riders talk about the engine first. What keeps coming back is that nothing else in the class pulls like it, with mid-range that builds and a top end that still has more left. The automated gearbox earns nearly as much: clean pull-aways, shifts quicker than a hand can manage, and either auto or your own timing. Owners who cover long days say that is what keeps them fresh, and they credit the radar cruise in stop-and-go traffic and a seat that is firm but supportive.
The gripes come from fewer riders, and cluster around what isn't there. The suspension doesn't adjust ride height on its own to hold ground clearance with the bike loaded. The radar covers the road ahead and nothing behind, which owners used to blind-spot warnings notice. Price comes up too: riders put it at the expensive end of the class.
Where this KTM 1390 Super Adventure S EVO pulls ahead of — or falls behind — its rivals on the numbers, and the typical bike in its class on character.
Power
Torque
Displacement
Seat height
Forget spec-sheet bragging. Here's who the 1390 Super Adventure S EVO is actually built for.
Ground clearance of 8.8 in (223 mm) and a 19-inch front handle desert two-track and fire roads at speed. Tight slickrock is another job: this is a lot of bike for step-by-step technical going.
Made for Bar M / Kane Creek · Imperial Sand Dunes · Johnson Valley OHV Area
For 300-mile days on Blue Ridge or Mount Lemmon this is exactly the tool. It carries lean angle, cruise control saves your wrist, and soft bags cover the luggage you will need to add yourself.
Made for Black Hills · Blue Ridge Parkway · Cherohala Skyway
A 6.1 gal (23 L) tank, radar adaptive cruise and a gearbox that shifts itself make park-to-park days easy, two-up or loaded. Budget for luggage before the first big trip.
Made for Beartooth Highway · Blue Ridge Parkway · Going-to-the-Sun Road
If you're cross-shopping the older generation, here's what changed.
Previous generation · 2021–2024
160 Horses, Full Electronics
Compare to the previous model →If this one isn't quite the fit, these are the bikes worth riding back-to-back against it.
Any price note compares both bikes at the same age — the youngest age both have on the used market — against this KTM 1390 Super Adventure S EVO. “cheaper/pricier” is what that bike costs second-hand, not how worn it is.
