Is this a new mid-weight KTM Adventure

KTM, like many manufacturers, has made the most of the boom in middleweight adventure bikes. In fact, it's built a name for itself for offering the right bike, at the right price, and, importantly, at the right time - discounting any over-production.

That all makes the timing of these spy pictures all the more confusing, as they seem to show a potential replacement for a bike that was only officially launched earlier this year.

Before we get into the bike, let’s get a feel for the existing KTM mid-weight adventure range. Specifically looking at 2025 models. At the bottom, we have the 390 Adventure X, a road-biased adventure tourer and commuter with about as much off-road ability as most of us need. Next up we have the 390 Adventure R, which features a 21-inch front hoop and, for the most part, will probably perform like a low-powered enduro bike - in the right hands.

Stepping up further, we have the 790 Adventure, which again, for most riders, has about all the capability off-road that we’d need. For those who want more (or want to seem like they can handle more), KTM also offers the 890 Adventure R, the pinnacle of KTM’s travel range and a ridiculously capable off-road weapon.

Ignore the final image on the post above, that is thought to be a Duke of similar capacity.

So you could say it’s a fairly packed range of ADV offerings, which again, makes these spyshots all the more confusing. They seem to show a KTM adventure bike, which many have passed off as a new 790. And at first glance, I was inclined to agree. On closer inspection, though, a few things don’t add up.

First up there is only a single front disc, and a twin-disc setup would be a necessity on anything above the 390 range, given the power and weight in question. A single disc brake on a 100bhp bike that weighs 200kg plus is not a recipe for enjoyable stopping.

The engine also doesn’t fit with the 790 tagline. Yes, it’s a parallel twin-cylinder, but it’s small, in overall dimensions and also when comparing the size of the engine casings with the barrel. And that’s before you’ve even looked at the diameter of the exhaust system, which again, looks far too small.

The bike shown also doesn’t feature the 790's trademark droopy ear fuel tank, which is a mainstay in the 790 and 890 Adventure range. While it’s true that, as this is a development mule simply used for testing, they could have removed it, I’m struggling to see where they would physically mount it to the bike in the pics.

So what exactly are we looking at here?

We think what this might be is a potential 390 successor, a 450, perhaps, getting readied to go up against BMW’s incoming F450 GS. And there is a bit of weight behind the thinking on this one.

KTM has, for many years, partnered with CFMoto, with the Chinese brand helping out with the production of certain models - like the aforementioned 790 and 390 Adventure. CFMoto already has a light-middleweight in its range, the fabulously good 450MT. And while the engine of the bike shown in these images isn’t identical to that found in the CFMoto, it does seem to fit with the dimensions of that unit better than it does the 790.

You may also like to read our CFMoto 450MT review.

KTM does have a habit of bringing its new models to EICMA, since it made its return to Milan in 2024. It was there that we first caught sight of the then-new 390 Adventure. Could we be about to see its successor just twelve months on from that?

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