All right, a few fact on the riding area. This is area is almost exclusively tight single track. Some a little more flowing then others, but would be considered very tight by most. We crossed a river four times. The crossings involved lots of boulders, some of which are super slick.
We had one nasty off camber mud hole on a side hill that was two feet deep. The only thing missing from this ride was a super nasty hill climb.
Observations
Every time I load this bike I really notice the weight, you defiantly have to put your back into it. However once the bike is rolling it mostly disappears.
The two other riders that join me on this ride where both on 200cc bikes, one a gas gas and the other a KTM. These bikes are considered to be the weapon of choice for this area due to the light weight and their ability to change direction with little effort. Needless to say both the other riders took some nice long sessions on the 390 and where very impressed.
Lets talk weight and effort.
Yes the bike hides it weights extremely well, that said it is still there and it tends to show up in two or three areas.
First is slow speed single track that is full of dips and holes. Because of the soft front end and the weight, the bike tends fall into those holes verse float over them like my 250xc or either of the 200 I was riding with.
Second is log jumping. Once again the front end tends to be quite heavy and it almost feels like your running into the log verses jumping over. My old 250xc was defiantly a better log jumper. I should say this only applies to logs over 2ft tall. Everything else is no problem
The final area you feel the weight is when descending long steep down hills with switch backs. The bike defiantly wants to pick up more speed and the traction for hard braking on these steep hills is dicey.
Handling and Confidence.
For me this has always been the weak point of KTM. Every one of the 6 KTMs I have owned has been unpredictable at speed and has tended to deflect off roots and rocks. This has always made me ride some what defensively and tense when in the rocks and fast root sections. And yes, I have spent big money on the suspension with my last two KTMs.
The new 390 is a stand out in this department, you can trust the front end. In stead of backing off the throttle I found myself gassing it through these sections.
In the super tight single track I found the manoeuvrability to be on par with my 250 XC.
I would also say that this bike does not tire me out any more then my 250 XC.
Motor Comments
The motor on this bike is a true stand out. It is so flexible and puts the power down unbelievable. I never felt like I was fighting the power or that it was pushing me through the corners. It is not abrupt or violent off idle and there is always a just the right amount of power. Over all I would say the power is very comparably to a 300KTM with out the work.
Suspension
Soft is the word that you have to use. After about 2 hours of seat time the front fork was broken in and too soft for my 220 lbs geared up rider weight.
In all fairness to the bike I have yet to touch a clicker or measure the sag. I suspect I will be going with some stiff springs soon.
Other then being soft everything works very nicely with no real drama. For me it is hard to wrap my head around the fact that this is the same WP product that I have been fighting with for years
Fit and Finish
This is where KTM has always been good and Husaberg is basically a yellow Ktm. All the bits and pieces are KTM and the same attention to detail is there. I really like the colour scheme in real life and the rims in blue a sweet.
Conclusions
I have to say that of all the bikes I have owed over the years, I am happier with this bike straight out of the box then any other, it is better then my 08 250XC that I had spent thousands on to make work right.
Yes the bike is heavy in some situations, but even in these situations, the bike is very manageable for me at my size 6ft , 210lbs and I think with stiffer springs most of these traits will disappear.
So, for anyone out there in the Pacific Northwest that is concerned about buying this heavy four stroke. Take it from this hard core two stroke guy. This thing flat works!
Looki
We had one nasty off camber mud hole on a side hill that was two feet deep. The only thing missing from this ride was a super nasty hill climb.
Observations
Every time I load this bike I really notice the weight, you defiantly have to put your back into it. However once the bike is rolling it mostly disappears.
The two other riders that join me on this ride where both on 200cc bikes, one a gas gas and the other a KTM. These bikes are considered to be the weapon of choice for this area due to the light weight and their ability to change direction with little effort. Needless to say both the other riders took some nice long sessions on the 390 and where very impressed.
Lets talk weight and effort.
Yes the bike hides it weights extremely well, that said it is still there and it tends to show up in two or three areas.
First is slow speed single track that is full of dips and holes. Because of the soft front end and the weight, the bike tends fall into those holes verse float over them like my 250xc or either of the 200 I was riding with.
Second is log jumping. Once again the front end tends to be quite heavy and it almost feels like your running into the log verses jumping over. My old 250xc was defiantly a better log jumper. I should say this only applies to logs over 2ft tall. Everything else is no problem
The final area you feel the weight is when descending long steep down hills with switch backs. The bike defiantly wants to pick up more speed and the traction for hard braking on these steep hills is dicey.
Handling and Confidence.
For me this has always been the weak point of KTM. Every one of the 6 KTMs I have owned has been unpredictable at speed and has tended to deflect off roots and rocks. This has always made me ride some what defensively and tense when in the rocks and fast root sections. And yes, I have spent big money on the suspension with my last two KTMs.
The new 390 is a stand out in this department, you can trust the front end. In stead of backing off the throttle I found myself gassing it through these sections.
In the super tight single track I found the manoeuvrability to be on par with my 250 XC.
I would also say that this bike does not tire me out any more then my 250 XC.
Motor Comments
The motor on this bike is a true stand out. It is so flexible and puts the power down unbelievable. I never felt like I was fighting the power or that it was pushing me through the corners. It is not abrupt or violent off idle and there is always a just the right amount of power. Over all I would say the power is very comparably to a 300KTM with out the work.
Suspension
Soft is the word that you have to use. After about 2 hours of seat time the front fork was broken in and too soft for my 220 lbs geared up rider weight.
In all fairness to the bike I have yet to touch a clicker or measure the sag. I suspect I will be going with some stiff springs soon.
Other then being soft everything works very nicely with no real drama. For me it is hard to wrap my head around the fact that this is the same WP product that I have been fighting with for years
Fit and Finish
This is where KTM has always been good and Husaberg is basically a yellow Ktm. All the bits and pieces are KTM and the same attention to detail is there. I really like the colour scheme in real life and the rims in blue a sweet.
Conclusions
I have to say that of all the bikes I have owed over the years, I am happier with this bike straight out of the box then any other, it is better then my 08 250XC that I had spent thousands on to make work right.
Yes the bike is heavy in some situations, but even in these situations, the bike is very manageable for me at my size 6ft , 210lbs and I think with stiffer springs most of these traits will disappear.
So, for anyone out there in the Pacific Northwest that is concerned about buying this heavy four stroke. Take it from this hard core two stroke guy. This thing flat works!
Looki
