KTM 250 Adventure Spotted Testing Once Again, Set To Launch Soon

It will be the smallest adventure motorcycle in the Austrian bikemaker’s lineup

• It was expected to be shown at EICMA 2019 but it didn’t arrive.
• Specifications and images had been revealed on KTM’s Thai and Malaysian websites.
• Expect it to bear a slight premium over the 250 Duke. 

Nearly a year has gone by since the last sighting of the bike but with everything that has happened between October 2019 and now, who could blame KTM for taking it a bit slow with the test procedure for the 250 Adventure. Now, it has been spotted in the flesh with a new orange camouflage dressing, suggesting it is ready for a proper launch, which could take place before the end of 2020.

We were expecting KTM to showcase the bike at EICMA 2019 itself. But with models such as the revamped 1290 Super Duke R, the hardcore 890 Duke R and the highly anticipated 390 Adventure taking centre stage, the 250 Adventure wouldn’t possibly have received its fair share of attention. Also, it is highly likely that the 250 Adventure is targeted for developing markets like India and South East Asia and not Europe. 

The latest test mule doesn’t showcase any new bits other from the initial days of testing. It still gets the standard bulb headlight with LED DRLs and not the full LED face like the recently updated 250 Duke. It is still running with a colour-TFT dash like the 390 Adventure, so we guess KTM might be compromising on the headlight front to offer the fancy console. There aren’t any fancy electronic aids to speak of like the 390 ADV, other than the switchable ABS that now gets Off-road mode (rear disengageable).

This will be the fourth bike after the 250 Duke, the Husqvarna Svartpilen 250 and Vitpilen 250, to run the 248.8cc single-cylinder liquid-cooled engine in the standard 30PS and 24Nm trim. Only the Bajaj Dominar 250 has been tuned differently. The six-speeder and the final drive ratios are unlikely to see any changes. 

In terms of hardware, the 250 Adventure will be running the same set of suspension and braking components as the India-spec 390 Adventure. No adjustable suspension here either. There might be a slight compromise when it comes to the tyres as the 250 Adventure seems to be running on MRF Mogrip Meteor-FM2 and not Metzeler Tourance tyres.

The 250 Adventure looks ready to bridge the gap between the 390 Adventure and the Royal Enfield Himalayan in terms of pricing. If the 390 Adventure is anything to go by, the 250 Adventure is also likely to be a great highway weapon that could get away with a little soft-roading.