2025-on KTM 390 SMC-R review
KTM 390 SMC-R expert review
KTM’s 390 SMC R brings supermoto styling and agility to its 390 platform, with an identical A2-compliant 44bhp, 399cc single and similar frame as the Duke, Adventure and Enduro R. The rest of the SMC R is a mix and match of the naked streetbike and adventure bike, with a bit of enduro sprinkled on top.
But the supermoto also has stand-alone features that put it in a KTM class of one. The 390 SMC R costs £5699 in base trim, which undercuts Suzuki’s less powerful DR-Z4SM by a whopping £2300.
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Is the KTM 390 SMC-R right for you?
Reasons to buy:
+ Fun, punchy, genuinely capable
+ Turn-by-turn navigation on the dash when the smartphone is paired, not typically found on supermotos
+ Considerably less expensive than its only direct rival, even after speccing racier equipment like the optional quickshifter
Reasons to avoid:
– Not very versatile with no wind protection and limited options for luggage
– Engine character needs high-revs to make decent progress
– Small 9L tank caps maximum range
Just the right size
A proper supermoto is a high-performance, aggressive motor perched on competition suspension with a vertiginous seat height – you can break bones just by looking at one. The 390 SMC R isn’t that bike; it’s about as spikey as a satsuma.
But it’s far from dull – the 390 is a chirpy, energetic, potent package with capable suspension and brakes, 17in spoked road wheels and a desperate hunger for corners; the tighter, the better.
And if the SMC’s 860mm seat sounds tall, a sub-six-footer easily gets both feet flat; the soft rear shock has plenty of sag, and the bike is slim (the seat is 10mm lower than the 390 Adventure R).
In fact, at a mere 161kg, the 390 is just the right side of the line between full-sized machine or toy-like for a generously proportioned adult. Skinny twentysomethings will fit it perfectly.
The SMC’s long, narrow, single seat tapers into its nine-litre tank (at a measured 58mpg it’s good for over 100 miles); looks painful but it’s fine if you assume the correct position, pulling up onto the tank to get bodyweight close to the steering axis, using set-back pegs to push forward.
It makes the SMC R feel alive and engaged, in keeping with the soft rear and stiffer front-end set-up.
Engine a-go-go
The SMC R’s 399cc single makes a claimed 44bhp at 8500rpm (which, to my maths, puts it 0.01bhp/kg over the A2 licence limit). It makes full use of every bhp, geared for rapid acceleration so it flies off the line with a shuddering bark, then hoofs through its cogs in quickfire succession (a quickshifter is £255.61 extra): you will hit second at 25mph, third at 38mph, fourth at 57mph, fifth at 70mph.
Seventy miles an hour in top gear is 6500rpm, where the engine is unstrained – so it’ll pop the tonne at the 9000rpm redline on, perfect for Cadwell’s back straight.
The only problem with this flexibility is you need to keep the motor spinning to get drive; drop out of the power, and, like a two-stroke, you’ll be leaping all over the lever to find some juice again.
Point-and-squirt works best
KTM have got the SMC’s springs just right. With rebound and compression knobs on the 43mm WP Apex forks, preload and rebound on the rear WP shock, and 230mm ride height at both ends, the bike’s balance is suited to hard-hitting cornering.
Ride quality is great for such a light bike, but the real pleasure is attacking bends with the KTM’s ultra-agile steering (the frame is identical to the 390 Duke, but the headstock angle is tweaked to optimise supermoto-style riding).
High and wide bars give a domineering, front-end feel and play best with a point-and-squirt riding style rather than picking sweeping lines.
Use the well-damped forks and sharp 320mm single-disc brake to pin the bike down (switch off rear ABS for a bit of drifting), drop it on its side, then sit back and ride the soft rear shock as it finds traction from excellent Michelin Power 6s.
There’s none of the harsh twitchiness or lack of control you get with budget suspension – but plenty of bite and action where the bike digs in.
From the seat, the SMC R gets the elongated 4.2in TFT dash from the 390 Enduro, featuring Street and Sport modes with switchable traction control and cornering ABS, plus two Supermoto braking modes that disable rear ABS and alter front ABS intervention.
In practice, none of the rider aids intervene in normal road use (as long as rear ABS is turned off!). But then, ‘normal road use’ isn’t in the SMC R’s playbook; KTM’s tagline is “Behave somewhere else” and I’d say that’s good advice.
MCN VERDICT
‘Engine and chassis built above its class’
There’s strong demand from all types of riders for small-bore, price-conscious bikes, like Triumph’s Scrambler 400 X, Royal Enfield’s HNTR 350, Honda’s GB350S and BSA’s Bantam among many others.
KTM themselves now have four nicely priced 390 models to choose from, with sometimes fairly subtle differences between supermoto, enduro, adventure and streetbike. So the Indian-built SMC R is a niche of a niche, with its 17in spoked wheels, road tyres, long travel suspension, attack-minded riding style and striking looks.
But if a spot of urban disturbance or a sunny Sunday blasting the B-roads is what you want, the 390 SMC R works exceptionally well, delivering a riot of a ride with above-class engine and chassis performance at a great price. Colour me impressed.
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