If you’ve gotten this far into the magazine, the motorcycle you see here needs no introduction. Let’s skip the pleasantries, then, and get down to business. What you’re looking at is easily among the most impressive motorcycles we’ve come across in years. How so? For starters, it does exactly what it says on the cover — it’s hardy and it’s really energetic.
As if to prove a point, our 390 Enduro R timed its arrival in the least ideal of scenarios — bang in the middle of a ruthlessly hot summer, with most of us being haunted by past injuries and when practically all of our immediate surroundings resemble a construction site. That it’s ploughed through all of this with enthusiasm should tell you a lot about the spirit of the Enduro and how state-of-mind altering it is.
So far, we’ve collectively ridden it over a mixed cycle — I’ve done bits of off-road and highway, Kartik’s raided Mumbai’s infamous streets and Manaal’s done all of the long-range stuff. And we aren’t out of ideas as to what each of us wants to do with it next! We’re huge fans of its minimalist ways, clearly.
Some improvements are in order, too. The pillion grab rails should be gone by the next time you see it and, I think, by then I’ll have added aux lights (the stock headlight just can’t keep up) and a race-number wrap over the scuff-magnets that its side panels are. A pair of bolt-on tail bag brackets are next on my shopping list and so are slip-on type bags for the crash guards which Viaterra should be ready with in the next few weeks.
The not-so-nice bit? No, it’s not the small fuel tank. It’s the chain, which needs frequent tightening (500 km, roughly). A Rolon chain, perhaps? Add to cart!
