KTM 390 Duke and 390 Adventure owners report stalling at low rpm: what KTM's ECU recall covers, and why India is left out

Stalling at crawling speed is the complaint that keeps coming back on the new generation KTM 390s. Riders describe the engine dying while they feather the clutch in traffic, while braking and downshifting, or while picking a line through a slow, rocky section off-road. KTM's own words for it are narrower, "a condition that, in rare cases, could cause the engine to stall at low rpms", and that sentence sits in the company's recall notice of 5 December 2025.

I could not get the big forum threads to load, because ADVrider, ThumperTalk and several marque forums now sit behind an access wall for automated readers. So I am reporting only what the search results themselves show, and nothing more. Those results show three separate owner discussions in three places: a long running "390 Adventure owners thread" on ADVrider that runs to several hundred pages, a thread titled "390 adventure stalling" on a UK KTM forum, and a Team-BHP thread titled "New KTM 390 Duke engine stalling problem". Snippets from the ADVrider thread show owners talking about the engine cutting out while braking and downshifting, and about software updates changing the behaviour. That is owners' reporting, not a measured fault rate, and no single post makes a pattern.

What KTM and the regulators say

KTM's recall notice covers the 390 Duke of model years 2024 to 2026 and the 390 Enduro R, 390 SMC R, 390 Adventure R and 390 Adventure X of model years 2025 to 2026. The fix is an engine control unit software update, free of charge at an authorised dealer, which KTM says cuts the stalling risk "particularly at low speeds or during deceleration" and also improves low-end torque.

Motorcycle.com, reading the NHTSA filing, puts the US population at 6,546 motorcycles and sets out the chronology: KTM North America logged a first report of power loss on 29 July 2025, KTM AG pinned the cause on the ECU on 6 November 2025, and the recall followed on 5 December 2025. Transport Canada carries the same campaign as recall 2025661, describing a software problem in the ECU that could stall the engine at low rpm.

India is not in this recall

Bajaj told Autocar India that the recall "does not affect bikes sold in India". AutoX reports the same, and says the issue is tied to the 399cc platform rather than the older 373cc engine. That is the maker's position as reported, so an Indian owner cannot walk into a dealership citing a recall. What an owner can do is log the symptom and ask for the latest ECU map.

The other 390 recall, water in the e-throttle

A separate campaign is worth knowing about if you ride a used bike bought abroad. ADV Pulse reported in September 2025 that NHTSA recall 25V598 covered 9,070 units, the 2022 to 2024 390 Adventure and the 2022 to 2023 Husqvarna Svartpilen and Vitpilen 401, after moisture got into the electronic throttle, corroded a connection and dropped the engine to idle without warning. It names the supplier as Uno Minda of Pune. RideApart reported in March 2026 that KTM expanded this to the 2022 to 2023 390 Duke and 2022 to 2024 RC 390, about 7,974 more units, with dealers told on 31 March 2026 and owners from 30 April 2026.

What an owner should do now

Note the exact conditions when it stalls: gear, speed, engine temperature, whether it happened on part throttle or on a closed throttle. Ask the dealer to print the current ECU software version before and after any update, and get it on the job card. Ask whether your VIN has any open campaign, which KTM's own site checks by VIN. If the bike is under warranty and the stall repeats after a software update, escalate in writing to KTM India customer care through the official website, and keep every job card. If that goes nowhere, the National Consumer Helpline and then the district consumer commission are the next steps, and a documented safety symptom is far stronger than a verbal complaint.

Riders of the 399cc 390s, has your bike stalled at low rpm, and has a dealer visit changed anything? Post what the job card said.

Sources

• KTM: Recall of 2024-2026 KTM 390 Duke, and 2025-2026 390 Enduro R, SMC R, Adventure R and Adventure X
• Motorcycle.com: KTM 390 and Husqvarna 401 models recalled for ECU issue
• Transport Canada recall 2025661, KTM and Husqvarna ECU software
• Autocar India: KTM 390 models recalled overseas over stalling issue
• autoX: KTM 390 Duke, Adventure, Enduro R and more recalled over engine stall issue
• ADV Pulse: KTM recalls certain 390 Adventure and Husqvarna 401 models
• RideApart: KTM 390 owners, a recall from 2025 just got expanded