Re: Duke 390: Long Term Ride Review

Mine is booking #3. I remember seeing you on the day of booking. Congrats and please share the ride report once you get it..

Re: Duke 390: Long Term Ride Review

Autocar India First Look video: KTM 390 Duke | First Look Video | Autocar India - YouTube

Re: Duke 390: Long Term Ride Review

EXACTLY the reason I gave up on booking it, even though I waited for it since last year.
If I wanted a fast highway muncher I'd go for a bike like Ninja.

I can't help but to think that D390 has a bit of an identity crisis, considering it's a street bike which performs better on highways than in city streets.

I'll post a review of MRA RNB windscreen in D390 ownership thread soon, that should make it much, much more usable in highways. I think one should be able to touch 180 kmh with it, it should increase the top speed by some 10 kmh in D390...

But yes, D390's price is out of this world, it can't be ignored. And, I'd say, this the prime reason why most people got on board with D390.

Re: Duke 390: Long Term Ride Review

I don't think it has an identity crisis. To me D390 is for the enthusiasts who would do most of their riding outside the city limits on weekends which generally wouldn't be more than couple of hundred KMs.

Street bike requirements in India and abroad are totally different especially if we consider our city streets. In my opinion Duke 200 is probably the perfect weapon to tackle our city streets. D390 on the other hand is well suited for weekend rides to the hills. On the twisties light and fast means xx times fun

Ninja 300 also fits the exact same requirement however as we all know costs twice the price of D390
Ninja 650 is probably the best machine to tour on but spirited rides on the ghats is surely not going to play to its strengths.

Re: Duke 390: Long Term Ride Review

Exactly.
The reason I say D390 has an identity crisis is because it's a STREET bike. And a NAKED one, add to that. Which means, it should do best in streets.
Being a completely naked bike it also means it's not at all suitable for highway rides. Whoever tried D390 or D200 at speeds above 120 kmh knows the wind blast just kills you. At speeds of 140+ kmh you'll get tired very, very quickly.

Still, every time I hit an open road where I can go faster than 100 kmh I wish I'd have D390, not so much for the top speed because I can get easily to 140 kmh on D200, but because of how fast I can accelerate from 100 to 140 kmh...

But then, if my usage is 80-90% in city/town streets then D390 hardly makes much sense over a D200...
Yes, D390 makes much more sense for those who will be using it as a weekend bike.

Re: Duke 390: Long Term Ride Review

I know ppl who ride Ducati monsters till 190kmph n say the wind blast after 160kmph is tiring. Speed is a relative no. bro...

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Re: Duke 390: Long Term Ride Review

It definitely is.
And it greatly depends on each person's comfort zone. Hard core bikers tend to be little masochistic...

However, the difference is huge when riding a faired bike with good windscreen such as Ninja and riding a Duke at even 140 kmh.

Re: Duke 390: Long Term Ride Review

I really don't think so about the identity crisis. Too generic comparison with D200 might be result of the current perspective of D390 to not being a able street bike.

I had test ride of 390 couple of time and had good distance covered on D200. The primary difference here is the short gearing. D200 covers its rev range much faster than D390, so most of us feel that there is urgency or rush in the D200 when compared to D390, even I felt the same way when I first rode D390 that it does not have rush. I had re-thinking of the booking I had done for this bike.

But the second test ride changed by perspective. It had that torque that I wanted, the gear ratios are more than enough for street and very good for highways. I throttled the bike at little elevated pathway and I felt it would take off in the air.

D390 does the same what D200 does in lot less drama, and it just takes time to get into it. D390 does what D200 does with out showing off the rev range. I can say D390 as matured mad bike on its own.

I guess it is just psychological block that is happening here. A good drag race between D200 and D390 will clear many of the doubts regarding if D390 does not that rush when compared to D200. If it is, it would be visible in the race.

Re: Duke 390: Long Term Ride Review

I read a lot about comfortable highway speed in US and other countries. It seems people mostly ride around 100-120 kmph irrespective of their motorcycles (harley/ bmw 1600/ sports tourer)

Also, to be noted most of the countries have highway speed limit below 130 kmph. having said that most people ride all day at this speeds below 130kmph.

IMO people buy all the extra power for an occasional ripping/ track day / drag races and for the comfort called torqueyness.

So the argument of 140+ tiring windblast does not make much sense to me. In whatever bike you are it is going to be uncomfortable and risky. especially india filled with goats, cats, dogs, autos, freaks jumping and running on the road.

And all those people talking about windblasts in KTM. I am pretty much sure most of them have no/less experience on fully faired 600cc+ bikes. And i am sure they dont wear the jacket.

If you ride 100 in shirt or T shirt wind blast will definitely irritate you. good point about the ducati monsters/ street triples/speed triples etc...why would they even make it. If wind rides are harsh above 140+. Speed triple is good example for stopping this argument

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reply to riyazmomin

You are right. But wrong. I mean in international markets the 390 is very sharp and specific for city rides (imagine US city roads) less traffic. Indian city conditions are different from international city conditions.

390 is a city bike (international cities)
390 is not a highway bike (international highways)

390 can be a highway bike for short distance runs (indian highways) lack of windscreen and not very comfy ergos and wide handlebars

so 390 is in identity crisis only in India. I wish they change gear ratios to suit indian traffic conditions just a tad bit. otherwise we (riders) have to adapt (but this is irritating character to a bike)...especially with the compression ratio higher the 390 might knock. I am not sure. But i want to know if this is true from 390 owners in city conditions.

Lets see.

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WHY I MIGHT BUY 390

Even with all this mixed emotions. I am intending to buy any one of the 390s RC/duke/Adv. the sole reason is if you are middle class indian and a bike enthusiast. You dont have many choices. And VFM is very important I cant buy a N300 for 4 L..My family will curse me for that. and especially i would make a fool out of myself. coz the N300 and duke 390 are sold at almost the same price overseas.

Even if I buy the tiger/ducati, maintenance and spares are not gonna be anyway near the locally mfged 390. not to mention ease of good service centers and service. And if you are travelling across india it is better an Indian brand like bajaj/tvs/RE.

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My DREAM is if Triumph tiger is mfg in India like the 390 it would only cost 3.0 lakhs. I know i am greedy. but just saying...

cos in uk duke 390 is 4500 GBP and Triumph tiger is 7500 GBP. check the ratio for yourself 1.8 L : 3.0 L = 4500 : 7500

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Re: Duke 390: Long Term Ride Review


I totally agree with your point "But then, if my usage is 80-90% in city/town streets then D390 hardly makes much sense over a D200...
Yes, D390 makes much more sense for those who will be using it as a weekend bike"

I have been tellling this for ages, the duke 200 is simply a better city bike, no denying that, specially in india because it is zippier(not faster), you can just rev its gut out without worrying much or keeping in mind the gear or anything in particular. No worrying about gears or too much power.
I booked the 390 because it would have the reserve power on tap for the time when I might need it, initially it would be a little difficult to live with in the city simply because of the reason that I would have to get used to the power delivery and the in gear speeds.

Once i get used to it it'll be fine. For everyone debating on 200 vs 390, just because 390 has more power, more torque, acceleration or top speed won't make it more fun. It has always been said that riding a small bike fast is better than riding a big bike slow. The 200 is really a hoot to ride in the city, even the 390 would be but we would have to give it some time, there would be a learning curve involved. Given all this the 390 would still not be able to beat the 200 when it comes to being a better city bike but then, we 390 owners would have more power and acceleration. The only reason I booked the bike, in city limits the 390 would be only as enjoyable as the 200 because the acceleration might be more but other factors would take away some precious points away from it but once you hit the highway its game over 200.

This is as honest as I can get, waiting for my 390 to be delivered and having ridden the 200 extensively this is what the truth is. Future 390 owners digest it, 200 is massive fun and the 390 would be too. People riding in the city 90% of their time, 200 is the more sensible option but then I fall in the same category, just because my heart said I went ahead with the 390.
Mind said the 200 already is a better everyday city bike. Heart said, mind, would you kindly shut up!

This should end all the 390 vs 200 discussions.

Re: Duke 390: Long Term Ride Review

Hi All,

I am so excited to be part of XBHP team.. I stay in Banglore & booked my KTM Duke 390 at BTM layout KTM. I have been following this thread for quite a sometime.

I wanted to upload my testride video. How can I do that? the video is in my desktop.

Re: Duke 390: Long Term Ride Review

Beautiful Clicks Gourab Da This was 100% worth the wait.

Re: Duke 390: Long Term Ride Review

I spoke to to one of the sales rep in the morning and again to another one in the evening and both are very sure that bike would be delivered by next weekend. This time they sounded more confident about delivery time period and I wish their promise comes true.. :-)

Re: Duke 390: Long Term Ride Review

Lets not go into theoretical categorization of the motorcycles. At least in India we usually don't follow this categorization because of the scope of affordable powerful bikes we have. We have seen loads of people touring on FZs etc.

It is the usage that we can categorize for. Can I use D390 on streets? Yes I can. It is light weight, has enough torque, You dont need to change gears much often (which is not incase of 200). It is simple that 390 does what 200 does in less RPM. At least I felt gearing to be adequate for city use (it is not that bad as many people have stated). I prefer to less number of gear changes, be it in city or on highway. So if 390 handles city traffic in first 3 gears, that is fine.

And I still say, 390 does not have any identity crisis in practical usage. If you want to theoretically categorize the bike, it may have (But does it really matter?).

Re: Duke 390: Long Term Ride Review

200 is a better city bike blah blah ... does it really matter... we have booked the 390 cause we know its capabilities.. just saying things by taking a few test rides aint gonna deter ppl who are gonna by the 390 for city purposes just like me...already we are depressed by the long wait now ppl going on abt how 200 is better fun blah blah... man cut us some slack.....