Its not the dead bugs you need to worry about, but small stones. Good thing about the duke is that it has al radiator guard to protect from small stones kicked up by front wheel. I saw what happened to one of the CBR's with bent fins due to stone kicked up by the front wheel.

And the number plate is not significant enough to block airflow If you should get clamps, paint em orange

Hey Folks, This is the first time I am posting,despite of just observing all of your discussions. First of all thanks to all of you for sharing so much useful information about the Duke, which I have been following in this thread as well as the First Impressions thread. Anyways I need more info and Help from you guys.
I had got my Duke on 29 March, Of course after a long wait and i have completed 500 kms in the ODO. It is giving me good Average too.. but the problem is it sounds very different. It isnt that raw roar I used to get like before. The sound is kinda FUZZY.... like "Khassssss..." along with the normal sound...And its mostly from the engine from what I have observed.To be more elaborate ,it sounds like the pulsar during the startup...(Initially it was'nt so)
Do I have to change the oil? Or what kinda problem it is?
Also its my first bike , So I am just too cautious riding it nowadays.. AM just worried whether Am I riding it properly in the proper revs..
Also the chain is hitting somewhere and making some noise ... Performance wise it is fine I think.. because I tend to drive it very slow until the Run In..
Please help me out.

I guess the sound maybe because you aren't riding above a certain RPM range since you are running it in? Btw you can safely rev it upto 7.5k RPM without worry of any damage!!! Make sure you give it a good run till 7.5k RPM Everyday, although not all the time, the rest of the time you can ride normally. The only thing you shouldn't do while running-in is Completely twist the throttle, you just wanna ease it up to the 7.5k mark during the running in. Once you keep hitting 7.5k rpm in every gear you will notice the exhaust note getting back to it's rorty self!!!

Nope. Too soon. You only clocked 500kms wait till 45 days or 1000kms whichever is earlier.
Switch to Motul 7100 20w50 when your oil change is due in the first service, around 725 per 1L bottle. Worth every penny.

The chain is hitting the inner area of the black plastic chain guard, and its a common occurence in all KTMs sadly, please also check to see if you have a rubber installed in the beginning of your LHS swing arm, that is the chain guide, they apparently forgot to install it in some Batches of the KTM.

Hope this helped.

riding with Duke

this is my first post in this thread.
Got the orange baby on 30 March. I fell love with it from the first sight. Overall experience at the showroom was good. Bikes odometer was showing 13 km at the time of delivery. After undergoing PDI, bike was handed to me.
Over all ride is good, about the pick up-pillion rider can say the best as every time during acceleration he/she is thrown backwards. Grip on the road is best in the class, while going on the curves confident level increases. Brakes are better but ABS would have made them excellent. Got the suspension tuned up to level 4, ride has become better after this. Rear brake was making noise so got it cleaned at service station, after which sound disappeared. During night what i like most is the brightness of headlight. Bike has done 450 so far.
Few questions which you will hear every time you stop with bike:
Kitne ke hai? (How much it cost?)
Kiyna dete hai? (What is mileage?)
Peche dusra beth jai to bike neche to nahi ho jate-ek e shocker laga hai? (Does back of the bike moves down if pillon is sitting?)
KTM-Chinese hai kya? (KTM-is it chinese?)
and a lot of other questions.
I am attaching some pictures of mileage i am getting! (sorry for quality, 2 of them are taken with mobile Nokia E72
I am sorry for mixing up everything, but tried hard to give everything in simple way as its my first thread.

Engine leak

I just noticed this yesterday, My duke has something like engine oil leaking from the rubber caps on the engine head. I wonder what could be wrong. It isn't too much and looks like it is grease holding the rubbers on the block. Has anyone else had this issue?

The bike has done 825Km till now and is soon due for service.

Now I could do a 133kmph on my Duke after 1st service, but I needed to know if the speed is electronially limited to 138kmph as discussed in the previous posts, and if "YES", Wil it start slowin down once we r in the 130+ range ????....becs the climb from 110 to 132 ws pretty quick...and after tat...struggle started...

Anf if there is no limit, Is 138kmph the MAX this bike can do ???

km/l reading

is the km/l reading a buggy one ? i am getting 45+ according to the reading, and actually getting around 30....

Couple of things. Normally Mileage indicators do not account for fuel consumed during idle, and in slow speeds (Not sure what is "Slow speed" for duke's ECU ). It will not account for Evaporation from tank. Also Mileage indicator in duke samples for a short duration, and not the long term one. So if you have been very gentle during the last part of the ride before refuel, it will show you good mileage.

Yes, the speed is limited by the rev limiter. There's no slowing down due to the rev limiter, it's rather a sudden cut off. What you're seeing beyond 125-130 is only the slowing down of power delivery due to bike's characteristics, wind etc.

And if there's no limit, I don't think there's too much a stock Duke can do. May be 5-10Kmph more at the cost of reduction in engine life.

yesterday I went for chennai meet with GIR team on ECR road. From Utthandi Toll booth we (around 100bikes) rode to mahabalipuram in 2x2 formation. We were cruising at 60-70kmph. The console showed 58kmpl. That's the highest ever shown by my console. Previously it had shown 54kmpl has highest. I think 60-70kmph is the sweet spot for Duke in terms of kmpl.


So in case of long rides where possibility of finding the petrol pump is scarce, you know what speed you should run your duke.

But the way i ride it gives on an average 40kmpl, which is also very good.

Thanks A Lot Joshzma. It is helpful bud.

I am really going in the low revs I think.. Trying to take too much care. So, You mean to say If I manage to rev it to upto 5-6k every gear,and maintain it..Will the engine sound back to normal?? I want that roar badly!! I hope I didnt change its behaviour completely I beleive.

Even i read that news.. sick to hear such things re.. such assh***s do deserve a shot..

There is this funny thought of securing the bike came to my mind.. so sharing it with u guys.

Get yourself a good battery-life cheap samsung cell fone and get a vodafone connection.. Hide the fone somewhere in the bike (under the pillion seat in the tool kit is the best i could think of)..

In case your bike gets stolen, just complain in the nearest police stn and ask them to trace that number in the bike.. funny.. but who know.. can help some kid.

+1.. While riding on eastern express highway at about 60-70, the console was showing 57kmpl.

I like your idea. Its cheap and easily implementable. Atleast the simcards and old phones lying in house would to come to some use.

Is there anyother way by which a cell phone with sim can be trackable??

EDIT: i was doing a little search, and i came accross this : http://www.ebay.in/itm/VEHICLE-CAR-G...item3f15c8ac95

Is there something cheap available?? I am still searching for more options.

Am assuming you guys havent heard about
Micro Technologies (India) Ltd.

Both these systems are for cars..

Plus my mobile idea can be functional in 1500-2000 bucks easily.