Radiator guard or Mud Flap?

Sent from my G-Note on Taptalk

it is ready made rubber flap available in any bike spare's shop
it is exactly the same width as of the mud guard and length is approximately 3"inches
i took a sand paper and roughened the inside part of mudguard and then applied fevi-quick and attached the flap as i didn't want to drill a hole and spoil the mud mud-guard
total cost was less than 50 bucks
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i made the radiator guard on my own using Stainless steel mesh
u can refer back few pages about that post of mine

Went to the svc yesterday. Had to be there for a full 4 hours before everything was sorted out,well almost!
PS : note this was not a regular service, my bike has done 700+ km till now.
The issues I had :
1) chain sound due to may be a chain tightening DIY gone wrong and unlubed chain and probably misaligned wheel too.
2)The handle bar assembly giving a creaky sound(like 'charrrr').
3)Wanted to change the engine oil.
4)Wanted to reduce the play in front brake lever, to make it feel more sharp.

Here is what happened at the SVC :
1) They first washed the vehicle with a mild jet of water despite my instructions of not doing so.I had parked the bike at the svc as the head mechanic was busy and had gone for a tea break. When I returned, I found the junior mech was washing the bike in the washing bay.
I stormed in and told that I had said no to pressure wash. He said, it's standard practice and let me check the jet from the nozzle.
It was surprisingly mild, more like a misty fountain of water. I let him complete the wash.
After that he used a air pressure gun to evaporate the water on the bike.
The guys here don't use a chain cleaner. They use diesel. I told the head mech it's an o-ring, he said he knew but company itself had given training with diesel.They then lubricated the chain and front sprocket with the Bajaj chain spray. Am going to buy a Motul chain cleaner and lube soon.
The sound was almost gone. But it resurfaced when I came back. I suspect, it's a rear wheel misalignment issue as wheel alignment was not checked there.

2)The sound coming from the handlebar is not there anymore. 2 nuts tightened, one at the right clamp and the 2nd one is the huge nut sitting at the centre of the handlebar.

3)Engine oil was changed, as well as the oil filter.I filled Motul 3100 4T 20W50. I culd see a lot of IMRI in the drained oil. IT was dark brown in colour. Brought the remaining 600 ml home.Will only have to buy 1 bottle for the 1st service.

4)The front and rear brake lever play can't be altered. At least that's what the head mech told me. BTW the manual is silent too. It does list these in the index, but when you try to locate the section, you find that the indicated page does not have anything.

Overall impression :
very good and friendly SVC. The head mech Rehman is very knowledgeable and helpful. Though he himself did not work on my bike, he was answering all my queries while he was fixing another bike along with guiding the junior mech. btw the junior mech was under the impression that I have come for the first service. I had my air filter cleaned, battery checked and terminal protection applied, tyre pressure checked and rectified. Correct pressure is indeed 25/28.5(solo) and 25/32(with pillion).
Though the chain noise has not gone completely, I am pretty satisfied and hope the possible wheel misalignment would be checked and corrected during 1st service and the chain noise would disappear.

Now some inside news :

I asked Rehman bhai about engine seizure cases. He told he has only received one such case here, but also said, engine seizure cases are not rare as it should be across the svcs. The particular case he had handled was becuase too much ripping too soon(in run in). The engine was replaced(not sure if the entire engine or the cylinder-piston kit only)
When I asked about coolant change, he told he has not done it yet but that coolant flush available in the market should be used to flush out the old coolant completely.

PS : met a guy who had come all the way from Vasai to get his cylinder head changed. He was getting excessive valve noise.It was done under warranty. He told me he is friends with Satyen bhai who lives in the next building to him. Small place this, Mumba

Now some help : Which polish and wax should be used for the duke? advice needed for the metal part, the orange tank and the black plastic parts?

I have decided to go for the duke, but still worried about the reliability of the bike, especially about the oil leakage in the front forks, and coolant heating/leaking, even leading to engine damage in some cases.
Please throw some light on these issues, or any other issue which a potential owner should know about. Thanks in advance.

1. Oil leakage of front forks - Since these are upside down forks, you need to be slightly more careful. But, all you have to do is clean the forks with a clean cloth every alternate day to ensure the seals are not damaged.

2. Coolant heating/ leaking - I've not come across a case of coolant heating. If you mean the engine heat, then rest assured its quite normal for liquid cooled engines. WRT to leakage, it only happens when the coolant is filled to the max level. You just have to ensure that the level is between the max and min levels.

The running costs are quite low as the spares we have come across till now are not too expensive.

Hope this helps. Hope to welcome you soon to the Duke family. Cheers.

Good to hear that the SC guys are treating duke owners properly..
I too went to the service station last saturday and got my chain cleaned and told him about the noise from the front and he told me that it was the disc pad rubbing as its not bedded in properly.. Tightened the chain but I think there could be possible misalignment as with DOga's case I can hear the kruccck! kruccck! sound sometimes when riding very slowly..

@Doga : any reason why you instructed the guy not to jet wash your vehicle?!!

Very neat job bro.. U just come up with amazing solutions and that too at so cheap prices man..

I won't be surprised to see a HunkOfGals Security System for KTM Duke 200 very soon

Congrats bro on your decision.
Well all new vehicles have teething issues. When CBR was launched it also had so many issues, which got resolved as time passed.
Now for the issues on the duke: 1. Oil Leakage on the front fork: I have personally not faced it, but it is there and can be attributed to faulty seals.
2. Coolant Leakage: I am facing the problem of coolant leakage from the pipe joint near the radiator, will be getting it fixed during service (ASC cud not fix it as they dont have spares). Personally i feel the coolant pipes and the mounting clips are not of good quality, they tend to loosen due to constant heating and cooling. 3.Engine damage aka Seizures: Read about a few cases on team-bhp - but still there is no explanation as to how and why this has happened. 4. Engine heating : It is normal for a high compression, high bhp engine.

Pressure wash, if done without care might damage/confuse the sensors on the bike. Also the radiator should not be sprayed at during a pressure wash.

The 'krucck' sound is still there, and quite audible when I move the bike in parking.I hope the front sprocket teeth are not getting damaged.Will surely get the mech to look into it during 1st service

I dont think there are any sensors which are external apart from the side stand one.. I dont think that KTM would have created the duke in such a fragile way.. It might spoil the rectifier and other electrical equipment if over done..

hehe no alarm systems
im scared of electricals
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next mod is rear fender eliminator
and front coolant pipe protection

will update u guys in a week )

anyone here having a duke living in pallavaram Chennai

@janesh.j: thanks for the reply, what I understand is that if there are any problems usually they are minor, and can be rectified easily, rest only time will tell.

Hi guys, thank you keeping this is an excellent thread/forum alive for a Duke Owner who wants to find all the detailed information about bike. Keep up the good work!!!

has anyone observed where the RPM1 and RPM2 were set to 10000 and 11000 already from svc???

refer to page no 35 and 36 in the owner's manual
it is given in detail how to set RPM 1 and 2
,
but whats the use of RPM 1 ?