Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Ok, got it now. I was wondering why would you remove fork for chain service!!!

Motul 7100 20W50. It is there in the owners manual. You can check what the service center is charging for the oil and compare it against outside vendors like MCC. My guess is that MCC would quote lesser than the service center.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Twentieth of November was a sad day for me even though it marked our bikes one month birthday. I was on my usual commute to my office in Domlur on my brothers' Duke 390. My shift was to begin at 2.30 AM and was on the KR Puram bridge at abt 1.45 AM. Was doing pretty neat speeds and if i remember right I was doing about 75-80 kmph trailing an AUDI A4. Out of nowhere came this huge pothole which I could not avoid in time. The bike ran over it with a loud crack sound and I immediately felt the bike loose momentum and the rear getting heavy. She ground to a halt and upon inspection I found out that the rear rim was bent. I was stuck on the 2 Km long bridge on the incline. Trust me friends, pushing the 390 with a flat tire is no child's play and that too uphill. The front rim was intact and that was indeed a reassurance.

Flagged down a pick up truck and got the bike to the service center by around 5 in the morning. Waited for the service center to open by 8 and got the bike inspected by a KTM Tech at Khivraj Bajaj, Domlur. That's when the shocker cam to light, the rear rim was not just bent but couple of spokes are cracked. The plans to get the rim straightened by a hydraulic press went up in smoke.

Will have to get the rim replaced under insurance. Running pillar to post to get the surveyor sent to the shop. New India Assurance is not something that I will be rooting for. Their customer service has basically made that decision for me. The rim is not in stock and I have to wait for about 15 days as advised by the KTM guys. The total cost of repairs would be around 5200 INR. Will have to pay the same upfront and then get it reimbursed.

So by the end of the first month other than this small hick-cup, the overall experience has been good with ASS and the bike, but average from the insurer. Hands down boohoo to BBMP.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

This is what I shout out loud when I come across potholes, 'just so difficult to escape, there's too many of 'em and in every road in Bangalore!

Anyways, glad that everything else is intact. Keep us posted on your experiences.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Very sorry to hear this. Good that you escaped uninjured.

Having said that, i am surprised that you can crack the alloys at below 100kph. Would it be possible to share pics of both the pothole (if you ever cross it again in the next few days) and the cracked alloy? Maybe i am being paranoid, but it sounds like the alloy should have held up better.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Guys, I am facing a problem.
When accelerating in each gear it's all fine, but when i leave the throttle, i hear this plastic hitting sounds coming for a few second, give a slight throttle and it vanishes. But then again it comes back on releasing the throttle.
I stopped the bike and inspected the bottom pan, but it is tight and fixed in its position. No free play, the chain slider too seems in place. The front sprocket cover too seems ok. Wondering what could be the issue.

Does the chain have any chance of hitting the bottom side of the swing arm ? That is the only place that i haven't looked for.

P.S: I will be inspecting each part in detail once i get home. But valuable comments would be appreciated if anyone has faced the same issue

Cheers
Ride Safe
Krishna

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

If you've still got your saree guard on, then check whether the rear of the plastic chain guard is hitting the saree guard. If yes, either give a padding between them or remove the saree guard and that noise will vanish. Hope this helps!

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Even I'm surprised!

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Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences


Thanks mate. Will check that out and report back here. It is a very annoying sound to live with.


Cheers
Ride Safe
krishna

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Sorry to hear about the incident. Hope you are alright.

There is nothing to get surprised here or in fact a shock. I knew one day Bajaj's compromise on quality will come to light and here it is. In all my life I have heard of just one bike whose alloys managed to break at 60kmph and it was the Duke 200. Now the 390 is also going the same way. Here shyguy46 was riding alone and you all know what happened. What would have been the case if he was riding with a pillion? Bajaj is a manufacturer who knows Indian road conditions better than KTM/anyone and the only one manufacturer who never learn from their mistakes. And really how many here are willing to call this a 'niggle'? The issue happened earlier on so many Duke 200s and I haven't seen any improvement in the quality of the alloys so far, even on the 390. Now we have got a bike that can break its alloys on potholes. No manufacturer in the world compromises on the safety of their riders and here Bajaj is ready to go to any extent to make their bikes cheaper. After all , we can't complain them because we are getting a 44ps motorcycle with all the bells and whistles for just 2 lakhs! Now who cares if the bike has got wheels or not? In short when buying a KTM in India, one should be ready to the feel the tarmac or to get crushed by some bigger wheels.

I have heard about the initial batch of FZs having the same issue but they were rectified well in the followed batches by Yamaha. But here fitting the same alloys on the heavier 390 wasn't apt.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

^^ Just check out the FZ16 or the R15 alloys. They perform similar tricks over potholes. Matter of the fact is that sports bike have lighter alloys for better performance.

Another thing, check out the alloys of the Pulsar series. They are much sturdier because the bike can afford the loss of performance.

So, nothing surprising here really.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

I owned a CBR and it got a slightly dented alloy at little over 50kmph. On my ladakh ride, many CBR owners were crying because the alloys were getting bent. Infact, one guy even stopped me on the road to give me the number of the only mechanic in Leh who could set right the alloy. So, maybe one can go easy on the brand bashing. Similarly, my pulsar 220, which has been robust over the worst of roads, one day got both its alloys bent when me and a pillion (combined weight of over 180 kg) went over a pothole with low tyre pressure.

Alloy getting bent is a function of tyre pressure, impact location, rider weight, speed, material and ofcourse the size of the pothole. Just using anecdotal evidence (both pro and con) doesn't prove anything.


Edit: Added info

Edit 2: On a recent 3k km ride I ran over a fair share of potholes. Happy to report that no damages done. Rest easy and enjoy the bike :-)

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

I have the exact same problem with my 390.... i tried a lot to observe and find out source of noise but just couldn't , the noise is very uncertain so its hard to point out the problem !
I did take it to SVC but then it just didn't make any noise on the short trial by the svc guy, he told to try finding it out myself if possible . Apart from this everything is just gr8.
I am just concerned that hope its not an serious issue !
If you seem to get an solution pls let me knw... i ll do the same !

hpy riding

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Guys sorry have not been through the complete thread but just wanted to post a query on my friends behalf.
He has been complaining that there is constant chain issues as he has to get the same tightened every 200 kms.
Is this a known issue or something that needs more attention. A few other advises have been to lubricate the chain but every now then sounds a little off to me.
Await some expert advise.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Yeah! I've owned a FZ16 in the past. Once I ran out over a pothole at speeds of 70Kmph. The alloy did not bend, but cracked in half. The crack was soo big that the service centre guys themselves were shocked!

Coming to Duke, last Sunday on my way back home I ran over my bike on a huge pothole at speeds of 60 - 70Kmph. The pothole was soo huge that I was thrown off the seat for like 2 seconds. I was absolutely sure that the alloy would have bent our cracked (past experience) but I was surprised to see that the alloy held well and there were no damages at all.

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Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Thanks buddy. Got it done. Total Bill came to INR 1880 /-

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Thanks for the reply buddy. Its actually 7100 10W50 FS from Motul . Got it done today, and yes would purchase oil from my known automobile shops henceforth to save some extra penny