Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

abroad few motorcycle companies recommend gear oil for o ring open chain system. the lube at ASS was all over the rims and it was very tough to clean up, but this gear oil is so easy to clean. a very mild shampoo is enough, no hard scrubbing needed. wish to move because chain needs frequent lubing, a max of 200 kms or 3 days at best, and its dry again.

BTW shell petrol bunk is not there in kerala. so can you help me out?

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Hello guys!! I have been waiting for thre duke to be launchd in different colours, but having subscribed to this thread i am realising that the ktm is associated with a lot of quality level issues. Like front brakes improper or for that matter, the engine sounds and the exhausts touching the engine, i mean these are all quality assurance issues.
So my question is, is it because these bikes have been manufactured in India. Its hard to believe so because, nevertheless they were inspected in Austria.
Then how come these issues in a production bike which has just run 2.5k kms?? Is it a thing i should be bothered about?? Because then it would be no different for the RCs as well.

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Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Yes, ASS usually use OKS. Nothing too good in terms of resistance to spraying out on the rim. Cyclo has best resistance to being flung out on to the rim. You can just wash the rim with plain water if you wash the bike every week.

I found some links -

Cyclo Motor Flush--buy Car maintenance accessories online at carkhana.com
Sputnik Industries

Maybe you can try and see.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

I still believe that these problems are only present in around 20% of bikes in initial lots. If you go through the thread, rarely would you see newer bikes facing any issues. Maybe the quality check for some batches were not done properly, but, having been made in India does not in any way affect the quality of chassis, engines and electronics.

There are obvious things that have been sacrificed for effective pricing like plastics, paint, however, these in no way affect the performance of the bike.

ok, have been facing a peculiar problem since yesterday. The bike is been stalling very frequently. Happens at any speed, irrespective of whether the engine is cold or hot. imagine a situation: going at 40kmph at 2nd gear, see a speed breaker, pull in the clutch, and the bike just stalls. At times, its stalling just while changing gear, bike being in motion. At times the feeling is like the petrol is just cutoff. starts and moves fine after switching off and on the kill switch. Its happened around 8-9 times since yesterday morning and had started to worry me. What areas could i look in to? could it be bad fuel and clogged injectors? Could it be some sensor playing some trick somewhere? will these stallings be registered by ECU and shown up on running a diagnosis? or it is some play issue in clutch and accelerator?

@nasirkara:
Is the bike stopping when you close the throttle? If yes, it could be due to misfiring of the sparkplug or some ECU interference which stops the petrol pump.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

@abhijeet080808

1st one got some site error. payment option not there for this product.

2nd site got no sale option...

what else???

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

No idea mate. Maybe someone from KL can help. Also, you can contact them directly - Pidilite - Contact Details

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Now that you mention, most likely YES. Have noticed it happen when i pull in the clutch, while in motion (which also means that i could be closing the throttle simultaneously. I did not get the misfiring of spark plug issue & the ECU interference. could you please expand on it a bit. Will changing the spark plug help? has anyone faced similar issues?

One of the reasons why i got the 390 was expecting peace of mind, as i was sick of visiting mechanic every week for my C5. In the 3K kms which i have done on my 390 in last 2.5 months, the feeling is a mixed one. On one hand, i like the bike for its peppiness, handling, balance etc, but issues i have faced such as chain slap noise from day one, irritating high frequency vibration noise from the front end, squeaky brakes even after opening, sanding and cleaning, and the recent issues such as the fork oil leak and now this stalling issue are not aligned with my expectation. would be happier if these minor niggles were sorted before selling the bike. But i am sure they will take cues from the actual user experiences and refine the product.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Welcome to the club :P

A couple of us have been facing the problem but no solution as yet. Press the clutch and boom engine dies, and it restarts as if there was no problem at all. I don't think the ECU registers it (someone had it checked and there was nothing).

I got the entire electrical wiring of the bike changed last week. Been riding the bike and the stalls have reduced considerably (happened just twice in about 100km of riding... and that was when I was trying to stall the bike as much as possible by pressing the clutch randomly. The bike did stall though twice sadly). So this is not a solution.

Next up, I'll replace the fuel filter in my second service due very soon. The SC guy did say that fuel quality can be a issue, but I refuse to believe that is the case.

And also, (x- I forgot his name) had left the bike to investigate the same issue. The spark plug was changed and some shaft was tightened but that has not resolved his problems as well.

So basically we are living with a dangerous defect in our bike and that is worrisome (and worse no solution as yet. The ASS tries to ignore it completely).

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Dont worry about the quality of the bike. Is it fairly good. Very few people are facing issues. If you read ownership thread you will mostly see problems being discussed.
How many times can you post how fantastic the bike is?
[MENTION=26882]social[/MENTION], [MENTION=46353]nasirkaka[/MENTION] The svc guys also told me fuel quality or the air filter becoming dirty. But I am not sure if that is indeed the reason. The bike does not feel like gasping before shutting down. It just shuts down. Also I noticed that it happens general at around 4th gear and around 40-50 kmph.
But it is very rare for me. Maybe once in a couple of days (around 70 or so km).

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

That x is me...lol. The only solution I have found is to not close the throttle all the way. This will work guaranteed, but, one should be careful not to downshift when engine rpm is high.


The ECU controls the fuel injection into the bike. Maybe when you close the throttle, the ecu decides that no fuel needs to be injected to the engine for combustion, hence the engine is cut-off. The other problem could be a faulty spark plug not firing at a certain moment, to burn the fuel in the combustion chamber. Continuous misfires would mean that engine is not able to generate power, hence the sensors inform ECU, which in order to avoid any issues to engine, shuts it off.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

It has been my observation as well that if the throttle is not completely closed, there is no shutdown. So the issue seems to be either miscalculation by the ecu or small delay in starting the idling loop after the throttle is closed.
What I dont understand is that this problem has started recently. It was not present initially.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Now that i read about the stalling issue, i remember the test ride bike available in the ktm vashi showroom and how it stalled 4-5 times while i rode it. The bajaj guy told me it was because i was leaving the clutch earlier, but i doubted it that very moment.

It wasn't like i forgot how to ride a bike. Probably it was this very issue.

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Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

I faced this issue [bike shutting down while decelerating] for the first time 2 days ago. I was riding in 3rd gear and had to reduce the speed for a speed breaker. Pulled in the clutch, blipped the throttle, switched to 2nd and the bike switched off for no reason. I switched off the ignition, and switched on and the bike started without any issues.

When I faced the above issue, it was 2nd day after completing my 2nd service. I got my air filter, spark plug and fuel filter replaced during 2nd service and so these items may not be a culprit here.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

That eliminates bad fuel/air causing the problem. The relatively newer batches seem to have this issue as I dont remember any previous batch riders reporting this problem.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Correcta!

Also if you take my case as an example, All this started since yesterday morning, without any alteration to the bike, except the front fork oil seal replacement which happened on the sunday in-front of my eyes. No electricals or any other part of the bike was touched.

If its anything to do with throttle lag, etc, then howcome it just started it yesterday. Not that i have made any changes to my riding style. Also, in general closing the throttle while riding should not stall the bike.
From the earlier few posts, a couple of points are clear:
1. changing the wiring harness does NOT completely resolve the issue
2. new fuel filter is not helping either (also can fuel filter really gets so dirty/clogged in 2.5k kms run new bike?)
3 changing air filter is not helping
4. changing spark plug is not completely solving the issue.

hope we are able to pinpoint and nail the issue soon. Fearing stalling, especially while in moderate traffic, i have been riding slowly and on the left side of the road. damn! didnt really buy the duke for riding like this..