Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Guys. I installed pirelli sport demon tyres one month back. 110/70 17 up front and 140/70 17 in the rear. Now once i cross 140 kmph the front twitches a lot and i feel scared to take it any further than 145. What might be the reason? Is it the tyres or is it coneset or something?

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Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Hi there,
I am a Oct 2013 KTM 390 owner and from the beginning I have had the same issue with handle bar and console not being aligned to the front wheel. But after complaining multiple times, i've been told that there is no problem and i've given up. I think that entire first batch had this issue.

Would like to know if you were able to find a suitable solution to this issue.

Brian
Bangalore

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

That shouldn't be the case, and it should be given up, all handlebars are meant to be perpendicular to the fork cum steering mechanism below. If you find discrepancies, tell them, you're gonna shoot a mail to KTM and insist that you'll drop the bike at the dealership until the issue is sorted and the way its supposed to be. Riding with an uneven alignment induces unwarranted stress to your palms and overall a killjoy for the journey ahead. All these hold candle light to safety, which is paramount. Do it get checked!

Tires when replaced and installed with a fresh one, are required to be dynamically balanced with weights so that there is no wobble or pulling in one direction even though your motorcycle has good front end. Do get your tires aligned from a good tyre dealership where they do balancing for motorcycles. Apart from the obvious, do check if you forks are tight and/or coneset is defective.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

It is definitely an issue and can be fixed.
I too have Oct 2013 duke. I noticed the misalignment on the ride home after taking the delivery. Immediately I went to the the SVC associated with the dealership and they fixed it in a couple of hours.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Of course they will, what you have bought are the bias tyres, as opposed to Radial tyres, which does flex at such high speeds..

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Guys i am some what confused between Duke 390 and RC 390 i know RC is track focused bike and i read that we cant commute in city traffic for long time.But i like RC build and fairing it looks better than duke but i am afraid of the riding position and pillion seat.Which one to choose? TIA.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

The seating position is much more aggressive than a commute bike, but if you are ready to oversee that you can use it, it's not like the bike will say it won't start because you are commuting :-P
Just get yourself physically fit, as shoulders and back will be more taxed due to this forward biased position. And find a sweet spot that makes you feel most comfortable while riding for prolonged period of time, this can take a few days to find that sweet spot.

Cheers
Ride Safe
Krishna

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Tried Adon Petrol additive from IOC Petrol station.
I can feel noticeable difference in low rmp pull, earlier it was a bit jerky. Now it's gone.
Bike pulls smoothly in low gears, the difference is so significant that I don't understand how a Rs.20 additive can make such a difference.

How many of you use additives? Any long term effect on Injectors/Engine?

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

How much did the bike cost you?? I heard some hike in the prices.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

On Road price: 224896/-. Afaik, No price hike since Jan when the prices were increased after the excise duty.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

So I tried the Silicone fix. I realized how inexplicably stupid it was though after applying it. I was planning to seal the gap between the lock and the hole, not realizing the lock rotates in that hole and sealing it would lock the lock in place

Thankfully I had applied too little to seal it but just enough to form a sort of cap of silicone between the lock and the hole. Now there is a layer of silicone in the space but that layer is only on the lock and it acts as a buffer absorbing the vibrations. So the issue is fixed, no more rattles from the lock. But I advice anyone thinking of this solution to take utmost care not to seal the lock in place.

In other news, this past Sunday I was out on a short club ride and about 80 kms in I faced a strange issue. I was waiting for a humongous herd of cattle to cross the road and so I had switched off the bike. When I turned the bike on again, I hit the starter switch but in about half a crank the console showed some error for literally half a second and the bike died. The error read something like JG.. followed by some numbers. I turned the key to off, then turned it on again and the console came back to life but this time all the statistics had been reset. Thankfully the ODO was not reset. After waiting 30 seconds I pushed the starter again and everything worked well. I haven't encountered any other issues till now. Hopefully the SVC can use OBD tools to check the system log and sort out the issue.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Check for loose battery terminal. It's a known issue with older plug design.
Open the rider seat and check the battery terminals.
The error code, was it "J6.1.7.3"?

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

hello guys
my duke is almost 8 months old and i havent used it much, now i plan to use it regularly and need some questions answered thanks in advance.
1.I plan to paint the wheels black and have any of you tried plastidip? if so how is it holding up and how did you apply it.
2. i read somewhere that the 2015 models have a changed radiator fan assembly can we get it done to 2014 model bike
3. does the slipper clutch make the clutch lever any softer?
4.and my bike has a tab bit more vibes than usual 390s what to do about it?

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

1) No Idea!
2) Not sure if it can be done coz a lot of those radiator mounts were changed and the fan itself is different, just check the parts catalog once.
3) The difference is lever softness is night and day.
4) Lube the chain,tighten it and check again.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Thanks B7ACKTHORN

timuseravan, My problem was that when I took it back first time to BTM Layout SVC (Bangalore), they said it was fine and adjusted the handlebar. The second time I complained, they checked and said it's fine and maybe the instrument cluster is slightly off. Third time, same response.. I've now begun to doubt myself even though i've been biking for a very long time and I know that the alignment is off.

Need to know if there is a sure shot mechanical tool to check if the alignment between handle bar and front wheel is off. Something like a wheel alignment device..