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**Gunslingin_Ridr** · 08-22-2015, 08:45 PM

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Guys, do I always need to warm up the bike? I always make sure that I idle the engine up to two bars before moving at the start of the day, that's not a problem. But after college hours, do I need to warm it up again? There won't be any bars in the temp guage when I come back after parking it in the morning. Till today I've warmed up, but it gets tiring. Some (blue)days I just want to crank and take off.

**rakeshr** · 08-22-2015, 08:52 PM

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by Gunslingin_Ridr View Post

Guys, do I always need to warm up the bike? I always make sure that I idle the engine up to two bars before moving at the start of the day, that's not a problem. But after college hours, do I need to warm it up again? There won't be any bars in the temp guage when I come back after parking it in the morning. Till today I've warmed up, but it gets tiring. Some (blue)days I just want to crank and take off.

I guess you just need to do this first time in the day... rest of the you can just start and ride it?

**drive_angry** · 08-22-2015, 09:51 PM

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by Gunslingin_Ridr View Post

Today I saw some grease had come out from the gearbox area, I think it had leaked after the oil change to 5100. It has become semi-solid so I think the leak happened during that time. Nothing to worry?

Bro I heard this engine gasket leaking problem is common on dukes?

How did you got your problem resolved and how did it occur in the first place?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

**drive_angry** · 08-22-2015, 10:05 PM

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by rakeshr View Post

My short review of Duke 390.

Finally these week I was able ride it couple times. first ride was on Sunday 280km and today's ride was 140km. Total ODO is 620KM

In short I can say "this bike is WOW! Fantastic super piece of automobile engineering!" Period. Are you going to buy this bike!? I would just say Buy it!

Why? Ok here is the detail.

First of all I am not die hard biker.. I ride very occasionally. I ride slow because I fear lot. I have ride Pulsar, Karizma and Hero CBZ extreme. Karizma R was my main bike. Its good bike.. but when I ride on highways.. generally I need to go on 100km radius. These highways are full of cross winds and lots of traffic. With Karizma my average speed was always 60 to 70 and when I tried to overtake buses and trucks, There is high wind blast and I always fear that I will fall. I was not so confident when I overtake.

When I ride Duke, Wow man its so powerful. You can ride bindast. No fear. My average speed was 80 to 85.. overtaking buses and trucks.. not a problem at all.. I just dont think for a sec when I overtake.. Some questions people always ask about Duke.. Let me answer them.. they are my personal opinions what I felt so far.

[1] Its very safe bike for higher speed. Very stable bike. Tyres are great 9/10
[2] Cornering is great. I am very dumb guy and fear lot when I have to cornering but now no more.. Duke rocks here 10/10
[3] Some guys complain about seat but for me its not that bad.. Actually I like it more then my Karizma - R not sure why but well it never hurts me.. May be fun of riding make me forget everything 10/10
[4] Look? Well just just just superb. When I ride this bike! I am very special person in the city. Everybudy looks at me and asking me all the time! 15/10 marks
[5] Highways near my city is always full of cross winds as there are hardly any trees on sides of the road but I can say it still perform so well that I dont worry about it at all its lot lot better then my Karizma - R and Hero splendor 9/10
[6] You can ride it with Pillion not a problem but yes pillion has to lay on you

if thats not a problem then this is perfect bike for you. Just if rear seat was little bigger then this will be perfect touring bike. 8/10
[7] Humm fuel tank could be bigger. For now its not giving much mileage for me. Havent checked it but I need to fill the fuel every 150-200kms. This is con who want to go for long touring but hey you can always find a petrol pump all the time and you can always carry a can if you wish! 8/10

If you guys have any questions let me know.. I will try to answer it

Regards

Bro, congrats on getting katoomed, since you are the actual owner of the beast may be you can help in answering the questions I have asked on most of the threads here ☺️☺️So, here are the questions:

1) The bike felt very rattly.. I don't know if it was the belly exhaust or the engine noise but I could hear the "tak-tak" noise coming from the engine. Is it normal in all the Dukes?

2) The plastics felt very good but not good.😔 this can be deal breaker.

3) The manager admitted that white color will fade to pearl white with time, is it true..? Need current Duke owners to verify this.

4) Engine gasket on the test bike was leaking, I have read about this leaking problem a lot and it seems to be a common issue. Is it? What are the negative effects of this? Why does it happen?

5) the clutch was very hard and felt like a pain the butt.

6) Bike felt very puny, although the manger assured that it's suits me. 😉😉 My question is is there any way to raise its height, probably raise mono shock a few notches?

7) The vibration I felt at low revs (at the starting of the test ride, remember!) was the engine cap rattling, I have read on the posts it's a common problem in dukes.. Is it? How to get around it?

8) What all parts I can get in Orange? 😉 I mean the power parts. I was told only oil cover and air filter are there in Orange but I have seen brake leavers, crash bars and cash mount in Orange.. Where can I get them?

Thanks

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

**rakeshr** · 08-22-2015, 10:41 PM

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by drive_angry View Post

Bro, congrats on getting katoomed, since you are the actual owner of the beast may be you can help in answering the questions I have asked on most of the threads here ☺️☺️So, here are the questions:

1) The bike felt very rattly.. I don't know if it was the belly exhaust or the engine noise but I could hear the "tak-tak" noise coming from the engine. Is it normal in all the Dukes?

2) The plastics felt very good but not good.😔 this can be deal breaker.

3) The manager admitted that white color will fade to pearl white with time, is it true..? Need current Duke owners to verify this.

4) Engine gasket on the test bike was leaking, I have read about this leaking problem a lot and it seems to be a common issue. Is it? What are the negative effects of this? Why does it happen?

5) the clutch was very hard and felt like a pain the butt.

6) Bike felt very puny, although the manger assured that it's suits me. 😉😉 My question is is there any way to raise its height, probably raise mono shock a few notches?

7) The vibration I felt at low revs (at the starting of the test ride, remember!) was the engine cap rattling, I have read on the posts it's a common problem in dukes.. Is it? How to get around it?

8) What all parts I can get in Orange? 😉 I mean the power parts. I was told only oil cover and air filter are there in Orange but I have seen brake leavers, crash bars and cash mount in Orange.. Where can I get them?

Thanks

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

1) Nothing like this for me.
2) cant be deal breaker but yes they are not that good and strong
3) mine is just approx 45days old so cant comment on this.
4) No leaking problem.. it was with older version ?
5) Cluth is no hard for me at all. Have you read all reviews of 2014 ane earlier versions? Please read reviews about 2015 version
6) cant comment about this. Its actually little taller for me.
7) There was no vibrations for me at any speed or gears. Ihave gone upto 105km
8) i wouldnt buy original power parts..they are very costly. Just go to Aliexpress.com and try there. Cost effective but it will take upto 2 months to reach here. Or else you try on web.. couple things i got from Olx.in like sites too. Yes all are in Orange and that what will suit to Duke

Only thing I want to tell you is that if you ride most of the time in City..you will get lots of heat.. mind that.

If you ride it with pillion then make sure you fit backrest..it will be risky for him to sit without backrest. Guess you give "fatki" to bike.. your pillion will fall on the ground

If these two things fine then just dont worry and get this bike...

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk

**Gunslingin_Ridr** · 08-23-2015, 12:13 AM

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by drive_angry View Post

Bro I heard this engine gasket leaking problem is common on dukes?

How did you got your problem resolved and how did it occur in the first place?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don't have any leaking at all, the grease thing was the muck from the front sprocket. And I have done 960 kms and the bike wasn't babied in the name of break in, was taken to 9k RPM quite a few times (but haven't stayed in that range for more than 2 seconds).

Originally posted by drive_angry View Post

Bro, congrats on getting katoomed, since you are the actual owner of the beast may be you can help in answering the questions I have asked on most of the threads here ☺️☺️So, here are the questions:

1) The bike felt very rattly.. I don't know if it was the belly exhaust or the engine noise but I could hear the "tak-tak" noise coming from the engine. Is it normal in all the Dukes?

2) The plastics felt very good but not good.�� this can be deal breaker.

3) The manager admitted that white color will fade to pearl white with time, is it true..? Need current Duke owners to verify this.

4) Engine gasket on the test bike was leaking, I have read about this leaking problem a lot and it seems to be a common issue. Is it? What are the negative effects of this? Why does it happen?

5) the clutch was very hard and felt like a pain the butt.

6) Bike felt very puny, although the manger assured that it's suits me. �� My question is is there any way to raise its height, probably raise mono shock a few notches?

7) The vibration I felt at low revs (at the starting of the test ride, remember!) was the engine cap rattling, I have read on the posts it's a common problem in dukes.. Is it? How to get around it?

8) What all parts I can get in Orange? �� I mean the power parts. I was told only oil cover and air filter are there in Orange but I have seen brake leavers, crash bars and cash mount in Orange.. Where can I get them?

Thanks

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

1. The bike is well built and except for some vibes (because single) there is nothing rattling on my bike.

2. The plastics feel like what my FZ plastic feels like.

5. 2015 Dukes have lighter clutch, my bike's clutch is light.

6. I'm 6'1 and people have said the bike suits me perfectly.

7. I feel vibes around 5-6k RPM, didn't feel much vibes above 6k till 9k RPM.

**rohangk** · 08-24-2015, 08:21 AM

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Loving this bike mines about 25 days old now. The greatest gift i have ever recieved from my family(p.s I am only 16 years old (dont call the cops on me:P) and I graduated from a 2007 dio so this is a giant leap for me).

Off topic, the coolant level should be towards minimum right or should it be at max.

**sumitro_d** · 08-24-2015, 09:00 AM

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by rohangk View Post

Loving this bike mines about 25 days old now. The greatest gift i have ever recieved from my family(p.s I am only 16 years old (dont call the cops on me[emoji14]) and I graduated from a 2007 dio so this is a giant leap for me).

Off topic, the coolant level should be towards minimum right or should it be at max.

Sad, people then will say Duke is a hooligan bike.

Sent from my HM NOTE 1LTE using Tapatalk

**wrecker** · 08-24-2015, 11:11 AM

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Hey fellas normally which petrol do you use for Duke 390?? Is shell petrol is better than other brands?

**anarchy911** · 08-24-2015, 12:24 PM

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by rohangk View Post

Loving this bike mines about 25 days old now. The greatest gift i have ever recieved from my family(p.s I am only 16 years old (dont call the cops on me:P) and I graduated from a 2007 dio so this is a giant leap for me).

Off topic, the coolant level should be towards minimum right or should it be at max.

You are 16 and have a duke 390. The greatest gift from your family should have been a slap on your face when you demanded this bike.

My apologies if I am being rude

Sent from my GT-N7100 using xBhp Connect mobile app

**peeths003** · 08-24-2015, 12:30 PM

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by wrecker View Post

Hey fellas normally which petrol do you use for Duke 390?? Is shell petrol is better than other brands?

I try to use shell V Power , however when going for long rides and wen i cant find a shell oetrol bunk I use normal petrol from HP. I try to avoid Bharat Petroleum [emoji14] .

Thanks
Peeths

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**faizan.ali** · 08-24-2015, 12:33 PM

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by rohangk View Post

Loving this bike mines about 25 days old now. The greatest gift i have ever recieved from my family(p.s I am only 16 years old (dont call the cops on me:P) and I graduated from a 2007 dio so this is a giant leap for me).

Off topic, the coolant level should be towards minimum right or should it be at max.

Not good! Please be careful and respect the roads. Coolant level should be between mid and low level.

**rakeshr** · 08-24-2015, 12:33 PM

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by peeths003 View Post

I try to use shell V Power , however when going for long rides and wen i cant find a shell oetrol bunk I use normal petrol from HP. I try to avoid Bharat Petroleum [emoji14] .

Thanks
Peeths

Sent from my SM-N900 using Tapatalk

I do same..I use V Power too.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk

**rohangk** · 08-24-2015, 01:59 PM

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by anarchy911 View Post

You are 16 and have a duke 390. The greatest gift from your family should have been a slap on your face when you demanded this bike.

My apologies if I am being rude

Sent from my GT-N7100 using xBhp Connect mobile app

Yeah i know all people say that but usage right now limited to about a 10km radius. I am trying to learn how to ride properly before i hurt others.

My father actually said that if i got 90% in 10th that he would gift me this bike. Even after i got 94%, it took me about two months to convince him that i do not drive rashly. And on this bike I wouldnt even dare, it still scares the crap out of me when i accelerate :P
(P.s I am from pune)
----consecutive posts auto-merged-----

Originally posted by sumitro_d View Post

Sad, people then will say Duke is a hooligan bike.

Sent from my HM NOTE 1LTE using Tapatalk

Didnt get you.

**Bornagainbiker** · 08-24-2015, 07:07 PM

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Hey Dukisti,
Long time lurker and fantasiser here. I suppose I would fall under the old-fart category on this forum considering I come in at 38 years of age. As my nick says, I am a born again biker, getting on 2 wheels after over decade of 4-wheels. I have owned 2 Bullets (both 350’s) and a HH Karizma and have just over 300,000 Kms of riding under my arse. But that was all a long long time ago. Times have changed, bikes have changed (and how!!) and I have changed to the tune of 20 odd kilos.
For all intents and purposes, I am thus, a noob who just put down a fair chunk of moolah for a black KTM Duke 390. I have enjoyed reading this thread and very much appreciate the advice given. Copied the multiple PDI instructions and printed out for my expected delivery and all that.
Being a learner, I am essentially going to keep my bike stock and get used to it before I consider any modifications. It will be used essentially to commute to work every day as I cannot bear to drive my car anymore in Mumbai.
A few questions on which I have not been able to form an opinion based on this thread and other research.
1. 1^st Oil change required is at 200-300Kms??
2. Running in seems to be the most polarizing topic on new motorcycles these days. Do you baby it for the first 1000Km? Do you ride it like you are testing to destruction? Or some where in between on that rather wide range?
3. Is there any significant benefit in shifting to Motul 300v over Motul 7100?
4. I understand the bike exits the factory with neither of these oils, but the Pulsar oil. If the owner’s manual recommends Motul, why does the ex-factory bike come with something else?
5. Also under the impression that a fully synthetic oil is always better for modern engines than semi-synth or other kinds. Please correct me if I am wrong. I used to use 20w50 on my Bullet Deluxe (Iron block) years go with no problems.
6. I was recommended “Engine Ice” coolant by a friend who owns the RC390. Is there any advantage over the standard coolant used by KTM?
7. I am still unclear about the alloy wheel damage issue, but I get the impression most of us are. I am biased towards the opinion that it is largely due to the fact that the 390 seems to egg one to ride hard and our roads are far behind our motorcycles in terms of development.
Also, after a small (5-6Km) test ride I actually found the bike quite comfortable. I am 182 cms and 105 Kilos with shorter legs than most guys my height, and I felt no discomfort at all. The test bike was a 2014 edition so the clutch was stiff and the fan ducted hot air on my shins but 5-6 Km’s didn’t distress me at all.
The pic depicts what I intend it to look like immediately upon delivery.

Also, while this maybe more relevant in the riding gear thread, I have acquired a Helios Jacket and Phaeton Gloves by Spartan/Aspida and an HJC CL-17 Mission Helmet from Moto101 Bandra. Rahul is a decent bloke who knows his beeswax. Any opinions on the gear are also welcome and appreciated.

Alrighty then, a long enough first post. I am glad to be here and look forward to getting some more recent miles under my considerably larger arse.

Cheerz
Vasu

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KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

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