Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

[MENTION=72712]sharathchandra[/MENTION] - Some very valid reasons to sell it. CBR250R is a great bike. Hope you enjoy it. May I know the price of the CBR you bought?

And, these days my fuel economy is going for a toss, getting 18-19 kmpl from the usual 24. Same roads, same riding style. And the foot pegs started buzzing too, didn't have that before.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Hello,

I am a very happy and proud owner of KTM 200 for the past two years. It still gives me the same grin, rush and peace of mind . Just out of curosity I would like to know if any one has upgraded/shifted from 200 to 390 and how was the experience ? Is it worth it or should I continue with my savings for a 600cc someday and be happy forever ?

Cheers !

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

I bought it for 1.3 lakhs. June 2014 model, std variant, pearl sunbeam white colour, 6k on the odo. It was maintained in immaculate condition, trust me when I say this, I wasn't impressed by CBR when I saw it in the showroom but was floored when I saw it in my friend's garage. Have to learn a trick or two from him regarding maintenance

Regarding your mileage, 19kmpl is too low. Check for tyre pressure, chain tension, fuel quality, usually these are the culprits. How much on the odo? Buzzing is a common issue on D390, since I was coming from Enfield Electra I found it pretty tolerable.

Sent from my SM-N750 using xBhp Connect mobile app

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

U got a gud bike for sure. U can also retrofit the ABS system which costs around 25k. But, obviously if u need them at all.,,

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Are you sure that it can be retrofitted? I have posted my bike pics on cbr thread, you can check it out

Sent from my SM-N750 using xBhp Connect mobile app

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Hello all,

I bought a Duke 390 six months back and have been a happy owner till last week. My bike started overheating and when I checked I noticed the coolant reservoir was empty. I took it to the service centre and the mechanic refilled the coolant reservoir and also filled up some engine oil as it was a bit lower than the required level. I was told that the bike was okay now. I took the bike out immediately and after riding about 40 kilometres the coolant level in the reservoir started dropping. I thought that the coolant may be filling up and spaces in the radiator. But after another 50 km I saw a 'low oil pressure' warning. I stopped my bike and check the oil level in the window near the engine and it was ok. So I ignored the warning and kept riding. After another 30 km there was screeching noise from the engine block and pulled over to check. I dint know what to look for. From outside everything looked normal except the coolant reservoir was empty again. This time I was very scared. I called up the service centre about the problem and the mechanic asked me to bring the bike back for inspection.

The bike has clocked only 3000 km and I am worried if I made wrong choice by buying KTM bike. Can any one please tell me if these are the problems faced regularly by D390 owners? Or am I just the unlucky one?

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

This coolant issue seems to be on a lot of these d390s, I guess if u ride a lot in traffic, overheating will happen. I also saw a vid of motovlogger mumbiker nikhil, his piston like got screwed..

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

3.5k KM on the odo. Buzzing was present at 5-6k RPM as usual which I didn't even feel. But nowadays, it's almost like it's present till 7k RPM, and since in city I rarely go above 7k RPM, my feet get all tingly after a ride of 5 KM. And about the fuel economy, same Shell fuel at same bunk, 27f-32r pressure, perfect slack with lube.

Will go to service centre about these things.

And, the full red colour which was sparkling in showroom was amazing.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences


That's sad indeed. Were you able to crank the bike/ride it back to the SVC after that "screeching" sound that you've mentioned? What I can summate from the sequel of events, low oil pressure, coolant vanishing and the screeching, I "just think" that it could be either a scored piston or cylinder due to improper oil pressure to the head and what not. Firstly check your coolant, check if the coolant is getting mixed with the engine oil, SVC can help on this issue. Secondly check your thermostat, faulty thermostat too can high temperature stalls. I hope your fan is working fine, if not, get that checked too.

Would love to get an update on the status quo from your side

Cheers!
VJ

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Hey guys,
I booked KTM Duke 390 yesterday. Delivery is expected by February end. Any specific issue that duke owners have faced who bought the bike in the last 2-3 months?
Also need to know is there any way by which i can keep the heat of the bike down?
Any recommended coolant or some other measures?
Thanks .

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

I'm in a kinda similar confusion still [emoji16]

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

most of the 'cons' posted by sarath are not cons per se.. it was his opinion and i respect that !
a lot of you guys might have driven bikes like the unicorn, splendor, zma etc etc.. and then say you switch to a ktm (or a larger capacity performance motorcycle)
in such cases yes, the some points mentioned by sarath earlier might appear as 'cons' but its simply how a large single cylinder motorcycle tuned for performance behaves. so the heat will be felt more (its not overheating until it says so on the console) , the FE (be happy if you get more than 22 in city traffic) will be lower than what you are used to on the earlier bikes i mentioned , engine braking , begs to be revved yes again that's it character, as for the tires they are a wonderful piece of equipment so don't expect them to be cheap considering they are imported (so taxed). if they had given mrf then folks would have said 'oh they are giving low quality tires to cut costs' ... can't satisfy all the people all the time !
i wont even bother to be a quality analyst to talk about so called 'build quality'.. i am yet to see ktm's whose parts fall off or break for no reason.
the radiator fan used to be a issue on older model's but from what i've heard and seen the newer ones seem to have improved quality of fans with fewer failures.

so yeah, have a clean mind, think twice if you can live with these and keep it decently maintained with periodic chain clean/lube and servicing (forget the fill it shut it ideology). it tempts you to be ridden like a mad scientist but a little common sense goes a long way.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

I ride a CBR, back in 2014, when I was riding a unicorn,it was dying, don't service for a year but the engine Is one of the strongest engines . I was very much attracted towards a black 390, absolutely loved the colour n the specs. But my dad was against it, some news about KTM rider crashing their bike, n then there was the d200 which I test rode. The initial pick up till about 115-120 is good but it struggled with me beyond that, im about 6ft 90kgs, bike looked like a toy, my last option was the CBR, tbh I felt like the bike is bigger and it had a better top end which I enjoy, saw the reviews and it being more cc than the Duke eventho duke is as powerful as the ceeber, went for the faired bike and 17000km down from sept 2014, its gives me about 300-320km Solid on a full tank maybe more if I keep the revs at 4000-5000rpm always. Highways I'd expect 350-400km solid to ride. The bike really picks up after 5000rpm right goo10500 Rev limit. Obviously the Duke 390 is hands down way powerful, but both bikes have identical top ends, and CBR is more easily modable. The Duke I didn't go for cause I went through a fair bit of overheating issues and low mileage and the d200 was a great bike, just too many of em I started seeing. It was a good decision,cbr is priced 1.5lakhs ex showroom and Abs is 35000-40000k more from the non abs variant.But the 2015 duke got a slipper clutch and a better radiator, has it made a massive difference? I still like KTM, jus wished they made a 690 twin .

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

I wish apple made a dual sim phone with fm

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

No im serious, it would be a lot more refined and would be a ideal mid range street fighter , beating out the er6n n the benelli 600i cause it will have abs and definitely no engine heating problems