Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Saw a new Bullet Classic 500 today with no number plate. It was looking sparkling in us army green colour. But, when I looked down at the chain, it was all rusty brown. It was looking like it hadn't been touched for some 3-4 months. Can't believe a new bike can have such a rusty chain.!!

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Hi all, posting a short update/review of the 390 which has been ridden for 12.5k kms in the past year exclusively on the highways and the road to the KTM showroom. The issues I faced were:

• Error JG 1.7.3 occasionally. Creeps up mostly randomly however Ive observed the chances of it showing up are increased drastically when the bike is hot for a long time and you are riding over really rough roads slowly. Example: 2-3 hours of 4 lanes at appropriate speeds followed by 30-45 mins of potholed roads/under construction roads, stop for a chai sutta break, try thumbing the starter and nothing, bike dies out. This issue is easily solved by just waiting 5 minutes and trying again. 99% of the time the bike starts. If it does not, check your battery terminals. Even if they look okay, disconnect and reconnect them to solve the issue. In one freak incident I saw a friends 390 eat up one of its terminals due to accessive bumps and vibrations, it needed some jugaad to set it back but wasnt a big issue.

• Knocking: At around 8k kms the engine head was opened as there was noticeable knocking at low revs. It went away after the job but gradually came back. The bike is currently at the SVC for fixing it along with some other problems.

• Tires: Had to bid a sad farewell to both my Metzellers. Replaced them with Michelin Pilot Street Radials front and back. costed around 9k for the set. I would rate metz a 9/10, and the michelins a 7/10. The metz were practically non existent off road ({4/10 off road} thus not a perfect 10/10) but on road they were a dream, the michelins on the other hand are 8/10 on road and 6/10 off it. (I'm planning to get a set of metz for the city btw, will change to Michelins if going on rides longer than 1000kms)

• Chain Sprocket: The bike ate it up completely at 14.5k on the Odo. Its one of the issues the bike is at SVC today. The Chain would loose tension very quickly and would sometimes slip on the sprocket (Yes, that bad). A new chain set is 2.7k. Thankfully the spare was available at the SVC readily. Other people will definitely get a lot more life from their sprockets because I use the gears like a madman and I'd be comfortable without any brakes whatsoever as I heavily rely on engine braking.

• LHS Crash guard top nut sheared off due to vibrations: <- Pretty much.

• The front fender's LHS middle mount arm broke sometime which I noticed a few days back. The fender is still solid as a rock though. I am planning to install an offroad one to replace it.

Other than this the bike has performed brilliantly. Ive might have touched 176kmph on an empty 4 lane road. And crawled at 30kmph all day through dense jungle trails. The bike never broke a sweat. The riding posture is bang on for someone my height (5'7"). You can easily crouch for that extra aero for speed, and you can stand up comfortably on the really rough bits. On an average I get a range of 200kms on a full tank. Its usually more but I tend to start looking for petrol bunks once I touch 200kms, it can easily last 250-300kms with careful planning.

Wind blast is practically non existent on our roads. There are very few places where you can maintain speeds north of 120kms for extended periods of time. For everything less than that, a good helmet will take care of the wind noise. Thus I felt there is no need for a bigger wind screen.

I have installed Dirtsack Llama on the bike and I have just one word for them: AMAZING. It is literally a paradigm shift for tourers. They are so much more convenient than traditional textile saddlebags. Have used the Viaterra Claw over a 10 day ride and everyday strapping it and unstrapping it was nerve wracking. Everyday it was strapped in a bit differently and it would still slip at will. Admitedly I never learned how to strap it in the first place like Viaterra intended to. I will suggest the Llama to anyone asking for a pannier for the 390. They are approximately 30liters each. Plus you can strap so much stuff on top of them. Not a single rattle even after a hard off roading session. It takes sometime to get used to the width, but ultimately they are still less wide than the handlebars so its not a problem. There is also no affect on handling. Can a pillion sit with them installed you ask? Answer is Yes! But only for a short while, since the boxes take up space behind the footrest and thus limiting the foot space.

The bike is currently at the SVC for a service (4th i think), sprocket change and knocking problem. And Im here sitting with a INR5k estimate in my back pocket.
Some pics of my bike, Icarus:



Storage capacity of the Llama

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Nice to hear

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

KTM RC390 for 2016 gets slipper clutch in India But we do miss out on Ride by wire system and the aluminium side hanging exhaust . Cheers


2016 KTM 200 Duke, 390 Duke, RC 200, RC 390 launched in India: Report

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Actually I dont have any update about RC390 equipped with slipper clutch. Maybe the report is right, but I dont know where they get the info from.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

My new Paddock Stand arrived today. Pics below-

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Where did you get it from and how much dough you paid for it?

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

I got it from GA Engineering, Mumbai for 2.2 k.

Update: The headlights seem to perform much better now after 2-3 days. Esp today I thought the illumination was brilliant. I think Philips Xtreme vision needs some break-in..

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences


Perfect, exactly what I have been looking for. Are these the kind that need additional bobbins' or are they universal?

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Did you pay extra for shipping? Or got in shipped in that price? Thanks

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Universal!

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Could be! DO help with some night time pics, thanks

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Guys, any idea why the 2016 Editions (MY2016) of Duke 390 are taking forever to come to showroom / for sale? I've been waiting for nearly two weeks and none in Chennai KTMs have D390 MY2016. They all have 2016 manufactured (MY2015) bikes and until those are sold, they aren't ordering the new batch which would have the MY2016 models. The expected wait time for MY2016 is around a month or so. Should I wait for the MY2016 or go with MY2015 as there doesn't seem to be great amount of difference?

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

I'd suggest you to wait for the 2016 model. They've made some significant changes compared to older models.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

They are supposed to sell the old stock first is what i have got to know, because in Bangalore one of the showroom only got 2 MY16 models since they want to sell the old stock first. But there are many MY16 models available which do NOT have DRL's but are MY 16. Go check the dealers in Chennai, you might get lucky. Waiting for a month is too much.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences


MY16 without the changes? Wow!

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If you need the DRLS and some tweaks then wait, else it's not significant as the 2015 was a huge leap from the 2013 launch model!

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Sorry guys, just got the info, RC390 gets slipper clutch(MY16) !!!