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**s1d** · 08-27-2016, 10:32 AM

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by Serene George Thomas View Post

after 10 days of waiting, and after writing a letter to ktm website, i get a revert from KTM COchin dealership, that the bike has a burnt clutch and the debris from the clutch has gone into the oil lines. Now, they are going to open up the engine and that they will assess the actual damage and let me know about the cost of repairs.

mine is a 2013 model and with just around 15K on the odo. I wonder, even if i do 80pc of my riding is traffic, how come my clutch plate has disintegrated to pulp? they can claim a lot of things, but, is 15K enough for the clutch plate to be smashed to smithereens? For the first time, i am starting to doubt my bike that i loved till yesterday's phone call.

Can someone help me understand how it might happen so bad and so quick? I have used biked for the past 20 years and i am yet to face a problem like this. Is it KTM quality or is the service center taking me for a ride? In my course of usage of this bike, i have always serviced it at the requisite intervals and have always done it in the same service center. What is the normal procedure for taking it up with KTM India and how is their complaint redressal policy? I intend to publish the service bill in here, once i get it for the expert scrutiny

Those images are not clear enough to decipher anything.
Now coming to your issue, clutch burning out at 15k when set up (correct freeplay) and used normally shouldn't be happening. One reason could be a bad set of plates?! but i doubt so.
We all know that the svc (and the company itself) bulls*** to customers. It's just that most customers are not very knowledgeable on automotive stuff and hence buy the reasons given out by the svc.
The most important thing is to keep all this in writing.. i suggest you email ktm & bajaj customer care with every interaction you have and the reasons they provided. Also ask relevant questions and ask for an explanation. Keep the job card with everything written down and your comments as well.
It would be wise to stay around while the repair/assesment is being done.

Have you seen the clutch plates yourself ? Did they show you the damaged plates?
Ask them what the oil filter and the oil strainer screen was doing? Was it unable to filter the so called debris? -- you need to ask this question and persist till you get a detailed and believable answer.

----consecutive posts auto-merged-----

Originally posted by Skanda View Post

I usually stay at the service center and get my bike serviced and my bike has gone through 2 service till now. Both the time, I have seen them removing 2 drain bolts and emptying all the oil that's in the engine and then closing them and refilling the oil.

A few mechanics at times don't bother to drain it from the second drain point. It's good that you hang around during the services.
With some basic information (read owners, workshop manual) and a bit of common sense, if one hangs around the svc and gets the service done, a lot of troubles would be kept at bay.

**Skanda** · 08-27-2016, 11:05 AM

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by Skanda View Post

Installed led aux lights by welding L brackets on crash guards and repainting them by using spray paint. These go by the name Osram Led and were ordered from AliExpress long back. Got time to install them now. Installed the switch on the handlebar next to 12V socket. The connection is taken form accessory point available under headlight and can be switch on only when the ignition is on. The lights are very very bright and produce good spot light. Aligned them to use as high beam. Stock headlight as low beam and aux light as high beam produce brilliant light and it's for safe highway rides.

Another thing to note is, unlike other led lights, this consume very low current. I tested mine and it consumes just 1.6A. I'm running it with 2A fuse and not faced any issues until now. So this thing is very battery friendly.

I went for a night drive yesterday on Bangalore - Mysore road and the aux light made a hell lot of difference. I was so confident and was cruising continuously above 100KM/Hr. Best investment ever!

**ananthu** · 08-27-2016, 01:00 PM

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by Serene George Thomas View Post

after 10 days of waiting, and after writing a letter to ktm website, i get a revert from KTM COchin dealership, that the bike has a burnt clutch and the debris from the clutch has gone into the oil lines. Now, they are going to open up the engine and that they will assess the actual damage and let me know about the cost of repairs.

mine is a 2013 model and with just around 15K on the odo. I wonder, even if i do 80pc of my riding is traffic, how come my clutch plate has disintegrated to pulp? they can claim a lot of things, but, is 15K enough for the clutch plate to be smashed to smithereens? For the first time, i am starting to doubt my bike that i loved till yesterday's phone call.

Can someone help me understand how it might happen so bad and so quick? I have used biked for the past 20 years and i am yet to face a problem like this. Is it KTM quality or is the service center taking me for a ride? In my course of usage of this bike, i have always serviced it at the requisite intervals and have always done it in the same service center. What is the normal procedure for taking it up with KTM India and how is their complaint redressal policy? I intend to publish the service bill in here, once i get it for the expert scrutiny[ATTACH]217520[/ATTACH][ATTACH]217520[/ATTACH].

As s1d pointed out, the question you ought to ask them is what the oil filter and strainer were doing!😐 Their function is to prevent any debris from causing too much damage.
As for the reason for this, 3 things come to my mind.
1. You got a defective clutch pack.
2. The tall gearing combined with low tractability at higher gear and lower speeds promote more clutch slipping than usual in you riding. I'm not saying that you are a bad rider, but the nature of this bike might cause you to do it more often.
3. Incorrect clutch play could have actually cause partial disengagement of your clutch, causing undue wear and tear.
Make sure the SVC gives you valid answer for question 1.
PS, is this SVC Popular Bajaj at Vytila?

**Serene George Thomas** · 08-27-2016, 04:59 PM

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by ananthu View Post

As s1d pointed out, the question you ought to ask them is what the oil filter and strainer were doing!😐 Their function is to prevent any debris from causing too much damage.
As for the reason for this, 3 things come to my mind.
1. You got a defective clutch pack.
2. The tall gearing combined with low tractability at higher gear and lower speeds promote more clutch slipping than usual in you riding. I'm not saying that you are a bad rider, but the nature of this bike might cause you to do it more often.
3. Incorrect clutch play could have actually cause partial disengagement of your clutch, causing undue wear and tear.
Make sure the SVC gives you valid answer for question 1.
PS, is this SVC Popular Bajaj at Vytila?

Hi Ananthu, It is the Popular Bajaj @ vytilla. got the bike back today much to my surprise. the ride quality has improved a lot after service and right now, all the errors seems to be ok. rode close to 5 kms from SVC to home. felt decent. As i had mentioned earlier, i am not aggressive in my riding and i've not used the 6th gear other than in my one trip to aleppey and another to munnar. i normally get to shift till the 4th gear during the office commute. The invoice that the SVC gave was 11.6K including changing the clutch, chain and sprocket, and flushing the engine. i was expecting a bit more, tbh. but, the sad part is the SVC does not assure that the problem won't come back. They are only claiming that it could come back as all they have done is flushing. I think i will have to play the wait and watch game for the time being.

Somehow, that elation that i used to get when i rode the bike before is gone. altogether. Might start looking for another bike very soon.

**s1d** · 08-27-2016, 10:30 PM

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by Serene George Thomas View Post

but, the sad part is the SVC does not assure that the problem won't come back. They are only claiming that it could come back as all they have done is flushing. I think i will have to play the wait and watch game for the time being.

Looks like the svc made a killing on the 11k bill. And they cannot wash their hands off saying they wont stand guarantee for the repair. As I said, it comes down to your persistence.. you need to hold them by their ba**s or they will make merry.
Can you post a break up of the bill.. just curious about the charges. IIRC the clutch plates don't cost more than 1500rs.

**B7ACKTHORN** · 08-27-2016, 11:17 PM

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by Serene George Thomas View Post

Hi Ananthu, It is the Popular Bajaj @ vytilla. got the bike back today much to my surprise. the ride quality has improved a lot after service and right now, all the errors seems to be ok. rode close to 5 kms from SVC to home. felt decent. As i had mentioned earlier, i am not aggressive in my riding and i've not used the 6th gear other than in my one trip to aleppey and another to munnar. i normally get to shift till the 4th gear during the office commute. The invoice that the SVC gave was 11.6K including changing the clutch, chain and sprocket, and flushing the engine. i was expecting a bit more, tbh. but, the sad part is the SVC does not assure that the problem won't come back. They are only claiming that it could come back as all they have done is flushing. I think i will have to play the wait and watch game for the time being.

Somehow, that elation that i used to get when i rode the bike before is gone. altogether. Might start looking for another bike very soon.

If my memory serves me correct, this is the third incident that I am hearing of a clutch failure on a motorcycle that is below 15k kms or less. Though,we can't rule out the possibility of a lax in quality of the clutch plates, what catches my attention is the oil level and the clutch free play setting, because, both of these have a significant impact on life of the clutch plates. Again, there should be minimum of 1mm to 2.5 mm so that the clutch facing isn't rubbing on the plates all the time, which in turn reduces the clutch plate life, small yet significant.

Secondly, lower oil level (very famous topic, when you add in SVC to the equation as to how erroneous they are in filling), can accelerate the clutch facing wear, and coupled with the improper clutch freeplay setup, can drastically reduce the life of the clutch components down.

All these are "can/may/might" scenario, but what I am summazing are possible clauses which could have added to the conundrum.

Cheers!
VJ

**Ezilkannan** · 08-30-2016, 02:20 AM

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by AngadV View Post

I got it done 2 weeks ago, I don't know if its because I'm used to it or what, but it feels like its tightened again to how the old part used to be

Back from a 1k+ km ride. Clutch hasn't got any tightened. Its just as light as it was before. Will keep checking in the long run.

Originally posted by Skanda View Post

To be frank, I didn't find much difference than original Osram that comes with D390. I ran led's, Osram NB and Phillips XV. All of these are just slightly better than the Osram Bilux that come stock with D390. Not worth the upgrade.

Are you sure? I have used them all and I find both NB and XV to be significantly better than stock. XV is even better than NB.

Originally posted by Serene George Thomas View Post

The invoice that the SVC gave was 11.6K including changing the clutch, chain and sprocket, and flushing the engine. i was expecting a bit more, tbh. but, the sad part is the SVC does not assure that the problem won't come back.

11.6k ? that sounds like day light robbery. I wonder what they did to charge so much. The spares shouldn't have crossed 4k.

**Skanda** · 08-30-2016, 08:49 PM

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by Ezilkannan View Post

Are you sure? I have used them all and I find both NB and XV to be significantly better than stock. XV is even better than NB.

I agree XV is better than NB. But both are not too much of a difference when compared to stock. I even ran led's for a while. Back to XV now, as I had already purchased. Led aux light was the best thing above all. I feel so confident on night rides now.

**Rahul.g** · 08-30-2016, 09:07 PM

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by Skanda View Post

I agree XV is better than NB. But both are not too much of a difference when compared to stock. I even ran led's for a while. Back to XV now, as I had already purchased. Led aux light was the best thing above all. I feel so confident on night rides now.

Save a bit and get a hid projector.

**Skanda** · 08-31-2016, 06:46 AM

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by Rahul.g View Post

Save a bit and get a hid projector.

I use HID with projectors in my car and high beams are bad with projectors. HID & projector combo are designed for low beam. This is the reason why many cars have H1 or H7 bulbs for high beam even if they have HID & projector.

**Ezilkannan** · 09-02-2016, 12:26 AM

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by Skanda View Post

I agree XV is better than NB. But both are not too much of a difference when compared to stock. I even ran led's for a while. Back to XV now, as I had already purchased. Led aux light was the best thing above all. I feel so confident on night rides now.

aux sure does help, planning to get them for mine too. First I must fix the crash bars, seems like the threading for the bolt is gone

**Sumit_Singh** · 09-04-2016, 06:56 PM

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Planning to get this instead of normal riding jacket, any ideas...

Attached Files

**Skanda** · 09-04-2016, 09:10 PM

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by Sumit_Singh View Post

Planning to get this instead of normal riding jacket, any ideas...

What's the price of this? There is a similar product, Fox Titan which retails around 150$. I got a clone of Fox Titan, Scoyco body armor for 5.5k and it really works wonders. Very comfortable and airy. Provides great freedom of movement and good protection. I have heard many reviews about it withstanding 100+Kmph crashes and riders come out of it safe. Here is a photo how armor looks, it's very promising.

Attached Files

**Rahul.g** · 09-05-2016, 02:14 AM

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by Skanda View Post

I use HID with projectors in my car and high beams are bad with projectors. HID & projector combo are designed for low beam. This is the reason why many cars have H1 or H7 bulbs for high beam even if they have HID & projector.

A bit expensive projectors have good highbeam too.
Hella g3, koito Q5, morimoto d2s 2.0/3.0 etc
Try any of these projectors, they have good highbeam too.
I have a d2s 2.0 installed in my brother's cbr and it has good highbeam.

Check out DVJ Auto tech on fb, he has done many setups on duke, some with very good highbeam.

**B7ACKTHORN** · 09-05-2016, 02:22 AM

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by Skanda View Post

What's the price of this? There is a similar product, Fox Titan which retails around 150$. I got a clone of Fox Titan, Scoyco body armor for 5.5k and it really works wonders. Very comfortable and airy. Provides great freedom of movement and good protection. I have heard many reviews about it withstanding 100+Kmph crashes and riders come out of it safe. Here is a photo how armor looks, it's very promising.

Nice. Do post your experiences of this armor with detailed pictures of the jacket, price, overall user experience in the Riding Gear thread, so that it helps even more folks.

If you have done so already, kindly ignore this post.

Cheers!
VJ

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