Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Took it to the ASC this Monday, and strangely, I didn't have any clutch slipping problem. They said that everything is fine with the clutch and that if I'm not satisfied, I can ask them to check the gear selector. I rode back to my office and didn't face any issues till I reached the parking lot when it started to slip again. I'll leave it at the ASC again tomorrow or next week and ask them to sort it out thoroughly. Also, I think my battery is due for replacement.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Can anyone give me some info on the Gear Shift Rod ( Tie-Rod) adjustment. KTM SVC guy was tinkering around and now the bike won't go to 2nd from Neutral. It goes, but I have to apply a lot of force. SVC said they'll keep the bike and fix it but I'd rather do it myself. Can anyone tell me about the precise adjustments required?

Thanks.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

You need to loosen the nuts at either end of the tie rod, and then rotate the tie rod and the lever moves up or down depending on direction of rotation of the tie rod.
hope those chaps haven't tried moving the linkage of the shift shaft (doing that can sometimes mess with the amount of force required to shift).
Refer pg.67 here > https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0f...2I5dGlYZw/view

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Ur bike already seems to have this tweak in place..[emoji6][emoji16]
I won't do that now. NEVER!! Just love the way the engine acts now..[emoji14]
Rest. U guys are pretty much the same as my earlier condition. The engine to be shifted to 6th after 75 kmph, otherwise it lugs heavily. But, once u wring the throttle past the 5,500 rpm mark. That's where the real pull starts all the way to 170 kmph. As these are all high-revving machines. Doesn't like to be revved low within city limits..[emoji16] [emoji16]

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Hey Sid,

Funny thing is, I went to them because I was facing harder than usual gear shifts lately, so I told them to adjust it. I'll try out the method you suggested and get back. Seems like these guys don't know basic things.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Some updates on my bike's 'High Coolant Temperature issue. I took alternative route from Tuesday to Friday this week. Whenever I saw 9 bars on the heat gauge, I started switching off headlight and almost immediately it used to come down to 8 bars and as long as I kept headlight off it stayed there.
Didn't see high coolant temperature.

Not sure what is the connection but I am convinced headlight has something to do with high coolant temperature.

Friday my return commute was during daylight and obviously didnt have to use headlight. No High Coolant Temperature message seen.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

There could be two things then
1. Over the period Fan is damaged and not running with the minimum rpm it supposed to run when head lights are on
2. If fan is all good the problem with electrical system of bike for not providing required current and voltage to fan.

Once in heavy traffic durring Summer my head lights were on , fan was continuously on for 1 hr and temperature bar stayed @9th bar for whole time.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Maybe. But I don't want to take any chances of asking any garage to trouble shoot this.

I will continue to ride it without headlights.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Get the lever adjusted as I mentioned earlier, and also ensure right amount of free play (or a wee bit more as is my preference) at the clutch lever.
Apart from that I assume the engine oil is present in the right qty & the chain/sprockets in good order.
Over time, i've noticed that these ktm's might require a change in the shift shaft and the 'shift stopper drum' (iirc the part name, you could search for my prev posts regarding this). It's not a complicated repair, and can be done in less than an hour. But I doubt you'd have to go this far.

A few posts ago, I had mentioned the behavior of the fan vs headlight on my D200. When both the fan and headlight are on, at idle the fans spins a little slower but as you increase the revs, the fans comes back up to speed. But this hasn't caused any issues for me wrt temps (mine is the 'cooler' 200)
In your case, I'd suggest you get it checked at the svc.. it could be a fan (i.e. fan motor) that might fail soon or a bad relay(headlight or fan relay)

And can other 390 owners chip in with their observations on the headlight vs fan ?! Switch your headlight on after the fan comes on and see if you can observe a slight change in the fan sound at idle, and the switch off headlight or rev a wee bit and listen if the sound changes (making it sound like fan is spinning up faster)

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Yup, I did see that post. My issue is not just at idle. Even while moving in slow traffic (b2b) the high coolant temperature message comes on whenever I use the headlight.

Next week I am planning get the coolant & brake fluid replaced. I will ask them to take a look at this issue as well.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

In Duke 390 owners manual the petrol specification is RON 91. I googled it some sites claiming that the normal petrol available in our country is RON 91.Some sites say it is RON 89 for normal petrol in our country. BPCL speed 93 is available at only two pumps in hyderabad which is too far from my home. I heared that IOCL xtra premium RON is 91.
My question is normal petrol is sutable for Duke 390 or use IOCL xtra premium which is available nearer to my home.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

91 is the fuel sold in most cities including Hyderabad. (Xtra premium is just regular fuel + additives and not of higher octane)
While BPCL Speed 93 is supposed to be a higher octane fuel but availability is an issue.
Stick to the regular fuel i.e. 91 octane and it will be fine.
You could though give the additives (e.g. System G , available at some bharat petroleum bunks or Adon-P, available at some IOC pumps) a try.. Add it at the recommended qty every other refill and if you find something positive go ahead and continue using them (I have been using these for around 26k km now without any negative effects and so have a few other friends)

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

So many dukes and rc are running fine since last couple of years in India using petrol from hp, bp, ioc etc.

So don't worry much.
Just make sure to avoid suspicious petrol pumps.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Is fuel quality a big problem? Yes sir, it is. It is for almost all vehicles that ply in Indian roads. When you can, and are able to provide good quality fuel, please do it so. Small things like this go on to add to overall pleasant experience to riding the machine. As fellow member said, unfortunately all pumps provide good fuel, some are adulterated some are dirty, which in turn reduces the fuel efficiency, fuel pump and etc life. Bottomline, if you can get some better, go for it.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Will a bent rim be covered under warranty? I hit a bad pothole at 60 kph and almost had a tank slapper few weeks ago, thankfully the rim bend is very small and there are no issues whatsoever. But it is still lurking in the back of my head whenever I ride the bike and want to get rid of it, preferably by replacing with a new rim instead of getting the bend removed.

Also are D390 and D200 rims same? No problem in switching between them? I'm looking to go black. Any input will be appreciated. Thanks.