Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

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Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences





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Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Finally after a lot of convincing/debate booking the 390 tomorrow.a worthy upgrade from the fz.that makes 4(that I know of?) xbhpians from Kerala with 390 now.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

hey guys...went to KTM CP today for test ride along with my brother...asked the person over there few things which i doubt..so had few queries/questions..

1. What is the expected life of metzelers and how much the replacement is supposed to cost..?? (Showroom guy said 28k a pair..) i believe it'll cost less..
2. Expected mileage in the city..(showroom guy said 30 - 35 Kmpl).. my expectations 23-25...
3. What is service interval and also the cost of service...??

can anyone provide me the link of owner's manual of the bike..and the most imp. question, can i handle its power delivery..??
i am 23 years old 5'7" slim guy (60 Kg). I am not very much into biking lately. I'll say that i can just ride the bike and not at all have experience and skills to be called as a biker. my brother who took the test ride says it has very much power that i can't handle but i believe i can if i prepare myself mentally and physically for it (that's what i'll do during the waiting period..) also i had few accidents in the past with pulsar 200 i used to ride..i always wants to do touring and ride the bike on the track..so should i go for it or think about duke 200.??

Thanks..

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Safely go for a cbr250 ABS.

There have been n number of reviewers suggesting that the bike is not a meant-for-all bike.
Sorry to put this bluntly (albeit just trying to help you), the way you have described your attributes Duke390 won't be suitable right away.

Your call

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Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Yes, but you guys get better mileage at 40-50 kmph or even lower speeds.

Talking about comparisons with Indian bikes, let me write something on the topic:
In between I had to go to a movie, so with the fear of public tampering with my new bike, I took out the Pulsar. Suddenly, I realised how comfortable, flexible and relaxed these Indian bikes are, compared to the Duke, which always expects you to shift all the time, or ride in lower gears totally, plus that front WP suspension which is hard!

27 kmph in the 5th gear, and the Pulsar is pushing it well. No shift required. Man, Duke needs atleast 50 kmph in the 6th cog, which means cog wrestling all the time.

And to add salt, that old gearbox of my Pulsar is still softer than my Duke's notchy 'box (this might improve after first service). And the Pulsar's suspension setup is again, softer than Duke. Handling of Pulsar was not that good, but it had slightly more agility.

I realised that somewhere, we the Duke owners (atleast some of us) will miss our earlier bikes at some point of life...
Duke is somewhat of a performance focused machine, like a balanced race replica without a fairing. For bad roads and days, you guys could have some softer alternatives in your garage, if possible. Otherwise, yes, the Duke will handle mostly anything.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Indiranagar Pro biking Bangalore is giving delivery of bike within 10days in case of full payment. I've booked a month back at BTM showroom and now they are asking full payment and delivery will be 25 days after the payment! Just don't understand why is different in the same city. I've a very bad feeling about the BTM showroom!

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Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

went for a short ride today, but became a 100kms ride. there's a sound coming from front end everytime i push the bike above 6000rpm...initially i thought it was the front mud flap touching the tyre, but no...then i thought it's the side panels of the radiator which were touching the radiator...still not able to figure out..other than that it was just beautiful..put a brand new suzuki dezire in it's place on the way back...BIG SMILE....

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

I got my first service done yesterday..
few issues I notices were rectified after it..


Noise from front end - some tightening of screw on the visor and number plate. radiator side plastic pieces were tightened, some sounds were coming from back like from rear foot peg when in folded position. a little tightening of chain.

loose clutch setting and hard lever - little adjustment and it was perfect !

Jerks while accelerating - dont know why it was there, but its ok now. Although the SC guy did recommend to put normal fuel for smoother performance. will try now.

Rear Suspension hard - may be a right tyre pressure would make me feel right while hitting potholes. if it still exists, I'll get the rear shocker adjusted.



Two major things that I have noticed after the first service are,
The acceleration has increased madly ! bike is much much responsive now and wilder..

Suddenly the heating has increased !!! and thats very annoying, its like I cant stop on a signal for even 10 seconds with bike On, and I cant cruise at lower speeds
It cools down only when I rip it hard.. it was not the case earlier. Could it possibly be the change to fully synthetic oik ??
Since I've only ridden it about 30 km so far after servicing, I'm still assuming thats its gonna get better after some more kms.


And once again an Appeal to Delhi Dukies to catch up for Rides and meet ups

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

bro are they giving you a written agreement, that they will handover the bike in 10 or 25 days, i dont think so. They are just playing with us because we love bikes. More over if you are taking loan, you will have to start paying your interest even without having a bike. you already saw how guys have been taken for a ride, even after paying the full amount they made them wait for 4 months. just write to ktm and follow up on regular basis.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Thnx bro... No they are not giving in written and their behavior is suspicious. I'll keep your advice in mind. I'm not going for loan and ready to pay full amount, then also so much drama.

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Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Samarth, I pretty much agree with your thoughts.

If you are upgrading from your Pulsars and Karizmas to the Duke 390, and you think its going to be a sweet and happy transition. Well let me tell you, its not! (or you are not the average rider). This bike doesn't feel much happy in the city traffic. Sure you can use it for commuting, heck I am using it for office commuting with my wife! But its gearing and its power is such that you sometimes it really becomes a test of your patience. Purely on the two factors I mentioned, the Duke 200 is a much better city bike. Our D200 owners are wise enough to have realized this much earlier.

With the D390, it will require you to down shift more often than you would like, because the 3rd & above gears do not like low RPMs. You will even be shifting from 2nd to 1st on low speeds. While accelerating, the traffic ahead will thwart your ambitions. The power is really strong that you will beg for an open stretch to allow the bike to demonstrate what it is capable of.

The challenges that new owners will face riding this bike, I expect should become 'standard operating procedure', as we gain more experience with the bike. It mainly requires being mentally accustomed to how the bike does what it does. Its a great bike. As another owner said, the tall gearing helps on the highways. The power becomes crazy and brings smiles on the face as we go up the revs. The sound is awesome in the higher revs. Completely changes from the (nice) brrrr at idle.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Just a wild guess but check the little fuel lid flap. Mine was vibrating and it took me ages to find the bugger.

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Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

1. The expected life span of metzlers is 8=10K, depending upon the way you ride. Not sure about what it might cost later, but right now it costs 25K a pair.
2. During the first thousand kms, expect a mileage of around 25.
3. First is 1000kms, 5000kms thereafter.

The bike can be ripped open and it can putter around in city at 40ish speeds without any complaints. It is totally upto the rider. Have respect for the bike and traffic, don't rip it and be a nuisance in traffic and you should be fine. If you are more into touring, I believe you should test ride a cbr250 too. Not making any comparisons, but have a test ride and then decide.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Its all about patience buddy. You need to get accustomed to the bike slowly. The power of the bike is so tempting that you'll forget that you have not been into biking lately. You'll try to rip it hard and feel that adrenaline rush more so often. The traffic will approach you in blink of a second. So take it slow. Be patient and understand the bike gradually. Everything will be just fine.