Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

There were nothing done recently, I drained and replaced the coolant 5K Kms ago and this is a recent thing . It was fine till the bike fell on the ground and then this issue popped up. I strongly fell its due to that, but don't see any external evidence to be sure of. Left side of the radiatior, the part where radiator plastic covering is located, is bent a little but does not seem to have cracked. I am unable to locate any trace of liquid leaking as well.

I made sure to check the drain bolt and the copper washer was in good condition. The bleed bolt is shut properly as well. I used engine ice before Motul (light yellow color one) and it's definitely good. But Motul is working like a charm. Recently, when it rained in Bengaluru, the temperature was 3 bars down from the top (Its usually 2 bars down from top) and the fan did not kick in at all as the temperature was good. But even after so many checks I don't see any external leak at all which is making me worried [emoji54]

If the coolant is leaking to oil, then adding 300ml of coolant should definitely have increased the oil level right? But that does not look to be the case as well. Oil level is constant and no bubbling, no milky white color.

Will probably poke a camera through spark plug hole to check how the piston head is looking. If it's related to head gasket, the carbon should be blown off by now. Will the thread updated on findings.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

The bent plastic shroud grommet on the radiator won't be a trouble, as any leak would be clearly visible and would make itself visible.

If the coolant is leaking to oil, then adding 300ml of coolant should definitely have increased the oil level right? But that does not look to be the case as well. Oil level is constant and no bubbling, no milky white color.

Will probably poke a camera through spark plug hole to check how the piston head is looking. If it's related to head gasket, the carbon should be blown off by now. Will the thread updated on findings.[/QUOTE]

Remember, if coolant is mixing with oil at a high rate, then yes, the coolant will eventually mix with the oil and change the appearance of the oil, that's one. Secondly, extremely slow rate consumption would mean, the coolant is getting burnt inside the combustion chamber, albeit at an extremely slow rate, but eventually it is burning coolant. Reason can be bust head gasket. This kind of consumption leaves no trace as burns the coolant, opposed to coolant leak from water pump seals or internal sealing gasket failure which makes it very much visible with the oil getting murkier by the time. I hope you are getting what I am trying to say here.

Get your camera working inside the combustion chamber and do keep your observations posted. Do check in the morning for any smoke with a sweetish kinda smell from th exhaust.

Keep us posted.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

This makes so much sense now. Thanks a ton. I did keep an eye on the exhaust smoke. Didn't see any white smoke or sweetish smell. Will probably check with a camera next weekend. Will update the thread with photos once done.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

I am new hear
I own a 2014 model duke 390 , now ran 44k kms . Recently I adjusted the valves and decarbonised the engine . Now i wish to instal a free flow exhaust in it . I was using daytona on my old 2008 r15 , that was a full exhast system , but in duke i wish to attache leo vince cobra (universal exhast) , i have the bend pipe with me, which used to remove the cat . Anyone using full exhast system hear ?

Suggestions please

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Took the photos of cylinder block today and compared with last year April photos. I now strongly believe that there might be a minute leak from head gasket . The compression test came out to be same as previous year reading, no changes in that. But the carbon deposit blown off from the piston head can be clearly seen in the pictures. Even though I use the throttle body cleaner from air filter opening to clean the valves and throttle plates, that might not been responsible for such clean piston head.

Now the question is, is my analysis correct? If yes, how do I confirm this 100% before fixing this? What are the next steps and how much does it cost to fix it?

This is from April 2018


This is May 2019


May 2019. Carbon deposit blown off marked in red.


April 2018 compression test.


May 2019 compression test.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

One theory is that, for a normal operating engine, there should be carbon deposits on top of the piston crown. A totally clean piston would mean, the engine is being steam cleaned due to coolant ingestion in the combustion chamber and being burnt during the combustion process, this is especially even more evident in multi-cylinder engines where one piston would have normal deposition and one would look spanky clean. From the pictures you've posted, for both the compression value and the piston crown images, it seems as though your bike does have carbon deposits on top of the piston, simultaneously being blown off by mild coolant ingestion.

Now, we can pin it down precisely only through a leak down test Skanda. Only a leak down test will determine where the leak is from. Though compression value do give us a value to start off with, leaks whatsoever can be even more scrutinized via a LD test.

Do we have a coolant leak in your bike? Well, it can be a yes or no. I am suspecting, it can be due to incorrectly torqued cylinder bolts during your previous overhaul or sheer bad luck that you've gotten a faulty replacement gasket.

Try this.
Check the underneath of your radiator cap for any residue.
Start your bike and once the bike is mildly warmed up, check for any bubbles coming out of the radiator. Rev the engine mildly, and check if bubbles are coming to the top of the coolant filler neck, if yes, then sure shot we have a head gasket failure. Repeat this process till you're okay the thing is okay.
Thirdly, make sure your exhaust doesn't spit out white smoke after the engine is warmed up and hot. If you see white smoke, we have a blown gasket.

Do keep your observations posted.


Cheers!
VJ

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

No residue under the radiator cap and no white smoke. My enging is stock and never been rebuild and never had a head gasket blown before. I need to check the radiator bubbling and will do when the engine is cold, probably early before using the vehicle. Does autorised SVC usually have LD test equipment? If it comes to replacing the head gasket, what would it cost approximately?

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences


Should come to 1.5k max including labor charges. I think you replaced your water pump seals right? Perhaps I was mistaken that you did a gasket replacement job. The gasket shouldn't cost more than Rs. 450, top it up, you'd have to use new coolant, labor charges, it should be somewhere in that ballpark. You can ask them to do a leak down test, if they are able to. But, if not, then let's get the gasket checked first.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Yep, had replaced the water pump once. I have red somewhere that once we open the head, even if the gasket is good, we need to replace it with a new one. Is that right? Also, I had purchased this product an year ago. Is it safe to use this if I were to replace the gasket? (https://www.amazon.com/Permatex-8069...56b&th=1&psc=1)

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

I don't have any experience using spray type sealants Skanda, and I don't trust them in the long run too. It's better to replace a faulty gasket than to fiddle and tinker with it. Secondly, yes it's good to replace head gasket once the head is undone. Remember, the gasket is what helps to give a better seal between the case and the block and it's clamped with such torque, they'll sometimes stick to the head or case while removal, or they flatten out due to usage. It's 100% advised to replace a head gasket each time the head is opened up.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Hello everyone,

Finally my KTM Duke 390's engine seized at 30k km. Had to undergo a full engine re-build. The total cost was Rs.25,514/- including labour charge. The whole process took about 1.5 months as it took time for parts to arrive here at Guwahati.
Has anybody else undergone such an engine rebuild procedure? Kindly share your experience.

Attaching the Total Bill for the whole procedure. Hope it helps.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Full engine rebuild? Or half engine? The cylinder kit costs approximately 13,000 that is inclusive of CGST and SGST, and other packing kit and paraphernalia another 13k, you should be seeing somewhere north of 15k plus, this is excluding labor. Adding labor it can easily add in 3 to 4k plus engine oil, valve train components, and what not, it should easily come to the ballpark that you've mentioned. But, I'd love to see your bill more clearly, as the images you've posted are not clearly visible.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Here it is. I hope it's clear this time. The manager said it's a full engine rebuild. As gud as new. Engine has been fully sealed. I saw a video on youtube where the guy said he incurred a cost of Rs.27.5k for engine rebuild. So, I think 25k is decent.

Btw, I have already ordered engine oil and coolant bottles online on Flipkart Sale! Will top up everything on a monthly basis from now on.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

From your bill, what I fathom is you haven't replaced your cylinder, but instead replaced the entire valve train and the crankshaft and the piston. I hope they've thoroughly checked the cylinder for defects before advising not to replace the cylinder. But nevertheless, the bill seems to be on the right ballpark.

Did you have any clue as to why the engine seized in the first place? Since you mentioned seizures, seizures are accompanied with the cylinder and piston kit replacement, they are changed as a set. What did we miss here.

Keep your observations posted.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Ownership Reviews and Experiences

Actually, I did my last servicing in Nov/Dec, 2018 before leaving for some long rides to my to-be in laws place. Then suddenly, on April 02, 2019; in the midst of city traffic, my bike wouldn't start and had to be taken to svc on an autovan. It was entirely my fault only as I had forgot to topup my engine oil since Dec, 2018. I was about to take the bike to svc in April, but unfortunately the engine seized.

The bike feels good now. Like a new engine. The earlier engine feel was quite sluggish. But, now the new feel has returned. Acceleration is spot on. The manager told me that now the bike has to to babied till the next 2k kms. Hopefully, everything's alright.

Anyways, now I have promised to check the engine oil and coolant levels every month. Have already bought them online in the ongoing Flipkart sale! Also, have bought a Ceat Zoom Rad X1 150/60 R17 rear tire as my rear tire has almost entirely worn off. It is a Metzeler lookalike.