Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

And regarding Bajaj's top notch quality, after the first service I saw several insulation tapes dangling everywhere around the engine. I don't know where those tapes belongs to. Almost all the harness and wiring are exposed and so loosely connected that it would fall the very next moment. Is it the sign of a top quality product? The brake calipers look like a hand molded piece of metal. Is it a transportation mishap? On team bhp, many are facing stalling issues. Imagine your Ninja stalling in a mid corner? Even our decade old carbed bikes run without stalling. Just take the Duke and Ninja together and have a visual scrutiny. You will run away with your Ninja.

Here in India, almost all the manufacturers are in tight competition in giving more and more warranty for their products. Hero offering 5 years, Honda offering 5 years, the new comer Mahindra offering five years. Bajaj wont even offer 3 years for the 100cc discover and everyone knows changing parts free of cost is not a good thing for the company. And if Bajaj do so, then there is a good chance of Bajaj going bankrupt as they have changed a record number of parts for the Dukes.

The KTM is not the first bike ever launched in the country. A splendor too can be improperly run-in but how many of them seize? One in ten thousand. And KTM, one in every hundred?
And what you mean by improper run-in? Even he most aggressive Motomans method won't seize the engine.

Tires wont make a quality product nor its the tires that make a motorcycle. Its not just Bajaj who knows multiple spark plugs and Metzeler tires. Any manufacturer can import Metzelers for their bikes but they knows motorcycles doesn't mean tires. They need many other things along with the tires to roll properly on the road. But seems that Bajaj is thinking some other way. The Karizma ZMR is way heavier than the Duke 390 but have those skinny front forks than can handle big potholes without breaking a sweat. Its not the world famous WP which I saw lying at the service center in two pieces.

It's the duke 390, not 200


Sorry, I was not kidding. Its the difference in performance we are going to witness after two years. Here even a 17 bhp bike can run or even race well within the speed limits. But again it won't be able to overtake a Boeing 747 as you want every bike to do.

The bottom line is if Bajaj is not able to source some good parts for their bikes, then better leave KTM. Why hampering with their reputation? Its always better to experiment with pulsars and discovers.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

I don't know from what experience your quoting all this. Your comparing bikes ranging from a Splendor to Zmr.
With all due respect, some of things you've quoted are just absurd. Your quoting issues ranging from stalling in mid corner to issues with engine valves. I won't even attempt to delve into your other points such as "racing with in speed limits".
If engine, tyre and Chasis don't make a motorcycle, I don't know what will.

I've own both Duke 390 and Ninja 250R.Im on the verge of selling my Ninja. I've covered 22k on the Ninja and 1.3k Kms on the Duke.
The duke has been flawless so far. Not a single issue. I'm also a part of the bangalore 390 ownership group which has close to 200 members. I've never come across any such quality issues. All I see are people grinning beneath their helmets as the 44 bhp hooligan decimates the competition.

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Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

If I give you an engine, a chassis and a pair of tyres, would you be able to ride to work? If that makes motorcycles, then you have got a lot of freebies with your bike such as gear and brake pedals, a fuel tank, a handlebar, a headlamp etc. You shouldn't have paid for it because you can make a whole motorcycle with engine, tyres and chassis. Come on, we all are bikers and we buys motorcycles to ride. Not for repairing valves or for the mechanics enjoyment or practicing his skills.

We all pay equally for the Duke 390. So we all have the right to get equal product. Why some are having issues and others aren't? What does it shows? The inability of the manufacturer to deliver quality product or ensure same quality checks for total production. Isn't it against business ethics? The duke 390 is not just meant for Bangalore or the enthusiasts there. It is a global product. If your bike haven't had any issues then its good. You have got a product that managed to roll out of the factory in its best condition. But what about the others here who have paid the same way you have paid for the bike but got a product with issues? Here Duke 390 is a better choice than the CBR250R just because it is 373cc, 44 bhp machine?

Just twisting the throttle and grinning is not what biking means. A true biker never cares, whether his machine is 44 or 440 bhp,whether it could overtake a car or a truck. All he cares about is riding. He never wants the bike to make him bother about it. This bothering is what that kills a biker.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

"Just twisting the throttle and grinning is not what biking means. A true biker never cares, whether his machine is 44 or 440 bhp,whether it could overtake a car or a truck. All he cares about is riding. He never wants the bike to make him bother about it. This bothering is what that kills a biker."

What about RD350 fan...but i think you wont understand as 17 bhp is enough for you

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

This extract from the user manual might be useful for PDI.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences


My 390 is so far holding well after being with someone like me who has blown Ninja 250 and R15's engine quite a few times so I dont have any problem with the quality! It hasnt stalled, Blown or caught fire (yet).

Please go ahead and Buy a Yamah 400, Honda 400, Hero 400 or TVS 400 for 2.1Lacs. They are easily available in our market And what spendid performance and quality they Offer! WOW! Please go ahead and do post the ownership experience.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

The engine, chassis and tyres are what define a bike. The gear levers and handlebars don't.
That doesn't mean gear levers, handle bars are not required. What differentiates a Duke 390 from another bike (read a CBR) would be it's superior chassis, the 44 bhp engine and the excellent Metzler tyres. As an enthusiast these are the parameters that I look and compare in a bike before buying. And the duke 390 clicks here. If I'm a tourer I would have a different set a priorities (riding position, relaxed engine) etc. If I'm a commuter, again my priorities differ. Each bike is meant for different purposes, what your doing is comparing bikes ranging from commuters to tourers to performance bike.
If your not interested in the 44bhp that the duke 390 offers, if your not interested in the Metzler tyres that will save your skin on a wet day or the abs which will keep you alive in a tough situation, I'm not sure why you bought a Duke 390 in the first place.
You talk about broken valves and Motomans run in and compare that to a splendor engine. I'm not sure why anyone would run in his splendor Motomans style. It's a commuter and it's meant for mileage.
Motomans style of run in was developed for track bikes which needed to perform at the maximum performance for short duration of time. Not keeping the durability of the engine in mind. If you want to use his method of run in, use a k&n filter high air flow filter, sure be prepared for an engine seize.
There are several factors that might make the engine, without analysing it and deciding that it was a manufacturer defect is baseless.

You time and again compare cbr 250 to duke 390.What you need to understand is that a cbr 250r is a tourer, a Duke 390 performance street naked. Compare a Zmr to a cbr 250,would be fair. Comparing a zmr to duke 390,as you did is baseless.

When I said that people in the Bangalore in the bangalore chapter, didn't have gross problems, I don't see a reason why people else where would have. All bikes are manufactured in pune. All bikes are dispatched from Pune and you accuse the manufacturer of selecting better bikes for a particular city and sub standard bikes for some other cities? . Absurd.
Go through this very thread itself. Show me where people are having problems with the engine. If there are isolated incidents, analyse several parameters such as how the engine was run in, what type of fuel was used etc.

Yes we all buy bikes for riding pleasure. Each person will differ in how he wants to get his share of 'pleasure'. Yes I personally bought the duke 390 over cbr 250 because I'm a performance enthusiast and yes for me the 44bhp is driving factor . just like people out there who buy 150+ bhp superbikes.That doesn't mean I will use it to "race with trucks" . When I said the 390 will decimate the competition, I meant in terms of performance and safety, no, not in a "drag race" as you seem to infer.
You seem to associate 'bhp' or 'performance' with racing .No,
It means how a how the bike will brake as you enter a corner, how the engine performs when you throttle out a corner. How the engine feels when revved , what kind of confidence it inspires on a straight line. There are people out there who buy 150+ bhp superbikes, that doesn't mean they wring the throttle everytime and 'race' with everything on the road. Each bike is meant for a purpose, if you want it to do everything, then you've to probably develop a bike yourself, then do let me know. I'll be eagerly waiting for the all rounder.

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Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

From what I can make out, D390 is a complete misfit for junaid12345678.

I guess Junaid wants a bike which is comfortable, smooth and docile power delivery, comfy suspension and is of a Japanese brand. No wonder, the D390 is none of these and he is regretting his decision and just wants to make up some plausible reasons in his mind to justify selling off the bike. Mate, go ahead, sell it, and get a CBR250R. There is no harm is loosing a few bucks for gaining peace of mind.

What the D390 is, is a street motorcycle made for fun. The bike's design is spot on. Among other design choices, the stiffly sprung suspensions are perfectly needed. (In fact the R15 has similar front suspension and an even stiffer rear one.)

The build quality of a D390 is miles ahead of the CBR250R. No doubt there. But yes, the R15 has even better build quality.

About the faulty QC, as of now there are not many who has reported issues with the bike. If there are more issues that comes to light, this is a valid concern.

As for me, I am completely satisfied with the bike, save for one reason - the hard clutch. Other than that, the bike has exceeded my expectations in every possible parameter. Coming from the R15, I could not find anything I really miss on that bike, save for the front visor that protects from the wind blast.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Mate, you seriously need to re-consider your biking option. I think that D390 will not make you happy. After all, if the bike does not make your heart thud, like when on your first date, its not meant for you, as simple as that.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

I absolutely don't care about the type of bike I am riding on. Be it a street fightet or a Moto gp machine.
I never said I want a comfy relaxed upright tourer or a crotch rocket. I just meant I want a no frills motorcycle that loves to be ridden than to visit a mechanic. Be it the litre class or a moped. Whats the point in buying an R1 if the wiring joints are protected from water using low grade insulation tapes as on the 390? I got the answer on my very first ride in the rains. The tapes began to fall the moment it sensed water and left the wiring open.

Its bettet to end the quality debate here as the bike is pretty new and not much abused on the road. Time will show us what it have in store.

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Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

I definitely care if I have a machine that produces 25 bhp or a 44 bhp at the same cost and with better rider protection such as standard ABS/Metzelers and all the electronics needed to support. AT the end of day all are machines. I have read stories of early CBR having engine seize on highways and drop in BHP's and what not. If you follow international biking forums you will see similar issues with the Hayabusas and many other litre class bikes too. That does not mean a product is a lemon. What follows is the after sales and how committed the company is giving you a best customer experience both pre and post sales. Did you not had a test ride before deciding to spend this amount? If yes and is your bike any inferior than the test ride bike?

I ride my duke 390 everyday to office and in-fact the best time of day is my ride to office and back. I thoroughly enjoy every bit exhilarating experience that the bike has to offer. This bike actually is pushing me to shed some weight and change my office timings to early hours just to enjoy the ride. The bike has completely lived up to my expectations and it fails at any point it is how bajaj service handles the issue that makes the point. They could easily priced a 30K more and give 5 year warranty and yet have annoyed a set of people. Haven't been able to find a single person who will say a CBR is a better bang for a buck.

"Just twisting the throttle and grinning is not what biking means."- Else why should one got for a litre class bike and spend couple million?

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

All the new launch ownership thread goes through this phase, where we currently stand.
I guess this a result of our personal expectation from the bike, and whether its aligned what we expeted from it or not.

390, no doubt is a welcome change for India, path-breaking in a way to extract 43odd horse from a single 375 cc mill, where even 500ccs struggle to get get 27 odd horses. Its a value for money for sure, and easy on pocket to maintain (barring the tyre cost which we are not sure of as yet). Especially when compared to highly overpriced REs and their maintenance costs which surpasses a small car. 390's built quality to me seems at par with a modern machine, especially the critical components. some not so critical parts like the tank cap, chain cover, switches may have been compromised, but i guess the cost benefit is passed on to the consumers.

All new launches have minor teething issues, be it a honda or a triumph. Some like RE have many prolonged teething issues, for eg when C5 was launched in India, the company themselves identified 57 issues with the bike and tried sorting them over a period of time. Even after 4 years of launch not all issues are resolved, still they continue to sell like hot cakes. The niggles with 390, which people have been reporting, more or less seems like a result of some laid back attitude at the assembly line and hurried final check at the factory, which may be cos of higher demands and meeting deadlines. Also some negligence at dealers place. Hope they sort it out soon.

No single bike will meet everyone's expectation ever. Enjoy the 390 for what it is..

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

What matters most is that the company takes the first impressions/initial feedbacks seriously from the customers so that the following production units of the motorcycle coming out of the factory are more close to the targeted quality parameters. SVCs are part of the after sales and they have a different responsibility than the factory. Once the company is aware of the general issues they must ensure that that the numbers of units they produce next are free from them, while the SVCs take care of the already delivered motorcycles to take corrective measures.

The one that DukeDey has mentioned is the first mighty concerning issue in my knowledge, and which must be dealt with utmost promptness and seriousness by the company.

Overall, the Duke's that are being produced in our land have come to be known as built with competitive quality if not the best. The improvements will have to be made no doubt about that; just like the latest CBR250R's appear to be better built than before.

But can we please move away from CBR vs Duke? The CBR is a fantastic product, I really like it, but it don't have to be unnecessarily embarrassed by comparing with Duke 390's performance.

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

Ok its time to end this comparison and leave the ownership thread in Peace with the owners.. But i cant accept the fact that build quality of duke in better than CBR. CBR anyday has better build quality and the extra bucks you are spending over duke is for the quality and faring + duties
Note: i didn't mean duke is not a quality product. Definitely its worth for the money you pay. But it cant match the quality of CBR. So don't flame me

Re: KTM Duke 390 - Owners Reviews and Experiences

I have completed 2.8k Kms on my 390 so far.

Two weeks ago I tried to test my 390's top speed and it wouldn't go past 150 and if I crouch it hits a max of 155. :-(

After riding it hard for 1 hour, I stopped at MCDonalds and found lot of smoke coming from underneath the engine [definitely not from hot exhaust or overflown coolant]. Smoke didn't stop for atleast 10 to 15 minutes...Eventually smoke went away...and I continued riding it [but not hard this time]...

Rode it hard last week along with a group of 390s and found the smoke coming again from underneath the engine when I parked it at CCD.

After coming home, I noticed oil leaking from left crankcase top screw. Later after little more inspection, found out that there is oil leak from engine head gasket … :-( …Need to take it so SVC to sort it out…

Anyone else noticed similar issues...??