Sweeping it from last, the speedometer showing erratic reading especially when revving hard can mean that your front wheel ABS sensor has gone for a toss or a faulty stator coil or a combination of both. This thing charges your battery and if your battery doesn't get the proper charging current, then it will be undercharged and hence the electrical components can receive less than adequate power and hence irrational functioning of the components.

First I would recommend them to check with any other Duke's sensors on your bike and observe it the problem repeats itself. If yes, then stator can be the issue as it isn't charging the battery properly. A voltage check across the terminal at terminal should be 13.5 to 15v at 5000 RPM. If it's higher than this or lower than this value, it's time to replace the stator. The zero almost always is a tell-tale sign that something electronic is going to go bust soon or already have.

Check all these, see if a good battery charge helps the ABS turn.
Check the voltage at the terminals since this is the root of all problems.

Cheers!
VJ

hey man, i must say that you're absolutely right ! It is me who was terribly confused.

So today i left for office at 8:30 am. I stay at thane and my office is at goregaon which is 30 kms one way. I started my bike and my abs light was off. First i tested by pressing both the brakes hard. No wheel lock. Then i pressed only the front brake hard. No wheel lock. Then i pressed only the rear brake hard and i was like now the wheel has to lock. Still no wheel lock ! So yeah, if abs light is off then it means that abs is working perfectly.

But after 30 minutes of continuous riding, abs light was on permanently. Now that i realise it, this is always the case. Abs light is off when i start my bike everyday and it gets switched on after 30 minutes of riding.

So does this mean that my abs motor is gone or it's just the fault of abs sensor at front wheel?

Also my speedometer behaves erratically. It shows zero sometimes and when i accelerate hard, it starts showing speed again. Are these two problems related?

Hi my name is Tushar Moily. I'm 26 years old and I stay at Thane, Mumbai.

Currently I ride a 2013 KTM Duke 390. Bike was purchased brand new from showroom so I'm the only owner. I purchased the bike on Jan 2014.

Bike - KTM Duke 390
Year - 2013
Kms on odo - 63k

Last November 2018 I got major engine works done which includes block piston change, all head internals change, and complete gaskets overhaul because the engine was on the verge of ceasure and oil was leaking from basically everywhere. I got these works done from a workshop at Mira Road, Thane. In spite of getting these works done, my bike was still leaking oil from somewhere down below. Changed gear oil seal, front sprocket oil seal but still leakage would not stop. Folks at workshop had no idea why it is still leaking. Then finally I gave my bike to authorised SVC at Thane. They cleaned the engine nicely with water and test rode my bike. They found out that oil was not leaking from any seals but from the plain surface of crankcase itself ! The crack was not even visible from naked eye and the oil used to leak only when the bike is ridden really hard. That's how minute the crack was. There was a dent too on crankcase which mostly occurred because I may have hit a high speed breaker with a pillion.

So the SVC guys placed an order for new crankcase. Part was delivered on the second week of order placement. Got the crankcase changed, the leakages stopped permanently. But the story does not end here.

After changing the crankcase, I started facing performance issues in my bike. Performance issue was mostly at the top speed. Top speed had taken such a beating that my bike was reluctant to cross 120kmph in 4th gear. We all know that a healthy duke 390 reaches 130 kmph with a blink of an eye. I was feeling that I was riding a Duke 200. To add to my horror, speedometer started flashing 'low oil pressure' !! I couldn't believe it. I spent so much money on engine rebuild and crankcase but still I'm getting this warning. I took my bike to SVC again. Told them about these two problems. For the low oil pressure, they changed the oil pressure switch on the head twice. Then I took my bike for testing and I trashed my bike really really hard in order to be satisfied that low oil pressure problem is solved. Speedometer then stopped flashing low oil pressure but then some weird noises started coming from the engine head because of extreme trashing and speedo showed 'high coolant temp'. Boiling coolant was literally overflowing from the reservoir. They told me that it's simply the sound of the sims. About the top speed, they told me that my chain sprocket and clutch plates are gone. So I got both of them changed. Test rode my bike after that but still there was top speed performance issue. Then the SVC guys test rode my bike with a pillion. The pillion had diagnostic tool in his hand which was attached to my bike. They came back and assured me that top speed is okay. But I was not satisfied since I've been riding my bike for 5 years now and I know how she pounces like crazy post 6k rpm. That pouncing was not there.

So I decided to take my bike to a different SVC. I went to KTM SVC at Vikhroli. Showed them the weird 'khat khat' sound coming from the engine. After opening the head and checking, they old me that intake camshaft's lobe had become uneven because the head was not getting oil. Got it changed which costed me 4.7k with labour. Took my bike and test rode it only to find 'low oil pressure' warning again ! Took my bike back to SVC again. They fitted a brand new oil pressure switch. Test rode it again but I got the same warning again. Went back there again. They checked pressure with pressure guage. Duke 390 should have 1.5 kg of pressure at idling rpm. Guage was showing zero pressure. So they also fitted a brand new oil pump which pumps from crankcase to head. Checked with guage again. It showed only 1 kg of pressure.They told me to leave my bike here for few days so that we can take a long test ride and check the actual problem.

They called me day after tomorrow and asked me whether have I changed the crankcase or not before. I say yes. They told that my bike is 2013 model and the crankcase they fitted is 2017 model (i.e crankcase of new Duke 390). Because of that there was mismatch in alignment of oil ducts and so the head was not getting oil. The solution of this problem was to change the magnet cover also (the one on which 'racing KTM' is written) to the latest model so the alignment is perfect. I wasn't convinced that simply changing magnet cover will solve my problem but I trusted them and gave a go ahead anyway.

Next day I went to collect my bike. Found a nice stretch of road, opened the throttle fully, and I was so happy with the results ! The original acceleration of Duke 390 was back ! She was pouncing like crazy post 6k rpm..so much that it was almost overwhelming and so I had to slow down and contain my happiness and excitement. Who would have thought that simply changing the magnet cover will solve all of my problems? She is now performing like a brand new Duke 390 straight out of showroom. I expected the folks at Thane SVC to tell me that I should change magnet cover also but they did not. How unprofessional ! I cannot thank the folks at Vikhroli SVC enough for fixing the problems in my bike.

What I feel is that since there was misalignment in oil ducts, there was a lot of back pressure to the oil pump and so it got damaged and top speed took a beating. Oil pump is not motor operated but rather from the engine itself.

So there are two reasons for this long post.

1) If you own a 2013 Duke 390 and your crankcase has got cracked, change the crankcase and also the magnet cover. There won't be any loss in performance.

2) My ABS has stopped working on it's own. The folks at Mira Road workshop tells me that mostly some ABS motor is gone and the motor costs 20k rs ! Damn that's almost my 1 month salary. Is there a cheaper alternative to fix my ABS?


Thanks for reading my long post.

I have changed stator 3 times in the past. In all three cases, my stator could was burnt. Folks tell me that it's common for Duke 390's stator to get burnt. Also, in all 3 cases, I was getting 'low battery' warning on my speedometer. My stator was unable to charge my battery because it had got burnt. But this time I am not getting any low battery warning and my bike starts up easily in first crank, which was not the case before.
My engine check light is on since yesterday. I'm at SVC right now. They gonna check it with diagnostic tool in sometime. Will update you what's wrong.
Update : *phew* Turns out it was some minor side stand error. It's funny coz my side stand sensor is working perfectly fine ever since I purchased my bike. ������ He cleared the codes and so now the engine check light is off.
On the downside, it is my ABS motor which is gone. [emoji852]️ Part costs a whopping Rs 20000/-

I have a similar story. ABS light glowing all time and Speedo showing 0 and odo not working. Used to show vague readings, but odo used to work. Changed sensors, nothing solved. Bike with FNG for troubleshooting. No errors on scan.

Hi Guys,

Can anyone help with an opinion on which battery replacement option is the best for the 390. My 2014 model Duke is displaying a low battery warning off late

Sf Sonic
Amaron
Exide

Thanks!

Hi Guys,

Can anyone help with an opinion on which battery replacement option is the best for the 390. My 2014 model Duke is displaying a low battery warning off late

Sf Sonic
Amaron
Exide

Thanks!

There shouldn't be any other damage apart from this. Do check your steering freeplay just in case, sometimes they can damage the steering bearings and induce a grabby feeling, but that's worse case scenario. Get it checked at your SVC as a precautionary measure. Keep your observations posted.

Cheers!
VJ

Hi Guys,

Can anyone help with an opinion on which battery replacement option is the best for the 390. My 2014 model Duke is displaying a low battery warning off late

Sf Sonic
Amaron
Exide

Thanks!

How do I check for steering freeplay? SVC advised me to change the bearings as I had dealt with few bad bumps and potholes but no damage to wheels. Want to make sure I change it only if necessary.

Thanks for the suggestions guys, went with Amaron based on your suggestions. cost abt 1900 with old battery exchange. Have had good experiences with Amaron on my other bikes/car as well. Cheers!!

Just to add on, double check your battery lugs, Pain. Sometimes, they tend to be loosely fixed at the SVC and over time, leads to stalls and erratic behavior of the motorcycle. If you've fixed it yourself, and made sure the battery terminals are secured and bolts tightened snug enough then that's fine.

Cheers!
VJ

An update to my enduring saga with front brake. Last evening I had dropped off my bike at KTM Mekhri circle. Sebastien, Service Advisor told me he would check the caliper. Like wise he checked the caliper and found bleed bolt stuck and pistons also stick. Caliper was taken to lathe and pistons undone. One piston was stuck and they could not remove it. So he asked me whether he can replace caliper. I said go ahead. Replacement caliper was found leaking air at the joint. Had to again take caliper to lathe to somehow remove one piston that was stuck.

As of now old caliper is assembled back with new piston seals. Pistons are moving freely as per SA. But braking remains spongy as SA told me that before delivery. He has placed order for a new caliper which might take 6-7 days as per him.

Now I am wondering, my old caliper was diassembled, cleaned, pistons in good condition, assembled with new rings inspite of it brake feel remains the same. What would a brand new caliper do? Serviceable parts inside the caliper are all taken care of then whats the point in replacing with new caliper?

I wasnt charged anything but new caliper will cost 2,900 plus 400 labour.

Just wondering if there is any value replacing caliper?