Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Here you go



It's in his sig, but isn't visible on tapatalk.

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience


Okay thnx, I'll try.

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Simple DIY!!
Total cost RS.50 !!

KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Hi guys got my steed last month. I am a motorsports guy and fast vehicles excite me to no end especially the faired ones .



I was planning to buy the bike since the rumors about it started. I already own a Karizma and a 1st batch Kawasaki 4S.





Was attracted towards KTM stables when they started producing the Duke 125 here in India. Then they launched the D200 but I didn't went for it as I already had Karizma and though the power and performance was superior, the CCs were less.

Then came the D390 & I was spellbound by it and almost went for it but some financial constraints meant that it was not to be .

Meanwhile got my shoulder dislocated in a fall and had to go through arm suspension first and then physio sessions. All of which lasted more than a couple of months. Also the rumours of RC were getting stronger and the concept sketches were slowly surfacing.

Then last year in August, Leh called and I responded with bike ride which gave me another dislocation in Diskit valley whilst I was riding pillion with a friend (yes, I'm working on the travelogue which I'll publish soon ). This time though I had to be operated upon and the Doctors tightened my shoulder with 6 screws.

In between the RCs were launched worldwide and I visited the Kanjurmarg KTM showroom in Mumbai to have a look. It was love at first sight and I didn't even spare a look at D390.


The bike @ Kanjurmarg showroom.

I spent most of my time at my native place and some at Mumbai. And when KTM opened a showroom at nearby Amravati, my longing resurfaced. Saved some money, took a loan and booked the bike. The dealer first told that the waiting period was around 15 days, but as my loan was ready so next day he assigned me my bike.





Me & my brother picked up the bike and rode the 60 kms distance to our place. The bike ran fine the whole distance but in the evening the radiator fan started to sound weird. Can't explain in words the feelings, didn't know whom to curse. So immediately called the showroom, they put me through to their service guy. I made him hear the noise over phone and told him that I'll visit their service centre first thing in the morning.





I nursed the bike the whole distance and made the distance safely. After removing the radiator assembly, we saw that the fan had actually left the shaft and was stopping. They promptly replaced the fan assembly, lubed the chain, tightened the panels and I tried to be happy after releasing a sigh of relief; touchwood.

In the meanwhile the dealer messed up the engine no. and CCs on the sale certificate, so it came back from RTO office. I was just cursing my luck as the buying process was just not getting over. I think the dealer is new and teething problems are yet to go away, but nonetheless they were helpful.

The bike had terrible sharp engine braking & was making exhaust popping noises in the running in period but after 1st service, all is well.

Well the life and the bike go on and will surely try to post updates.

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

A long time coming.

From my past with a 220, quite famous on this forum, it is my utter pleasure to bring you, My KTM RC390.



A story that started with my need for speed, my need to be the fastest I could be, a need that pushed me to move from the road, to the god send that is the Madras Motor Race Track. In my previous posts I have described the bike and buying experience so I shan't delve into that yet again.

Since my last posts about the bike, I got semi-serious into racing, and in my debut season on the YAMAHA ONE MAKE CHAMPIONSHIP, I managed to finish the championship in second, A very good result considering I weigh 97 kgs and most of my competition weighed nearly 50-60 kgs. With that came my improvement in riding my RC, and slowly pushing the boundaries on what was possible and reliable at the same time. But then again, I gotta mention that those two words don't really go with each other, so I've strived to keep this as reliable a setup while also pushing the ragged edge of safe power-levels.

Mod 1: RD PIGGYBACK ECU. KILOMETERS RIDDEN 8750KMS!

Guys, this is the best VFM upgrade for this bike, PERIOD.

Want smooth drive ability! Got it!!
Want more revs to hold onto that one gear longer than the other guy? You Betcha!!
More power? Yupp!!
Mileage? 2-3 Kmpl, in certain conditions!

Now since thats out of the way, back to business. All my mods are to help me off-set my weight disadvantage, and well just let me push the envelope, that little further than the other guy, coz lets face it, out of 7 billion people on this world I for sure am not the fastest out there, and I just wanna make sure I'm as fast as I can be!

This ecu offsets, the RC390's rather awkward gearing on the Chennai track, like in C7 the fast left hander, you may see yourself hitting the limiter in 5th and needing to switch to 6th, but coz you are leaned over left side, it becomes impossible to do so, thereby costing you a few hundredths, and some topend speed.

The ecu takes that out of the equation and allows you to hold 5th just a little bit longer so that as you are straightening up the bike you can slot 6th, with enough clearance so as to not shave your boot.

It claims a healthy bump of 1~1.8 bhp increase at the rear wheel and I will vouche for that, coz my friend who weighs 74kgs cant pull away from me on the straight!

It also ensures, I have a good midrange bump for those corners where there is no "correct gear" where one gear is too high or the other is too low.

As with any mod, it will reduce the engine life a bit if you don't maintain it properly. Hence, to make sure I get engine longevity and power as much as I really need, I have set the redline to a MAX of 11575rpm. This ensures, I get what I need in terms of gearing and power, but also ensures I don't push the internals to a limit where the stresses are too great and cause a catastrophic failure. I also use MOTUL 300V 15W50. As well as maintain a 1500kms drain interval. Yes it's overkill. Yes it is MY MONEY and MY BIKE. The stresses oil goes under while the engine is at a constant speed greater than 7000rpm is unimaginable to us, and it is a safety measure I take, to ensure I have a perfect running machine.

Contact : RACE DYNAMICS C-4, C.S. Towers, Chikayllappa Industrial Estate, Jakkasandra, Koramangala 1st Block, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560034
080 4092 9292.

MOD 2: K&N AIRFILTER. 8500KMS COMPLETED!

It is just a supporting mod, and I honestly can only feel the effect higher up in the REV range and that too only with the PIGGY BACK ECU INSTALLED.

Installing it by itself is a pure waste, I strongly discourage it.

With the right tune, we saw about .5~.8bhp increase depending on my fuelling and engine temperature.

Not really needed, but you can if you want.

MOD 3: RACE CONCEPTS HEAD WORK! 1350KMS COMPLETED!

After completing nearly 7K kms with the filter I posted the fastest time recorded for an RC390 at Chennai by a novice. Mind you had posted 2.03.xxx when stock and the ECU and filter helped me shave only 1 second off my timing, which now stands at 2.02.528 (I still weigh 94kgs, and the timing was set when I hadn't done the headwork). Please do note that on the KTM track day the track is crawling with traffic (slow traffic), and this is still a time I can easily improve on and have done so "unofficially".



Now to the headwork, I have reached a point where, I can keep up to some okay 600CC riders in the corners, but I just get monstered in the straights. So on went a call to Joel, and some fairy dust later I ended up in Bangalore, and my engine was dropped from the chassis and the head was pulled off. To reveal a shocking surprise.








My break-in method worked. 10,000kms of just sheer abuse, wheelies, trackdays, tours, and 6500kms of those total kms being on track, the bore and piston, were impeccable. There is proof to the "Not By-the-Book" way of breaking in your engine.

Back to the head work, once removed, Joel poked his magic, it was put back together, and on the way back to Chennai my mind was F****** blown.

At my regular throttle tube hold I would be doing 115~120kmph, and at the same throttle position, the bike was doing near 150, without any strain whatsoever. The engine was smooth at idle, at the top of the rev band, and everywhere in between. The torque was just bonkers, pulled like a diesel. Not to mention the way she pulled to red line was just immaculate. digit after digit on the small display just kept going up.. up.. upp. I felt like was dreaming with the way she was pulling. But a dream this wasn't. After a short stint of rather illegal speeds, (Which I do not condone) I pulled over to refuel, and was getting 22-23 kmpl or thereabouts. And I just felt like my bike was complete.

I haven't taken her to track since the mods, and also the radiator broke due to a stone hitting it, but now without a pillion if im a bit aggressive with the throttle near about 6k rpm, a smooth progressive wheelie occurs, wherein I feel, I just feel like this is how she should have been from factory, a feeling I can't put down, but a twist of the throttle just warps the surroundings, and I feel like I have tunnel vision wherein if i don't concentrate on what's ahead of me, i'd be a dead man.

But with this power, it makes riding with a pillion really annoying with the front pogoing, and really yearns for a steering damper now.

Enough with the rambling, here are some beauty shots! Feel free to PM me if you have doubts or if I haven't explained something well enough!

P.S. I have my stock sprockets, and foot pegs, only the belly pan is removed, and the suspension is at position 8. Forks havent been dropped, nothing, and I also don't scrape pegs at all, I use stock tyres. Did try the Rosso 2 But they are rubbish on track.

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

OK bro.. I have been keeping gaps these days.. but have developed a sqeaking sound from the front wheel. but if I press the front brake the sounds disappear..

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have seen you guys going from Gangtok.ride safe..

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience


Congratulations!! Take care of your shoulders!!

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Thanks bro, trying my best for shoulders!

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Check the best suspension setup for the bike even if you needed to replace new suspension in front especially.

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Selling my KTM RC 390 fully loaded with powerparts interested buyers may DM me . Reason of sale moving country upgraded to the Ducati

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Gypsy danger? [emoji15]

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience


The one and only

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Recognized at the first sight by your pic by was confused because of your name 'DannyR15'[emoji28] [emoji28]

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience


Well all have humble beginnings bro

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Haha but seriously I love your videos!
Not seen any in quite while [emoji26]
And yes because of you guys I do admire rc390 so much and would love to upgrade to it in future.[emoji39]