Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

How much kays have you clocked? Yes, most KTM rear brakes have a wooden feel to it, usually the brakes take some time to bed/wear both front and rear. What I'd suggest is try bleeding the rear brake and glaze the pads manually using a grit paper of 120 to 220 and rub the rear pads. But, what I'd recommend is when the bike is stationary.

One solution that I found out works for me is this.

Stand on your rear brake for say around a minute, do this twice to thrice with a slight pumping the pedal motion, trust me it works wonders. When I say stand literally stand on the rear brake pedal with your entire weight on the brake pedal for a minute and pulse the pedal slightly four to five times with one leg on the ground, but 95% of your weight o the rear brake pedal. Before you do this, make sure you slowly heat your rear brakes by riding the bike and using engaging the rear brakes all the way, this heats the brakes, say for a KM or so. Stop the bike and do the above procedure I've mentioned, come back here with your results.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Are you new to rc? then It's ok. Bike has more weight on front wheel, so front wheel has more stopping power.

Use front breaks most of the time. Avoid using rear brakes when there are small stones or sand on road, or experience scary fish tailing [emoji4] .

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

90% of time i use front brakes only.
Combination of front and rear under panic braking.

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Thanks VJ
Tried that but unfortunately it didn't work for me so ended up visiting SVC.
There were some oil present on the rotor and brake pads.
I guess i have to be more careful next time lubbing the chain.

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

A year ago I was in a dilemma whether to pick up a RC390 or a Duke 390. After a lot of deliberation I pick up the Duke. The slipper clutch was the major deciding factor. The other being the riding position. Now I feel I made a mistake. Now before I ask my question, let me advise you that I am already aware that selling the Duke and buying an RC is the easiest option. So don't waste time giving that suggestion because if I wanted to do it I would have done it and not asked here.

So the Duke and the RC share a lot of parts; the engine, swingarm, wheels, brakes, suspension, electrical etc. The chassis I guess is the same too with the RC having a few pieces welded on to mount the fairing which makes it possible to convert a Duke to a RC and vice versa. Now there are 2 ways of doing it.
1. Buy all the body panels, seat, lights, handlebars, tank etc and fit on the Duke. Now I know this is expensive but I want to know how much.
2. Find a RC owner (390 or 200 does not matter) who is wishing he picked up a Duke instead. Swap the necessary parts and both are happy.

I'm not sure if I posted this query here or in the Duke 390 thread or some other forum but posting again as I didn't receive any suitable replies.

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Don't take it in offensive way but this is a stupid idea.

What's same in these 2 bikes ?

Engine, tyres, alloys, brake set, and few more countable stuff.

Other 80% stuff are completely different.

See chassis tail section :



You would be spending around double the money of what it would really cost you to sell duke + add some money to get a RC.
When you have any accident. The insurance company will be counting Duke's part only. So they might not give you insurance claim on such bike or they will give for duke parts only. While you would be need RC's parts.

Drop the plan man.

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

You can convert but the RC and Duke have different suspension geometry so all you will end up with is a duke which will only superficially resemble a rc. The steering head angle is less on the rc to improve response too.
Best to sell ur duke and get a rc

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Actually, you've answered your own question at the end, in a simple statement. It's not as easy as you think, it requires wiring change, it completely changes the position of the expansion tank mount, and a lot of ifs and donts. The itch to switch to RC is usually the case with Dukers. But in short, a simple headache free solution is to sell your bike, hoard some cash (in new denomination of course) and then get yourself a 2017 RC, if you can wait for a couple of months.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

^ This clearly shows your ignorance, which will result only complications. The chassis is a lot different on the RC, and simply bolting on fairings would not convert a duke to a rc.
Rather you could just try to mount a set of clip-on's on the duke (which would be relatively simpler) and enjoy it that way.

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

My intention is not to show you the door here. I support your passion, foolish though it may seem, but I support it. It may be a project for you. But sincerely, if you got the moolah it takes to buy the parts and mod the bike into an RC, go ahead, do it and tell us the experience.

If you want to be pointed in the right direction, here are my inputs:
1. Do not expect the modded bike to be anything like the RC390. There is a ton of experience and research that goes into the production of a bike. You may think that KTM just welded some joints, plonked a fairing and a clip-on bar onto the duke to make it an RC390, but you're wrong there. To even start a project like this you need to know the basics of suspension and handling traits of a bike.
2. To start off, begin reading about the rake and trail of a bike. I say this because this is literally the first major difference between the RC and the duke series. What you imagine to be a simple "weld and plonk" job, is not actually just that. You will need to literally modify the very frame of the bike to make this change.
3. As long as your are going to undertake this project, why aim at just the RC390? Get some reading done, contact some modifying professionals and build your dream bike. Won't cost that much more than converting a Duke into an RC and this makes more sense.

I hope this is a more "suitable" answer to your question.

Cheers!

P.S.: I thought you might like to read a bit more on all this, though I'm not sure if you already have read this stuff up. I see you've been a member since 2012, so I'm assuming you have. But I'm still gonna link the threads here:
1. http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/general-...tml#post874338
2. http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/general-...tml#post812868
3. http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/general-...tml#post861163
Now, the above three threads are mostly for hot-rodding a bike. But they're a treasure trove of information, just in case you wanna go that way. However, here's another thread that may actually give you some insight into modding the aesthetics of a bike for performance:
4. http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/general-...ml#post1056165

P.P.S.: I hope you know that the moment you touch the frame of your Duke to modify it, the bike is a 100% street illegal.

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

How is the pillion comfort on the RC? I was just wondering if the bike itself weighs 140kg and if 2 people weighing 80 and 70kg sit on it, won't it adversely affect handling?

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Firstly thanks for the replies.

No offences taken.



From the looks of it the tail section is the only difference besides the added fairing mounting points.


As can be seen from the pictures except for the tail, the chassis is basically the same. The suspension is also the same. Handle bar swap would obviously mean changing the steering head. The portion above the forks right?

Why would the wiring be different? The only difference is in the headlamp? Rest of the electricals are the same.

I think you should look at the two pictures carefully. If you want invert one and superimpose on the other. Other than the tail piece everything is the same. Even the suspension, rake etc is the same. And if you had read the post properly I was not talking about simply bolting on fairings. If that was my plan, I wouldn't have asked.

Why would anyone mess with the suspension. If you look at the pics carefully, the front forks and rear mono shock and swingarm as well as the wheels are identical. How will that impact handling.

Other than the tail piece, nothing is different. This I was not aware of as I had not seen the exposed tail pieces of both the bikes. Rest of the frame is identical except for fairing mounting points. These are welded on bits and not strength members.


Yea I have already gone through that. In fact I have already done a big bore mod job on a Fiero.

Not really. Only if you alter any of the specifications mentioned in the RC book does it become illegal. Some alterations like colour can be endorsed. Mainly what they are after is Engine Swaps, Chassis Swaps and big bores.

The purpose of this post was not to check the economic viability of the project but the technical viability. The reason I asked the cost of parts was because most of the parts required to be changed are the ones commonly damaged in accidents and are generally not so high priced. And of course the project would only be executed if the cost was reasonable and provided it was technically viable. From what I can see, the only hurdle is the tail piece of the chassis.

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Please do go ahead and convert. Clearly you just want to believe what you wish to believe. There is no need to try to convince any of us about suspension geometry, wiring etc etc. As I think the fairly experienced members who have responded to your queries are not going to listen or believe the technical statements you are making without any real knowledge.
Do go ahead and keep us posted and we can all have a good laugh when we see the results.

The info below will help you in your project....

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Can you produce some drawings or photos to show that the suspension geometry is different? I have already told you to look at the photos posted. Can you produce some drawings with the measurements to prove that the geometry is different?
it's actually you who want to believe what you believe and want me to believe what you believe without giving a logical explanation. Clearly you do not understand what forums are for. No one is forcing you to answer.
I asked a question. Several people gave answers and even posted photos. I studied the answers and photos and came to certain conclusions which I expressed. I have even kept a Duke 390 and RC 390 side by side and observed.
At least others have taken the trouble to study my questions and given answers. You have just given your opinion without any facts.

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

The steering rake angle of the duke and rc is different.. Gearing is also different.
I don't think you should try to guess these things by looking at photos.
You can put clip ons and other stuff on your duke to make it look and feel like an rc, but it won't really be an rc when you really compare the handling, etc. Would be a custom make.
If you can risk it, and have time, go for it.

The moment you touch the chassis, your bike isn't road legal.