Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

You may not be able to drill it out because it is a solid bolt

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Then how can I?

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

You should have a bolt that is very similar to this of a much larger size, if you have a hollow point torx bit, it should come off pretty easy. If you've already drilled through it, I don't think it will come off

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Hi guys
I've been a frequent lavasa rider and have started to feel that my rear metzeler is giving up grip. It is the h rated metz that came with the bike. I discovered this today after yesterday's ride

There's chunks of rubber that have broken off. What might be the cause of this? I use my bike everyday but I've done just 6.5k in 1.5 years

The front tyre is still very good though, gives great feedback.

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

The breaking away of rubber is because of the hardening of the compound in the tire, it could also be due to excessive force applied on the tire before it has gained enough heat to stabilize the compound.

Also your rear is almost at the end of its life, the center tread wear indicator is almost level with the surface

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Quick update on Hatsumi

Had to rehaul the entire braking system including the calipers.

Went for a short ride in the city and the brakes were not biting at all, assumed it was because of the slightly damp conditions but it became progressively worse, the master cylinder was developing pressure at the lever but the brakes just refused to bite. The feel wasn't even wooden, it felt like the pads weren't holding on to the disc.

I managed to limp her back home, mainly using engine braking to slow myself down.

My first assumption was that I didn't bleed the brakes properly and the air in the system was causing the issue. I tried to reverse bleed the system but the fluid refused to enter through the bleed valve at the caliper, I then proceeded to bleed the master cylinder but the issue persisted.

I unmounted the caliper to check if the disc pads were still in good condition and I realised a very weird wear pattern. Only the first 5-6mm of the pads seemed to be in contact with the disc.

Removed the pads and sanded them down to even them out.

During this time I also checked the caliper for pressure and this is when I noticed that only one of the pistons was generating pressure, and the rest of the pistons were stuck.

Proceeded to douse the caliper in brake cleaner and slowly started to ease the remaining pistons out , this was also when I noticed that the piston that seemed to be working was stuck half way through and refused to be seated flat.

Left with no choice, I drained the entire braking system at the front and removed the caliper for further inspection.

After trying to push the piston back manually, and failing miserably we decided to use a vice to force the piston back in.

This worked but what happened soon after was not what we were expecting. The bleed valve was completely removed and the caliper spurted out some very bad looking brake fluid, the fluid was almost black. After pushing the piston back in further, even more of the degraded brake fluid escaped.

We re pressurized the caliper to check if the pistons now moved freely and then proceeded to reassemble the whole braking system.

After bleeding, the lever feel was back and the single finger braking was possible.

I was surprised that the entire flushing if the braking system with new fluid didn't remove the old fluid from the calipers.

We always overlooked the overhauling and cleaning of the calipers other than the regular brake cleaner with a little copper grease. I would recommend that everyone pay close attention to their calipers and perform timely maintenance.

On a side note. The KTM service center in Hyderabad told me that this could not be fixed and I would have to buy the entire braking system for the front. Even after I told them to order only the caliper, they tried to convince me that the braking system comes as a kit and not individual parts. It was only after I asked to see the parts list and pointed out the individual part numbers, that they agreed to place an order but asked me to wait 15 days. The entire ordeal left a bad taste in my mouth and I will not be going back to collect the ordered parts. On the bright side though I learned how to service and overhaul my calipers.

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience



Bike is already in service center for service and this leak. But just want to know, what causes this leak?

Leak location - Right side of bike, near air filter box.

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

The air box is broken and you have oil mist from the breather pipe leaking through the cracked air box.

If the airbox is not cracked the breather pipe just delivers the oil most to the airbox where it will mix with the fuel and get burned.

The reason why the KTM sometimes have white smoke coming out after prolonged use at high Rpms

KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Oh thanks.

Actually, my air filter box had a crack and it was changed with the 2016 build.. 6-7 months back. No leakage after that. But recently I've been riding less (Delhi's hot weather) and I saw this.

Bike was submitted for service but they saying there is hardly 300-400ml engine oil found inside. So now no service is done and they have filled oil. They've asked me to do 200-250 km and keep an eye if the oil is again decreasing.

If decreasing, means burning or leaking. Which means Piston rings are broken.
If not decreasing, they will just look for some leaks and do normal service.


My bike is in warranty till October end. I will try my best to get most of it sorted under it.

Any pointers?

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

the oil will mix with fuel in the airbox and then get burned ? how does fuel enter the air box ?

from my understanding, what he is facing is excessive blow-by with the oil ending up in the air filter box. could be worn out piston rings/block (which results in the oil being burnt in the combustion chamber) which also probably explains the low oil level. usually when driven at high rpm's in some cases one might notice the blow by oil collected in the transparent tube on the left side (generally called the crankcase breather pipe.. Sometimes due to filling up excessive oil). this tube is capped at the end can be cleaned out. seeing so much oil dampness in the air filter box is not normal and could be a sign of a more serious problem @Sird , as your mechanic pointed out, keep an eye on the oil level and for any residue in the air filter box (you can open the air-filter box every couple of days and check. Also make sure those hose's are not blocked/kinked and are able to do their job properly.
You can refer the workshop manual for a detailed breakdown of the parts/construction of the air filter box.

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Thank you. I will.

I'm trying to collect info about all this leakage spots and will get it all fixed under warranty.

Yes, I'm in high RPM's most of the time. Will update again in few days after running this testing period and repairs.

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

the best thing to do at the moment is to remove and clean out the airbox (i see it's cracked, so replace it), hoses thoroughly (inspect for any blockage/damages) and drain and refill oil to correct qty and then keep an eye on it.
sometimes simply dismantling/cleaning and putting back these stuff will give you a better picture and result.

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

These are all the factors that come into action, hence supporting the cause!

---- road conditions
---- excessive air pressure
---- aggressive braking on rough surfaces

Metz tires are not really meant for Indian roads unless you take your ride to well maintained highways.

Cheers!

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Guys I recently moved to Noida. I am not sure where is the nearest good KTM SVC.

Can somone tell me a good one near Noida.

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Sector -63 one is quite good. Eagle Automobile I think