Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Got your DM, will ping you Whatsapp. No mention though

Probably for the fuel tank you've crack near where the fuel pump mounting screw holes are present, many 1st batch RC's had this issue, KTM did replace them in warranty back then, but your dealer might have not done it for you.

And yes, for 2nd part almost all engine parts getting replaced and prices seems to fine, labor also is on the right side, nothing rip-off I see.

But I have few doubts for these list items
1) Crankshaft, old one can also be reset without replacing the entire crankshaft. Just that i'm still unable to wrap my head around of the thing the whole crankshaft needs work at just 22K kms, only a closer look will tell the story.
2) Clutch Assly, they don't have to replace the entire clutch assembly, only changing the friction and pressures should do the job and save you ₹2500. Unless they are forcing to upgrade fully to slipper clutch unit
3) Battery, outside Amaron Pro bike rider battery is available for ₹1600(after exchange of old one)
4) Sprockets, you get sprockets for ₹2500 for normal one, from Rolon OEM. Even with fitting charges ₹3500 is bit high for price mentioned.

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Yes, that was exactly the issue he showed me. I used to get everything done from the BTM Layout KTM, but they're one of the worst in my experience, always replaced unnecessary parts; I stopped going after two services. Clearly they did not inform me of the change that was required, but that's expected of them

1. This is where my lack of technical knowledge comes through, but at this point I'm just looking at it as an investment for longevity; once this is done I hope I'm done with any issues, saves me the hassle at 40K kms etc. or whenever this would have been required. But due to the oil leak, and going by the sound when it seized, it was definitely more serious I suppose
2. Yes, he gave me the slipper clutch option and I took it, he mentioned the same thing you did, which is good to know. The more inputs I receive from you, the more I see that he was accurate with me with the quotations etc.
3. Same situation, he gave me the option of two batteries, the one you mentioned as well as some other one which had some differences, so I opted for that one (I think warranty etc., I agree it wouldn't really have made a difference, but it wasn't much of a difference in price so I went with it). I'll check regarding the exchange of the old one though, thanks for that.
4. I'll follow up on this, I think he would install the standard set.

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Oh nice, I got the rolon chain and sprocket from LRLmotors only, tried sourcing from other shops but no luck. And regarding delivery it took about a week, I didn't face any delay due to covid and such, hope you sort out your issues soon,

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

I had ordered the gold one from lrl.
Took 5 days to reach Delhi. Although first they said 21 days.

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Rebuild Update

Got the bike back, shes up and firing on all her cylinders, roaring like angry lion. Sounds much more raw and more linear now than how she was when I got her from factory.
Will post a detailed update after riding it for couple of days.

I finally found the root cause, spent some time with all the old parts and came to know the root casue
And can confirm it's not due to my poor oil maintenance(I can atleast sleep peacefully knowing this fact). The time timing chain or tensionor also was not the issue nor the piston/block failed.

What failed on the bike was the cam shaft rod. It cracked and failed metallurgically, it was weak probably and the T joint broke. Hence the cam slipped, timing went haphazard and the exhaust valve hit the piston. Could be manufacturing defect, bad metal hardening or metallurgical defect on the Exhaust cam shaft.

You can see the missing piece broken on the right side, no matter how hard the cam chain puts the twisting force on the cam, the joint should not crack this way!



How it should actually look

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Ah, the dreaded metal fatigue! Happens to the best of us. Shame that it happens to some of us, but hey, it does happen. When you have an aircraft engine that costs $28 MN suffer failure due to metal fatigue, why not the KTM. It also can be due to the fact that heat plays enemy with this motorcycle. The variables can go on and on, such as engine oil level, engine oil condition, the way the engine's operated, but that's just buts. But, take care of it now, and she'll be there for long time to come.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Rebuild Update
!!!So here is the final bill!!!

For the sake of simplicity and not to scare or deter any new D/RC390 owners. I'll be dividing the final bill in two categories:
1) Only the Engine Top-End rebuild cost (Every single thing is brand new on the top-end of the engine including the Head, excluding the Valve cover).
2) The regular cost of Upkeep of a 390 @27K kms - Wear and tear parts, General service kit(oil, filters, coolants etc etc), Stock Clutch plates from factory which came from needed replacing at usual 25K-30K kms range based of city usage(mine was @27K kms), Timing chain which also needs to be changed by around the same number of kms, Water pump seals and Oil seals. All these costs I'd have anyhow incurred them if I had given my bike for next service after next 3000kms @30K kms.

Engine Top-End full rebuild only cost


Regular Upkeep cost


I did get some goodwill recurring customer and AMC discounts(5-10% max) which I've pulled on labor charges, so labor charges might not be the same for all others.

P.S. I've already completed a sane 150kms ride over the weekend(not exceeding the running-in and seating guidelines), will post detailed update on ride review and engine performance after riding for couple 100's kms more.

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Hey bro, could you add as attachments.

As of now they're too small to read.

P.S.

KTM doesn't recommend valve lapping to be done, new head and valves go in as is.

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Appreciate the update. From the list, I can see, that yours is a non-slip clutch. I would have strongly recommended a slipper clutch setup on the Duke spending a couple of bucks extra, considering the engine braking the thing offers, but I guess you definitely would have given it a thought. Don't pamper the engine, make sure she is given an occasional taste of 100s, the key is to not redline and varying the RPM is key.

Crucial set of things to look at this stage.

COOLANT Level at the reservoir
Check for any abnormal engine oil discoloration
Observe for any 2-stroke-ish fumes from exhaust in the morning first start and after engine warmed up adequately by revving the engine. This will again emit white smoke in case of oil ingestion/combustion.
Make sure, all the engine foundation bolts are properly torqued, to reduce vibrations, KTM folks are known to poorly torque the bolts after overhaul which in turn causes vibrations.

Ride safe!


True! KTM doesn't recommend valve lapping per se, but it is good to valve a lap with finer grit before installing, purely to remove the guess work and make sure the mating surfaces are flat and to one's personal satisfaction. WRT to his bill, here's what I can make of it.

First bill
Rs. 30362

Second maintenance bill
Rs. 7704

Grand total, per his account: 38066/-

Cheers!
VJ

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

I even tried now and gave up trying to upload the Image in it's clearest form, gave up now finally, so here it is

Top-end Rebuild Cost
Regular Upkeep Cost

Grand Total = ₹38115


Yes I read the service manual and it was direct plug and play like you mentioned,
I did feel the new valves for any imperfections or pitting but valves seemed fine was a direct fit. But remember the Head is also new, so the new Head had some minor variations between the RH and LH exhaust valve openings and were not exactly mirrored.

So decided to go with lapping anyway just to be on safer side as VJ mentioned to clear my OCD. Did a good old petrol leak test on both Inlet and Outlet just to be sure again.

Yes, I'm being very easy on her But I can feel the eagerness in her and power hiding beneath that it wants to scream, just holding it back till break-in for upto 2000kms.
She pulls like a train for sure now.

And yes I'm also doing the pre-ride checkup everyday before each ride, checking the oil level, color, coolant level and all hoses and hose sealants, any loose bolts, valve gasket or head gasket or clutch for any leaks. Will do follow-up. Thanks for the pointers.

For the 2nd part, I did give the slipper clutch a thought, but did not go against for 3 reasons
1) I only needed new Friction and Pressue plates total of ₹2500, for slipper clutch I'd to replace entire assembly (includes entire outer hub, grab plate, face plate), costs extra ₹2000 more at ₹4700 for the full assembly
2) Main reason, she's one of the last pure Raw 390's around. No slipper clutch, no ride-by-wire funda, no BS4 or BS6 vapor chambers cat-cons etc etc, last of Auto-rickshaw sounding 390's. So would love to keep her that way, close to Raw as possible and Pure as possible.
3) I still the slight fish tailing, hopping and wobble during downshifts and the aggressive lung forward handling on the non-slipper clutch version

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Hey!!

Long time no see. hope every ones healthy and doing well.

Been a while since I left my Bike the way it was.

At my last post my bike wasn't cranking because I installed the new cams 180 degrees off. Took me 14 mins to remove the engine and rotate the cams and then it started again. But, the leak issue came back as the new threads were damaged again in the engine.

SO then got fedup and left the bike as I had to go back to Dubai for 10 months, my friends used to turn the bike on once every month for 3-4 mins and remove the battery again for the next time.

Now I'm back in India and can't seem to find the time to get the crankcase replaced once and for all. I don't seem to like the KTM RingRoad here in Lucknow as they have serious delays, commitment issues and lazyness. They charge an extra too and don't seem to care for their customers so much.

KTM CHOWK has officially shut down, used to get my parts from their as they offered my counter-sales for the cams and all.

Now I checked the new KTM Alambagh and man I seriously dig those guys. They have the most experienced people working here in Lucknow as well as people who listen to the customer and are humble, customer friendly and knowledgeable people. They aren't just people who try to replace the shit and move to the next customer. They used to work in the first KTM SVC here but as ownership changed time to time they moved to new locations and now in Alambagh.

Talked with the Head Mechanic Mr. Kamran, SVC incharge Mr Dinesh and Mr Anand and they assured that they would do everything as I direct them, from using Torque wrenches to Loctide (other SVCs use none of them). They placed the order for the seals and crankcase as well as some other faring parts as mine are 5 years old and scratched up and to my surprise it all got delivered in a week even after COVID delays.

They now completely disassembled the engine on Friday and will start cleaning everything with petrol on Monday and will get the bike fully assembled by tuesday. Due to heavy work loads at my office can't get the time off or leave to visit and see for myself.

Approx cost are as follows: (Will post the billed once i get it)

Crankcase RH: 5100 (pump seal with greased, oil filter with cap, bearings come preinstalled)
Labour for the changed: 4300 (other SVC were charging 7100)


They will be changing all the bolts on the engine and will recheck the valve clearances and asked them to clean or change all the jets and leave nothing untouched as well as all the seals. They are saying the bearings at the left side of the engine don't need any replacement, would like to get your two cents on it.

Another thing i asked them was Not to remove the piston from the block under any circumstances (can't take the risk and would leave me mentally tortured)

Posting pics below. Request the Experts to kindly give their opinions on the condition of the engine judging by the images, things I need to keep in mind and other points. Would appreciate it and will post an update once everythings over along with bill.

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Hey QZ, welcome back. Don't worry about the delay, things are slowly starting to unfold and that's what matters. Secondly, apart from seals make sure your head and piston are decarbonized along with throttle body, since this is a complete engine teardown, it will help to clean some of the important parts that would otherwise be not viable to make time for. Decarb your head, piston head, and TB. My personal suggestion would be to replace the bearing on the left side of the crankcase, better be safe than sorry. Rest are pretty much sorted.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Nearing 40k km and still going strong. Everything stock, engine has been touched. So far the only problems i've had is with cheap plastic, fasteners, radiator fan that died after 1.5 years and my own or SVCs' mistakes such as not using threadlock on bolts. The bike continues to exceed my expectations!

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Hey,

Sorry for the late reply, was too busy with office work. They changed all the seals as I asked them to do so but didn't change the Lh Case bearing saying that its not required. By the time you replied they had already packed the engine up. They finished everything in 2 days and handed the bike over to me. I asked the Head Mechanic if he decarbonized the head and the piston and he said there wasn't a spec of carbon on them and thy engine looked to my surprise totally new. He said the engine was completely brand new from the inside and didn't look like it had run around 15,000 kms and said that the valves and all were perfect expect the LH Exhaust which was a lil oh the higher side and he fixed it. He also said that there was a head gasket leak and coolant got mixed up with the petrol which was a pain in the ass for him to clean and he cleaned all the component of the engine with petrol.

Attaching details of the bill below:

Re: KTM RC 390 Ownership Experience

Appreciate the detailed write up! Hope the bike is behaving as it's supposed to. Do keep a tab on the fluids and everything in between.

Cheers!
VJ