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**s1d** · 06-27-2018, 08:40 AM

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Here is what is being done on the 390's:

**B7ACKTHORN** · 06-28-2018, 12:10 AM

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by n_sandy View Post

hi sorry the update version is v42....
PFA photos of rear seat which shows that some pads are attached on back side of seat and seat height is increased few 3-4 mm and now there is some gap in between tail light and seat

IIRC, those pads are there to make sure the seat doesn't flex and sits flush on the chassis. The slight gap that you see at the back, at least considering no seat modifications has been done is perfectly normal as it is. Secondly, the small gap that you see at the rear doesn't really correspond to any defect, it's the way the seat has been designed.

Cheers!
VJ

**the_reaper667** · 06-28-2018, 08:29 AM

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Hi everyone, I need to get the front right hand side fork seal and oil replaced as it is leaking. Bike has done 15000 km. Would it be better to get new oil in both the forks? Or just replacing one will do? Will new oil in one fork and old oil in other affect suspension or handling? Expects please guide.

**arifkhanz** · 06-28-2018, 11:19 PM

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

guys, i am new over here and was coming from a duke 200. I bought D390 as a second hand bike and owning this since last 2 days,At the time of the test ride i was so much fell in love with the power and acceleration ,the bike was neat and clean in looks and only did around 6000km in odo, so after checking the clean service history from the SVC i bought the bike even without testing it further. But now when i rode the bike in the actual city ride the bike is jerking like anything it feels like the bike is about to cut off the fuel or its in a top gear and am riding it so slow,This feel is present across all the gear and its there till 5k rpm, its just annoying and un-ridable in city or even in normal road with a normal speed, it feels like the bike always needs to be ridden in high revs and not a single time in slow speed or low revs, is this happening with you all guys ? or is there something faulty with my bike?
may be since i was coming from duke 200 and was so much in love with the acceleration and the steady and comfy slow speed run it was giving i am so much having an unpleasant ride feel with 390 . Please let me know if the bike is as it is or not,
PS : the jerking or less fuel feel is present in all the gears under 5k rpm (eg: 4th gear and 50km/h speed feels like riding in a horse jumping back and forth )

**Varun Sirohi** · 06-29-2018, 12:23 AM

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by arifkhanz View Post

But now when i rode the bike in the actual city ride the bike is jerking like anything it feels like the bike is about to cut off the fuel or its in a top gear and am riding it so slow,This feel is present across all the gear and its there till 5k rpm, its just annoying and un-ridable in city or even in normal road with a normal speed, it feels like the bike always needs to be ridden in high revs and not a single time in slow speed or low revs, is this happening with you all guys ?

Yes, its normal.

Originally posted by arifkhanz View Post

PS : the jerking or less fuel feel is present in all the gears under 5k rpm (eg: 4th gear and 50km/h speed feels like riding in a horse jumping back and forth )

Dont treat it like a 200 or any other sub 200cc. It needs to be revved. Used to ride fz16 at 50kmph in 4th gear :-P. Try to keep it between 4.5k to 7k rpm for smooth and calm ride. Nothing more to say..

**arifkhanz** · 06-29-2018, 06:46 AM

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by Varun Sirohi View Post

Yes, its normal.
I see, I never thought it would be like this ,

Dont treat it like a 200 or any other sub 200cc. It needs to be revved. Used to ride fz16 at 50kmph in 4th gear :-P. Try to keep it between 4.5k to 7k rpm for smooth and calm ride. Nothing more to say..

Thanks for your reply brother , I was having souch expectation with the bike and coming to know that this bike is only rideable in high revs its kind of a let down for me , as I am using this for the daily commute and will be riding the bike mostly in traffic condition i wont be able to go past 5K rpm that easily, so i am dijusting this bitter truth

and i will havr to live with it.
already started missing my baby duke 200

sorry for this noob question, but still is there any way to get rid of this jerking with some fuel remap stuff or something?

**Varun Sirohi** · 06-29-2018, 11:45 AM

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by arifkhanz View Post

Thanks for your reply brother , I was having souch expectation with the bike and coming to know that this bike is only rideable in high revs its kind of a let down for me , as I am using this for the daily commute and will be riding the bike mostly in traffic condition i wont be able to go past 5K rpm that easily, so i am dijusting this bitter truth

and i will havr to live with it.
already started missing my baby duke 200

sorry for this noob question, but still is there any way to get rid of this jerking with some fuel remap stuff or something?

Hi Arif,
Piggyback ecu or a remap can help you. Powertronic piggyback ecu works like a charm on old duke, also available for 2017 duke but not with many reviews. You can have a look at it on amazon.

**dineshaugustin** · 06-29-2018, 12:12 PM

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by arifkhanz View Post

Thanks for your reply brother , I was having souch expectation with the bike and coming to know that this bike is only rideable in high revs its kind of a let down for me , as I am using this for the daily commute and will be riding the bike mostly in traffic condition i wont be able to go past 5K rpm that easily, so i am dijusting this bitter truth

and i will havr to live with it.
already started missing my baby duke 200

sorry for this noob question, but still is there any way to get rid of this jerking with some fuel remap stuff or something?

D390 is not a city friendly and has relatively weak lower end. So the jerk which you are mentioning is normal. You have to keep the engine at revvs, since you are coming form D200 it will take some time to get used to it. Engine mapping and gearing should be sorted out if at all KTM decides to make D390 a city friendly bike which i dont think will happen.
If you have bought D390 primarily for city ride then u have to adjust your riding style. Stay at higher rpm and this will also leads to more fuel consumption.

**iBerry** · 06-29-2018, 12:52 PM

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Having both the old 390 and the 2018 one I can tell you the low speed jerky ride is normal. The old 390 is extremely jerky at low speeds... mine especially at 4k rpm. The new one is a lot more user friendly and smoother in low rpm. I have the powertronic ecu in my old 390 and it has calmed the bike to a fair extent but that jerky ride is still there.

It's the fuel mapping that's the problem and theres really nothing you can do about it. I've ridden the d200 and it's a completely different bike. If I remember correctly the 200 could go as low as 35kmph at 6th gear and felt completely smooth. It's only at above 75kmph that the 200 starts to loose it's smoothness and where the 390s start to feel really refined.

**arifkhanz** · 06-29-2018, 04:37 PM

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by Varun Sirohi View Post

Hi Arif,
Piggyback ecu or a remap can help you. Powertronic piggyback ecu works like a charm on old duke, also available for 2017 duke but not with many reviews. You can have a look at it on amazon.

Thank you Varun for your reply , Will try to do a research on the Powertronic piggyback ecu and see if that can help me out !

----consecutive posts auto-merged-----

Originally posted by iBerry View Post

Having both the old 390 and the 2018 one I can tell you the low speed jerky ride is normal. The old 390 is extremely jerky at low speeds... mine especially at 4k rpm. The new one is a lot more user friendly and smoother in low rpm. I have the powertronic ecu in my old 390 and it has calmed the bike to a fair extent but that jerky ride is still there.

It's the fuel mapping that's the problem and theres really nothing you can do about it. I've ridden the d200 and it's a completely different bike. If I remember correctly the 200 could go as low as 35kmph at 6th gear and felt completely smooth. It's only at above 75kmph that the 200 starts to loose it's smoothness and where the 390s start to feel really refined.

Truly agree with you , even though the Duke twins are under the same brand the way they perform really differs in the low & high revvs

----consecutive posts auto-merged-----

Originally posted by dineshaugustin View Post

D390 is not a city friendly and has relatively weak lower end. So the jerk which you are mentioning is normal. You have to keep the engine at revvs, since you are coming form D200 it will take some time to get used to it. Engine mapping and gearing should be sorted out if at all KTM decides to make D390 a city friendly bike which i dont think will happen.
If you have bought D390 primarily for city ride then u have to adjust your riding style. Stay at higher rpm and this will also leads to more fuel consumption.

Yes , I believe its me who needs to be adapted to the bike character , Since I was directly coming out from the D200 I felt a day night difference in the low end power of the 200 & 390 , I shall get used with it and mold my riding style with the bike nature ,

Thank you all for giving me your feed backs

Hope I will be able to over come the fuzziness with the bike soon

**thumpmeister** · 07-01-2018, 01:10 AM

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by azharonline View Post

After months of deliberation on what to choose and which bike to buy, I went into the KTM Indiranagar showroom to book the 250 Duke. But the very last moment, in fact after even putting down my signatures on a few papers, I changed my decision and went in for the 390 Duke and HOLY COW!
I finally have made the beast my own and it is an insane feeling! I've been dying to own an exhilarating bike for so long and I finally get my hands on this beauty! I'd always wanted to own the Yamaha RX100 but my dad bought me a Hero Honda Passion Pro back in the day when I was in college! Although it is a good bike in its own right, I always wanted the thrill of a 2-stroke and finally, after I had earned enough, I really wanted to go in for an original "Made in Japan" RX100. I had made up my mind to get one when my uncle very nonchalantly asked me if I am not interested in the Duke. How could I not be interested in what's the today's version of RX100(without the exhaust note though!). That's when I gave it another thought and decided to go in for the Duke now instead of RX100, which still most definitely exists on my plans but is now postponed(maybe next year?).
When I began considering the Duke, the 390 was definitely out of my budget but the 200 was still running the previous design. Hence, I zeroed in on the 250 Duke. I took it out for a test ride and in fact, even rented out the bike for a day and rode it through the famed traffic of Bangalore. I was totally floored but I would've really appreciated ABS on it. However, I couldn't do much about it as I was already stretching my budget for the 250! Finally, on a good ol Sunday afternoon, I took my uncle and grandpa to the KTM Indiranagar showroom(both motorbiking enthusiasts

) and there they were evidently more impressed by the 390 Duke. That's when I first began considering the 390 Duke, because of them! But it still was the 250 Duke that we paid the booking amount for and signed the initial booking documents. I told the dealership that I'd be back the next day with the remaining amount. That evening, I spoke to my uncle and grandfather again, did a bit of soul-searching and the next day, I went to the dealership and booked my 390 Duke (thanks to the loan from my mother! Love you mom!

) That's how I managed to stretch my budget from 2L to 3L and got the flagship bike of Brand KTM in India! Proud owner now, and don't feel like ever getting off my bike!

Congratulations on your new steed buddy.

Can you please share your ownership review on the below points specifically:
- Heat dissipation
- City commuting
- Coolant mixing with engine oil issue
- ECU error / switching off issue

**azharonline** · 07-01-2018, 02:18 AM

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by thumpmeister View Post

Congratulations on your new steed buddy.

Can you please share your ownership review on the below points specifically:
- Heat dissipation
- City commuting
- Coolant mixing with engine oil issue
- ECU error / switching off issue

Hey bro, it's been almost a couple of months since I got my ride and I haven't had much of a chance to do any long rides on this as I have been very busy with other things and have done only about 1.2k kms yet. However, all of that has been in the city and I can help you with the questions that you have asked.

Heat Dissipation: Can get hot at times but the fan kicks in at the right time and I haven't felt uncomfortable due to the heat at all. Not even once. At the max, it gets warm around my left calf, but never bothers me. In fact, most of the times I don't even notice it until I think about it myself or look into the temperature meter on the screen.

City commuting: Not an issue at all. I am 5'5 and I find it a little bothersome when I ride it wearing really tight pants. In fact, I've slipped once with tight pants on. I also slipped once while wearing slippers, which was sloppy - should have worn shoes! I've learnt from these and I do not find city commuting to be an issue. On the contrary, the extra muscle gives you ample power to overtake vehicles and yes, ABS has already saved me once!

Coming to the jerkiness in the lower rev band, it is there but I haven't found it to be much of an issue unless you just wanna cruise at low speeds. If you wanna do that then this is not the bike for that. This is a naughty machine and it expects you to be naughty with it too! :P

Coolant mixing with engine oil: Got no idea on this bro.

ECU error/Switching off issue: Yes, ECU error did occur once before my first service, and that didn't let me start my bike. I reported it during my servicing and the guys told me that the software will be updated, which should fix the issue. Sadly, the issue persists and I faced it twice already after the service was done. On the positive side, have never faced it while the bike was running(before and after service too) and happened only when I used the kill switch when I had to stop the bike after riding it for a while, after which it refused to start. Just switching off and on the bike fixed the problem. Never stalled in the middle of the ride.

Apart from these, I am getting a mileage of around 21-22 with Shell V-Power as well as Speed. With Speed 97, I am getting a mileage of 23-24. All in Bangalore city conditions.

All in all, I think this is a great ride if you just wanna have pure fun and aren't really bothered about the mileage and all of that. If you want a more refined engine and things like that, this is not the right bike as this definitely is jerky in the extreme lower end. Mid and higher rev bands are awesome, though! Apart from this, hard breaking can hurt the palms and wrists, a problem which is compounded when not wearing gloves, but that is hardly a deal-breaker and depends more on your riding posture I guess.

Let me know if you need any more info! Cheers!

**thumpmeister** · 07-01-2018, 11:50 PM

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by azharonline View Post

Hey bro, it's been almost a couple of months since I got my ride and I haven't had much of a chance to do any long rides on this as I have been very busy with other things and have done only about 1.2k kms yet. However, all of that has been in the city and I can help you with the questions that you have asked.

Heat Dissipation: Can get hot at times but the fan kicks in at the right time and I haven't felt uncomfortable due to the heat at all. Not even once. At the max, it gets warm around my left calf, but never bothers me. In fact, most of the times I don't even notice it until I think about it myself or look into the temperature meter on the screen.

d after service too) and happened only when I used the kill switch when I had to stop the bike after riding it for a

Let me know if you need any more info! Cheers!

Thank you brother, you were more than a help. So guess the ECU is still an issue. The bike i completely agree in one helluva machine! Wish you all the craziness & happiness with your steed!

**hamadryad** · 07-02-2018, 04:11 PM

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by thumpmeister View Post

Thank you brother, you were more than a help. So guess the ECU is still an issue. The bike i completely agree in one helluva machine! Wish you all the craziness & happiness with your steed!

I have the 2018 Duke 390 and the bike came with v39 software version, ECU error and the dash turning off were all resolved when I updated to v41. I have about 5000km on ODO and coolant mixing with engine oil is not an issue that I have faced, yet, keeping my fingers crossed on that one. But so far so good.

**thumpmeister** · 07-04-2018, 09:14 AM

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Originally posted by hamadryad View Post

I have the 2018 Duke 390 and the bike came with v39 software version, ECU error and the dash turning off were all resolved when I updated to v41. I have about 5000km on ODO and coolant mixing with engine oil is not an issue that I have faced, yet, keeping my fingers crossed on that one. But so far so good.

Thank you so much for the feedback. Enjoy your rides.

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2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

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