Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Hi all. Two things i've noticed going wrong with my bike.

First thing being morning start or occasionally when bike is kept idle for 6-7 hours and the start after that. The engine shuts itself after starting, sometimes it even takes 2 starts to continue. Any idea why this happen ? Previously this used to be at max 1 restart and that too occasionally.

Second being about the fuel tank lid. Previously it used to auto lock itself while pressing but now it doesn't. i inquired about the same in SVC and said the 2017 models doesn't come with this feature. i was like, that's weird, because mine used to. They gave an explanation that 2017 models doesn't come with spring which does that.Whats your take on this ?

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

hi guys,
can some one throw some light in how to check the coolant mixing with engine oil? i tried to look on the threads but couldnt find one,
the reason why am asking is my bike feels extra smooth from the engine and i remember some one saying if u notice sudden smoothness in your engine there is a possibility of coolant mixing with engine oil. so if some one can let me know how can we determine this or how to check it it will be of a great help for me.

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Keep an eye on the coolant level if you notice a dip get it checked.

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

you can check the oil sight glass (the one where you check the engine oil level). if the oil appears greyish/milky then it definitely indicates coolant and oil mixing.
also if the leak is bad, you will notice the coolant level drop.. and sometimes a bit of white smoke in exhaust if the cause of leak is a blown head gasket (the other cause being a failed water pump seal)

If you want to be 100% sure, then simply drain the oil and coolant and check their condition. At-least check the oil when you go in for service.
I have no idea where you got that info about the bike being extra smooth due to such a condition. What you will end up with is over heating.

Maybe the reason for 'smoothness' is the change in weather.. yes, cooler weather makes the bike 'smoother' compared to hot weather. Fret not, and do the basic checks first.

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Thanks brother for the detailed answer ,
Yes even i dont know what would be the exact reason he said bike will get smoother in such condition , May be since oil and water is getting mixed the lubricant become less viscus ( juss kidding though ) ,
so when i checked the Engine oil sight this is how am seeing the oil color : attached the image , could you please check and see if this is normal , ( there are bubbles in it as i just stopped riding the bike for clicking the pic on the way home )

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences


Hi , Anyone with prior experience like this. I searched in the old duke forum and could find about engine stalls during throttling.Anyways i am taking the bike to SVC tomorrow. Do let me know if its anything particular i have to get checked.

Fuel filter/injector/fuel pump/battery or even spark plugs ?

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

perfectly normal. nothing to worry.
but as a practice, keep an eye on the coolant and oil level every couple of days.

KTM Duke 390 - Bought May 06, 2018

POST MERGED AND APPROVED

The whole deal started with me covering the SJOBA Sub-Himalayan Rally 2018. Have been riding since 1998, but the frequency had dropped ever since shifting to the NCR in 2005. Guess in addition to the entire heat + dust + (lack of) road etiquette + aggression, the clatter from my RE Thunderbird (bought 2003) was super annoying. Though I did take the bike on a couple of long road trips, it is extremely draining a machine to ride (no I haven't sold it).

Moving on. Wanted to buy a litre class bike, but budgetary constraints and my apprehensions about riding conditions taking me off the saddle didn't allow such a move. Did a lot of research and figured that the Duke 390 was the best bang-for-your-buck set of wheels out there. And at the price, they were good enough for a few years of riding without feeling a huge pinch if I wasn't as regular.

After putting off the idea (again, cuz of my apprehansions about the riding conditions) on the 5th of May, I just COULDN'T stop myself on the 6th, and this happened:



YAY!

Rode back home in full gear, sweating my butt off. But super happy regardless. This thing could move! I've loved being on Harleys for their smooth twist-the-throttle-get-gasoline-nirvana persona. This thing was a different animal. Right out of the showroom, it HATED being driven in heavy gears and / or slowly. You could feel the engine working when you twisted it a bit too.

The week nearly passed by and I couldn't get enough distance on the ODO to complete the run-in period. So on Thursday I decided that I was heading to Shimla on Friday morning.

Tip - Do not ride minus bike luggage. A heavy backpack murders the fun of riding.

The ride was pleasant, it being cloudy and I could easy get to 85kph without breaching the run-in RPM limits. Smooth motorcycle man!

Got to Shimla and took it for a ride in the upper mountains. This thing LOVES twisties.

This four hour long ride I went for made me feel like how a super chilled pilsner does on a hot summer day. On the verge of tears.

You throw it into the curve and come out of it in the 4-5k RPM band, shift up and thank the gods for the asteroid strike that killed the dinosaurs so that we could have gasoline today. You'd want to take the KTM team out for a romantic date and serenade them with sounds of Aprakovic exhausts on battle tanks. I cannot explain the joy I felt well enough.

Here are a few pics from that ride:





Okay. One thing this bike CANNOT do is offroad. Off the asphalt, it feels like the suspension has been made of wood and that your life couldn't end soon enough as that would be preferred to the torture you're being taken through.

Pics from that misadventure:





Back in the heat, the service was due and at the service station I saw the setup this bike had for touring. Thought it was pretty neat.



Servicing done and RPM limitations off, I took the duke out every Sunday either on the Jaipur highway or GFR. Standard stuff. Just to keep the machine moving through the season. It is happiest in the 4k-6k RPM range. Anything lower, and it's jittery. Anything higher and you can feel the bike in your body. The wind gets annoying. No fun on the straights.

The heat got to me this time and I ran to the mountains again. Learning from my mistakes, I got bike luggage and it make a GARGANTUAN difference in your riding expreience. Highly recommended. FYI - All brands available on Amazon India are massively overpriced. I got something kickass at a fraction of the price.

A couple of departure pics:




The load of the luggage didn't impact the stability of the bike at all in my opinion. Even through the curves, it was stable as stable can be. And mind you my packing level was two pairs of shoes and a pair of slippers beyond the riding shoes I was wearing. The bag looked like a pig fattened on a diet of calorie dense foods and whey protein.

Regardless of the lack of RPM restrictions, the times I enjoyed riding was 5k-6.5k RPM. Anything over that was to get to the mountains quickly (yes I got a speeding fine).

The ensuing ride was even better as I could approach corners with heavy downshifts. OH! The clutch comes from somewhere in automotive heaven. Smooth as baby oil on an exotic dancer. *drools*

Yeah. Heavy downshift into a curve, twist her up halfway through and then upshift to giggles. No, at LEAST a grin.

Some pics from this one:








Suffered a maddening traffic jam on entering Delhi this time and have sworn off long trips till it cools down (say mid-September). Then maybe I'll be able to get a proper travelogue here.

More stuff I noticed about the Duke 390, and other stuff:

1. Fantastic headlights.
2. The rear brake is made of wood. Do NOT depend on it for ANYTHING!
3. The ABS is fantastic.
4. I removed the rear mudguard. Too much plastic-y clater.
5. Expect 240 odd Kms on a full tank at highway speeds. So plan fuel stops diligently.
6. The stability is near brilliant. I faced a 45 degree drop at the speed of say 70 post overtaking a truck JUST after a curve. Stirred, but not shaken.
7. Stickers saving the tank from the seat are crap quality.
8. Heard that it gets shocker issues, so got front shocker covers.
9. Don't buy the rear monoshock cover. It'll get charred within the first 15 minutes of riding.
10. I clean and lube the chain every 500kms. You do see a lot of muck buildup, so suggest you do the same.
11. Buy double the amount of chain cleaner that you do of chain lube.
12. A groller stand is REALLY helpful while cleaning the chain.
13. Other accessories I recommend: Bluetooth connectivity for your helmet, a phone mount, a phone charger and a front caliper wheel lock. Maybe a GoPro (but mind you, mounting it on the front with a mic setup is an extra 10-12k, plus a lot of headache finding the right extension arms. You could mount it on the top and look like a teletubby). So I didn't get the latter.

Stuff that I would LOVE to have here:

1. Hazard lights. None on this bike and you really miss them in the fog. Getting them from outside will kill your warranty.
2. A better horn maybe? HATE sounding like a scooty behind obstinate Punjab Roadways bus drivers (they are the absolute worst. Watch out for them.)
3. A better sounding exhaust. I KNOW it's a single pot but PLEASE! The exhaust note is comparable to autoricks. And no, i'm not dropping 70k on Aprakovic.
4. The KTM chaps being more efficient at finding bike covers. A month and still haven't been able to replace my torn to shreds (thanks Shimla monkeys) one.
5. A grippier tyre for the mountains.
6. A real rear brake

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

My Duke has done close to 30K and for last 1000 odd kms the throttle response has become kind of jerky while in lower gears & approaching 4000 rpm. Any idea as to what could be the reason ?
Mine is running on V41 s/w version and I don't know if upgrading to V42 will make any difference as such.

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Hi guys !

Just completed my 2nd service and the SA adviced me for mandatory fixes pushed by KTM..

1. The ECU bracket has to be changed since it is creating issues while riding in rain.

2. The headlamp assembly vibration - if the headlamp vibrates looks like they are providing a fix.

There was an another job as well but I don't remember it... Looks like all 390 -2017 owners should be doing the above fixes.

Have anyone got the jobs done or received any calls from ASC ? If yes , could you please post in detail about the things done ?

Thanks in advance.

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

In addition to the above two mentioned jobs, last one is the rubber cushion below the rear seat. The new ones seem to be a bit thicker.

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Were all periodic maintences carried out? That's replacing oil, filters, spark plug mainly?
Sometimes it could be bad fuel or an 'air lock'.. Try fueling from a diff pump and maybe just open the tank cap, start bike, shut down, close it and start again and go for a spin and check
Go ahead and update the ecu, and then what you could ask them to do is to connect their diag tool
Clear dtc
Fire up the bike without touching throttle
Let it idle for 11 to 15min..dont touch throttle
Shut it down
Let it cool down a bit
Then ride it as usual and check.

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Hi All,

logged into to the forum after a long gap. registered in the forum almost 3years back but never posted anything if my memory serves me right.

i owned a RE TB350(2014) model for almost 2 years and toured on it close to 30K. due to the frequent visits to mechanics and service centre's not being capable enough to serve the bike better , got rid of that bike. later booked a himalayan and cancelled after bad reviews from my friends using it. all this time i had a second spare bike fz-s and after himalayan test ride started liking my fz more. short wheel base, quick line changes, superb brakes, cornering capabity etc, i couldnt find anything close to it. it was a really fill it, shut it and forget type of bike. fz is almost 6years and 50K+ kms on the odo and the itch started for an upgrade. here starts the dilemma on which bike to choose next. my requirement was having ABS is a must and only 2 bikes struck the right cord, D400 and d390.
went thru all the pages of both the bikes on forum and decided its the d390 for me.

i went the preused route and found a good example bike at a mouth watering price and got it last saturday.
all is well with the bike except that the tft version in v39 which i will get updated at the svc in this week.

need your help with the best svc in Hyderabad.

needless to say, i was prepared for mindblowing acceleration from the bike and my preparation was not enough. the bike has exceeded the kind of power i imagined it from it. loving every moment of it.

can anyone also tag ajay viswanath (forum member) in this post.
hi ajay, i dont know how to tag you here, would like to meet you since i am also from sainikpuri area and learn more about the bike from you.

thanks,
J689

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Some basic stuff that people should be doing right, but why they cut corners is beyond me.
I've cleaned and lubed the bike chain two times, today was the third and it figures that the bolt securing the chain cover has gone bald. Annoying that I cannot open the cover to remove the Gurgaon flood muck and appalled that the quality of the fittings is trash.

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Please use the [MENTION=70615]Ajay Vishwanath[/MENTION] to tag any user to your post. Firstly congratulations on your acquisition. Perhaps even [MENTION=16602]s1d[/MENTION] can chime in here, Banjara Hills KTM is a decent service after which Kukatpally KTM which also caters decently. The software upgrade can be done at any KTM service center, but preferably at the SVC where the first owner purchased the motorcycle.

Unfortunately yes. The bolts gets stripped like molten cheese. The quality of the parts bin on the Duke series leaves a lot to be desired, though it's still a lovely package. The bolts, nuts have an aluminum finish and aren't tempered enough to withstand high torque and are easily prone to deformation with a slip. One has to be careful on the bolt part, a slip is all it takes to flat out the heads and can be a bother in the posterior when you least expect it to happen.

Unfortunately, it's still the case with all the Dukes, it still doesn't get to quality it deserves.

Cheers!
VJ