Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences


Not a D390 owner (YET, I hope).
But this is the grade I have always been using on my Apache RTR 180.



10wXX or 15wXX are generally better than 20, depending on the area you are in.
15 or 20 is very fine in South India.

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Go ahead and pick it up.. no issues. the 7100, 10w50 or 20w50 whatever is at a cheaper price get it. I prefer the 20w50 and have mostly run that only on my duke.

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Yes. It's possibly the best oil the Duke series can get. All 250 cc and upward bikes can use this oil, works well and holds. If you want an even cost effective option, you can use Motul 5100 SS, for the Duke also, again an excellent oil.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences


Thanks but I want to understand how does the temperature of outside matter when engine itself goes beyond 100 degrees, many people in many different forums have suggested higher grade oils for hotter places but nowhere its mentioned why ?

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

5w40, 10w40, 10w20, 10w30 these are multi blend oils, i.e there is an oil A whose viscosity at 5 degrees centi allows it flow through the engine, and oil B at 40 degrees centi allows it to flow through the engine.

The key is Centistokes (cst) is the measure of a fluid's resistance to flow (viscosity).

Read this link to understand it better.

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Got a one day rental of the Duke 390 via Wicked Ride in Bangalore last night.
Rode through some 10km in rain and 10kms in moderate traffic today morning.

The main takeaways are -

1) The mind blowing acceleration, its a hoot!
2) The riding position is amazing and the seat height is perfect for me (5'10 with shoes).

However, there were a couple of drawbacks -

1) It feels like the throttle response is extremely jerky in stop go traffic, 1st gear under 15kmph is a major pain
2) The engine heats up almost immediately and the fan pushes all the air onto my legs.
3) There are definite vibrations but it somehow feels almost muted given that I am moving in from an Apache RTR.

The main question I have here is about the 1st gear jerky throttle response a common thing among high powered bikes? this seems to be my only issue so far.

All said and done, I understand why this bike is called a hooligan, massive fun to ride and the smiles per KM is through the roof!

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

example: 20w50 - is a multi grade oil
oil is thicker at lower temperatures. if you live in a place say that goes below 0 C then at start up (cold cranking, When the engine is cold, so is oil) a 20W oil will be too thick to flow thru the engine, hence engine wear/damage.
a 5W will flow better at lower temperatures than a 20W.. hence it they advice you to choose oil based on the ambient atmospheric temperatures as one of the factors.
the other factors are usually the engine design,performance and tolerance parameters that the manufacturer looks into before suggesting an oil.

here is an example of oil grades recommended: (honda used to provide a similar chart in their manuals)






It is not 5 deg C and 40 C, pl hit up some decent material on sae viscosity grades. it is usually a measure of viscosity at 0C and 100C.
5w40 - doesn't mean 5C or 40C .. the values 5 and 40 are sae viscosity grades not temperature values.

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you will get used to it. it is much better than the first gen 390's now.
unfortunately stop go traffic in a city like bangalore is not the place for this bike, but is usable and many get used to it. but yeh bangalore traffic

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Your observations are right but they have improved now in 2019 model, the accelerator is still jerky in lower rpm below 3000-4000 rpm but beyond that its not that much. Second the heating seems to be less in my bike I live in Chennai and travel around 10 kms one way daily to office and the heating is lower compared to 2017 test ride bikes which I have ridden. Vibrations are there in my bike but at only lower rpms which is normal for big single but beyond 4000 rpm and higher gears it becomes smoother.

Finally I'm not sure which year model you have ridden but 2019 model feels much more like a finished product compared 2017 model, every issue that's been discussed in this forum is yet to be found on my bike. I'm waiting for couple of more months before giving my full "verdict" for 2019 model so that I can get a clear picture.

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Yep, the only saving grace is my office time, I make sure I leave at a time when the traffic is lighter, say 5kmph moving speed as opposed to stop-start traffic!



I know, and I have mentioned this earlier, it's commendable how KTM has been hearing (stalking this forum?) our issues and working on it .
The model I had rented was supposedly a 2018 model, it had 45k on the odo. It felt like the bike was in a bad state of service. The guy admitted that the front tires were worn out on one side. I was actually getting resistance like hitting a rock when I was trying to steer the bike right at speed.

The clutch, while not super light, doesn't feel very heavy either, this is comforting for traffic rides. And again, the vibrations will be the least of my issues right now. I would not really mind minor vibes.

Do keep us posted about your observations from the new model

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

So, I got a really good test ride of some 2kms in a CB300R.


The ride feels good, had a bit of vibes given its a test bike maybe.
The power delivery is very smooth, was able to move in stand still traffic without jerky movements in 1st gear.
I mean, i was travelling at like 5-15 intentionally to see how the throttle response is.
Extremely measured is what I would say, none of the jerky "LET ME LOOSE YOU PEASANT" attitude of the 390 (Personally love it :P ).


But it does feel underpowered if you are considering it against the Duke. The Duke was an absolute maniac when I had ridden it this week.
But my wife feels the CB300 is better, as its smoother in power delivery. I was still able to hit 60 in like <4s and she didnt even realize it was at 60.
In the duke, she almost fell off* the first time I went from 1st to 2nd gear.


I am majorly confused now because -
1) at the same price point, KTM duke offers way better hardware like a Slipper Clutch, better console , and ride by wire (what big tech this is!)
2) the delivery time promised if I book today is November, I am not sure I want to wait so long for my bike.

The reason I loved the duke was its character and attitude, while I prefer a laid back style, the Duke is just too much fun to say no too.
You can be a seasoned drinker of Speyside Single malts but sometimes a couple of shots of Tequila is just what life needs.


The CB300 is very nimble and agile, pretty apt for Bangalore traffic.
But apparently even the service parts are imported, so service cost will be higher than the Duke.
Maybe its best to consider this bike once they start localization of parts.

PS - I have still not decided if I am going with the Duke or the CB300 !

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Whenever I feel like crusing at 40 I just hate 390s jerky response but whenevers I want to ride it like it's meant to be then there's no better bike than 390. So it mainly depends on Ur usage. If Ur commute includes small roads galli roads then Ur better with CBR or even diminar I guess but if it includes open roads like ring roads or something then Duke is the bike to go. Btw Whenever I go with my wife I don't ride like I do when solo, I accelerate gradually so that she don't feel thrown off.

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Duke is not for regular commutes with wife. Hit a proper express way it shows you how different it is from the rest of the pack. You will scream with love and happiness for what it offers on proper expressway or highway. Whenever I hit highway on my Duke 390 I feel like I am not aging at all and I did not get that kind of feel on any other big bike.

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

KTM is fun machine, other brands feel lifeless [emoji23][emoji23]

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Apparently this is not a made in India bike from what i read in an online review. Parts availability and the waiting time is then going to be an important factor. KTM has some reliability issues depending on your luck, the way you ride and quality of maintenance. The engine is rough and not best suited for commuting or relaxed riding. However, the engine has got character and the parts are cheap and more readily available. I like the looks of the Honda. It's a hard choice.

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

I was in similar dilemma couple of months back , so many options in the price range. The reason I ruled out CB300R is because I was already having a CBR250R and when I took test ride on a single day all the bikes CB300R , BMW G310R and Ninja 300 (in low end) feel under-powered (except RE 650 twins). The power in D390 is addicting and it makes up for all the negatives in the bike atleast for me.
Also for CB300R had very small pillion seat and honestly doesn't make much sense compared to Honda's CBR250R for pricing point and also maintenance point of view. If you decide to go for D390 then wait for 2020 model its just 5 months left in this year.