Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

It is a security feature to prevent the theft of a motorcycle when it is being transported from the factory to the dealer. The dealer should have a valid code to unlock.

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Hello Bhp'ians, I had one query. After my first service i went on for a day ride covering almost 500 kms. I noticed that my coolant level before the start of the trip was in middle between max and min and after the trip i found it to be below the min level. I could not find any significant leak from Radiator. Checked Engine oil color as well. It is pink in color hence coolant is not mixed with engine oil as well. What could be a potential issue ? I just wanted to get some opinion before i head to Svc center tomorrow.

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Neutral light or the gear indicator is not displaying and the front left fork are leaking slightly.. too many niggles but good thing is I'm not like before, as I don't get concerned by these much. And problem is even sat is working for me and Sunday will be the only day off so difficult to even go for service as It would kill the whole Sunday if I go to a service centre.

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Remember we used to ride bikes with no gear indicators, not much info on the display except speed.. In those good old days we used to enjoy pure biking experience. Considering that we should not worry about any software glitches and just enjoy riding our bikes.. All those software problems would get fixed eventually....

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Even I have this problem, but SVC could not find out the real problem, it may be due to the overflow or air getting trapped inside. Also observe for the leaks when parked if any.

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

so anyone picked it up??

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Note: I am going to ramble about for a bit, so if you want to just read about the Duke and the small little things I observed over this 700km ride, please skip to : Now to the Duke.
__________________________________________________ __________
I haven't been able to ride much since my last ride on the 10th of September. Some health issues as well as a very short office commute meant that I was at just over 300 kms on the Odo.Now that I think about it, it was probably higher, but more on that later.

Then a neighbor and a good friend, an out an out solo rider, called me asking me if I wanted to ride down to Kasauli (a hill station in Himachal about 330kms from Gurgaon) on the 23rd for an overnight ride. Now, we have never ridden before and that the fact that he is a solo rider, combined with a bike still being run in, could turn out either way.
But just the fact that I would be riding long was enough, so I happily jumped at the offer.
We did end up like two solo riders though, he would rip, I would catch up at my pace at points he would stop at and call me from. Repeat.Quite nice though, best of both worlds.

We had a nice place booked and I was pumped up, and then on the 22nd, it started raining.Its not really rained much this year in Gurgaon, so I wasn't really worried; I also read the weather report, rain throughout the next day, it said. Bah, what do these Meteorological dept. folks know.I had my reliable rain gear I had picked up from Decathlon earlier and it had kept me dry each time I had used it before.My bag was also relatively water proof, so I was covered. It would stop in a bit anyway.

How bad could it be.

And then, it rained through the night, and at our departure time of 0600 (which became 0615 later thanks to me getting late) it was still raining.
Finally, 0620 we started our ride.
It was a combination of a drizzle and a moderate rain, we were able to get on the highway and then the fun started.
It started pouring, by the bucket loads. And it poured when we took our fuel break, then it continued to pour when we reached the first dhaba for a steaming hot aloo paratha. And it was raining when we took our next food break, and fuel break, and it rained until we reached the Kasauli hill climb. And then it was foggy, so foggy that I couldn't see my fellow rider, though he was not more than 20 feet in front of me at times.

Finally, we reached the destination and it was incredible, 17 degrees and more rain of course.

Here is the view -
And I was drenched to the "After Sales Service" :P The rain gear couldn't manage it, the riding gear under that couldn't either. I opened my bag to change to dry clothes, and It was dripping with water. Everything was wet, every possible thing.
LOL. Borrowed an iron from the staff and dried clothes until they were atleast wearable. Fantastic fun though.

Total ride time - about 7.5 hours while going, about 5.5 hours while coming back.
Total distance - approximately 700 kms

Now to the Duke.
So about 700 Kms (a few detours on the way) on the odo over two days, across heavy rain including wide highways and twisties, the bike did not cease to amaze me.

The tyres held up quite well, not that I was leaning much with all that water and mud on the roads, but I didnt really have a scary moment while going.
While coming back, I was much more comfortable and with the sun out, the twisty roads allowed for a bit of leans.
With close to 700 kms on the odo, I was more at home on the bike and did push it a bit. It was brilliant.
The combination of ABS and Slipper clutch meant that I was always in control, didnt have to worry about the rear tyre sliding out while banging a few gears down.

Had to take a few U turns on hilly roads as a couple of roads were closed, and then the seat height of the Duke raised its ugly head. As the seat is high, I am not able to flatfoot with both feet (5'8" for reference).

There was one turn where the bike just stalled in gear 1, in the middle of a slanting road, and then started tilting, with me searching for the ground. Its places and times like this, when you feel happy this wasn't a 200 kg bike . I was able to easily manage the weight of the bike and pull it back up before it touched the ground. No sweat ;-)

I was using a bungee rope for my bag, and the Duke has enough places to hook it on, so that is helpful too.

The duke accumulates mud like no other bike i have had, though all my bikes do, thanks to my habit of not being too bothered about cleaning it every week or two or three.... lol. And the tough part is, which the service center folks are figuring out as I type, that its not very easy to reach the crevices. A water jet is absolutely recommended for folks who love clean bikes. It isnt too difficult to clean and lube the chain though. Enough open places to do it, but that would probably mean the chain will get dirtier quickly too. Will need to see how an exposed chain keeps up with the mud and muck.

The ABS got activated a couple of times, it makes a strange sound, like when you open a gate when its not been greased for a while. Is that normal?

Do NOT remove the rear hugger, I know it doesnt look the best, but it does save you (and the person behind you) a little from mud and muck from the rear tyre.

The brakes and clutch levers are adjustable, but you need to push them back to adjust them. The hand guard was proving to be a hindrance for me there as the lever would touch the guard while pushing it back. So do keep that in mind.
Also, the adjustment distance isn't that much, I have small hands so will probably look at better levers.

The riding position needs getting used to, the rear set foot pegs did give me a cramp once, but then I was riding all through in rain and that could be the cold too. Let me ride more and see, Its anyway a new riding position for me.

The seat did prove to be comfortable, I did feel the need to stretch once I crossed 150 kms with no break. But its good to take that break anyways and hydrate yourself.

I had heard of the lights and TFT fogging up after rains, but I didnt find that happening on my bike though it was in the rain for close to 24 hours as there was no covered parking.

The 6th gear does seem to be made strictly for cruising as it lacks power under 6000 rpm.

The handlebar is wide, doesn't help in traffic carving, but it does give you a good position to keep your hands relaxed.

A couple of glitches :
The bike ODO stands at 629 kms, after completing almost 700 kms over the weekend. Go figure. It should have been very close to if not over 1000Kms. So, there is a leak somewhere on the TFT console, I am losing kms LOL.

The bike would automatically keep moving to high beam, a toggle of the switch and it would get back to low. Probably thanks to the water.

I had given the Duke for its first Service the bill was 1600.

Overall, I am a happy camper.There isnt much for me to complain about and a lot to be happy about. That, pretty much sums up the first 1K.

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Sorry to quote an old post. can the pillion sit comfortably With this saddle bag on?

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Guys excited to announce I did my spiti valley trip on my ktm, I think my ktm would be the first 2017 ktm 390 to a round trip of spiti, will post details of trip in subsequent posts

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Congratulations oldman, from a slightly younger oldman. Lol
Looking forward to the next update. Lets catch up sometime if you are here in ncr

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Instead put a travelogue in tourer section

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

I see the same issue on my bike.. The ODO reported 406kms for 421kms
Im don't know if this is a hardware or a software issue !

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Hey, Guys!
THis would be my first post on this Awesome community. I am getting some kind of liquid(Maybe the gum/moisture) inside my Duke 390 2017's display. It appears daily while riding for like 10-15 minutes and later disappears when kept in shade.

I have also uploaded a video about it - https://youtu.be/RzzxeRhVc1c

I went to service Center and the Service head said that it's a natural phenomenon. Even though it doesn't affect my riding, It always bothers me seeing something inside the speedo meter. What can be done about this? I even emailed KTM but they just cc it to the showroom and the showroom is not at all interested to help me.

I bought it from KTM Narela, Delhi.

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Thanks sammyboy76, yes let's catch up on any weekend, I am in NCR in Gurgaon

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

It's fine.. as long as there are no water droplets or moisture formed under it severely blocking your vision to view the console information, you're fine and good to go.