Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Bought LLuvia windscreen.
Not happy with the fitting alighlnment and no user manual on. Where to use the carbon washer. The front portion of windshield touched my headlight and made huge noise . Could not ride for 100meter. Immediate went to nearby known workshop had to do tinkering work to the metal bracket . Basically the surface was un even and had to file a good 5 mm and with additional washer, finally manage to get a good 1 inch gap between headlight.
Had to paint whole stuff as the powder coating was gone because of filing and don’t want to get rusted as it is raining in chennai now.

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Now that your rim is intact that leaves more breathing space, which wouldn't otherwise been in case of a cracked or chipped rim. If you can claim it under warranty I'd suggest you to do so, insurance is also your option. A mild bend around the rim edges isn't a big problem per se for the time being, though over time, a similar pothole with an even higher speed, can compromise the front rim, possibly leading to a crash.

Take it easy on the bike for now. Head to your SVC and let them know of a bent wheel rim and if it can be claimed under warranty, if not you can claim it under insurance.

Keep us posted.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

I was always careful while riding on bad roads here in chennai, knew rims breaking down on dukes before..but following a car in middle was my mistake. Roads are bad too..that was 2 way road and a state way. Anyway i told svc guy ,he told me to come to svc on monday.

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

How easy is it for the rim to bend? It has always been a concern for me and makes me hesitant to buy the bike as roads in my city aren't the smoothest.

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Visited service centre today and to my surprise, they used a hammer, soft cloth and hit hard on the bent rim part :O. This solved the issue a bit but bend can be seen on inspection. SVC guy rode it for few hundred metres and said the bike is fine. I was asking him about replacement under warranty or insurance. He said it can only be claimed under insurance and will replace it during the first service, Odo is 700, so after 950 km. He told me there is not much to concern, will order a new one and replace it during the first service. I did not feel much difference during 30 km ride to svc and my work except for clutch making tik sound (felt like sudden clutch moment) while downshifting at higher speeds. I feel this is normal and may be due to the incident I felt it more :P. Will keep you guys posted in case of issues

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It is easy as hitting a pothole dangerous enough at 60 KMPH with an 85 kg human sitting on it. I saw many online forums with broken/bent rims. my office ride every day contains 2kms of a bumpy service road in Chennai where speed averages around 25. I guess KTM has improved over time with rim quality but still not enough for Indian roads. Must be really careful while riding at high speeds.

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Ive hit a few craters, not just potholes at 70 kmph (and plenty of bumps and potholes at slower speeds) with me being 90 kg.. never had an issue. Right tire pressure plays a important role.. I prefer to keep the front at 28psi (sometimes 30 if its going to be long tour), so the tire is able to absorb some impact. but hey sometimes shit does happen and we need to get it fixed and move on. I would suggest you inspect the rim after removing the tire.. sometimes there might be a hair line crack on the inside which might not be easily visible.
anyway if you are getting it replaced under insurance, all the more better.
i can suggest a road that would torture test your tires, brakes, suspension and your back if you want to

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

It is a big pot hole actually which i hit. I heard a really loud sound when i hit it. Loud enough for me to think that i broke something. Btw...tell me such places ..i ll get my rim replaced under warranty during 1st service which is after 290 more kms..i can test until then.

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My tyre pressure was 29

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Did you brake before encountering the pothole?

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

On a rather sarcastic note, you see, not all those jump without parachutes survive the fall, some do, that's okay that's their karma. Now that your rim is hammered and mended a bit, DO NOT try your risk your luck with purposefully going into a pothole. First of all, your rim is compromised, with a mild bend, your rim is already susceptible to a weak spot so I'd personally recommend not to to indulge in any drama. Take it easy, enjoy your ride and get your rim replaced under warranty.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

By the time i hit brakes , front tyre was already in pot hole (May be i was slow to react, it happened in a flash). I was too close to vehicle in front of me to actually see that pot hole. I was about to overtake. Mistake on my part to follow the car in the middle.

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Haha ..i was kidding. I am already trying to notice and find difference in riding now to see if something broke or if bike is vibrating . So far no issues but i will be careful until it gets replaced. So far i loved the bike and was super happy but this incident ruined a bit 😑. Hopefully nothing else broke or damaged

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Like i said, sometimes you can't help it and everyone isn't lucky.. many factors are involved in it.
the roads i was talking about are from hyderabad to goa (via, raichur, bagalkot,belgaum) or hyd-hampi (via raichur).. you will encounter an unlimited spread of speed breakers (not only speed, they might break other stuff too if you arent careful) !
what you should understand is the ktm is built with weight saving in mind (to give you that performance that you enjoy), and so it is not built like a tank to withstand abuse beyond a threshold. blame the roads rather than the 'quality' of the rims.

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Next time don't brake. The moment you see a pothole just stand on the pegs with the balls of your feet, don't flat foot it or lock your knees.

If you want to drop some speed then drop a few gears.

If you brake when hitting a pothole your suspension travel is compromised as a result the Motorcycle and rider takes the beating.

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

I use the exact same technique and have gone over some really bad pot holes with a great amount of speeds and my wheels survived on my gixxer sf. Hope it works on the Duke as well.

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

The reason why not to brake upon a pot hole is not only the travel of suspension is compromised, but one essentially transfers the entire weight forward towards the front wheel. Now with a suspension that is loaded and the entire weight of the rider, the vehicle coupled with the momentum that's being carried due to the speed, all are prime recipes for a frontal rim damage or bend.

The easy way is to stand up on the pegs and shift your weight rear, meaning shift the bum to the rear, this means a portion of your weight is shifted to the rear of the bike as opposed to the front.

And irrespective of the whether we stand on the balls of our feet or the flat of our feet, unless we transfer the weight rear, the front suspension is still loaded. Simple technique used by motorcross riders, if you observe them closely during landing.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: 2017 Duke 390 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Yes.... thanks for the tip

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Things getting bad all at once ...showed the bike in a different service centre and was told that front tyre is bent (rotated front wheel and it came to stop after 4 rotations). I was told that there would be no problem until my first service to get it replaced and on top of that ..today i noticed left half of the tail light doesn't light up when in idle /turn on ignition. It only lights up when brakes are applied. I gave it for water wash outside on the day of my bent rim incident and may be thats the reason. Showed this to svc guy , he told it will be replaced under warranty and get it replaced during same 1st service. Right side is fine but blinks a bit.

Should I wait for 1 st service or get these fixed immediately ? Due to bent tyre ,i feel ride is not smooth although there are not huge vibrations. Any suggestions ? First service is still 252kms away...my daily work distance is 8 kms up and down

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i just called service centry guy where i bought the motorcycle and told him the problems. He said he d do thw first service along with fixing them. Odo is only 750 will be 770 tomorrow , bike is 50 days old. First service can be done ,right ?