re: KTM Duke 390 Launched in India at Rs 1.8 Lakhs: xBhp News

I would like to know why we are not entitled to a review of D390 when we are members of XBHP here, at least don't we deserve an explanation of why it is put off. I am wondering if the manufacturer can shut off independent reviewers like XBHP what will stop them from influencing what reviewers write about the bike.

re: KTM Duke 390 Launched in India at Rs 1.8 Lakhs: xBhp News

Agreed wholeheartedly ...

Tell me something - Are looks & specs everything that you look for in a motorcycle? If yes please don't read the rest - My apologies.
I for one look for feel, heart and a connect with my ride. Call me stupid but then why we do really buy these motorcycles when you get Nanos & Altos in the same price.
I need at-least a short ride and see if I really like it and mind it I am speaking of a motorcycle which is completely brand new for which I am going to pay 2 lakhs and have already paid 30k as advance. If not I would rather let go of my 4k.
Since test-rides are scarce, here is where reviews kick-in, you get to know facts from experts and see if it matches our expectation.

I know reviews are not our right and KTM/Bajaj are not liable to deliver before 90 days but why are we always at the receiving end despite believing and paying through our nose. If we cancel before we need to pay 4k what if they are not able to deliver after 90 days. How about asking them 4k or the interest on 30k for 3 months

Very practical & valid point bro...

re: KTM Duke 390 Launched in India at Rs 1.8 Lakhs: xBhp News

We are on 26th. Have you heard anything from the showroom folks?

re: KTM Duke 390 Launched in India at Rs 1.8 Lakhs: xBhp News

Yes they can. There is definitely something going on behind the scene (whatever that is). xBHP or any other major publication will hold on to their reviews till Bajaj/KTM gives the green signal. (Why? because if one of them publishes their review without permission, they'll probably never get hold of another Bajaj or KTM bike ahead of launch).

There is a conflict only if manufacturer tries to influence the reviewers through various means to write a positive review or delete some of the worrying stuff from their reviews. So far there has been no such theory going on. The only thing is they have been asked to hold off their reviews, and not modify it or anything.

You are contradicting yourself. You have not test ridden the bike, and yet booked it. On what basis?

I tested it a couple of times. Liked it. Felt it was very useable within the city which is where 70% of my ride will be. Plus I like the specs and looks.

re: KTM Duke 390 Launched in India at Rs 1.8 Lakhs: xBhp News

I knew you will ask this question I booked it to get the early mover's advantage as many and as I said early would not mind cancelling it. And hence my tirade over the lackadaisical attitude of KTM/Bajaj for neither allowing reviews nor test rides in Bangalore.

re: KTM Duke 390 Launched in India at Rs 1.8 Lakhs: xBhp News

I have booked the bike without the 4K clause and actually that my first condition on which I had booked that bike. God know what might go wrong on the test ride and then my heart simply says NO, post that I do not want to loose 4K too.

re: KTM Duke 390 Launched in India at Rs 1.8 Lakhs: xBhp News

It is more than a month since the bike was launched. I am ok with deliveries not happening yet but asking reviewers to hold back reviews indefinitely is not a companies right. People buy magazines to read reviews of the bikes/cars and not just news about their launch. Why else do people buy magazines for?

If it was held back only on public forums like these, I would understand that company wants to give advantage to the paid subscribers. But asking everyone to hold back needs an explanation from the manufacturer. If they have a concern, they should give choice to the people who already booked to cancel without any penalty. End of the day I expect my bike to work well from day one itself. Somehow only in India we seem to wait eternally for the V2 versions of bikes/cars. Just because there is 90 days clause does not mean Bajaj has to use all the 90 days. They are in the business of selling products not to build and store them.

One thing Bajaj needs to realize: initial momentum is very critical for a product to sustain. All they are trying to do here is slow it down. They should have delayed the launch if they found something critical.

I was ready to book even before launch. And booked it immediately after launch. I may live with some niggles as well. But I need to know if there is a real issue

My personal feeling is that the strike has affected the production of the bikes. Whatever they are producing is being used to cater to the export market. Just to keep the flame running, bajaj asked the reviewers to hold back. They may be give clearance for reviews whenever they are ready to ship the bikes to domestic dealers. The moment reviews are out public interest would be back on the product. Looks more like a case of wrong timing of the release

Edit: Lack of test drives is also affecting the cause. We are literally hanging dry due to lack of any concrete info.

re: KTM Duke 390 Launched in India at Rs 1.8 Lakhs: xBhp News

Totally agree with you. Bought the autocar aug issue ther's not a single word about the bike it's very strange. There was just a add...

re: KTM Duke 390 Launched in India at Rs 1.8 Lakhs: xBhp News

^^ woah that is something. No news :O

I definitely am not taking the first lot.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

re: KTM Duke 390 Launched in India at Rs 1.8 Lakhs: xBhp News

You're not the only one waiting for the first lots to get delivered and then book.anyways test rides have always been available in cochin luckily.so no complaining here.we can only hope bajaj gets back on its feet soon.

re: KTM Duke 390 Launched in India at Rs 1.8 Lakhs: xBhp News

Let's not speculate what the reason for holding the reviews is. It might be something trivial, or lack of supply, or a little issue like what someone mentioned somewhere that they're fixing some fins to redirect the heat from the fan to go away from legs. Could be anything or nothing.

KTM/Bajaj don't own an explanation to public about anything, but IMO, they DO own an explanation or information to people who have paid money and booked the bike.

re: KTM Duke 390 Launched in India at Rs 1.8 Lakhs: xBhp News

Could those who have already booked one, comment as to what showrooms are telling them?

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re: KTM Duke 390 Launched in India at Rs 1.8 Lakhs: xBhp News

So whats the status? Did you get the bike??

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re: KTM Duke 390 Launched in India at Rs 1.8 Lakhs: xBhp News

Finally took the test ride

The bike had just come to the showroom 2 days back, so it took a bit of coaxing to get the test ride which he was promising to start from Monday on-wards. Anyway now that I have had my few minutes with the bike I thought I will share what I felt about it:

* Me being 5'9" I felt it requires a little more to throw your leg over the bike compared to the RTR 180. Once you have settled in, it feels you've been "slotted" onto the saddle and somehow the foot peg being a little aft than usual makes me feel more comfortable (This might be a problem for long rides but again it depends on how you adapt to it for long rides)

* Decent build quality, nothing great about it though. Cables loosely hanging with no proper routing and hangers in place is not what you expect from a 2L bike but all these are minor things which can be overlooked

* Before starting the bike the showroom guy was saying about some setting issues with the bike and was explaining what to do if it stalls and all. Then came the good and the bad news; first the good: he said he wont accompany me. Second the bad: all that I got to ride was a small stretch (would have been 700 to 800 meters in total). Nevertheless soon after the short boring session I had a slight smile on my face because it was time to roll on! Had to take the bike off the pavement on to the road and surely I dint want to consume any of the already very short distance by getting "used" to the bike. Soon after both tires hit the tarmac wrrrrrooooommmmm................. The bike gave me a wide grin with a bit of fear as she hit 80kmph in no time and still climbing rapidly that I had to slow her down so that I dint miss the U-turn which I was supposed to take. Once the U turn taken I knew straight away it was time to test the first gear and she dint disappoint me in any way, she gave me just what I had expected from her, went past 50kmph in no time with no real effort, no vibrations and still happily climbing ! Have felt this only on the RD 350HT till now.

* Coming to the next few gears I neither had the time nor the distance to test it properly but felt the bike begging to be pulled nicely on each gear well before you slot on to the next gear. The gears are little clunkier than the D200. It's got really tall gear ratios which surely would not make it as good as the 200 in the city (here i'm talking in terms of ease of riding the bike in traffic). Immediately felt that my RTR is going to stay for my daily commute even If I buy this bike. Again this is a matter of learning how to deal with it and it should only take few days for a seasoned rider to adapt to this kind of gear ratio with loads of usable power. I truly feel once you get used to the gearing, montruous torque combined with plenty of cc and loads of power you can be really quick in hitting speeds above 100 and the D200 is no where near to this monster in terms of pick up, pulling power and torque. If the available torque combined with the cc advantage is used properly I don't see this being a slow couch off the blocks! Again remembered both the LT and HT versions of the RDs while trying to compare both the D200 and the D390 in my mind where according to me the HT always remained the Big daddy!

* Bike feels more planted, agile/manoeuvrable and grippy than the 200 and you all know these are due to obvious reasons!

* Coming to the brakes, had to brake hard twice during my short stint and it behaved really well (It felt great compared to my slippin'/slidin' characteristics of my RTR) but not as good as the Ninja though

* I stop the bike, get down, just to feel the engine revving stooped down and was welcomed by a gush of hot air from the engine, Yes it had really heated up for such a short sprint. I just feel that this will reduce as carbon gets deposited on the engine but still it is going to be a "Hot" bike to handle specially in the city (One more reason why my RTR stays)

To summarize this is the first bike which has given me the "real" thrill (If you know what I mean :P) after my RD 350HT days that too with tall gear ratios which is something that I've been looking for in my next bike so that I can tour all day long without any hint of strain from the engine (which is a real worry on my RTR)

Given the fact that lot of accessories like the windshield and saddle bags are to come soon I feel this would make an awesome tourer if used properly and of course at the same time it can be used for some real fun as well .

Keeping my booking amount on hold for a few days since the engine stalling and heating up issues are something which has to be clarified by either Bajaj or the reviews which are yet to come before I put my full trust on this product. Nevertheless this has got all it takes for me to happily munch miles without any problem and at the same time give me the 'Big grin' every time I want to !!!

As for the deliveries he was saying the ones who booked first will get the bikes in the first week of Aug and If I book it now I will be getting it sometime around mid - september. He said the strike was really an issue but once the regular production starts there is going to be no more delays.

re: KTM Duke 390 Launched in India at Rs 1.8 Lakhs: xBhp News

Are the foot peg assembly on D390 adjustable? I felt it was so rearward set anyway.could this be why I didn't feel the heat issues many are talking about(plus cold weather)when I took the TD.