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

One of the possible reason could be better and longer engine life but anyways we are getting the exact same model as the Austrian spec

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

now it seems a valid reason for holding back the review?

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

This is really disappointing, where is the xbhp review? It seems the whole world is buzzing with D390s talk but still no review on xbhp, for a site claiming to be the one for bikes! I just can't believe it. Looks like xbhpians are not interested in reviewing this bike or are they held back by some mysterious reasons?

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

Do you mind reading what MG has written. The review from his side (spanning multiple days and multiple road conditions) is almost done. However, he has been told to hold it back.
The other reviews you see on the net are simply short impressions after a few hours with the bike.
The site doesn't need to claim that its about bikes. We make it so. Some members have already noted down their short experiences with the bike. Maybe you could make the effort and read them too.

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

splus, are you sure the duke 200's rev limiter is reduced from 10500 to 10000 and top speed is reduced from 138 to 133.
I love the low end torque that the duke 200 produces and the way you accelerate right from the first gear and do we get the same acceleration after reduction in rev limiter though the initial acceleration should not be affected.

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and i hope changing the sprocket of 390 to 200 should really change the 390 to a true 200 sibling.

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

D390 already runs a bigger rear sprocket. Changing to 200s rear sprocket will not help. You will need a custom made sprocket.

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

So, are you saying that the demo bikes and production bikes will be different? Or the demo bikes themselves are of Austrian spec? Please help.

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

I guess I didn't make it clear. We means in India we are getting the same spec model as in Austria

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

@MG, I hope you're review will touch upon the slightly revised ergos from D200- reduced saddle height, repositioned brake pedal.
Also does the minutely longer wheelbase make any difference?


Sent from my iPhone

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

Test drove the 390 today. I was expecting it to be scarily fast but it was mostly well behaved.

I had to ride in heavy traffic and was unable to go shift beyond 2nd gear. But the ride in stop and go traffic did not seem to be a problem.

At the first sight of empty road, I let it rip and the acceleration is awesome. The speedo was disconnected but pretty sure i was above 100kph since the tacho was showing 5k mark in 5th gear. The brakes are very good and confidence inspiring.

The only problem I think is that of heat. Within 15 mins the engine heated up like crazy and my thighs were burning...

And I booked the bike anyway

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

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

Yes, I'm sure. The "new" ECU map came out last December.
In the old ECU map D200 had a little jerky low end but also jumpy, which many people liked. I personally didn't like it because sometimes it would jump when I didn't want it to.
The new ECU map smoothened the low revs but the jumpiness was gone as well. Slightly though, bike still has plenty of pull on low end.
Changing the power delivery in such a way is OK IMO, they smoothened the low end revs. However, they also changed the rev limiter only in 5th and 6th gears from normal 10,500 to 10,000 rpm, effectively reducing the top speed from 138 to 133 kmh. The rev limiter stayed at 10,500 rpm in 1st to 4th gears, so it looks like that was done only to reduce the top speed. It looks more like a marketing/business decision "limit it as much as it is necessary just to keep it down in low power class of bikes"...

One could say that was done to reduce the possibility of harming the engine or to increase its life, but if you try D200 for some time you'll see that its engine at 10,500 rpm is as stressed as some other bikes at 7,000 rpm. In other words, it's still quite relaxed at 10,500 and way below its potential maximum. I tried a D200 with modified ECU with much stronger mids and revving till 11,800 rpm, and even at that point it didn't sound it's stressed, nor was the power on its way down. Hell of a capable little engine...

This is now not about the D200 but the thing is that the same guys are deciding how to tune the D390. After my past experiences with D200 I just don't trust them any more.

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

In 5th gear bike does 100kmph @ 6250rpm

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

I'm still not getting it.
Are you saying that we'll get the same bike as Europe will get (which is to be expected), OR that the bikes we'll get have the same specs as the bikes that were shown 2 months ago in Austria?

Even on KTM's international website the power figure was 44 hp 2 months ago, but has been now reduced to 43 hp.
And power wheelies 2 months ago vs no power wheelies with current bikes... (not important for me, but points towards the reduced pick up.)

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

Waiting for the day I take a test ride & get blown away

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

D390 will be sold with same specs in every country. Just the suspension damping is changed for India because of our bad roads. Though its still a stiff motorcycle. Everything else is same, no change.

Actual power figure on finished bike are 43Bhp. The way D390 behaves, another 1 Bhp (or even 4Bhp) will not make it powerwheelie with a single rider in any way (story may change with a heavy pillion). However, a little clutching is enough to wheelie D390, much easier than any other bike in the market right now. I was able to pop 1st gear and 2nd gear wheelies almost as good as my Pulsar (and my pulsar is not stock in any way) .