[ebonho]

Originally Posted by catchvinny

Hello doc... I have been closely following your thread and was one of the major factors in deciding to go ahead with the duke. I am done with the booking and will be doing the final payment this weekend, so I would be getting it early next week since here in bangalore they have assured 3 working day delivery after full payment . My question to you is that: is there I need to look for anything specific on the duke I am going to pick up? What I mean is also on the lines to check if Bajaj has addressed any of the issues you reported to them on the bikes which are now coming out of the factory?

Hopefully I can find some nice guys(like Mr. Brijesh Pandey and team) in the service center once I visit them for my first service. Request duke owners from bangalore direct me to the good guys in the Indira Nagar service station, if you have come across them already.

Thanks and Congrats bro! Nothing much to take care of. Bajaj keeps a tight rein on quality at factory and delivery. Make sure no dinks, scratches etc. All electricals working fine. Kms on odo. Start the engine, see if it revs cleanly, and listen for funny noises.

Originally Posted by wolfy

Doc,
Orangutan currently at 7200kms on the odo.
My rear hugger has come back on for the rains and have clocked 3500kms since. The rear fender does not touch the hugger. I weigh in at 79-80kgs and my rear suspension is at 5. Hope this helps.

Thanks Kapil. Looking forward to all details in your blog.

Originally Posted by NikhilB

Doc,

Have clocked close to 5.2K Kms till date. I weigh around 62-63 Kgs while the suspension setting is still stock.

The rear fender on my bike does hit the tyre hugger often.
The hitting gets very frequent when two up (payload of approx 130 Kgs), but that I can live with since the suspension setting is meant for a lower payload.

Thanks Nikhil. 4 out of 7 bikes I checked at the SVC during the check-up camp had 3 vertical scratches on the bottom center of the hugger, the deepest being the central one which is cause by the backward protruding bolt of the reflector. No idea about rider weight though.

I wonder if it has anything to do with the dimensions or angle of the hugger U pipe being not exactly the same from one bike to another ......

[NikhilB]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Thanks Nikhil. 4 out of 7 bikes I checked at the SVC during the check-up camp had 3 vertical scratches on the bottom center of the hugger, the deepest being the central one which is cause by the backward protruding bolt of the reflector. No idea about rider weight though.

I wonder if it has anything to do with the dimensions or angle of the hugger U pipe being not exactly the same from one bike to another ......

Something else was bugging me...

I noticed the hitting only recently (say, the past one month). Could be explained by:
Suspension beginning to sag - Not very likely
Roads being worse during monsoons - More probable (but I have to admit, I don't remember hearing the hitting noise while riding on pre-monsoon bad roads)

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by NikhilB

Something else was bugging me...

I noticed the hitting only recently (say, the past one month). Could be explained by:
Suspension beginning to sag - Not very likely
Roads being worse during monsoons - More probable (but I have to admit, I don't remember hearing the hitting noise while riding on pre-monsoon bad roads)

A LOT of riders are confusing the sound of the fender hitting the hugger as chain noise.

In my case, this sound has always been there.

[NikhilB]

Originally Posted by ebonho

A LOT of riders are confusing the sound of the fender hitting the hugger as chain noise.

That explains a lot.

Just to clarify (for others who might have heard it, but not traced the source). It is a distinct sound, something like you would hear if you knocked on a hollow plastic tube. You might have heard it coming from behind you after you just pass over a bump/pothole on the road. It is quite loud too (audible inside the helmet whicle riding).

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by NikhilB

That explains a lot.

Just to clarify (for others who might have heard it, but not traced the source). It is a distinct sound, something like you would hear if you knocked on a hollow plastic tube. You might have heard it coming from behind you after you just pass over a bump/pothole on the road. It is quite loud too (audible inside the helmet whicle riding).

Ya, its a fiber on fiber sound.

Which is why initially even the Bajaj guys were confused and thought (to their credit, they do not rule out ANY possibility out of hand and follow all feedback very sincerely) it was the top section of the chain bouncing and hitting the underside of the fiber chain guard.

The litmus test is the teltale three vertical scratch marks on the bottom center of your hugger.

I am wondering whether carving out that section is possible neatly .....

[samschenker]

Originally Posted by ebonho

P.S. Duke guys, how many of you find the end of the rear fender (the rectangular reflector part) hitting the hugger? Would like to know your weights and the setting number of your rear shock.

Please respond, cause I want to figure out a way (hopefully with the Bajaj guys) to make this go away.

Doc, I(weigh ~65Kg) had the problem of rear fender hitting the huger rarely riding solo, but while riding with a pillion have noticed it happening often while riding on bad patches. The suspension setting is one step stiffer than the default setting(IIRC the default setting is 3).

[ebonho]

Thanks Sam, Wolfy, and Nikhil for the prompt feedback. So out of 4 bikes, we have 3 with fender hitting the hugger.

The funny part was that in the initial days the Bajaj guys made two guys sit on the bike(one nearly my size apparently) and bounce up and down on the seat, and came back with the feedback that even then the fender never touched the hugger.

I tried the same at the SVC - the suspension cannot be made to compress to an extent where the fender touches the hugger.

But it happens pretty easily and regularly when the bike is on the move and encounters a broken section or a sudden corrugation/series of small bumps or waves in the tarmac.

And the scratches on the hugger are undisputable.

[NikhilB]

Not an ideal way to reproduce the situation, especially since it has a variable spring rate. I'm sure it wouldn't have been too tough to find bad roads around Chakan

Also, there's a conspiracy theory floating around that KTM-Bajaj switched the rear suspension (from a fixed to variable spring rate) closer to the India launch. If true, probably this one wasn't tested enough.

PS: I have a dumb/basic doubt. Would stiffening the suspension setting reduce the problem?

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by NikhilB

Not an ideal way to reproduce the situation, especially since it has a variable spring rate. I'm sure it wouldn't have been too tough to find bad roads around Chakan

Also, there's a conspiracy theory floating around that KTM-Bajaj switched the rear suspension (from a fixed to variable spring rate) closer to the India launch. If true, probably this one wasn't tested enough.

PS: I have a dumb/basic doubt. Would stiffening the suspension setting reduce the problem?

Interesting point on the spring.

One of the trained KTM experts told me that this will not go even if you stiffen the rear shock to #10.

The SVC is at Kothrud - on a really crowded concrete flat slab of a road. No broken surface for miles.

They are not denying the issue now. Its only a matter of finding a cure.

One is to change the angle of the U pipe.

Two is to carve away the part of the hugger that is touching.

Three is carve away the fender overhang that is touching.

Four is remove the hugger.

Five is redesign the fender overhang angle.

[NikhilB]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Interesting point on the spring.

One of the trained KTM experts told me that this will not go even if you stiffen the rear shock to #10.

One is to change the angle of the U pipe.

Two is to carve away the part of the hugger that is touching.

Three is carve away the fender overhang that is touching.

Four is remove the hugger.

Five is redesign the fender overhang angle.

I had that suspicion, hence the question on stiffening the suspension.

Redesigning the fender would be an ideal solution.
Rest would defeat the purpose of having a hugger or fender in the first place.

[ebonho]

Basically the bike was not designed with the hugger.

The hugger is an after thought and add-on.

None of the Duke 200 foreign product literature has the hugger (or the sari guard of course).

At the second service I am just going to get it removed.

Anyways, even with it, the entire rear pillion seat and side cowls are covered in mud spray. And so is the back of my jacket.

Might as well enjoy the dousing without the irritating tak-tak.

[Ragtop]

I am facing a similar problem with mine. When I got the bike in March there was no noise. I later removed the hugger and at the first service also had them soften the rear suspension. At the onset of the monsoons, I reinstalled the hugger for obvious reasons and now have this annoying sound!

The other issue that has been discussed is the bike spontaneously stalling at lower RPM's/speeds. Mine does this quite regularly once the engine heats up. I complained to the service station at the 2nd service but they insisted this could not happen. I tried to replicate it but of-course, when the doctor was around there were no symptoms! Regardless, the Bajaj guys flatly denied this as being an issue. When i mentioned that it had been mentioned elsewhere on the forum, they again said that nobody had ever been able to reproduce the problem in their presence and therefore as far as they were concerned there was no problem. Anyone else dealing with this?? I have spoken to some owners (not on the forum) all of whom have this problem.

[ebonho]

Ya the bike sometimes shuts off at low speeds, especially when you've come down to neutral and are coasting to a standstill. Rarely in low gear puttering around as well. Not unduly bothered frankly.

[nitro.1000bhp]

My brakes have begun to squeak. I am nearing 1K Kms on the odo. Since I wear helmet all the time I am not able to pin point whether it is coming from the front or rear brakes.

Has anyone else faced this problem? I really have'nt done any stoppies or panic braking...could that be the reason? becoz I've been babying it and the pads have'nt seated well? I normally use only 2 fingers to slow down and that has seemed adequate for me till now.

My bike should be due for service by this weekend and I shall get it checked, in the meantime if one of u could share your feedback one the same it will be very helpful

PS: Got rid of that god awful hugger after a week from purchase. It serves no purpose and does a fine job of fuglifying the rear.

Thanks..Happy riding

[ebonho]

A pressure wash spray between the pads and the rotor should cure the problem.

Two fingers? The front ones are so good, that I normally use just one so as to modulate.