Team-BHP - The KTM Duke 390 Ownership Experience Thread

Quote:

But the Duke to me at least up until now has been flawless. Which is why I am concerned when I read of increasing niggles and issues in the newer lot 390s. I do not know if this is just in the 390s (since most everyone is only talking 390s nowadays - the 200 is essentialy forgotten) or is there in all newer lot Dukes, 390 and 200. Could someone confirm?

But doc there are also sizable population with 390 not reporting such issues :). Considering how dramatic the engine has to spin in the 200 i feel the niggles should be more in the 200. This bike hardly rides at that maniac engine speed so often.

The biggest niggle is the tank and reservoir rattle to me. The rest all are almost like normal for me for a mechanical device. Be it the oil weep or the chain slack.

The engine is far far far far cleaner than a single trip bullet any day. As you rightly put park it, cover it , dust it and ride it.

Quote:

And invariably when you come back from the ride, the bike feels less than what it was when you left, so much so that for a few days or a week at least you let her rest and don't want to ride her again.

Doc..oh my god...Bulleteers is all i can say...we usually call this orgasm of the bull ride :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by nasirkaka (Post 3357041)

Also, i am not sure if bulls have made us over cautious. Everytime i hear something out of ordinary, for eg a buzzing / rattling sound, i want to stop and find the source and try and fix it. Else it keeps playing on my mind. On bulls these things are easier to identify, but on the 390, i ave been trying to locate the source of a buzzing sound for weeks now, without any success. Different parts starts vibrating at different frequencies, aided by resonance.. at times its the clutch lever, at times its the fuel lid key hole cap, and at times its rear brake lever connecting pin and some more unidentified ones. my bull runs much much quieter (talking of unwanted high frequency buzzs and rattles) up to 85-90kmph, compared to the 390. I guess a high revving big single would always have these. gotta get conditioned to these and ride on.:)

In my case its just the opposite.

As long as she's pulling strong to 140, pulling around 30 to 35 kms for every liter of petrol I feed her, and not drinking around a liter of oil for every 1000 kms she pulls me for, I am ecstatic, and she can make all the noises she wants. Otherwise the Bull will feel she is too silent and try and bully her into submission when I'm not looking. :uncontrol

I'm just kidding of course. Touch wood, Baby Duke is one smooth silent customer. No rattles or squeaks. Just some time ago the key flap of the petrol cap, which has somehow disappeared on its own. Otherwise she is as tight and dry and smooth running as she has always been. Just missing my 43T rear sprocket is all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by man_of_steel (Post 3356751)

Ashok, the pouch was indeed a good feature. But unfortunately, my B-Twin has no pouch like that. But I will stick it into the jacket like Doc has suggested. BTW, are you coming to MMSC this weekend?

Yup. sticking it into the jacket is ok I guess. reg. MMSC, in all probabilities I may have to give it a pass. The mind is eager but the body is tired. more over there are some pressing engagements that need my attention. So may be some other time. You guys have fun and do share with us all your learning and experience. Ride safe.

Hey guys,
This is my first post on team bhp. I have been following this thread from a long time and have been satisfied onto every post made here as it has answered most of my queries. I am planning to book a ktm duke 390 but i have second doubts due to the sudden engine stalling issue and the extreme heating issue.
Should i go for the 200 or stick to the 390?
I am not concerned with the power difference between the two bikes.
Thanks in advance.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ayush1434 (Post 3357518)

Should i go for the 200 or stick to the 390?
I am not concerned with the power difference between the two bikes.
Thanks in advance.

It depends on where you're going to use the bike. If it's mainly in the city, go for the 200! The 390 is not going to give you more than 20kmpl in city traffic. And the 200 is no slouch. It almost keeps up with the 390 in the city due to the short gearing.
If your riding is going to be mainly on highways and open roads, you can go for the 390.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sridhu (Post 3356802)

You have a very technical mother-in-law :uncontrol

lol:

Quote:

I think we are triangulating on the problem here.

Yes we certainly are trying to find the cause of this problem, but in my case the problem seems to be the fuel pump.

Will add more info after the SVC visit this weekend.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ayush1434 (Post 3357518)

Should i go for the 200 or stick to the 390?
I am not concerned with the power difference between the two bikes.

Please put aside technical issues some folks are facing with their Duke 390's. I am sure, all the problems have a solution and they are not engineering defects. I don't have much experience with the 200. With the 390, I would avoid taking it for a choc-a-blok city cycle run. It just does not work.

On the subject of power, trust me, once you experience the 390, it is going to be hard to look at the 200. I say, ride both and then decide.

Quote:

It depends on where you're going to use the bike. If it's mainly in the city, go for the 200! The 390 is not going to give you more than 20kmpl in city traffic. And the 200 is no slouch

Just some personal stats. 4.3K Kms in Chennai city. Average FE around 24 with strictly high rev riding. Same route in leisure mode gives me close to 28.

Quote:

I am planning to book a ktm duke 390 but i have second doubts due to the sudden engine stalling issue and the extreme heating issue

.

There is a whole lot of bikes here who hardly have witnessed or exprienced this issue. I have never once stalled the bike that is a fault of the bike but have stalled it quite a few times early because of the rider.

I come from a 500. In comparsion the heating is definitely higher but is it not bearable. I dont think so.

Heating scenarios observed:-

When your ride hard and there is bottle neck traffic the early hard run now hampers cooling rapidly and the heat bar keeps moving up.

When you ride normal and keep it within 5-6k rpm the heat bar hardly crosses the danger limit.

Its not a bike to be rode with shorts and floaters. Oh no. But thats the case with any 10K rpm engine and start getting used to the fact that high rev engines will heat up hard.

The best part is even a 1km stretch of open road is all it takes to bring the heat down.

I already summarized earlier...the 390 is a perfect city bike for me. Its the only bike i take for any city riding and any out of city riding now.

My 500 is a strictly, please buy some milk from the corner store, bike now. Thats how much i am misusing or using the 390.

Quote:

Originally Posted by VW2010 (Post 3357754)

Just some personal stats. 4.3K Kms in Chennai city. Average FE around 24 with strictly high rev riding. Same route in leisure mode gives me close to 28.

My daily trip includes 30kms through Bangalore traffic with at least 10 traffic signals. I'm consistently getting around 22kmpl, and that's with shifting at about 5k-7k rpm. I guess the reason for my low kmpl is namma bengaluru traffic :P

I hope this is not OT on a thread for the Duke 390, but I'm just trying to compare.

The 690 is 300 cc bigger than the 390.

The 690 produces 27 bhp more than the 390 (and same as the N650).

The 690 gives around 22 kmpl (compared to 18 for the N650 by most reports) compared to around 25+ kmpl for the 390.

The 690 is about 10 kilos more than the 390 (and not a whole lot bigger either). The N650 is comparison is much bigger and around 60 kilos heavier.

The 690 is about 20-25 kmph faster than the 390 (and about 10 less than the N650).

Makes me believe all the more that the 690 is short geared just like the hooligan little 200 is. What do you guys think?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebonho (Post 3358197)

If you compare the bore:stroke ratio of
D200-1.469
D390-1.483
D690-1.207
So the motor alonewithout any transmission the d390 is most over square or free revving engine while d690 has least over square and is going to produce oodles of torque.When the primary and secondary gear ratios is added into the equation things drastically change. So if the gearing on 690 is similar to the 200 it's definitely going to put wheelies even in 3rd gear :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebonho (Post 3358197)

Makes me believe all the more that the 690 is short geared just like the hooligan little 200 is. What do you guys think?

Same power, 10 Kmph less max speed. Points to aerodynamics. Fundamental limitation
.
So if I cant beat the competition (lets not get into x is different category to y so not competition etc) in top speed, I'd like to trump it in something else. In this case it would be acceleration (leveraging its power/ weight), and 'feel'. A big brother hooligan is a very high possibility.

Regards
Sutripta

Quote:

Originally Posted by Akhilash95 (Post 3358279)

Good data bro. Thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sutripta (Post 3358315)

Same power, 10 Kmph less max speed. Points to aerodynamics. Fundamental limitation

I also think that the revs the 650 pulls at the top end compared to the 690 has something to do with that. Again an inherent limitation of a single when compared to a twin. But then the single is very strong at the low and mid range, where as you rightly said the 690 should leave the 650 standing. I am already drooling man!