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Ok am faced with the same tyre dilemma some of the Leh people are facing this year. The Mets won't do and i have to get my hands on alternatives. I was wondering why i just can't go with the tyres from a Duke 200 on my 390. What i was told was the ABS might not work in this case. Ironically, was advised to but Ceat tyres with a grippy button tread and am wondering how on earth the ABS will work well with this.

Will a 140 rear and 100 work well? That were the only two options Ashok Tyres on RP Road gave me. And are the Mets really so soft that they will get shredded?

aditya.bhardwaj

It sounds like your tyre is out of balance. This brings up the question, when they installed your tyre, did they balance it?

Balancing a tyre can be done either statically or dynamically.
Although the dynamic method, where the mounted tyre is spun on a machine at various speeds to determine the heavy area is the best method, the static method where the mounted tyre is placed on a machine that allows the heavy area to rotate to the bottom will work.

The imbalance in the mounted tyre and wheel is corrected by adding weights to the wheel rim until no area is heavier than any of the other areas.

If a mounted tyre is out of round, the effect will be noticeable at slower speeds because it will feel like your riding on a washboard with each bump ocurring once for every wheel rotation.

If a mounted tyre is out of balance it often doesn't give any indication until certain speeds are reached. As the critical speed excites the tyre/wheel it will start bouncing even though the road surface is smooth.

Although the high quality of many modern tyres don't need additional wheel weights to correct their imbalance, checking for imbalance should be done anyway.
If the tyre was not mounted "just right" a balance problem can exist.

Please have your new tyre/wheel checked for a balance problem. If it exists, it can be fixed by the mechanic by gluing on a few wheel weights for almost no cost.

This is true. Just checked in Bombay, but it doesn't look like they are pro actively calling customers. Call up and take your bike, they will change the necessary parts

Finally swapped the ceat vertigo sports for michelin pilot street radials. Ride is much better now and the rear bounce is completely gone.

Looks great. What size is that? I'm guessing it is a good balance between D200's MRF and 390's Metzelers in terms of performance and durability.

Thanks. The size is 140/70. A friend has covered some distance on these on his bike and also took it to the track. According to him if the metz are 10/10, these are 9/10. And after riding with these today, I completely agree with him. These are some bloody good tires.

Sorry to bring this point up again and again! :D Is the ABS working fine now?

Yes it is working properly now :D

Sorry for bringing this point up again and again as well :D but did you put the Michelin 140/70 and the Metz 150/60 side by side to compare their respective heights and if at all there was any difference? Theoretically, the Michelin sidewall should be about a centimeter taller than the Metz, but maybe the curvatures of the two tyres are different, so cant say what it would look likein real life side by side.

Hahaha. Well doc I didn't see it that much. But the bike seems a tiny bit taller from the rear. Overall I am really happy with the tire.

Hello, fellow Dukers!

I'm new to this forum, and even though I've been following it for years, this is my first 'official' post (wonder why).

Getting to business, I have booked my Black D390 at Mekhri Circle KTM, Bangalore and will be taking delivery on the 11th of June. However, since this is my first bike I've ever owned (not loaned from someone), I have a lot of queries and doubts in my mind, which haunt me no end every night. I'm posting some of those here, and I'd expect my fellow Dukers to help me out.

1. I'm 6'4 and have a weight in 3 digits. Should I alter the suspension settings and handlebar settings at the showroom itself?

2. Many have advised me to go for Speed or Shell Super Unleaded. Does it make a difference? Please advise.

3. I've been told that removing the Saree Guard and Tyre Hugger increases the performance while decreasing overall weight. True?

4. I plan to remove the stock horn (it's massively embarrassing) at the showroom itself and install a Bosch Symphony before taking delivery. Your take?

5. Happened to read today that KTM is recalling all pre March 2014 produced bikes to replace some Sprocket and Chain trouble, which can cause an accident if not changed. This is appalling. Should this be a cause of concern for me? (I have strictly told the SA to hand me the bike having the latest VIN).

6. Is the Tank Pad necessary? Or is it just an expensive immaterial object?

7. I plan to install white rim stickers within 2-3 days of taking delivery (as the bike I used to see in my dreams had white rim stickers. :D). Can anyone suggest a reliable guy in Bangalore who can efficiently do this at an affordable price?

That's all for now, folks. However, in these 5 days to come, I'm sure of having dozens of doubts more, and I would be grateful if you guys can help me out with them.

Cheers!
Safe riding, lads.

First off. Welcome to the Forum!

Stock setting should be in '3'. Ride around for a couple of days and then decide if you want to stiffen up or soften the suspension or pull the handle back or push it forward.

No. Shell Super is just normal fuel with detergent additives. I fill one full tank of it once in 2 months or so just to make use of that detergents. No scientific evidence though!

No. No observable performance gain It hardly weighs a kilo!

You can go for it IF the showroom guys dont have any problem with it. They can even void the warranty for changing the horns. It depends on the dealer's mentality.

Check the manufacturing date. If it is a post March '14 bike you need not worry.

Is it necessary? - If you can live with minor scratches on the tank from buckles or zippers, NO
Is it expensive? - The powerparts one, YES
Is it immeterial? - Well. The Powerparts tankpad will not provide complete tank protection like other aftermarket tankpads due to its design. But I have stuck it just because it looks cool!stupid:.. Seriously stupid:!

Congrats on the bike again. Do post your experiences here once you get it!

Guys a small query, took delivery of my 390, days back, and just inspecting the suspension I feel it's very hard to press on the front forks, but sets in well when riding, is it how's it's supposed to be or is something off tangent here. To an extent they are really hard I have to pull back on the bars to get them back to position after I compress, they don't just like that give good rebound. Unfortunately I've never cared to test this on the Duke 200/390s I've ridden -- carried away by the oomph, at that time. lol:

Thoughts appreciated

Thanks!

Cheers!
VJ

Covered 1610Kms on my 390 and so far no issues.
Not a single leak or rattles. The bike is bone stock.
The rear tyre has developed a few punctures, thanks to the super sticky magnetic metzelers.
We plonked our ECU, BMC stock replacement airfilter and pulled an extra 2.2hp on the dyno.
The power gain is really strong across the rev range and makes it a dream on highways and street. It returns 19-21kmpl in city and around 26-28kmpl on highways. Its mostly enthusiastic riding, so I personally feel thats a good number. 0-100kph time right now is 5.12 secs after the ECU and filter update.
The KTM390 is a wonderful machine and has a lot of potential in the right hands.
I'm planning on a fancy project to bump some serious power, so more updates on that later.
Bajaj could have improved their quality a bit, but considering the price, its a steal. The rough seats and prickly hand grips are the only sore points.

Guys. Leh seems to be the flavor of the season. Anyone from Bangalore or south planning Leh sometime around end June / early July?
Has any one earlier done it with stock Metz? My Bikes done over 13K but the tyres are holding good ( it seems so :) )
On second thoughts, is renting a bull from Delhi an option? I might tag along with me, a friend from Bangalore joining a friend at Delhi and they have zeroed on renting the bikes (bulls) at Delhi instead of Bangalore guy and me riding all the way.