Team-BHP - The KTM Duke 390 Ownership Experience Thread

:OT

Meanwhile more and more reports of the KTM 390 Adventure is doing rounds! :)

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Good news for adventure motorcycle folks around the world who want speed on the tarmac and on the rough terrain at the same time! KTM is spawning an adventure version of the 390 like how street-fighter, fully faired and other versions are planned on this platform. We all know this is a platform in which many motorcycles will be created and the Adventure is one of them. This news first came when we showed you pictures of the RC series of bikes standing in the Chakan plant and the same guys told us that work has begun on the Adventure bikes as well.

The adventure bike will share most of the things from the current KTM 390. Things like frame, swingarm, engine, etc. are going to be common. However, there will be changes to the gearing, wheelbase and travel of the suspension which will see an increase over the 150 mm on the current Duke 390 on both ends. Weight will be added thanks to a large fairing and fuel tank with the bike getting bigger sized wheels. Changes to the footpegs and their position will be done. The seats will also be altered and there will definitely be place to mount your luggage.

Now we know there are a lot of people in our country waiting for the adventure version of the Duke 390 to conquer the Himalayas but since the market is extremely small, Bajaj may or may not consider to launch it in India despite it being made here. The international response to the KTM Adventure 390 will be terrific but the same cannot be said for our market. The Duke 390 has been doing well for a naked bike but as we know, our market is full of fairing lovers and hence it is only the RC which is going to stay in the market as the other form of the Duke series. Pricing will be Rs. 40-50,000/- more than the naked version and should impress buyers everywhere, even if it manages to go on sale in our country.

Source

Fellow riders,

Been facing an issue with the 390 for the past couple of months, I was trying to avoid posting about it (basically, didn't want to bad mouth). However as neither the workshop nor myself has been able to diagnose the problem, I want to share and get your feedback.

The problem is: The bikes jerks violently on low RPMs in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd gears, and it stalls in the higher gears, so much so that it is impossible to ride it without using the clutch. Furthermore the engine braking is ridiculous, closing the throttle in 3rd gear feels like I have jumped on disk brakes. The bike rode perfectly for the first 1000kms, problems started after 1st service.

Model: KTM Duke 390, March 2014 (Black)
ODO: 2500 kms
Riders Experience: KTM Duke 200 (1.5yrs): Royal Enfield 350 (10 yrs): Misc 2 strokes (4 yrs)
Bike based in Bangalore, serviced at Khivraj Kasturba Road.

Here's what I have done till now:

1. Rode two first generation 390s for an extended period of time, they seem to ride just fine.

2. Checked the chain tension.

3. Checked the battery terminals.

4. Checked the clutch wire setup.

Took the bike to the solve the problem:

Service station session 1: Diagnosis was poor quality petrol. They were wrong, no change in bike behavior.

Service station session 2: No diagnosis: They are unable to locate the problem.

Service station session 3: Waiting for engineer (Bike currently in service station).

I would appreciate if any forum members have experianced or heard about such a problem and could offer me their advice. This could just be a very simple problem with a simpler solution.

Thanks
Surajit

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Originally Posted by Surajit333 (Post 3499941)

Fellow riders,

Been facing an issue with the 390 for the past couple of months

I'm not quite sure what the problem is but the first thing that came to my mind is that it is something to do with the ECU. I suggest you to try disconnecting and reconnecting the battery so that you "reset" the ECU and start riding so that it "learns" all over again.

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Originally Posted by Surajit333 (Post 3500001)

Hi Added Flavour,

Thanks,

Kindly let me know if you have tried doing this before? How does the ECU start "Learning"?

Hi Surajit! ECU Learning/Adaptation happens when the battery is disconnected for sometime and reconnected. Typically when the ECU is reset, it starts relearning/adapting to throttle response, AF ratio, shift points etc.

We have a detailed thread on this. Posting the link for your reference.

Link

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Originally Posted by Added_flavor (Post 3496897)

:OT

Meanwhile more and more reports of the KTM 390 Adventure is doing rounds! :)

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I want! I really wish they have started testing/production of the adventure. Need a good replacement for my 220.
A doubt - won't they have to modify the chassis. The angle of the rear suspension on the duke is not like most on off road bikes. I might be wrong but most dirt bikes have a more upright angle on the rear suspension

Quote:

Originally Posted by Surajit333 (Post 3499941)

Fellow riders,

The problem is: The bikes jerks violently on low RPMs in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd gears, and it stalls in the higher gears, so much so that it is impossible to ride it without using the clutch.

There have been reports of throttle body collecting too much carbon and hence the fuel is not flowing through butterfly valves at idle or low speeds. Get it cleaned by the service centre.
Bad quality fuel is to be blamed. Let us know if it has fixed the issue.

Check this.

http://www.ebay.com/gds/How-to-Diagn...7633451/g.html

This kind of summarizes some of the common fuel injector based symptoms. I had similar symptoms and i simply change the fuel filter first. This is a small white cyclinder that sits on top of the engine head and easy to install yourself. Simply connects to two hoses and sits on a small clamp. With deft hands you can change it yourself for 70rs.

Second i would check the fuel pump and fuel injector itself. They could be dirty and clogged. Go ahead and ask the service guy to change and see if that fixes the problem.

ECU is the last thing i may check for if ECU is kaput its kaput all the time and not intermittently.

Hey, mates.

Getting this weird issue with my 2 month old animal of late.

Now, every time I uncover her in the morning, I let the ignition be for almost a minute or two, while I gear up. There's no revving done here at this point. Simple idling. When I shift to 1st to move out of the parking, it stalls. Starts after a bit of throttle play and then moves fine. All this while, the temperature gauge is hardly even one bar. Is this due to the cold engine? Should I let it idle more? Or should I throttle a tad harder while releasing the clutch in the mornings?

Any help and advice on this would be massively appreciated.

Cheers.
-AJ

Many people had expressed concern over usage or regular fuel given the engine's high compression ratio. Guess all that was not beyond reason

Under 4k rpm it's jittery, juddery, snatchy and whatever else you can use to call the low rpm performance crappy

And the front brakes, man! Spongy, can press them all the way in. Nothing happens till at least half a squeeze. No feel, no feedback. And the rear, most eager to lock up. Thank god for abs.

Have shot an email to the Bajaj engineer to help me with this issue for probably the 100th time now. Let's see what happens

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Originally Posted by barcalad (Post 3501281)

Is this due to the cold engine? Should I let it idle more? Or should I throttle a tad harder while releasing the clutch in the mornings?

Yes, most likely. Rather, due to less than perfect fuelling. The EFI is supposed to compensate for temperature by richer mixture, but seems to not. Whether due to incorrect temperature sensor or some bug, I don't know.

Common issue on Bajaj's earlier FI bike - my 220. Even idling for a minute or two, it stalls when I set out. Happens in monsoons and winters much more.
No point wasting fuel idling more, just ride and let the engine warm up as you ride.

Quote:

Originally Posted by barcalad (Post 3501281)

Hey, mates.

Getting this weird issue with my 2 month old animal of late.

Cheers.
-AJ

As a general rule. I always idle till the first bar comes up and the fan does it's test run, then I move. However, at times when I'm in a hurry, I have moved from a full cold start. Never faced any stalling issues.

The only time it has stalled while moving from it's parked position is when I slot into first gear with the side stand down. You might want to check if the stand switch is interfering with the gear lever since they are so close.

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Originally Posted by Fortuner71 (Post 3502379)

Guys need help here please:. Iam Using my friend's 390 , pleasure to ride . I need to get the 2nd service done and replace the front sprocket as well . My friend is currently abroad .

question : can i go any service center to this ? Bangalore / Mysore ? any check to be done with service center before i drop the bike ?

do reply thanks , happy riding .

All the service centres in Bangalore appear to have received the instructions and crucially the sprocket to replace the older front sprocket.
However, I would definitely have a chat with the service manager about the replacement before dropping the bike off (And that's what I did too :D at Khivraj KTM on Kasturba Road, Bangalore).

Cheers !

Sundar

Quote:

Originally Posted by barcalad (Post 3501281)

Any help and advice on this would be massively appreciated.

Crank and ride away buddy. This ain't no 50's motorcycle where you'd ideally need to wait so that the oil reaches all the bits of the engine.

I've said this before and saying it again, your engine will reach operating temperature faster when you get going than idling away which puts zero engine load. I keep the revs below 5000rpm till the engine temperature reaches the mid way point.

Try a slower release of the clutch and check. I've had the bike stall due to sudden and fast release of the clutch. Though you don't need to feed in any throttle input, in 1st, to move on level surface, there is no harm feeding in a little.

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Originally Posted by sandeepmohan (Post 3503636)

I partially disagree with that. In spite of being a "modern" engine, any engine in the world requires at least half a minute of idling during a cold start IMHO.

Also, even if you are running the engine at 5000 RPM, that's 50% of the revs the engine can do.

I believe it will have ill effects on the engine in the long run. Just my 2 cents. :)