Team-BHP - The KTM Duke 390 Ownership Experience Thread

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Originally Posted by unk9ja (Post 3529074)

Hello All,
Here I am as promised to write a review of the Ceat Vertigo during the Ladakh trip.
Total kms covered: 8900 kms. From Bangalore to Bangalore
Punctures, if any: NONE.
Performance: Performed beautifully on the non existent roads in the valley as well as some cities on the way. Took everything in its stride. Hit the ruts more than 5 dozen times and it came out with flying colurs. With Metz though I could have afforded to run the RC series as an owner of an outfit.
Rain, slush, ice, paved roads, unpaved roads or places like Karzok, Parkachik where you drive through making your own roads, the tire excelled in all the departments.
Cons: On tarmac, it is still a bit of gamble where the top is speed is severely limited due to wobble at higher speeds, read above a ton. Can skid easily on tarmac if there are loose gravel as found especially in Rajasthan where it was a bit of dicing.
Places visited as halted for the day were Pune(14 hrs @70kmph avg) Chittorgarh, Abohar, Patnitop, Srinagar, Sonmarg, Rangdum, Leh, Turtok, Leh, Tso Morori, Keylong, Roopnagar, Jaipur, Ankaleshwar (Longest travel, 950 km in a single day), Chiplun (350 kms in rain) Udupi, Bangalore.
Luggage: Saddle bags, Tailbag, Extra fuel cans, tank bag.

Tyre condition at the end of the trip: Rear one is half worn. This includes an additional 1.2K kms which the bike had run prior. The front is still about 80% intact. Will post the pictures sometime later. Hope this is informative to all.

Sir, Good to see review about Ceat Vertigo in proper Ladakh terrain. I was thinking since tyre profile is different, if the rider needs to switch ABS off and ride since it might interfere with ABS. But you confirm that ABS works fine with change in tyre profile as well. Also, can you mention where you got your rear bags, side bags, petrol cans, petrol can carrier and the cost of each.

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(Longest travel, 950 km in a single day)

Could you please throw some light on the ride comfort, ergonomics, seat hardness, etc.
I have covered some fairly decent distances in a day on my C5, but on the 390, i am not as comfortable. about 300kms a day and my legs start cramping cos of the rear set footpegs. The seat feels like wood and the feeling gets worse with the stiff suspension especially on broken country roads.

When it comes to ride comfort, the only two thing where the 390 wins is its light weight and aerodynamics (??). On the C5, the fatigue due to the weight of the bike starts showing by the end of the day, and also doing similar speeds, the wind blast on the C5 is much stronger then 390.

Your experience on these would be helpful.

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Originally Posted by nasirkaka (Post 3529686)

Hello Nasirkaka. The ride was comfortable on the duke. In fact the average speed went up as we rode daily. I had worn a btwin bicycle shorts and a zeus riding pant over it all through the ride. We used to start the day early between 0530 and 0600 and wind up by 1900 hrs on most days. Never I had a sore back. Yes the hard suspension of the duke is not appreciated as it transfers the vibes. But the fun to drive quotient of the duke wins it hands down.

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Originally Posted by theexperthand (Post 3529933)

Not sure if it is a stale news - I saw a KTM Service board next to the Marathalli KTM showroom - they have put up a service center in the basement of the building next to the KTM showroom (Was passing by in a hurry, so not sure if this is the basement of the Bajaj Showroom or the next building).

--Anoop

Just called up my friend there and the SVC is open! Its a good news for me as it is nearby my place. Thanks a lot for sharing! :)

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Originally Posted by man_of_steel (Post 3529968)

Just called up my friend there and the SVC is open! Its a good news for me as it is nearby my place. Thanks a lot for sharing! :)

Oh Ok - I thought they might have open for some time and I noticed it just today - so, it is actually a new development.

This is good for me too since it is the only SVC on my way to office.

--Anoop

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Originally Posted by whencut86 (Post 3529635)

The ABS works but you need to be gentle on the accelarator on the sand/ gravel/ unpaved roads. It is easy to spin the tire on these surfaces.
The saddle bags (Rynox, nomad), tailpack( Dirtsack) and the tank bag (Rynox) were procured online from Outdoortravel.com. You can check out for the current market prices. The tailbag I opted was for the Harley one which was costlier than the KTM one by 800INR. KTM looked flimsy in build. Petrol cans were brought from the Shell outlet in Bangalore for 400INR each. I must admit that these were very rigid and withstood every abuse and still did not spill a single drop of fuel. The carrier story is a big one and I almost missed it. The one in the pic was fabricated from a good friend of mine in 2 days flat. No design/ drawings. We went about directly fabricating the carrier. And I am extremely satisfied with the outcome. Cost is best left out as he would take only for the material. The welding was done on an inert gas machine and took all the abuse thrown at it, including a direct crash from my friend from behind.

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Originally Posted by karanskumar (Post 3529846)

How easy / difficult is the tailpack mounting on the bike? Is it a standard immediate fit wihtout much hassle?

The tailpack was fastened to the fuel can bracket on the rear and to the footpegs at the front. The bungee net was only to hold the cover in place. Mounting and dismounting the tailpack was a 3 minute job. The total time for all the bags never exceeded 15 minutes at any point.

[quote=unk9ja;3530198]The ABS works but you need to be gentle on the accelarator on the sand/ gravel/ unpaved roads. It is easy to spin the tire on these surfaces.
The saddle bags (Rynox, nomad), tailpack( Dirtsack) and the tank bag (Rynox) were procured online from Outdoortravel.com. You can check out for the current market prices. The tailbag I opted was for the Harley one which was costlier than the KTM one by 800INR. KTM looked flimsy in build. Petrol cans were brought from the Shell outlet in Bangalore for 400INR each. I must admit that these were very rigid and withstood every abuse and still did not spill a single drop of fuel. The carrier story is a big one and I almost missed it. The one in the pic was fabricated from a good friend of mine in 2 days flat. No design/ drawings. We went about directly fabricating the carrier. And I am extremely satisfied with the outcome. Cost is best left out as he would take only for the material. The welding was done on an inert gas machine and took all the abuse thrown at it, including a direct crash from my friend from behind.

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Thank you. Did the tail bag intrude into rider seat during the trip? Or was it tied firmly and stuck to the rear seat. I guess it would have been a nice back rest at times during the ride. Because of suspension did you feel tired at any stretch during the trip or was it normal rider exhaustion end of each day?

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Originally Posted by whencut86 (Post 3530587)

Thank you. Did the tail bag intrude into rider seat during the trip? Or was it tied firmly and stuck to the rear seat. I guess it would have been a nice back rest at times during the ride. Because of suspension did you feel tired at any stretch during the trip or was it normal rider exhaustion end of each day?

Never did the tailbag or the saddle bags intrude into the riding space. The tailbag was firmly held with the bungee net and never moved an inch during the entire ride and yes it made up for a good backrest whenever I felt like moving back a bit and relax.
On a very bad stretch, I used to ride standing on the footpegs as that is what you are supposed to do. But with the RTR fading in my rear view mirror, I could not go all out but had to settle behind the RTR on most parts. Since the avg speed was 18kmph over a 6+ hr period, trying to push my colleague, the bad roads never bothered me.
For me the Duke was a revelation on this trip. The Yezdi which I drove earlier had bothered me more with aches and pains, while I did not experience anything on this. If I would have been riding solo, I could have managed 4 figure mileage everyday till Srinagar and from Chandigarh on my return. Such was the confidence inspiring beast, the Duke is.

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Originally Posted by theexperthand (Post 3529980)

Mods: Sorry for the back to back posts ad I did not want to mix up topics here.

Anoop, Quote on the fb today is the SVC has a lone technician to work on the bikes. And the washing is not upto the mark. Maybe you should wait till they recruit some more people before going to them.

This is the same case with the Banashankari SVC too. I had my chain and sprocket replaced and had asked them to wash before getting onto the job. The small plastic piece below the engine was never taken off and was returned to me with mud sticking inside it. And I was billed for the wash. It really frustrates when you see such minor glitches.

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Originally Posted by unk9ja (Post 3531280)

Anoop, Quote on the fb today is the SVC has a lone technician to work on the bikes. And the washing is not upto the mark. Maybe you should wait till they recruit some more people before going to them.

I remember posting the exact same lines in one of the FB groups today!! lol:

Just got my bike today evening after service.
And yes, like you mentioned, only one technician working there currently. Washing and polishing was not impressive! The service manager had an argument/explanation for most of the problem I pointed out and assumes that the customer knows nothing much about bikes. Basically I am allergic to that kind of chaps! And just now noticed that they didnt reset the service interval in the cluster! :deadhorse

PS: these are small things, I agree but still worth mentioning. On the other hand, they did a good job of changing the busted rear shock of my bike after getting the spare from Indiranagar Showroom within a short notice(although after a bit of nagging).

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Originally Posted by Added_flavor (Post 3532027)

Busted rear shock? That's surprising! Please give us more details?

The oil seal of the rear damper was busted. It was leaking oil profusely and the damper action became nill. The whole unit including the spring needed replacement under warranty.
I dont wish to blame this completly on the build quality as I do some light offroadings and stuffs. With the oil completely drained, i had to ride it for quite a distance en-route the svc with this busted damper. The bike, although bouncy, was soaking up all potholes smoother than any other bikes I knew!! :D