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-   -   The KTM Duke 390 Ownership Experience Thread (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorbikes/138082-ktm-duke-390-ownership-experience-thread-191.html)

Just the fact that Sandeep mentioned it to be probably due to a valve leak. To check this, they might possibly have to remove the tyre. Not very sure of this. Hence recommended him to go to the professionals as they will be able to take a call if the tyre has to come off or not.

Else the puncture on the tyre can be fixed without removing the tyre by using the puncture repair kit. :)

Interesting but not a smart work around. Unless you have a person holding the bike in place don't even try it for the risk of bike falling, maybe onto you!

YES! Never ever do it with running it in gear, it just takes seconds for things to go around. Instead manually rotating the wheel would max take about a minute.

I hope this is posted earlier ,this is very convenient and the M10 ,1.25 pitch bolt cost just 20 bucks !:D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv-b2MWfBeM

Madhus at JC road does bike tyres. Check out with them. I got mine replaced st the same place. Call Manju on 9845483333.

Crash bobbings/frame sliders are nothing but bobbins which are extended, say that'd be used in a superbike, where the fairing is present, you might see a tube extending on both sides, these are crash bobbins and/or frame sliders. In naked case, we have a flange that affixes this bobbin at the end, hope you got it.

Sliders protect the fairings in a faired one. Whereas in a naked, protects delicate frame and exposed components. Rider? Well, if he isn't geared up, you know how it ends up! :)

Cheers!
VJ

From the images on the website, the bobbin fitted to the front wheel, they are not the same as the one fitted on the rear swing arm which I am guessing is called a spool. The spool on the rear swing arm has a groove for the paddock stand jack point. Can you use a paddock stand to lift the front wheel fitted with a bobbin?

Accidentally gave your query a thanks. Yes the spool being different, it can be used to lift the front with or without the bobbin, but you need different paddock adapter to do so.

Cheers!
VJ :cool:

Why Me?

I have had my fair share of fun on the 390, but the journey so far is been dotted with niggles. My C5 was plagued with small and large issues, and one of the reasons going for the 390 was hoping it to be comparatively trouble free. has that been the case? not quite so. From battery terminal issues, to 3 time busted fork seal to head gasket leaking twice to stalling issues, excessive vibes, disk rotor issues, etc. All this in 10500 kms and 11 months is a bit more then i expected. And now this morning, found sweating again from the engine head. (pic attached)

I guess with my luck with motorcycles, i willl have troubles with even the super reliable bonnie, when i get one. :P

Seeing the number of leaky heads in the 390s, I'm forced to conclude its got something to do with reduced quality of machining. I don't think the gasket material has changed in any way. Can't be the compression as well as culprit. The 200s were bone dry. So lovely for a Bullet rider to see .....

Mine is from the initial lot. And last head gasket job was done at the famous Autoservice under Babu's guidance, so i less likely its would be a workmanship issue. Could it be related to the 390's larger engine resulting in higher compression and the same guy making the gasket for 200 and 390 using similar material?
For a change, my C5 or mach 350 never had leaky head. But them they not really bullets to the purists :)

Even my bike is from the initial lot, its been 11.5 months and I have done around 7.5k kms. I have not faced any such engine oil leaking problem.(touch wood :D) I suspect it to be because of the loose/wrongly fitted engine cylinder head bolts. When a new engine is designed, typically all the aspects such cylinder head size, compression ratio and so on are take care. If that was the case as you have described then most of our D390's should have faced similar problem. One of my friend who rides the D390 also had similar problem but it was resolved after the cylinder head bolts were tightened. I hope that the problem with your bike is also the same.

I too had my engine head gasket replaced during the second service, free of charge of course.

Given the no. of complaints around this problem, it seems to be more of a norm than an exception. Another point Bajaj must investigate on priority along with:

- Cracked rims
- Busted fork seals
- & IMO, spongy front brakes

Very risky proposition hellraiser. Firstly as others suggested, never try to lubricate the chain with the bike in gear. It may seem to make the job little easy, but if something goes wrong, you can get injured pretty badly. I remember a TBHP member who needed implants in his fingers for this mistake. Hope he is better now. Takes just a couple of minutes more by rotating the wheels by hand.

Secondly, the technique you used to lift the bike on the car jack is again very risky. The bike could have slept from the plank.

Take care buddy,

Regards,
Saket

My bike is the 2nd lot Nov 13.. No head gasket issues so far but then iv only rum 2,6 k km. The only pain area(literally!!) Is the suspension setup, twitchy initial throttle response , and surprisingly the tyres. I've had some scary moments where the rear has stepped out while braking through a corner but I will just put that down to the road surface. Our famous cobbled Bombay roads . I'm hoping I don't experience any of the issues being spoken about

I'd advise you to go with the stock suspension settings, as they are. Change them only if you're hitting the track or dirt, but for normal commuting, go with the stock. It's one area of the Duke you shouldn't mess around with.
Regarding your initial throttle response, do you idle your bike for a while before you start your day? If no, I suggest you start doing it. Maybe a minute or two, and even though it'll burn a tad bit of fuel, it'll be helpful in the long run.
Yes, the 'scary' moments with the rear tire has happened with me as well. Just get your tyre pressure right, don't rev on gravel or uneven surfaces and you'll do just fine!