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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-225.html)

@Sagarpadaki has mentioned a very valid point which slipped my mind when posting earlier. Forget about the tube for now...Since you have a competent guy at your disposal based on the recommendation, you can try the mushroom patch on the tyre. That should fix the existing leak since they do it by removing the tyre from the rim and fix it from the inside as already mentioned by Sagar. Once this is done, you can use the sealant.

Edit: you dont have to worry about the tyre sealing with rim after removal / refitting. Once fitted, and air is filled, it will seal up.
I have not heard of any tyre centers aligning the motorcycle wheels here. Its also a pretty simple job for a competent tyre shop guy to remove/refit the disc brake.

Competent is a relative word in my case :D , from appearance they all cause me discomfort though this one should be better than the one I who tended to my case .

I understand the tire is sealed alongside the rims by adhesive , during removing it , do they use brute force or have some procedure so as to not harm the paintjob - i ask this because I have no clue and previously had my enfield rims badly scratched with the excuse being brute force is the only method . The locals here by default look for short cuts .

When resealing the tire , is it a complicated job or straightforward , If complicated, I would rather live with refilling my tire every second day ...

Please excuse my often ignorant queries but I have no idea about this topic and very little faith in my mech so the forum is the only source of reassurance/warning . Thank you .

A good tyre shop will have a motorized tool which will remove the tyre from the rim softly without any damage to the paint work. Even while refitting it, they use the same method. If you find that sort of an arrangement not present, then they will resort to hammer and tool to pry open the tyre which is bad for the rim as well as paint work.

In light of the current topic, what is the general opinion towards puncture protection products such as Slime or Tyre Protector? I have Tyre protector in both my tyres and feel no change in the ride but with an added peace of mind that I am somewhat puncture resistant.

I had tried it on my R15 when I was on the stock tyres that were starting to get punctured frequently. It didnt really do much, I kept getting the punctures and eventually just bought a new set of tyres.

For arguments sake, one could say it might have marginally slowed down the frequency of the punctures though I cant be sure. The stock tyres were giving up the ghost anyways but I believe these products work a lot better when used with newer tyres.

I will try to answer some of your doubts to the best of my understanding

• A tyre is NEVER sealed against the rim using adhesive both in tubeless/and in tube set up
• The sealing happens, when air is let in to the tyre and by the that preassure the tyre rubber, by its own elasticity forms a vaccum against the rim lip. That is why its important that the rim lips are flawless to set a good tyre setup
• The liquid you see being applied on the tyre edge is actually a weak soapy solution, which facilitates the slipping of the tyre edge over the upper lip of the rim
• The popping sound you hear when a tyre is removed is the popping/breaking of this seal
• While removing to break this seal it takes a lot of pressure - in modern shops its done by hydraulic tools, less sophisticated uses a custom built lever bench set up and the crude use hammer and tyre levers to do the job
• While refitting the seal happens as I mentioned above. Usually they fill the tyre to a higher than required pressure to acheive this and the deflate to the required pressure (recomended by OEM).

The following links have useful info. The vedio show how a modern tyre can be changed in th old fashioned way.

http://www.visordown.com/workshop/12...res/15856.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anyY0UO5gqk

Hope this helps

Best Regards & Ride Safe

Ram

Stalling Problem Update

Guy from the service station called me this morning and asked me to leave the bike for a day with them, as the service engineer from KTM will be looking at the problem.

Will be leaving the bike at the SS, this evening.

Ram thank you for the details. Could you also add a bit about the valve and how it is fitted, to complete the tutorial on tubeless tyres? Like the rim lip the integrity of the valve hole and the area surrounding it (freedom from itting, rust, etc.) is also equally important. Which is why you can fit tubeless tyres to brand new pressed steel rims (not just alloys), but can seldom do the same to old pressed steel rims where using a tube becomes a must.

Thank you for the description , very informative and gives me a fair idea of the different procedures .

Right now , my bike is losing pressure by 3 psi overnight and over inflating by 3 or even 5 psi , I can go 2 days without worrying about a refill . As such I am somewhat apprehensive about doing something that might damage the puncture further rather than seal it off completely . Basically what I wish to know is if you were in this situation , will you go ahead with the complete removal of tire from alloys and then patching it up from inside if the shop in question from appearance is not reassuring enough(for starters lets say they don't even have the hydraulic tool for removal ) ? Do I risk damaging the rubber around the wound If I continue riding for the time being in its leaky state ?

Basu, why don't you simply ride your bike to Delhi and get the tyre looked at by a decent tyre shop with all the tools and experience at their disposal? Will be a decent ride too in terms of wrapping up your running in and begining to really enjoy your ride.

The tyre sealant thing is awesome though, I have done 4K with it and havent had a single stranded moment yet, recently got it checked and found two right sized nails lodged in with no drop in air pressure, super impressed, specially for long rides.

Lepp how about a report on the drag you were prepping for bro?! Been dying to hear about it. Did you finally use the pipe, get it properly dialled in? Or ditched it?

He he he, not too glad you asked lol, sad story, got the pipes fitted, i think I have a new defn for LOUD, it was the loudest thing I have ever heard, it was misfiring a bit, took it to our trusted champ Joel at Race Concepts.

The best way to tune these bikes are on the dyno, as the butt feel can be very deceptive, he was mighty impressed with the fit and finish, but still had his doubts on the tuned length, which got exposed when we did a back to back run with a duke with just the cat removed, it made less peak power than the stock duke, but the torque curve moved in earlier, indicating a good fun bike on street and track for fast acceleration, then bolted on the aftermarket filter and the racedynamics ecu and the bike had a nice long rev.

Rode the bike to coimbatore, while our race RD350 was tied up fast in a innova, by the time I reached, my ear drums were ringing for several hours post the ride, highways were a blast, as the ingear acceleration from gear to gear was very nice, but this I wasnt sure off of which component, as there were three changes working, which got confirmed later.

Day 1 was a complete tragedy as a rider on a RX passed away hitting the barricade at the finish line, race was suspended that day and next day, making way for a back to back two races on subsequent days, day one, I go in for the first practise session and the bikes running fine, come back and my pal takes the bike for the first time, pops a gigantic wheelie at the start, but still finishes with a good run, but then I dont see him returning by riding the bike but pushing, the bikes gear is jammed in 5th and not moving either ways, and the actual run is about to start shortly.

My tuner Antony, opens the clutch assembly and tries everything but the thing doesnt budge, as its completely jammed, after trying everything known to us, we give up and pack the bike in Joels truck for shipping it back, on returning and submitting it at workshop, we are told, the whole clutch assembly has to be changed, is done without a hitch in warranty, and that my friends was the end of the KTM drag journey, removed the exhaust and found a buyer immediately, went back to stock exhaust without cat and found the big differentiator being the ecu, as that seems to make the ingear acceleration awesome. Not an entirely bad weekend, as the RD350 walked away with all the top honors.

P.S: Yes am abusing my warranty a bit, but pls do keep it here, as my sole intention of buying this bike, is to have maximum fun with minimal mental or financial investment. Also the engine block has been changed once on warranty as the bike seized on a top speed run on stock settings.

Actually was thinking along the same line today , invited to a marriage there on 2nd dec and thinking about riding all the way and if I do , I will likely get this tyre protector filled in my tyres ( from the description on their website , it is quite a big deal and only available in bigger cities and metros ) .

I have about 400km remaining until first service but not really holding back anymore and often bounce off the rev limiter in 2nd and 3rd gear if opportunity presents itself - the acceleration , the sensation is mind blowing !!! I will be penning a initial review on the bike soon , overall it has been an excellent machine so far(minus exhaust note at lower rpms - blaahhhh :D , bullet ruined me that way) - only botheration being irritations like puncture etc (they just get on my nerve) , also I am not much of a long ride(have done several long drives but no rides yet ) type of person and so far limited to city rides(and the only road worthy of being called a highway in UP is delhi highway , rest are undivided 2 lane roads ) , it is fun as long as one remains in 3rd or drops down to 2nd . The thing is the bike itself has no limits that will stop you from enjoying it , the roads and the traffic and the general condition are the limiting factor . The purchase was done with the knowledge I will be relocating to either Delhi or Kolkata within 6 months , this is not a bike meant for the roads here .

Butt dyno was all I had to report to you guys on for the new pipe, and as you have confirmed, the in gear acceleration and instant pickup IS pretty impressive. It was only later on the Goa run that we saw a stock 390 staying head to head and actually showing 2 kmph more on the display at WOT full crouch on the last straights before hitting Goa on NH17.

Glad you found a buyer. Makes me feel less guilty.

I'm guessing we still weigh about the same (am 85 odd right now) so do let me know by PM exactly what topspeed you and your friends have been clocking. Yours is a first lot July 2013 bike right?