Team-BHP - The KTM Duke 390 Ownership Experience Thread

Not sure if it's worth an upgrade. Better to have a modded ecu for better power delivery than the balanced power to efficiency appraoch.

Just my take. I don't think the slipper clutch is going to help much for the bike is fast yet not a kind that will need a slipper clutch for down shifting

Its probably old news for most of us; but for those few that do not have this info - here's a link to step by step "how to" adjustment of foot / rear brake lever on the Duke:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...1730122&type=1

In the past; I had unsuccesfully tried doing it by just loosening the check nut. This does drop the foot lever down; but leaves Zero play in the brake lever. You also need to adjust the master cylinder shaft / pin (?) for the process to actually work

Tools - Nose pliers and a no. 10 (IIRC) wrench. I was able to drop the lever a couple of mm but could not do it further because I was unable to work the pin as the pliers were too thick. Slimmer the pliers; the better. Should be a 15 minute job max. Much quicker if you arent a novice at working on your bike like I am. The photos are very descriptive

Hope this helps guys. Cheers!

Quote:

Tools - Nose pliers and a no. 10 (IIRC) wrench. I was able to drop the lever a couple of mm but could not do it further because I was unable to work the pin as the pliers were too thick. Slimmer the pliers; the better. Should be a 15 minute job max. Much quicker if you arent a novice at working on your bike like I am. The photos are very descriptive

Hope this helps guys. Cheers!

And if someone wants to lower it even further, you can grind the master cylinder pin a bit and will have to ball nose the end by finishing. A bit of skill required + a circular grinder and some emery paper, but if done correctly, works like charm. I manage to get it right after 2 attempts.

Any folks out here who tried Shell V Power on their motorcycles?

I am on the third tankful and I might just continue with it considering the cost is not too bad at under Rs. 65 additional for a tankful. The engine is running smoother and the exhaust note has changed a bit, towards being muted, which I prefer. I need to observe a little more on engine noise which I felt has also reduced a bit.

In the past, I have tried Shell Super and it made no difference. The V Power experience comes as a surprise.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan (Post 3750391)

Any folks out here who tried Shell V Power on their motorcycles?

I have used a couple of tank fulls of Vp and I could not make out any difference at all. It is still 91. The only fuel which could manage a feel of difference from me was the Speed97. Like someone has let loose the leash.

Also, last time I went for a fill up, the SHELL guys at the Bellandur pump took feedback of the Vp from me. They asked about smoothness and fuel efficiency and noted my comments down.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sojogator (Post 3750397)

Like someone has let loose the leash. They asked about smoothness and fuel efficiency and noted my comments down.

There is no gain on power or efficiency. However; the improved smoothness was noticed on the first tankful itself. Yeah; I got the same mileage question from the Shell chaps at Segehalli. When I said No Improvement, they looked a little perplexed on why I was filling the same fuel again. No point explaining to them on a point that does not revolve around economy benefits.

I wouldn't expect to see any gains in power by using Shell V-Power petrol. After all, modern gasoline/petrol in any given octane rating is pretty much the same in the amount of energy it contains.

If there is any gains to be made by using V-Power, it would be the fact that it has additives in it which will keep fuel injectors and carburetor jets clean.

Usually, carburetor jets are not prone to having build-ups of sufficient magnitude on them to cause a loss of performance.

The same cannot be said about the incredibly small atomizing orifices in the typical fuel injection nozzle.
Due to their size and critical nature when it comes to atomizing petrol, a very small amount of buildup can make a noticeable difference in how a engine runs.

Shell V-Power has the cleansers needed to keep the small orifices clean.

That said, there are other products on the market like Techron which does an admirable job of cleaning fuel injectors. It is an added expense though and when one looks at the additional cost of using it on a regular basis, the higher cost of the Shell petrol may be worth it.

As I say, engines using carburetors probably don't need the higher priced fuels but fuel injected engines may see a benefit.

Friends the other day gave my 2013 390 for regular service. In return was given a Duke 200 as a standby for the day.
Now I was surprised by the rear brakes of the 200. They were quite effective. In comparison my 390's rear breaks are like sponge. They are very weak and they are so from day one.
Has anyone felt the same or is it my bike only?

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrohit17 (Post 3751691)

There are two possibilities here :

1. The D200 given to you was a test ride bike, and probably had relatively fewer kilometers on it. Hence, stronger brakes.

2. Your brake pads are dirty or totalled. Your rear brake needs sand paper treatment on the brake pads. Try adjusting the brake lever a bit as well.

When were your brake pads last changed?

Quote:

Now I was surprised by the rear brakes of the 200. They were quite effective. In comparison my 390's rear breaks are like sponge. They are very weak and they are so from day one.
Has anyone felt the same or is it my bike only?

Interesting. I cant remember when i actually used that rear brakes effectively. And i cannot think of an instance where i would have tested it separately.

Secondly that comes with ABS. Did you try actually hitting the brakes and not squeezing it :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by VW2010 (Post 3751734)

True. I totally forgot about it. My bad. May be the ABS system is the culprit. I rode my brothers 200 a while ago and didn't find much difference. But then again, this might be more due to his brakes fading out than the similarity between the brakes itself.