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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-333.html)

barcalad mate I was lurking on this thread to look at different tyre options and find out the performance of the tyres you mentioned for the Duke 390 (as one of my cousin owns a Duke 390). Well I was taken aback by the accident you and your riding group happened to face. As a rider I always tell my riding buddies and other general riders to keep a cruising speed of around 80 KMPH on our highways. Even going 100 or 120 KMPH on our Indian highways can prove to be catastrophic. Like the law of physics if one is at a greater speed the damages to oneself and the vehicle will be proportional. I am glad that you and your other friend escaped with minor injuries.

I remember one incident while we were on NH4 going towards Pune on our motorcycles. The road was all empty with no soul on the horizon. I was in the lead and thought of gunning my throttle when I was already doing about 90 KMPH. Suddenly I spotted a pothole which was deep like a bore well on the flat road. The fact that I couldn't spot it was because the road was very flat and due to optical illusion one couldn't spot that pothole from a distance. It was only when I was about 10-15 feet away from that pothole that I realized and I swerved just in time to avoid it. Immediately I signalled with my right hand to other riders to go on the extreme right to avoid that killer pothole. There was a Duke 390 in our group and I was sure had he hit that pothole his rim would've bent. Whenever I ride in a group I am doubly more alert and attentive of the road ahead and behind. Before every group ride we do a practice visual and audio signalling session(military style) wherein we educate each other of common signs and signals made with hands, horn, dipper, and turn indicators. We always make sure we follow these signals while going in a convoy wherein each rider maintains a minimal distance of about 30-50 feet to increase the braking distance and swerving in case of any life threatening undulations on the road.

barcalad mate I sincerely hope that you recover soon and take this as an experience. Mehuel thanks for sharing your experience about this accident mate. It will be a learning for all of us. I have a set of two riding gears one for summer (mesh riding jacket and knee guards) and one for winter(semi leather riding jacket and riding pants). Although knee guards are adequate for city riding, I am thinking of buying mesh riding pants very soon. Remember ATGATT Always!:thumbs up

Very sad to read about this unfortunate incident. Wishing all a speedy recovery. The danger arising out of those unmarked speed breakers can never be overstated and I myself have had to negotiate them nervously several times.

Even though I reckon it might not be applicable in this case, but I generally keep an eye on the oncoming traffic at distance when navigating through single-carriageway country-side roads. When the oncoming bike, car goes over a speed breaker, the bump is spotted easily which otherwise may be missed due to poor design, tree shadows, poor road conditions etc.

And to fellow RC owners I'll beg to you to be extra cautious as I found RC to be far more unsettled as compared to say Duke while going over such bumps.

Thanks, VJ. Although it'll be long before I even think of uncovering my bike again, I hope that whenever I do so, this incident doesn't create a lacuna in my confidence.

If I remember correctly, I had decelerated for the speed breaker and had crossed it almost 60% at 2nd gear when I got the hit. I think that might be the reason (coupled with my weight) that I was dragged along the shortest, but the baddest as the area after 10 metres after the speed breaker was strewn with gravel, stones and concrete residue.

Thanks, mehuel. The way you guys responded to the scene and made the decisions are commendable. It would've been a more terrible day if the riders were 3 instead of 6.

Remind me not to wear a custom made jacket next time. :D

I've already informed many TBhpians here that if they come across a riding jacket in 3XL size and upwards, they should immediately inform me. Same goes for the riding pants. Would request you for the same. :)

One great lesson I learnt from this is - not to trust state highways - particularly in rural areas where the nearest doctor is 15 kms away and has no clue as to how to treat a wound.

I agree with the RC being unsettled thing. The entire stance makes it extremely difficult to control well after landing on the ground. But yeah, my faith in ABS got reaffirmed as well today. It can be a life saver for some, life ender for some (provided one thinks "ABS" is just a fancy word).

Very sad and disturbed to hear about the crash buddy. bikes can come and go, lets take a moment to thank god that its all over with some bruises and few stitches and all the 3 riders are safe. Your post reminded me of a recent viral video floating on whatsapp, of a crash of 3-4 bikes at night, with sparks flying all over. Scary as hell. Think of it as a dream, get well asap and i am sure you will be back on the road as a better rider.
Wonder when will the authorities wakeup with regards to making scientific speed breakers in India. Reminds me of a personal incident. It must have been around 2003. Time 2:30 am. I was returning from a friends place on my HH splendor. GF (now wifey) was sitting pillion. There was not a soul to be seen on the road. Road was poorly lit. I must be doing around 75kmpl and could not spot a mountain of a speed breaker at BTM layout. There was no time for warning. Bike was airborn and so was wifely. Thanking god, we all landed on the bike and some how avoided biting the dust. Wife was so shaken, she literally started crying there. Was stopped for a few mins to gain composure and move home.

I think this would be an appropriate moment to reflect on safe riding practises.

Although in the Superbikes & Imports sub-forum, please do take out time & read the Big Bikes Safety thread started by forumer Hammer & Anvil: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/superb...es-safety.html

Some valuable road safety tips there.

As for gear, please don't scrimp on buying good quality riding gear. For those who don't have access to a good local store, in my experience, the best online portals to buy good quality stuff at reasonable prices are fc-moto.de and motoin.de.

I have bought helmets, jackets, gloves, knee guards and several other accessories from them over the years, mostly during their sales. worked out much cheaper than what is available locally even with the shipping costs & duties.

Happy to help :) mate as far as I know here are some options you will come across in 3XL and upwards size from domestic as well as international brands.

Riding Jackets Domestic Brands:
DSG Fusion Leather Jacket
Cramster Breezer 4S Mesh Jacket

Riding Jackets International Brands:
Alpinestars Fending Air Jacket (International)
Alpinestars Alux Waterproof Jacket (available in 4XL as well)
RJays Octane II Jacket (available in 4XL as well as in 5XL)
RJays All Seasons II Jacket (available in 4XL as well)

Riding Pants Domestic Brands:
Cramster Velocity available in 3XL
DSG Nero (although now stopped but you can find one if dealers still have left over stock)

Riding Pants International Brands:
RJays All Seasons II Pants available in 3 to 6XL.

Note that you can buy DSG and Alpinestars gears from PlanetDSG store, Rjays can be bought from Bacchoo motors and Cramster from any motorcycle accessories store. In addition these gears can also be bought online. If you want more options then there are many international ecommerce sites catering to motorcycle riding gears. Hope this helps. :thumbs up

Good point. Its probably linked to the different rake of the two bikes. Also, I've been riding with RCs recently, and observe them sometimes scraping their bottom fairings when leaning hard in the twisties or taking switchbacks (eg. lavasa).

Had a nervous moment today.A girl was riding her activa one bike length ahead of me at around 70 kmph and a lady was crossing the road.The lady was standing in the middle of the road, 20 feet ahead of the girl.i dont know what got into this girl, she slammed her brakes all of a sudden and came to a halt while the lady didnt even attempt to cross .I panicked, grabbed my brakes but thank lord the abs saved me big time.This incident totally shocked me, pulled over my bike, stopped for a few minutes and moved on, had i not braked in time, i would have rear ended this girl.Im still not able to convince myself about the incident.All time all gear is really important even if it's city rides.Ride safe guys.

@ barcalad Get yourself a good knee guard,most bikers have damaged their knees one time or the other.

Friend spotted this at CCD, Bangalore-Mangalore highway.

Interesting handguard!

This is the said hand-guard. Exclusive, handy and quite a looker. :)

Do note the extra pair of LED lamps above the number plate. Must be an avid tourer, this gentleman.

Edit : With my current hand-guards needing replacement due to my accident, I would be grateful to anyone who can suggest me a shop or portal (India only) that can sell me well built and a different variety (colours?) of hand-guards for the Austrian. Cheers.

Hey Ayush (barcalad), sorry to hear about your condition. Hope you recover soon and start giving us back those short Sunday morning ride updates :)

Off Topic: Anyone here with contacts with a birdie knows if slipper clutch is coming from 2016 RC 390s? Logic tells me that it'd start coming for sure since they already have it ready in Duke 390 and they'd follow the same timeline as they did in Duke(launch in September, bring the slipper clutch 1.25 years down the line). But some reliable info would be appreciated as I am sick and tired of waiting and my body is rusting due to me being away from long rides on a motorcycle. I don't want to wait anymore than 2016 Jan as I have started hating myself for wasting the precious days of my early/mid 20s :Frustrati TIA!

Thanks, bud. :)

Well, I reckon if the 2016 RC has the slipper clutch, it should send the rumour mills spinning by November end. All you can do is wait for them to reach this forum. :D

I had mentioned a few pages back that my 390 felt a lill different after the last service. The bike had become very vibey, rough, and sounded different too with some additional sounds at different RPMs, whick were not there earlier. Specially when releasing the throttle at about 4-5k rpm, when engine breaking kicks in.
I readjusted, cleaned and lubed the chain. Checked for and tightened all accessible fasteners. Once side panel screw was missing, fixed it. one screw holding the chain cover + slider to swing arm was broken. Had tough time removing the broken part of the bolt, managed it somehow and replaced with a new bolt. removed the front sprocket cover, cleaned all the muck from there and also from around the slider area. Cleaned, lubed and adjusted the chain. after doing all this, the feel is improved but still not as how it was before the service.
I suspect there is some kind of unwanted noise coming from the engine area, which is also adding vibes. Wanted to ask if there is a primary chain in 390, and is there a possibility where it can get loose? Something similar to bullets? Does it come with auto chain tensioner?
An unsorted bike keeps playing on my mind. Service center is not acknowledging any issues, but i know there is something. Any pointers to where should i start digging would be appreciated.

Hey Redliner, I've been watching you waiting (and wasting good early/mid 20s riding years) for about 2+ years now. Initially I thought you were temporarily posted abroad and coming back to India soon, hence the delay. Now your location shows Bangalore so am assuming you're back in India.

Initially you were waiting for the 390 and did not want to go for the 200.

Then when the 390 came, you wanted an "adventure" version of the 390.

Now that there is no adventure version of the 390, and a faired track version instead (the diametric opposite of an adventure), and the Duke gets a slipper clutch, you want the faired version to get one too.

I am thus a bit confused as to what you really want from the bike you've been waiting so long for, not riding in the interim.

Could you tell me how the slipper clutch is going to be helping over what the RC (or the old Dukes - the one which I have currently and had in the past) comes with?

I'd really appreciate your inputs cause I too am in sort of a twilight zone two minds thing about whether to have it fit to my bike or not.

Please don't take this post the wrong way. I hope you get what you want and start riding soon, instead of perennially looking over the horizon for what is not there right now. :thumbs up

Cheers, Doc

Hi Doc, first of all, I totally understand what you mean. I have been reading your posts since quite a long time and I like the contributions they make in helping out newbies like me with your years of riding experience. So, no. I don't take your posts in the wrong way at all :)

BTW, you seem to have got me confused for someone else. May be with another BHPian 'Red Liner' ;) I have always waited for RC 390 (better read as supersport) and RC 390 alone. Me and adventure bikes are poles apart. Buying a 250cc+ sub 5 lakh rupee supersport bike as my next upgrade has been my idea since the time I was in college. I was waiting for RC 390 ever since KTM talked about a sportbike coming soon. Knowing KTM and their style of developing a bike focused on one single thing (and not jack of all), I knew it was going to be a pure sport bike and not a sport tourer and that was the exact thing they made. I had high hopes on Yamaha before R25 spyshots started coming out. Now there is no confusion for me as RC390 is the only supersport bike that matches my requirement (barring Hyosung GT 250R maybe).

Anyway, I didn't have the money to buy the RC soon after the launch as I didn't want to take any loan. Even if I had, I would have waited just so that the initial niggles would get sorted out soon. Just when I saved up enough money, the Dukes started getting slipper clutch and there were rumours that the RC would get soon too. I waited for a few months. It was July or so already. Then the news of BMW 300 came and here I am, waiting to see the BMW 300 and RC 390 with slipper. I know I have waited too long, Jan 2016 would be the last of my waiting. After that, I would just go and book it no matter what, as I have already started repenting that I should have bought one back in Feb-Mar 2015.

Coming to the purpose of slipper clutch, I plan to take the bike to the tracks a few times a year. Also, the hard clutch is a pain in metro cities due to the traffic. The leaned forward position of the RC makes it worse from what I experienced. In case of Duke, I wouldn't bother unless one rides in stop and go traffic for a long time everyday since the wrists will be much more relaxed than in RC. Even though the bike will be used mostly as a weekend ride, I felt slipper would be great for corners and that factor of letting go of track specific equipment on a track focused bike felt like a bad idea.

If I were you, I wouldn't bother with the retrofit, since from what I have observed, you use your bike only for weekend rides. Also, why would you want to mess with the factory setup for a thing that doesn't seem to matter much for your usage?

Again, that last statement of yours is making me kick myself. I hope to bring it home soon.