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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-345.html)

Haven't tried cranking without engaging the clutch in gear. Shall do it when I see the bike the next time.

I did precisely that after it stalled. Kill switch off. Ignition turned. Key out. Key in. Nothing changed.

Whoever I've spoken to, the consensus remains that either the side stand sensor has gone kaput or the clutch cable/joint has worn out. Regardless, hope it's nothing major.

Last evening, when parking the bike, i noticed something unusual with the side stand. On further investigation, found the side stand was loose from the plate where its attached to the bike. (not the pivot pint where the stand rotates). Got it tightened, and thats slightly improved on the excess vibes at the pegs. Guys, d keep an eye on this joint, as with usual riding and vibes, it may come loose and could be difficult to notice.

This is happening too frequently for me. It was loose initially which I got tightened during service. When it got loose again, I tightened using the spanner in tool-kit. To my surprise, it was loose again after my first ride after fixing it. Though tightening it takes no more than 30 sec, I wonder why it is getting loose so frequently.

Thread's most probably gone due to over tightening. See if that's the case. Put a thread lock solution on the thread. That should take care of the issue.

Do not use the thread lock in such cumbersome areas. Just in case you need to remove it sometime later for any maintenance, it becomes difficult and you will probably end up damaging the screw head. Instead use nylon lock nuts. These do not get loosen up with vibrations, have a good amount of bite and are easy to remove and replace in case if you have to.

@nasirkaka: If the nuts used are tightened with a 10mm spanner (M6 thread), let me know. I have a few of these with me which I can spare.

Not necessarily the case always. Thread lock solutions are available with different grades of capabilities. Here's a quick guide.

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Tech-Tu...sics-2011.html

Thanks for the nylon lock nut tip though. I'll have to look that up. Are these available easily in India?

Very easily, anilp. You can get it from any good hardware store that stocks the metric size screws.

As for the thread locker, it is in my day to day work and I have put forth my experience. We use a low, medium and a strong mediums from Loctite and we always find that whatever the compound may be, if it is in a slight hard to reach area, it becomes a wee bit more difficult.

What are the options to improve the breaking in Duke 390?

I had a small scary moment yesterday. traffic (including me on 390) slowed down for a speed breaker, post which everyone was accelerating including me. There was a white mid sized car ahead of me, which suddenly slammed the brakes and locked tyres. (reason: another car ahead of him doing some antics). I slammed both brakes, and in that split second, was almost certain that i was going to rear end the car. For some reason, the car ahead did not come to a full halt, moved/slided ahead a bit which prevented a contact. It was a heart in the mouth moment. This is the second time on 390 where i felt the breaking was inadequate. Front is 3/4 month old metzeler, and rear is 5-6 month old michelin, so dont think there is any issue with Tyres. Road was decent without any sand, etc. Bike was serviced a few months back where brake pads where checked and found to be ok. I Braked as hard as i could have possibly managed in that short time.

I have always found the braking on 390 good (esp after the C5), but would like to know if there are ways to further boost it, for once in a while scary moments like this.

Unless you were doing 80 plus during the acceleration the bike brakes are very much enough to stop considering the scenario posted. From stand still in a traffic to standard acceleration say hitting around 40 if this scenario happened I would worry about bad brakes.

Alternatively think about the need to accelerate that fast for worrying about braking.

Even with combined ABS and what not big discs and better braking system if you are caught at a surprised move you better be vigilant to expect that sudden movement.

To me the bike did exactly what it should to minimize the impact.

And regarding technique try not using the clutch which can help with additional engine braking.

Usually i TRY maintain more then adequate distance from the vehicle in front. (learnt the hard way from the bullet days). I know i should have been more careful with maintaining the distance this time as well. Guess it was one of those momentary lapse of reason. Just that, after the speed breaker, roads were nice and everyone was accelerating. So was i and presume i would be around 60 +kmph where i had to suddenly brake. Whats bothering me is that with duke, i am usually confident of braking (even under moderately panic breaking), but this time, i felt like the bike was not braking as it should have, and the sure shot feeling of an impact.

Just try it out in a safe road with all your equipment on to confirm if there is something wrong even with ABS.Also it could be the road surface. Variables you need to eliminate.

60 to stop should be fairly quick if not super fast compared to a 10+ lakh super bike :)

Just try it out safely to eliminate that niggling thought of bad brake. Its not worth that mind riding the bike out.

Mate, i have shared an exact similar experience few posts back. In my case i ended up rear ending the car and damaging the bike. Fairly similar conditions. Very good road, doing like 50. This is not the first time. Few months back i have almost rear ended a car doing 20+. The issue like i mentioned many times before is the lack of bite for the first few Centimetres of lever travel in my case. I'm changing to better brake pads when i can afford it.

Question to both u and Nasir bhai. Have we tried simulating a panic stop in a safe locale? If yes, what were the results? If braking was inadequate, what exactly you felt was missing? Bite, feedback? Were you able to engage te abs, signifying that you exploited the bike's braking abilities to the fullest?

My Exact feeling was: SH**! The bike is not stopping and i am going to crash into the car ahead!
I was wearing gloves, and pressed the lever as much as i could in that quick turn of events. The front ABS did not engage, the rear i think did (cant be sure). After that, even i tried panic stopping in isolated area and felt that the breaking was comparatively better, guess because my body and mind was already prepared in advance for braking. But In a real-life situation, events happen so fast w.r.t reaction time. In retrospect, MAYBE! i think i did not fully exploit the bikes braking potential. Not used to it much as 390 in general has good braking and stops as expected 99% of times.

Brakes are lacking in daily commuting also. I'll check pads for any glazing and disks for uneven wear. The loud metallic noise is there even under mild braking. Will also get the bleeding done.