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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-387.html)

Just did what gharika suggested. Ktm engineers have taken the bike . Suspect fuel pump is gone.

Will keep you guys posted on developments

I'm having a similar problem with my bike. Just wanted to know what's the procedure involved in asking KTM engineers to come have a look and how did they take your bike. I'm willing to pay any charges incurring for their visit, as I've been asked to get it to the service center on my own. I even offered pick & drop, but they refused to come over to my place to check.

Background:
Mine is a 2016 KTM Duke 390, covered 6,300kms as yet.
Last week i got my bike serviced (2nd free service). There were no issues except for low coolant level and some noises from the rear numberplate area.
Both these issues were solved, i was satisfied with the work.
But yesterday again when i checked the coolant level, it had gone down to minimum.
What might be the reason for this, will be going to the service centre tomorrow again.
The bike was serviced at 5680kms.

Charm, I guess, is the answer! My bike is still with them so I do not know how much it costs.

Couple of options that surfaced :
- get their Orange ready (or something like that) roadside assistance if you are not in a hurry. Takes 2-3 days to become effective but after that they will pick it up. About 850. It has to be done at the dealership & is based on chassis #
- get Gear6 app & get it towed independently.
- call 3rd party guys. My bitter experience with one is documented elsewhere on t-bhp. YMMV.

Of the lot, the first is better IMO if you have other transportation & time

Thanks. One of the service engineer did agree to visit and have a look, but he's always busy and by the time he finds time, the day is well over.

I asked for Orange Assist last week, but the showroom guys said the vendor's application/website is down for more than a couple of weeks and are unable to provide any new registrations.

I'll give it a shot again tomorrow and see if either one of the option works out!

Keep me posted on what they end up doing to resolve this. I have been facing this issue for a few years now.

Update:

It was the fuel pump - it had died. They replaced the fuel pump & filter (4800) and the bike runs fine now. Apparently the fuel was very bad - smelled foul even. Very strange, considering that I have exclusively filled Shell V-Power in the Duke. The SA, Rahul of KTM Indiranagar, said that if you let the fuel stand, it deteriorates over time and that is what has caused the issues.

I am very surprised the ECU never complained either about the fuel quality or the quantity delivered by the pump.

The other thing that Rahul told be surprised me - he said it is better to drain the tank when leaving the bike standing for long periods. I used to specifically fill the tank & leave it.

I have to hand it to KTM - excellent customer service all the way thru.

When I called them & told them that I was riding on Sunday, they ensured that somebody came in the evening, at 5 pm, on Thursday (because there was a bandh on Friday). He came ready to fix it but since it was an issue, towed (Indian style - 2 ppl, one pushing the bike with his foot!) & ensured it got fixed by 2 pm today.

Rahul, in Indiranagar, went out of the way to get it ready & also ensured that fluids, battery etc were upto scratch because I was riding tomorrow. He also took the time to reassure me that he will take care.

To cap it all, they charged nothing for the towing.

Kudos guys. Excellent customer service. Keep it up.

This is one of the best cock & bull story (sorry I cant think of a better expression) I've heard in the recent times. I leave my bike (not from KTM Stables) standing with tank reasonably filled for months on end and have never faced such a problem.

The pump failed for whatever is the reason period. Is the bike still under warranty ? If so I can see the Service Engineer trying to shift the blame to fuel.

These are just my thoughts may be the gurus have another opinion

Best Regards & Ride Safe

Ram

My bike is a 2016 one and the coolant loss started at around 6000 kms. Water pump seals were replaced under warranty as one of the seals had given up, but even after that, the coolant dropped to minimum in 800 kms. I have topped it up and the level is dropping albeit slowly after the seal replacement. Do let us know if anything is done on the bike. Just to add to the information, bike has done 14k kms.

Today evening with my nephew's help, we decided to first try and bump start the bike. If it doesn't start, then push all the way to the service center which is about 5 KM from my place! The road leading to the same is full of uphills and downhills.

On the first downward slope, we both managed to hop on to the bike and reach 20 km/hr speed. Tried to fire the bike on 3rd gear. But she just refused to light up.

We got down, started pushing and then a young autorikshaw driver seeing us stopped by and offered help by pushing the bike with his foot for the next 1 KM for free! My nephew was excited and he sat on the bike and I got into the rickshaw. By the end of this ride I offered the rickshaw guy 100 bucks if he helped us all the way to the service center and he readily agreed :)

So now the bike is at the service center. First thing I did was to closely hear the pump priming sound (when ignition is turned on) on another bike parked there. Checked the same on my bike and I could definitely feel it wasn't the same continuous sound and also very faint. It could be the problem.

Visited the service centre today. The service advisor was clueless about the coolant leak issue, he just topped it up saying that it wasnt topped up during service. Also told me to come back if the issue persists.

Will visit another service centre as time permits.

I've been dealing with a similar response. Since my leak isn't externally visible, the service centre claims to have checked all possible leak locations and hasn't been able to identify where it is. So they just keep topping it up and returning it to me.

Got my bike back today. Replaced fuel pump as it was rusted. Fuel remaining in the tank was fouled and smelled bad is what the service engineer mentioned. They had to discard it and fresh fuel was added.

She runs fine now. Lesson learnt is to ride frequently even if its for shorter distances and not let her sit idle in the garage for months together!

In the United States and much of Europe, we use a product called "STA-BIL" in the fuel tank when long periods of storage looks possible.

This product keeps gasoline (and alcohol if present) from breaking down.
It also minimizes the amount of moisture that can be absorbed by the fuel so corrosion such as your fuel pump shows is greatly reduced.

My searching indicates STA-BIL is difficult to get in India but I came across a similar product that is (or was) available there.

A product called "REVIOL" is shown and it appearently gives the same protection that STA-BIL gives.

http://www.indiamart.com/proddetail/...185965048.html

I realize the temperatures in much of India are not as low as those in many parts of the US and some say the use of one of these stabilizers is not needed but, from what I see, there are many among you who only ride occasionally, allowing the fuel in the tank to deteriorate. Products like these stabilizers prevent that.

I have used STA-BIL for many years and it does what it say's it will without causing any problems.
I have no idea at all if REVIOL can say the same.

Perhaps someone who has used REVIOL in their vehicle can join the discussion and tell us about their experience, be it good or bad? That would be a big help to all of the people who may consider buying it. :)

(If any of you buy either of these products, be aware that they are made for use in automobiles. The quantity of the stabilizer must be based on the number of liters the fuel tank can hold so, just because there is a built in measuring chamber doesn't mean it is sized for your tank. Ratio out the amount based on the amount of fuel you are adding it to.
This is not a "more is better" product and using too much of it per liter could have bad consequences. )

Almost exactly the same words were used when describing the cause in my case too. Must be a fairly common occurrence!

My pump looked brown, covered in sludge - like the floor after a flood. But yours looks rusted but clean in other places. Don't know which is worse.

What is the white gunk on the pole? I saw some similar looking powdery white stuff near the filler neck and ignored it. That might be usable as early warning.

I have always thought that it is at boundaries that rusting begins (vague recollections of galvanic action from high school chemistry) and hence thought if I filled up, I should be fine. From Arizona Jim's post & their explanation it looks like it is a chemical reaction. With fuel being necessary for the pump as a lubricant, the best course is to ride weekly at least around the block. Don't know how keeping less fuel helps if it is a chemical reaction.

Any one knows about Jim's Reviol?