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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-425.html)

Hi,

Have you thought of cleaning up the underbelly exhaust system with Indimotard Greasehouse Grunt Exhaust system? They're on sale right now at Rs.8,184/-

--surjaonwheelz

It’s just a slip on, right? What good would that do?

Not really interested in spending big bucks on cosmetics and sho sha. Function only

For now, quite pleased with what I have. It complements my Impulse nicely. At a later date I will dedinitely dabble with a full suspension swap. Maybe a Himalayan front with a custom paoli shock at the rear. My mech has a few in stock. Doing duty on a few Impulses as well as dukes used in rallies. Have seen good results. Let’s see. Next year maybe

Friends I have two problems.
1. I have to change both the tyres for my 390.

My riding is mainly in the city and very minimal. What tyres should I use ? Should I stick to the original Metzeler ? What is the next best option ? What is the best price and place to get both in Bangalore?

Answering this question may be boring but do help me since I do not know whether any new options are available now.

2. I normally roll my bike from my gate for about 200 ft before pressing the ignition. This is an old practice of mine and supposed to be good for engine & battery.

However about 3-4 months back I found that the bike was starting only after cranking for about 30secs to 1minute. It did not happen suddenly. Over a period of time the cranking time went on increasing. A couple of time Low Bat message flashed by.

On checking with battery dealer I was told the battery was weak and changed it. Immediately after that it improved but not as good as original. Over the last three months again the same old problem.

It always starts in the end without fail but it requires continuous cranking for about 30sec-1min. Is it indicative of anything ? Anything needs to be done ?

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

Here's my suggestion:

Pirelli C.T. Front: This is bias tire and designed for city use with 300-400 class motorcycles. This is not a fast tire but can handle 130-140km/h. ~Rs.2600

You can also go for the same at the rear but I'd prefer a radial for some comfort. So I'd choose the Ceat Zoom Rad X1. This is H rated and can handle occasional high speeds without an issue. ~Rs.4000

This set will cost much less than the stock tires regardless of whether you go for W or H rated.

1. I have been using Michelin Pilot Street for around 12k km now. IMO the tyre are as good as Metz at less than half the price. Also the profile is more steep making turns even quicker. I forget the exact price but I think it was around ₹ 11-12k for the pair.

2. Are you still getting low battery light? That may mean alternator issue. Else there can be many things which cause the issue. I would suggest to take the bike to KTM SVC for general checkup.

Also Bike rolling really does nothing. :)

There's been a new kid on the block in-terms of tires namely the Apollo Alpha-H1, which as per the manufacturer is specifically designed for likes of Duke 390 or so. I've been seeing & reading some positive reviews on the same. Here's an editorial by Overdrive : http://overdrive.in/news-cars-auto/f...orcycle-tyres/. Hope that helps.

Urban_Nomad, nice work. How has the handling been with all these mods, especially during cornering?

I like it, a lot! The Bike feels very stable while cornering. The lean in is gradual and I feel more confident tipping it into a corner

Taking her to the trails tomorrow for the first time. Super excited! Let’s see if the mods work as intended in the real world :)

Without quoting anyone, I would like to debunk the Widow-maker , Vehicle of Death (Tag) which no fast machine deserves. its totally like calling a nice sharp honed Chef's knife dangerous.

Off-course you can chop a finger off if not careful with a Butchers knife, however does that make the knife a bad tool. Like Chef a motorcyclist too must learn to master the Machine.

In the hands of the right person the same tool / machine becomes a thing of beauty.
The only thing going against (or for) the bike is how this single brand has brought performance to the masses (Affordability).

Can't fault the brand for that.....

Starting with your query on the tires, you can either stick to Metz if you're okay with the performance or you can stick to alternatives such as Michelin Pilot Streets or the Apollo Alpha H1s though they are expensive and almost fall in the range of the Metz.

I'm not sure which tire you have on your bike currently, but the original Made in Germany ones are no longer being imported. Actually, all the newer newer Dukes are shod with the H rating as opposed to the W rating. If anyone is lucky, they can get an old stock of the same in the SVCs.

Now, the reason H rating is comparatively lesser in price is not only because of the speed rating, but the tire construction itself should also come into play (me ain't no tire Expert BTW ) But, for a bike that does 170 kmph max a H rated tire is a perfectly fit, both cost wise and reliability wise. W rated rubbers the Made in Germany are extremely soft compound and on average last less compared to MRFs and Michelins. With the H rated tire, you can definitely squeeze out more practical life and is a compromise between the price and quality. And not to forget, these Metz that come in the newer bikes are Made in China.

The last option we have with decent life and decent grip and price range are the Michelin Pilot Street radial both of which are H rated.

If you get any Metz online with W rated, they are 100% years old stock, but they're a good deal.

Coming to your second query, actually the rolling off habit isn't a bad idea, but there is nothing to be gained from it. Rolling starts would mean, the engine won't get a chance to get warmed up, you start and you go off your way. It's always good to warm up the engine for 60 seconds every morning, I recommend.

Since you've replaced your battery and still the bike is struggling to crank can mean two things, either your RR or stator coil is burnt and not charging the battery enough. These bikes require battery power to power the injector, the self starter and almost everything, so the battery has to be good to provide juice to all these parameters.

If your bike cranking slowly and taking too long to crank every time, it's time to check the charging voltage at your battery terminals, should read 13.5 to 15 with the engine spinning at 5k RPM. If the voltage jumps higher than this or lesser than the intended volt reading, it's time to replace your stator.

Your stator is what charges your battery with the help of RR, if your stator is bad, even your new battery won't charge, and the same thing will repeat after some day. I'd suggest you get your charging voltage, your stator and your battery voltage inspected once again.

Keep your observations posted

Cheers!
VJ

One more point to be noted is starting the engine and idling ensures the lubrication to the OHV is ensured before the bike rolls out. This is similar to the lubrication of the turbocharger in PC. 1 minute idle before starting to roll and 1 minute idling before stopping.

Thank you unk9ja. Not only the OHV or the valvetrain, helps oil lubricate before gunning the motor, also helps oil reach its operating temperature so that the oil itself is viscous enough to flow easily to the required places faster, case in point, way up, like the valve train.

Secondly, you're right about TC, the reason they say to idle is, turning off immediately would cut the oil flow to the TC, thus with the rate at which the TC spins it would over time reduce the life of the bearings, hence the reason to idle.

Cheers!
VJ

The Versys has a warm up sequence which lasts a minute every time you start the engine for the first time in the day. The meter revs to about 1900 rpm and then settles down to 1100.

Switching off though, i do it immediately. No waiting.

The longer you idle your bike without air flow, the worse for your stator coil. Your stator is cooled by air, and the bike needs to be moving quickly for it to cool when in operation.

As advised by the japs.

I changed my 390 tyres yesterday and they have cost me about 11K. Stock tyres were Metzelers but I switched to Michelin now.
As Vijayanand said there is a difference in the rubber of Metzelers available today. It looks more shiny and feels more hard. They were made in Indonesia.
Though I am no tyre expert some how I did not feel them right. The Michelin looked okay and the rubber is similar to what the Metzelers looked like when they came with the bike.
The guy who was selling tried to dissuade me from buying Michelin saying they won't last long. He advised me to go for Metzelers which are cheaper by the way at 10K.
Not very knowledgeable on these matters but with a gut feeling I chose Michelin and will have to see how it goes. Since my running is very limited and no touring it should be OK i guess.
Thanks Vijayananad for alerting me about the make etc.

Regarding the starting issue I need to check with SVC. Will do in the next couple of weeks. Thanks for your tip in advance.

I am planning to upgrade to a KTM Duke 390 and I have been following this thread for a long time now.
I currently ride a Royal Enfield Classic 350 and while it has been reliable so far, it's just not my type of bike.

I had taken a decently long test ride of the Duke390 and came away impressed with the power and handling, the perfect machine to hone my skills before upgrading to any of my dream bikes.:D

This was until Royal Enfield launched the 650 twins and after taking a test ride of that, I am utterly confused in a
B-I-G way. I never wanted to buy a Royal Enfield again, but then the twins don't feel like Royal Enfields at all.

I am still being drawn to the light weight nature and the amount of features the new duke offers (LED's, TFT display et cetera) as it offers a change to my current 'retro' bike but I just can't get over that wonderful sounding, super smooth parallel twin engine of the 650 twins.

It would be a huge help if the biking experts and the BHPians who have ridden both the bikes can comment on which they would choose and why.please:

P.S. My Team-BHP membership got approved just last week and I am incredibly happy and proud to be a part of this wonderful brotherhood.