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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-456.html)

The rear rotor is simply rusted above and beyond recovery. Though mild swirling can be grazed off by a combination of hot rotor and brake application. With its current avatar, your risk wearing your brake pads faster along with the rotor. Eventually the repeated heating and cooling will make the rotor accumulate rust even faster and deeper compromising its structural ability. So replacement is the wise choice.


As a thumb rule, flush all the fluids irrespective of their condition. 6 years of negligence is well enough to destabilize any fluids irrespective of their brands or even if formulated out of scorpion venom. In the process, replace the following.

1. Inline fuel filter.
2. Remove your tank, clean your fuel pump, replace the fuel filter felt pad inside the fuel pump
3. Replace your spark plug, for good measure.
4. Replace your engine oil, engine oil filter and necessary O rings.
5. Make sure your coolant system is "thoroughly" flushed to remove any rust accumulation inside the radiator crevices which will make itself visible during the flush process.
6. Replace your fork sliders if pitted beyond recovery. Extremely, extremely mild pitting above the slide area is non-detrimental. Pitting along and in the slide area is going to cause frequent fork oil seal failure. Try polishing them, if it works -- very good. If it doesn't, replace your fork slider for good and make sure fresh fork oil and new fork oil seal is installed.
7. Degrease your drive-chain thoroughly, even if requires a liter or two of paraffin oil to remove any residual rust and/or kinked links. A fresh dab of chain lube would make sure your chain goes a long way and is at its peak.
8. Last but not the least, a good battery means healthy electricals. Replace your battery.

IMHO, stick to stock, they are bright, they are comparatively flexible, they are extremely good quality and is aesthetically pleasing. Aftermarket are aplenty and are good but not great. Cheaping out an indicator whould be the last thing I would personally do.

Lastly, welcome back doc.

Cheers!
VJ

Thanks for the helpful points Vijay. Especially the fuel pump felt pad etc. How much are the fork sliders and seals for? How much for the rear rotor, and I hear the pads are much more expensive than the ridiculously low price earlier?

I understand what you are saying needs to be done with all fluids to get the bike on the road. But what about getting it started and riding it (sedately) to the service station ... versus tempo-ing it. That was my question.

Thanks for the welcome back. A ride on my buddy's Triumph 400 got the juices flowing again.

Finally, I'd prefer 6 years of rest and hibernation to neglect or negligence. She was in a covered parking. Under a full garage cover. And never exposed to the elements. The original battery was dead before she went to sleep. A completely functional, freshly serviced bike, with a brand new set of Metzelers.

Cheers, Doc

The oil level on my 5 month old Duke 390 is only 600ML. There was neither any warning on the display nor any smoke from the exhaust. The bike has run almost 2.5K kms on low oil. The ASC is saying to ride for 1000km and then check the oil again. Will running on low oil now cause problems after the warranty gets over?
Edit: the old oil has been flushed and replaced with new oil(1.7L)

I'm considering selling my 2017 Duke 390 with ~24k kilometres on it. The yearly maintenance is around 5k and insurance is around 3k. These amounts are starting to pinch as my yearly running is hardly more than 2000 kilometres.

Considering downsizing to a cheaper motorcycle or upsizing to a more exciting one. While I'm very attached to this motorcycle, I fear like most Indians, I'm condemned to a single motorcycle garage.

Is there value in retaining my current motorcycle or should I go "motorcycle-free" for some time while I contemplate another purchase. Looking for advice, motivation or opinions.

Cheers,
pepega

I made the same decision in 2017, when I got into competition cycling full time. I garaged my bike. By then the new 390 with the normal exhaust was already out. And I had ridden it. And I knew what I owned. And that I would not get her back if I were to sell her then, and want the same machine when the juices started flowing again. So I garaged her. And just stopped insuring her. Now I'm getting her back on the road. Will pay for the garaging damage, battery, fluids, service etc. And the fresh insurance. But 6 years I spent ZERO. In that time, her resale has dropped to about a lac. To max 1.5-1.7 lacs for a mint bike. But were I to have sold her then, no way would I jave gotten a 15,000 km bawa doctor owned first lot Duke 390 even with money in hand. So she stayed with me. If you don't need the money, and just dont want to pay for the upkeep, garage her in a covered dry place and keep cleaning her from time to time (I neglected that ... costly mistake).

I'll hardly get more than 1.5 lakhs for it if I look to sell. And buying a new one may cost as much a 4 lakhs. That's the reason why it is still with me instead of being already sold. If I miss it and want it back, the price to pay is much higher. But I wonder if that is a good reason to hold a motorcycle?

Thanks for your message. Good luck with your brand-new old Duke 390! :)

Cheers,
pepega.

Thanks a ton. :)

I think that's as good a reason as any. The bike is worth a lot more than "the market" is willing to pay for it. So why sell cheap, and then re-buy costly. Especially since similar bikes like the 390 are very very few and far in between. Bajaj with its infamous price creep has made the new ones expensive bikes at nearly 4 lacs. And the old ones are still lighter and much more manic. Not a good deal in my eyes at least. And the world seems to be going electric. So I would simply keep the bike and buy a cheap runaround for the present.

Cheers, Doc

Seals would set you back around 600 per fork for the newer ones and 370-ish for the old ones. Fork sliders I'm not sure if they are available as part, I guess they come as set with the fork. This I'd reckon you get help from your nearest KTM showroom or you can find a used one if your mechanic can help you what that either. The front brake pad is close to 2.7k and the rear is negligible at 350 rupees. The front rotor 300 mms cost close to 1790 if my memory serves me right. Rest, you can get the bike cranked up and slowly ride her to your garage or even your mechanic can help you with towing if you find it a task.

Good luck doc. Keep us updated on the recovery.

In fact KTM recommends to top up the oil first, observe for 1000 kms before further proceeding forward with the requisites when unusual oil consumption is observed. Running low or prolonged periods will certainly sooner if not later cause excessive engine wear or even seizure given the wrong circumstances.

Now that your engine oil is topped up, make sure your keep a hawk-eye on the consumption level in the coming 1000 kms. The key point here is to ride as you normally would do, don't baby the bike just because it's topped up. Ride at varying speeds, high speeds, just as you'd normally do and report your observations. Just FYI, current gen bikes are over-optimistic when it comes to oil consumption, sadly.

Do keep your observations jotted.

Purely boils down to personal temperament. If you feel, you can keep up with the upkeep, then you're not losing either, because if you ever change yourself to get a Duke again, remember it's close to 4 lacs on the road. Considering your current upkeep and VFM proposition taken into consideration, you have the best bike on hand, that's one.

Secondly, if you feel your riding style needs to take a sedative backseat, then downsizing is an option for you, if it makes you make full use of the said downgraded motorcycle. Upgrading seems a contradicting statement, considering your current riding is limited to 2k kms per year. Add that into the equation and the yearly upkeep of an "updated" bike, you're sure to regret your decision, sooner or later considering the saddle time to upkeep value proposition.

Would be my take on this. Good luck.

Cheers!
VJ

Hello to all the wonderful people here on TeamBHP!
This is my first post and has been a long time coming.

Quick preface - I used to own a 2012 200NS, my first bike, which I sold in 2015 when I moved abroad. I've returned to India and recently purchased a TVS iQube for my office commute and neighborhood trips. Frankly, it's very nice to drive and I often hit 70 kmph without much effort, so it is kinda fun especially because it is so smooth. But, I want to own a bike again. Something exciting.

Seeking knowledge - I'm considering an used KTM Duke 390, first gen. Preferably 2016 or at least 2015. And I have found one example that looks promising. It's a 2015, with less than 8000 kms on the odo (and literally no other details provided apart from a few pathetic, low res shots of the bike and one of the instrument cluster. I've found that this is the norm and good pictures are an outlier). Now to the seeking knowledge part - seller wants 1.8L for this. Maybe he isn't aware of how depreciation works as he wants the ex-showroom price for a 8 yr old bike. What is a fair price for a 2015 Duke 390, with say less than 10k kms? Assuming it is all stock, definitely needs work done due to low usage but otherwise in perfectly acceptable (for the age) condition.

Buying advice - I recently drove a friend's 2015 Triumph Street Triple and I hadn't felt such joy in a long, long, long time. I experienced the meaning of a few english words like mirth and exhilarating while my eyes teared up from the euphoria. I wanted to buy one the next morning but my wife reminded me that we are back in India (which has become so much more expensive) and that it was way out of budget at this time. My "revised" max budget is 1.5L. I'm aware of additional costs immediately after buying an used motorcycle. Are there any real options other than a D390 first gen for this price? Need it purely for my driving pleasure and the occasional office commute. Planning to buy a new car soon and hence the tight budget for personal entertainment.

Many thanks in advance and I'm glad I finally found the time to post on this forum.

Anirudh

Update post -

Fuel pump looks to be in bad condition and jammed.

Is taking current but not moving.

What to do? Any pointers?

Old 390's have become the RX100s of yore, primarily because of its rawness and abrupt power delivery and overall the fun factor taken in prime. RX100s were sold for 60k back then brand new, today, 30 years later they are being sold for 85k to 1.2 lacs. In some cases neatly restored ones fetching 1.5 lacs, such is the demand and hence the cult following and growing strongly showing no signs of slowing.

Now...

The old (2014-2016) D390s have somewhat garnered a similar niche yet cult following with base prices starting at 1.5 lacs to 1.6 lacs for a well-kempt bike with kms upwards 20k. Keeping that in mind for an 8k run bike the asking price is, per the demand, acceptable, though there's definitely scope for negotiation.

Work your way though, get more clearer pictures of the bike, documents, physically inspect the bike if possible and perhaps that should serve as a starting point.

Good luck.

That fuel pump is beyond recovery and even if de-rusted, it's about time it shall give up. Replace your fuel pump to a brand new unit, it offers peace of mind and fuel at the proper pressure so that there isn't any missing if not now, but eventually later such crappy pump would throw up tantrum and you don't want to remove everything all over again. Don't overthink about this pump, it's destined to scrap. Kindly get a new one.


Cheers!
VJ

Hello VJ, off topic but just information :)

My Father bought me my first RX 100 brand new on Dussehra day in October 1987 for a princely sum of 17,100 on road Bombay. It was a big amount in those days, unfortunately don’t have any pictures.

Cheers

You're absolutely right, that was typo, I intended to type 16k. Guess typing from phone, I need four eyes.:confused: It reminds of our Bajaj Super that we brought home back then even before I was born, for something like 10k I vaguely remember seeing those moth-holed bills, the old thick binded RC books, the manual. Again, I've never taken any pictures of it, but they will remain etched in the memory lane.

A scooter I like to this day, the Bajaj Legend. It was a spaceship to be honest, such a great presence, superb power, and those blue-ish, green-ish lit speedo and that buttery smooth engine. As I type I still revere those days with a smile on my face.

Tried convincing my dad to get the Legend, he wouldn't budge and he was happy with the Super till its scrap-demise. Those were the days, and let me stop here, really don't want to side-track the thread. See, the old 390 has brought back the memoirs of yore, so I guess the asking price is justified. :D

Cheers!
VJ

You're absolutely right about the first gen 390s becoming a cult bike. When I pushed my bike into Sheri's garage, two bawa ji's there oggled at her and asked me very sheepishly whether I wanted to sell her. Lol Obviously I acted suitably aghast and said No No!

The rotor is knackered too. Don't know or understand how I missed it, but the outside pad is completely gone, and the scoring is from metal to metal contact. And its not just scoring but a proper step rim that has formed around the entire circumference in the braking track where the pad is contacting the rotor. Will replace the rotor and pads, and check the pistons and float of the MC as well.

Everything else looks good. Oil while black is 1.5 L+. No loss or sludging. A bit thin. Drained, and replaced with Petronas 15w50. Coolant looks fresh n fine. The tank is drained. And new coolant will be replaced nonetheless. Piston is also free. Spark plug is fine. Brand new replaced just before I garaged her. Air filter similarly was replaced brand new just before garaging. Oil filter and inline fuel filter replaced. Piston is free and no sticky rings. There doesn't seem to be any need to dismantle and remove the throttle body for now for cleaning n flushing. Will see. Brand new Amaron VRLA battery. Tank totally flushed and cleaned. Chain cleaned and lubed (brand new Rolon kit post my North Sikkim ride, just prior to garaging).

Will put in fresh fuel and fire her up today, fingers crossed. The brand new set of Metzelers put on just before garaging have held air well, over 6 years and nowhere close to being flat or even deforming much under the bike weight. Zero cracks on inspection. Will pump them up to my standard 25/29 psi front/rear. The handlebar and front mudguard will be lowered back to stock road spec, with the risers and brackets removed, used for the North Sikkim rally knobby spec.

Cheers, Doc

Got a call late morning to inform me that the throttle body needed to be dismantled and the injectors cleaned because they too were clogged by the bad fuel. Not making the tic tic tell-tale sound. Sheri was suggesting that I fill Shell only or use an additive in the fuel as a matter of course, pre-emptively. Apparently to be repeated for the first few cycles, and then once every 6 months?

The cleaned, scaled, de-rusted and freed up motor re-hauled and freshly soldered fuel pump with new fuel strainer pad and inline fuel filter seems to be throwing good pressure. Fingers crossed. :thumbs up If it does not perform well, either choking beyond a certain rpm, or racing, or flat spots, or jerking, or shutting off, etc. any such symptoms, I will go in for a fresh new pump then. For now he is happy, and as the grand old man of Poona racing and performance superbikes for decades, who I have known for over 30 years (from my college RD days), I trust him pretty much blindly.

Cheers, Doc