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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-87.html)

I had a big argument with the service technician earlier today during my first service. I insisted him to set the air pressure for my D390 to 25 (F) and 29 (R) as 28.5 is not possible at the digital air filling points at the bunks. He insisted that the pressure is set at 30 (F) and 32 (R) as per the guidelines prescribed to him. I just retreated and let it and decided to change it later on.

next I am planning to fill in only Nitrogen instead of normal air. Does this make any difference to the performance / life of the tyres / handling etc??

then what is the duration of checking the air. I believe if it is nitrogen one can check the air once every 1000 Km, and with normal air I guess every time I fill the tank ??

@ashkamath - from a chemical/ molecular perspective, there is no difference in terms of leakage rates. If it were true that Nitrogen leaks slower from tyres, you should just fill regular air. If nitrogen does not leak from tyres, then over time only Nitrogen will be in the tyre (70+% of air is nitrogen) as the smaller molecules will leak away. No need to waste money!

So, the leakage rates have no basis in science.

The reason why race folks fill Nitrogen has to do with how fast Nitrogen heats up. It keeps the tyre at optimal temperature longer. Therefore, except under track conditions, Nitrogen filling is a good way of encouraging leaking in your pocket. Unless of course, you are getting free Nitrogen with fill ups.

Then, like Niels Bohr said of a horse shoe, "It works whether you believe in it or not"!

There is nothing wrong in what is happening. There is no way to save a pre-set combo for start-up. Everytime you shut off the bike, it will revert to factory default combo on start-up. Then you have to manually shift it to the display setting you want. And then ride (best to do it while stationary and before you start rolling).

Aaah ! good to know and I desisted from filling air in my duke from day 1 and was searching for a Nitrogen filling station. So normal air it is, from now on. Thanks ..

I strongly agree to your point, I still wonder why so many team-bhpians fall prey to this Nitrogen filling when they are armed with the knowledge existing on Team-Bhp.

Nearly 80% of air is Nitrogen. Nitrogen dispensing machines have themselves an accuracy of +/- 5% to say the least. So does 15% more Nitrogen in tyres creates such drastic difference?

I liked your logic that if Nitrogen doesnot leak much then it should stay in the tyre and only other constituents of air should leak out. So after some days of driving we would have pure Nitrogen in our tyres and infact we should start selling this pure Nitrogen from our tyres. A good business proposal indeed :D!

I believe in:
Keep your machine stock.
Don't believe too much in media hype especially synthetic oils.
Don't fix it if it ain't broke.
Enjoy the ride!

Guys,

After so many calculations and rethinking, cancelled my CBR booking and booked the 390 from KTM Marathalli, Bangalore. The showroom experience was very good and the sales manager (Farhan) was very much knowledgeable and helpful, I felt a world of difference especially after dealing with the Honda showroom which now feels like a Govt. Office. Took a test ride also. Especially coming from a TBTS, it felt particularly scary for me in the initial pull on 2nd and 3rd gear @ WOT, nevertheless what a machine!! I am happy with my choice now!

Cheers.

Excellent decision. I sold off the CBR to get the 390 and feel it was a very good decision.
Honda after sales was horrible to say the least. They are so used to the "engine oil change/washing" routine of the Activa that any and every problem of mine was ignored. Even when the coolant leaked in front of the showroom, they were nonchalant. Had to really push them and complain to higher ups to get my problems resolved. On the other hand, Bajaj is a delight once you set up a rapport with the mechanics. (My experience with 3 SVC over 7 years)

Our discussion is not really on 'what is ABS/ How does ABS work' but on how to best brake on a bike equipped with ABS. A question brought about (in my mind) by your initial statement of hitting the brakes because ABS is there.

Regards
Sutripta

Hi Rohit, that is an amazing stuff with Fazer windscreen. Now I am going to get it done too. My question is
1. Did you consider all the other windscreens that go on Avenger / Bullet or any after market windscreens available before zeroing on fazer WS?
2. Did you consider using a stainless steel stud with threaded ends with nuts instead of cable ties as the latter can be cut / sheared and the former offers more rigidity and threading offers the desired angle / tension?
3. Would a more curved wind shield offer less resistance to air thereby adding to the performance factor instead of a flatter WS?
4. Is it possible to fit a clear acrylic sheet which is cut / shaped to our desired shape and height? I mean a bit of more personalised customisation? I am not even aware if a curved clear / transparent acrylic sheet is available in the market at all.

Anyways the fazer WS looks really cool and funky and seems it does the job well with minimum time and effort on the job with best ROI. So guess I will follow suit. Thanks a ton for sharing with pics.

Never go for such an option. In case of any accident the shret would break into sharp pieces and would do a lot ofharm thsn good.

I fully agree with you Amit. yesterday I filled normal air 25 F / 29 R from my earlier show room setting / advise of the technician at 30F / 32 R. Now after reducing the pressure to prescribed one, I feel the bike more planted / slushy and sort of damp feeling. I know that 25F / 29 R is recommended for solo riding but somehow the 30F/32R makes me feel the bike a bit chirpy n sharper (may be with lesser contact patch with road) . What is the air pressure you guys normally stick to??

My Duke of Goa Aka DoG, 1610 Kms on Odo, Planning a 500 Km ride this coming week from Goa down south along the coast.

The best way i found was to hit it hard and hold it. Or if squeezing gradually go all the way down and hold it. Use both brakes and even when you are starting with like 10% application, from that point just go for the full squeeze in a rapid movement.

Take care where you are doing this. Meaning the kind of road, the kind of substance on the road, oil, water etc. Practise as much as possible in an empty stretch to understand behavior.

At fair speeds the bike fish tails a bit but stops. To me it has to do with distribution of brakes and since KTM is not applying distribution between front and back automatically, it leaves to the way we are applying front and back.

Manual distribution is going to be different and for most cases i have felt my front brake application is fare more pronounced than rear and hence i can feel the fish tail a tiny bit where the front has already stopped while rear still has some juice still left before it stops or halts rather..

Hitting it hard would work for an ABS bike, but it would really ruin your ability to ride non-ABS bikes. The second method of going gradually all the way, IMHO, would be better... (also, hitting it hard is likely to get you rear-ended by vehicles that do not have as good brakes and tires as the D390 :D)

Installed the stebel with no wire cuts. Added a switch to switch between stock and stebel. The stebel actually is probably slightly louder than the stock jetta's or beamers. Biggest advantage with the stebel is the attention you get from the crazy cab wallas trying to cut you across. The stock does nothing to grab their attention but switch to stebel, there is a conscious look from the cab driver be it driving with mirror up or mirror down and this is exactly what i wanted from the horn.

I wanted a little powerful horn to show my presence to others trying to squeeze me out and not for riding through gaps. So usage so far has been 4-5 times through traffic(26kms of it).

The fitting was done by my local standard electrician who takes care of my bulls and its pretty decent to be removed in less than 20 minutes in case i want to take the bike for service.

Even the wire from the battery through a 20Amp fuse is so neatly tucked and complete removable.

Overall i dont regret fitting the stebel and actually very impressed to protect my road space from govt buses, cabs and some stupid "Kutti Yaanais".

I have been having trouble with brakes when i switch to my C5. after getting used to 390's brakes, which are very sharp coupled with good rubber grip, the C5 feels break-less in comparison. I have to be extra careful, if not, will end up rearing someone. SO yeah, 390+ABS+metzelers Vs any non abs bike with regular rubber, means one is gotta be super alert and cautious.

Had a lill scare yesterday on 390. An innova suddenly cut across from extreme right of the road to extreme left, ofcourse without any indication, or rvm check. i honked, flashed, braked all together, and narrowly missed rearing the innova. All thanks to the good brake. If i was on my C5, i would have surely planted a kiss. Confronted them and found there was a lady 'learning' driving in the drivers seat, with a man sitting next to her. Both of them made sad face, and said sorry etc.. didn't know what to tell them. idiots!!

In hindsight, i did miss a loud horn. I am used to a glasswool goldie pipe on my C5, which makes it presence felt. Also, i have the powerful twin hella horn setup, which is as good as a med size car's.
I want to know more about this stebel horn, and how to install it without altering electrical? How much does it cost, and where can i get one in Bangalore? Any specific shop in JC road? Would it have any negative impact on the battery, in short or long term? Also, are there any other normal horns likes roots/hella,etc which i can explore? I am not looking at very loud horn, just something which is may be twice as loud as the stock??