Team-BHP - My Tryst with Orange: KTM Duke 390

Quote:

Originally Posted by sriramv.iyer (Post 3249020)

I'll try to extract some info from the technician in the KTM service center. My first service is due in a week (already)! :D

Nice catch, Karan. Thanks for sharing! Interesting to see what the 2-stroke riders had to say! I wish they had shown more action on the KTM 390 (or even their bikes).

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On other updates, I went to Sadashiv Nagar BP only to find out that they don't have Speed 97! Does anyone know where I can get this in Bangalore?

I went over the technical document on KTM 390 for Austria. There it says RON 95 is required. I am curious to find out what kind of difference it makes to the ride. And I am hoping Bajaj did enough tests on the bike with the 91 RON fuel in India.

I am itching for the weekend to take a proper ride somewhere! I now get 31 kmpl FE - Which is awesome!

Hi Sriram,

Is the first service at 1000 kms? If so then have you already cleaned and lubricated the chain yourself? How did you manage this or if you haven't, has there been a drop in performance or smoothness post 500 km?

You can try the Shell pump on Vittal Mallaya road. They ought to have higher octane fuels. I've routinely seen a couple of Ferraris and an Aston tank up there.

Let us know how the ride goes!

I actually typed a detailed reply two days ago after which my Safari crashed :Frustrati - Sorry about the late reply.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sammyboy (Post 3249127)

Hey Sriram, congratulations on the 390 again and more so from the update perspective ;) lol. I have been silently following this thread and though i dont have any plans of the 390 (yet), it does seem to be a hell of a bike.

Lets see if we can catch up for the ride we have been planning for over 3 years now (?) :D. Till then keep updating the thread bro, a lot of people are passing their waiting periods by being glued to your wonderful posts.

Bajaj has really been doing a lot for the motorcycling community in India by getting us these lovely bikes and though the waiting periods are excruciating, atleast they are that and not dreaming periods.

SammyBoy! Good to hear from you! Is it really three years? Time sure flies! I'll sure keep this thread updated. As you said, Bajaj is doing a wonderful job in keeping the enthusiasts happy in India!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Added_flavor (Post 3249159)

I haven't done the cigarette test suggested here but after a brief chat with one of the service engineers this is what I could understand.

Newly added elements are a an electrical relay and a new (redesigned?) fan. The ECU, based on the vehicle speed decides the direction of the fan, whether to blow or suck and the corresponding signal is sent out to the relay. The threshold is set to 9Kmph.

So if the vehicle is traveling below 9kmph (typically bumper-to-bumper traffic) then the heat is pushed towards the front of the bike. Beyond this speed, the fan rotates in the opposite direction and the vehicle is too fast for the rider to feel the heat on his/her legs.

Atleast we agree on the number 9 :D - My technician said it was 9 bars in the head gauge. There should be enough opportunities for us to figure this out. Please let me know if you find something on ths too!

Quote:

Originally Posted by vitesh.b (Post 3249177)

Yes - the wait is overwhelming.
One advise - what synthetic oil do you guys recommend ?

I'll go with the KTM recommended stuff - I am not an expert in this domain :) - I'll let other experts share their opinion on this

Quote:

Originally Posted by imp! (Post 3249252)

This was done at the service station itself when I went for change of radiator. I am planning to get a good lubricant - Any recommendations?

I tried the Shell pump on Vittal malya road. They don't have it too! I am too keen to try RON 97, but no place to find it!

sriramv.iyer

Buying a fuel with a higher octane rating than the owners manual recommends is a waste of money.

It is commonly believed that higher octane fuels give an engine more power but this is not true.

While it is often true that high performance cars need to use very high octane fuel it is because they are using very high compression ratios to obtain their high horsepower. High compression ratios = more power but at a cost.

If subjected to very high compression ratios, the intense heat from the compression can cause the fuel to explode rather than to burn. We hear this happening and describe it as a ping (pink, knock, etc.)

Unless you are hearing a ping (pink, knock etc) from your bikes engine during hard acceleration, a higher octane fuel will have no benefit at all.

Reading the recommendations for fuel in other countries is fine but remember, the engines in those countries may have a different compression ratio than your motorcycles engine has.

It is not uncommon for a manufacturer to change things like the compression ratio to be compatible with the fuels available in the country the machine is sold in. In other words, a slight decrease in your engines compression ratio can allow your engine to run happily on the lower octane fuels commonly available in India.

Use the fuel that is recommended in your Owners Manual and enjoy the ride. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by sriramv.iyer (Post 3248037)

Thanks Gansan! The tires will bite at the time of replacement! But, feels total paisa vasool, esp the grip levels in wet conditions are surreal.

Can you tell me the approximate life of these tyres?

Quote:

Originally Posted by sriramv.iyer (Post 3251169)

I tried the Shell pump on Vittal malya road. They don't have it too! I am too keen to try RON 97, but no place to find it!

Speed 97 from BP is the only high octane petrol you will find. No one else will have it.

If it is not specifically recommended for the Duke, it is not advisable. Fill the Shell Super Unleaded and live happily ever after!

Quote:

Originally Posted by sriramv.iyer (Post 3251169)

Bad luck on the fuel! Can't believe those buggers would be filling regular fuel in their super cars. Sorry for the inconvenience caused!

A friend uses Motul cleaning spray and lubricant for his D200 and says it works fine. But I am yet to do exhaustive research on this. I'd recommend getting the cans ASAP though. Given your riding, I'd lubricate every fortnight or at the very least every three weeks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaygeetee (Post 3251460)

Really!!!!
It would mean shelling out 24k atleast once a year.
That's got to hurt the pockets quite a bit.

Well this depends on your running doesn't it? If you are using it as a commuter bike, you could always go MRF route to save on the dough.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaygeetee (Post 3251579)

Yes, of course but I dont think anyone should buy it without that kind of mileage in mind.
Also I think people who do a mix of commuting n weekend rides wont want to get rid of the metzelers anytime so cant go that route either.

Why should the mileage matter? A Sunday morning rider probably isn't going to put more than 5-6 thousand kms a year as is someone who has a daily commute of 5 kms. Does that mean they ought not to buy the machine to enjoy it when they can ride it?

I absolutely agree that for most of us the Metz would be the only shoes on the bike, but then the MRFs as they perform on the D200 aren't a bad option if someone finds they aren't in a position to pay more for the sticky rubber. Given the potential numbers being sold, it may only be a matter of time before the price drops.

Quote:

Originally Posted by black12rr (Post 3251294)

Your bike is missing fork boot and mud flap . They are coming as factory fit . Is this on the newer lot bikes ?

I didn't realize this at all! I'll check this out. Thanks a ton for pointing to this!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim (Post 3251322)

Thanks for this - As I mentioned, the engine with the same power rating (without detuning) is used world-wide. So, I was surprised when I read the Austrian version of the manual that RON-95 is recommended. In the case of my Hyosung, the power is detuned to 72 BHP from 82 BHP from the international versions. So, I was wondering what impact the higher octane fuel would have on the performance of 390. (Not that I am complaining about the current performance) - Will check the engine specs if there is any small alteration from the technical manual that I downloaded vs Indian one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gansan (Post 3251370)

Can you tell me the approximate life of these tyres?

Speed 97 from BP is the only high octane petrol you will find. No one else will have it.

If it is not specifically recommended for the Duke, it is not advisable. Fill the Shell Super Unleaded and live happily ever after!

As Jaycee indicated below, the numbers I have heard vary between 12K-15K km only.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaygeetee (Post 3251460)

Really!!!!
It would mean shelling out 24k atleast once a year.
That's got to hurt the pockets quite a bit.

2K per month EMI for the next year's tyres :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by imp! (Post 3251539)

No problem at all, imp! Anyway, I filled up on regular Shell fuel there. I'll try the Motul lubricant - Shell stations usually stock some good ones, and I also plan to drop into 3M care sometime to see if they sell some. Given my surreal experience in the wet with the Metz, I plan to use only them!

Quote:

Originally Posted by imp! (Post 3251624)

Given the potential numbers being sold, it may only be a matter of time before the price drops.

I really hope this happens - But, considering that these will be imported, and the local demand for such bikes are not as high (given our 390 numbers in India), I don't anticipate any major correction anytime soon..

Quote:

Originally Posted by sriramv.iyer (Post 3252059)

I also plan to drop into 3M care sometime to see if they sell some. Given my surreal experience in the wet with the Metz, I plan to use only them!

Do let me know how the cleaning and lubricating products work out for you. 3M too should work pretty well !

Quote:

Originally Posted by sriramv.iyer (Post 3252059)

Weren't there talks about localizing the Metz for India? Also for a commuter bike abroad, 200 Dollars/Euros for a single tire that needs replacing once or twice a year for your average user seems a bit high, especially as most of the buyers will be high school/college kids with limited means. Given world wide demand, I'd be very surprised if KTM doesn't try to do something to bring the costs down. I haven't yet experienced the tires, but, I'm sticking to them after hearing of their capabilities. For my low type of usage, I'm not going to sweat the tire costs. Wish the guys able to enjoy the bike on a daily basis didn't have to deal with the high cost though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by imp! (Post 3252142)

Well this is one logic I don't understand, people shell out a large amount for a bike and cringe for good rubber to keep the bike under control.

Its like driving a Lamborghini with mrf's cmon its not done.