[sandeepmohan]

Putting back the bulb holder cover and 4 screws is tricky. Like I mentioned earlier, a shorter in length screw driver is better.

We can now close the headlamp unit. Watch out for wires coming in the way, like this image illustrates.


Put back the allen key bolts.


Refix the four plastic snap fit lugs.


Push the jutting center part slowly till you hear a click.


Our new bulb is in place.

[ashkamath]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

We can now close the headlamp unit. Watch out for wires coming in the way,

Dear Sandeepmohan, many thanks for your pics and explanation. This is indeed a very helpful post to (DIY) change the parking bulb lamp. Appreciate your effort and time. Thanks again.

[Bluu]

Sandy - very nice pictorial explanation!

I want to upgrade the headlamp on The Oak since I find the stock lamp to be weak. Could we DIY it?

[mkovuri]

Good and genuine review. I felt some of these when I took a test ride of the bike.

[ashwin1224]

Hey did you use the allen key supplied in toolkit to open the first two bolts? My toolkit didnt seem to contain that part.

I am thinking of getting a T10 SMD LED bulb for the parking lamp. LEDs seem to run cooler (look to IMO) and are brighter.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by ashwin1224

Hey did you use the allen key supplied in toolkit to open the first two bolts?

Yes. You push in a little with the Allen key and the plastic notch pops out.

[ashwin1224]

I meant the bolts that you removed in the previous page, in the first few pics. The ones just below the console.

[gharika]

Originally Posted by ashwin1224

I meant the bolts that you removed in the previous page, in the first few pics. The ones just below the console.

I hope you have found out the answer, if not, yes the top two bolts are opened using one of the three alen keys.
The side plastic ones go in about 3 - 4 mm and then you can pull them out with hand.

[schakravarthy]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

... After you open the head lamp unit, watch out for these washers falling off....

... Area circled in blue is what we need to open and requires a star screw driver.
I did manage to open this with the supplied screw driver from the tool kit. It is better to use a smaller star screw driver with a shorter length and something that will fit in that small area.

A very useful guide Sandeepmohan. Thanks for the post!

I swapped the parking bulb to an LED. Despite your warning, I dropped the grommet and spent a very frustrating half an hour looking for the little devil! It was during this search that I realised that the job of swapping the parking bulb will be much easier if you remove the reflector assembly. Access to the bottom screws of the parking bulb holder is easier.

I've taken the liberty to mark the screws that need to be removed to separate the reflector part on your pic.

[sandeepmohan]

It has been 8 months since I rode the Duke and much longer since I updated this thread. I stopped riding to work and to some extent, you can say, stopped riding altogether. Pinged FM tharian if he would be interested in using the bike, instead of letting it rot. He can have some fun on it and pursue some of those marathon rides.

I have to be honest. There was a phase where I loved this bike and then started getting tired of it. This happened sooner than expected. It was not one of those usual excuses, the need for more power. More than power, I was getting tired riding the Duke. Life was good when it was just me and the Duke traveling to work. With my wife accompanying me on the return trip home, the Duke was ruled out. We tried it and she hated it. Switched to the 500 and a different set of problems surfaced, the chaos on the road. We were nearly side swiped once by a Innova which resulted in me slamming the brakes. The folks behind were totally unprepared. My wife suffered a minor calf injury. That is when I decided, no more biking it to work. We have a car so lets use it. Safety is a higher priority than trying to save money for gas.

Touring had almost come to a stop. Touring on the Duke was also tiring and it mostly had to do with the hard seat and limited flex available for the rider. Even the bare minimum luggage strapped on the rear seat was killing the balance of the bike. If there was a car in the tour group, I'd dump the luggage in the boot instead of strapping it on the back seat. Time was another factor. All I could do was go for day long trips. As a result, I ended up pushing some serious distances in a day only to come back dead tired. Where is the fun in doing something like this.

I tried to sell the bike and soon realized I was losing too much money. Took me by surprise that the 390 has poor resale. Decided to hold on to it. After yesterday's 460km ride, I am glad I did.

The Duke has clocked exactly 22050km and runs great. I've got a fairly new Michelin Pilot Street front tire, a new chain and sprocket set. The rear is on the second Metzeller. It costs about Rs. 20,000 today to get a pair of Metzellers for the 390. Are the Metzellers worth so much? No. The bike runs almost as good as the day I took delivery. No reliability issues except for the digital console going blank. This happened twice but did not require replacement. The chain requires attention more frequently than one would imagine. The bike runs super hot in bumper to bumper traffic and you do need to keep an eye on the temperature bars. I've had only one over heating instance and pulled over the minute I saw the console indication. I wonder how owners deal with heat in cities that record 40+ degrees.

It was a sudden decision to hit the road. My wife was spending time at her girl friends place and was not coming home till evening. I thought, why waste a day sitting at home. Buzzed tharian, he was attended Palm Sunday and the Duke was with him. Went over, dropped off my 500 so he'll have a ride back home and hit the road.

It had been many months I went for a spin. The plan was to hit the Hyderabad highway, which in my opinion, is the best highway out of Bangalore. For some reason, traffic on this highway is sparse, even on a long weekend. I had to figure out a destination based on how much time I take to reach there. As it turns out, I ended up in Anantapur town. Getting out of Bangalore, for a change, was stress free. The only trouble I had was trying to keep it at 60Kmph till Devanahalli Town. This bike isn't meant to be ridden so slow. After I cleared Devanahalli limits, I opened up a bit and was doing a relaxed 100Kmph. With no preparation for the ride, I had to pull over for gas. Soon after a tank up, I pulled over again to taken in some fluids. I did not carry any water. Downed a couple of tender coconuts as I knew there was a very hot day ahead. The time was 11am. I did the next 150km or so non stop and it was a blast. The average indicated around 86Kmph. I was holding 110-115kmph where possible. For some strange reason, I did not feel the usual discomfort from the hard seat. This is the first thing that starts to trouble me. As I was slowing entering the state of AP, I could feel the increase in heat. What was initially cool air, started to feel warm and by the time I reached Anantapur, the air was hot. The bike survived the heat well. The temperature bars stayed two below the warning limit which is safe.

The ride was mostly uneventful except for a yellow board Ciaz trying his best to keep up. I felt a sense of danger so decided to pull away. Dropped a gear, opened up a little and I was back in the safe zone. This move resulted in the Ciaz chap backing off as well. It was in this situation where I felt that the 390 has plenty of reserve when it comes to power. As many have already said, the same engine on the Adventure frame will be perfect.

At Anantapur, I took shelter at a HP gas station. It was 1240pm and burning hot. I am all for safety but this time around, I wore a Lee cotton jacket cause I knew the heat was going to be killing. A quick check on the weather app indicated 40 degrees and it was going to increase. Tanked up gas and waited for about 15 minutes. Thankfully, the gas station had a water cooler. Washed my face with ice cold water. To my luck, an ice cream vendor pulled in for gas. It was an interesting contraption. A TVS 50 merged to the ice cream cart. Indulged in a couple of choco bars and I was pumped up all over again for the ride back. Started the return journey. Pulled over at a small store just outside of Anantapur town for a bottle of water. Downed a liter and resumed journey.

The return journey started off at a slower pace. I was doing 90kmph. I had some time to spare and as some of you might know, no trip for me is complete without catching a train. I did not want to stop at a major station like Anantapur. It had to be a way side station. The peace and calm of a wayside railway station is unbeatable, much like how it is portrayed in the movie, The Station Agent. You feel like sitting there all day. The slower speed meant I could observe the surroundings better, which is nothing much to talk about. I was looking for a railway line and it took a while. It was only close to Penukonda I saw the line approach from the right and go below the highway (Not to be mistaken by the Satya Sai Prasanti Nilayam line. That comes a little later). I could spot a station but noticed that it did not have much tree cover and was a bigger place than what I wanted. A little further and I spotted another station. There was a board indicating direction towards the station which was surprising for a way side place. The road lead to no road for the final approach to the station. The station was Makkajipalli. Found a nice tree cover, parked the bike, walked on to the platform which was at ground level and to my luck, the signal was green. In a couple of minutes I could hear the faint honk of a train. The approach of the line from Bangalore side was a descent and on a curve so the train was visible much before the station limits. Turned out to be a freight train hauled by two General Motors/Electro Motive Division's, two stroke, 4500 horse power (Each) locomotives. Two workers from the station approached to figure out what I was up to. I told them, it was too hot and I needed some shade. They were very welcoming. Said I could hang out for however long I wanted. Language barriers meant we used mostly sign language to get the word across. Took an interest in the bike and for a change, did not ask how much it costs or even what the gas mileage was. It was time to leave. Shook hands with the station folk and left.

From here on, the ride was once again, mostly uneventful. A little after the Peunkonda RTO, a herd of cows, as usual, decide to suddenly jump out from the median. I saw them some distance away so had already slowed down. I hope the Indian Government has a solution to tackle this problem before talking about increasing highway speed limits.

At Bagepalli toll, I spotted a SAN Engineering locomotive being towed by a Volvo FM 400 6x4 heavy duty tractor. It was stationary but what a sight. It was coming (Or going) from the Gangavaram Port in Vishakapatnam. SAN Engineering have a facility at Whitefield, Bangalore though I am not sure if its a maintenance depot.

I was maintaining speeds just over the ton for the remainder of the journey. At Devanahalli municipal limits, I slowed down as I was entering the dreaded interceptor zone. I am supposed to maintain 60Kmph on a 373cc motorcycle with close to 44 horses! It was frustrating. The bike was grumbling in 5th, so I dropped to 4th and then the engine temperature went up by another bar. That leaves me with just one bar left before the warning pops up. It was a struggle to ride like this for the next 20km or so. Went pass two interceptors and then opened up a little cause I could no longer deal with the slow speed. Got in to town without a hassle and headed straight to FM tharian's place to trade bikes again. Exchanged some notes on the ride and headed back to my place.

What a ride. It was fast and safe. This was the highway where the Duke did the run in and the motorcycle continues to impress to this day.

ISKCON Anantapur.


Bharat Benz and Toyota sales and service outlets in Anatapur Town.


Not sure how many Himalayan's are gonna get picked up from here.


Freight train at Makkajipalli


The Volvo FM 400 series. The cabin quality and appointments will put some cars to shame.


SAN Engineering locomotive heading for maintenance.



This is the kinda road the crotch rocket loves.