[man_of_steel]

Congrats Anoop. Enjoyed reading your experience. Wish you many happy miles on it!

Originally Posted by phamilyman

PS: Another issue with the D390 is the heating, right? I've heard from folks that its great for touring but in commuting, the heat is simply too much.

Yes, it does heat up in traffic. And you will experience near tandoori left thighs on summers.

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

Congrats Anoop! Neat review. Looking at the second pic of your boy trying to hold the handles reminded me of my son trying out the bike All the best and wishing you many happy miles with the bike.

Thanks Avhinav. He was the most exited guy and he dont want any other bike now

Today morning, I was going to the fish stall and took the key of Ki-ho from the key hold, and the key of duke to adjust the clock. My kid saw that I have two keys with me, so he asked for the key of ki-ho and as soon as I gave him the key, he ran back to home, placed the key on dining table and came back to me. We both (me and wife) had a hearty laugh seeing his antics.

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Anoop,

Now that you have experienced a modern hassle free machine, how does it feel like to ride the bullet in comparison?

Congrats on crossing over to the dark side. Don't say you weren't warned!

PS: Another issue with the D390 is the heating, right? I've heard from folks that its great for touring but in commuting, the heat is simply too much.

@phanilyman: Thanks bro - now that I can't say that I weren't warned .

I always had a dark side with me - Though I have been riding bullets for almost 10 years now, I always used to have another fill it - shut it - forget it kind of bike in my garage. Still love bullets for what they are, and have a 1967 350 CC with me, for those occasional rides.

Yes, 390 heats up a lot in traffic. Even 200 heats up in traffic, but it is manageable compared to the heat of 390.

Originally Posted by man_of_steel

Congrats Anoop. Enjoyed reading your experience. Wish you many happy miles on it!

Yes, it does heat up in traffic. And you will experience near tandoori left thighs on summers.

@Man_of_Steel: Thank you for the wishes!

Took a longish route to office today - rode through couple of quaint villages, farms and roads lined with eucalyptus trees. It was a pleasure attaching the twists and turns and as a bonus, got to ride through about 5 km of roads laid of hard packed earth - the bike did kick up some serious dust today.

I am looking for a sturdy GPS\cell phone mount which can be attached to the handle bar. Any suggestions?

--Anoop

[theexperthand]

I faced a peculiar issue with the bike 2 time, but not able to reproduce it consistently.
If I am riding the bike at night with head light on and if I switch off the bike with out switching off the headlight (switch off using EKS, lock the bike and remove the key) and if I start the bike after some time, the head light refuses to come on. I have to turn off the head light, switch off the bike again and have to start the bike again for the head lights to work. I also noted that my ride time counter resets to zero when I perform this second cycle of switch off and start.

I also hear a squeaking sound from the front shock absorbers, when I move around the bike manually - hope this will go away with couple of days use.

The bike had second tank full today and returned a decent 30kmpl average. It is more like having your cake and eating it too

All kitted up, on the way to office:



--Anoop

[theexperthand]

Took the bike for first trail ride - the terrain was not of much difficulty (wanted to test the waters before I introduced her to the good stuff ).

On hard trail, the bike did well and the light weight coupled with the power made sure that the climbs were effortless. She chewed up almost all of what I could throw at her, but had a bit of scary moment also.

There was a small patch of hard clay kind of surface and I thought I could cajole her over the surface with some smooth movements, but the tyres gave away before I could cover 20% of the surface - had to put both my foot down and some how, manager to hold the bike on the slippery surface and had to slowly push her back.

Few snaps from the ride - sorry for the low quality snaps - they are from my phone. It was a solo ride and I did not carry my dslr.







This climb was a tricky one - there was not much space at the top of the ridge, so I had to climb at an angle (so that the bike is aligned perpendicular to the climb once the bike was on top of the ridge)







I brought a CBR 250 paddock stand from varthur Honda showroom for INR 3K today. I know I paid more, but I always wanted a paddock stand like this
Interesting thing is, the person at the sales counter did not know that they sell the paddock stands, and tried hard to convince me that they don't sell it for home use. Luckily, another guy overheard us and sorted it out for me. During the entire episode, the courtesy shown by them (the whole staff at Honda showroom) was excellent. Thumbs up to them.

--Anoop

[fusionbang]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

I brought a CBR 250 paddock stand from varthur Honda showroom for INR 3K today. I know I paid more, but I always wanted a paddock stand like this
Interesting thing is, the person at the sales counter did not know that they sell the paddock stands, and tried hard to convince me that they don't sell it for home use. Luckily, another guy overheard us and sorted it out for me. During the entire episode, the courtesy shown by them (the whole staff at Honda showroom) was excellent. Thumbs up to them.

--Anoop

Can you post a snap of the paddock stand on your bike? And I think if you had done a research online, IMO you would have got it at a better price.

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by fusionbang

Can you post a snap of the paddock stand on your bike? And I think if you had done a research online, IMO you would have got it at a better price.

Ya bro, will sure do that. I brought it on the way to work, but will be taking the stand to home only tomorrow.

I saw some options online and I know that I could have got the paddock stand for around 1-1.5K (the one made by Krigers and used by many fellow BHPians) but I went for the Honda one because of the looks - some times, you just have to listen tow hat your heart says

--Anoop

[Mafioso]

Congrats on your new bike! The black duke looks stunning. Can you let me know how much do the handle guards costed?

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by Mafioso

Congrats on your new bike! The black duke looks stunning. Can you let me know how much do the handle guards costed?

The hand guards where around 700 INR or slightly less. The end weights cost 448 INR. Forgot to collect the invoice of the hand-guards, so I don't know the exact price - sorry :(

--Anoop

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by fusionbang

Can you post a snap of the paddock stand on your bike? And I think if you had done a research online, IMO you would have got it at a better price.

Couple of pictures of the paddock stand - will post the pics with bike once I take the stand home





--Anoop

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

Couple of pictures of the paddock stand - will post the pics with bike once I take the stand home
--Anoop

That looks good. Any picture of the bike on it? Is it from Varthur Dream Honda? Its nearby my place. I will give it a try!

[fusionbang]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

Couple of pictures of the paddock stand - will post the pics with bike once I take the stand home

--Anoop

Looks Cool By the way wanted to understand where all you might use this. IMO you might use it while cleaning the rear wheel and lubricating the chain, which I suppose you do regularly

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by man_of_steel

That looks good. Any picture of the bike on it? Is it from Varthur Dream Honda? Its nearby my place. I will give it a try!

Yes, I brought it from Varthur Honda - the price is exact 3K, including tax. I have not yet taken the stand home -hopefully will do it today. Will post pics with bike on it soon.

Originally Posted by fusionbang

Looks Cool By the way wanted to understand where all you might use this. IMO you might use it while cleaning the rear wheel and lubricating the chain, which I suppose you do regularly

Yes - the stand is useful during chain lubing and adjusting, and while cleaning the bike. Considering that you have to clean and lube the chain for every 500 km, I though it is better to invest in one than running to service centre to get the chain cleaned.

--Anoop

[Amarendranath]

A Absolute Stunner! I'm glad that you have already fallen in love with the beast. Also i see that you have already started to train your son on how to tame the direwolf! Good job getting the stand, super useful, also looks super cool.

Few questions-

1. The headlamp issue may be with the relay wiring, got that checked?
2. Which oil are you using currently?
3. What chain lube do you have in mind?

Also get a supercool tank guard that would suit the wolf! I have enjoyed riding for quite sometime! Cheers!! Happy Riding! I say this again, you plan to open her up, Please PM me

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by Amarendranath

A Absolute Stunner! I'm glad that you have already fallen in love with the beast. Also i see that you have already started to train your son on how to tame the direwolf! Good job getting the stand, super useful, also looks super cool.

Few questions-

1. The headlamp issue may be with the relay wiring, got that checked?
2. Which oil are you using currently?
3. What chain lube do you have in mind?

Also get a supercool tank guard that would suit the wolf! I have enjoyed riding for quite sometime! Cheers!! Happy Riding! I say this again, you plan to open her up, Please PM me

Thanks Bro.

1. The head lamp issue have happened twice, but I am not able to replicate it. Thanks for the pointer - will get it checked during the first delivery.

2. Using the company provided oil as of now, but plan to switch to Motul 300V or Motul 7100 during the first service.

3. I have got myself a can of OKS chain lube. Plan to use diesel, nylon brush and a rag for cleaning the chain and then the OKS chain lube for lubing.

4. tank pad - deciding between getting the part covered using 3M carbon fibre vinyl or getting a tank pad. While the tank pad looks cool, the vinyl will give better protection.

Sure bro - any plans to open her up, I will drop you a PM

--Anoop

[theexperthand]

Which is the best engine oil for Duke? Plan to give the bike for service some time next week and I am contemplating between Motul 7100 or Motul 300v. How good are Mobil1 and Shell oils? I hardly see any posts in net where Duke uses Shell or Mobil1, so want to know if Motul is the best one for her?

Few pics of the bike on paddock stand:







The stand proved immensely helpful during the chain lubing and subsequent alloy wheel cleaning sessions.

--Anoop