[Shonith]

Mrf's are a bit of a let down on ktms and alike. I don't know why ktm doesn't give the option of choosing tyres when you buy the bike, there are plenty of good tyres in the market now.
Did a little digging into what are the good options and this is what I could conclude:
1. Metzeler M7RR
2. Rosso 3
3. Michelin road 5
Tyres that are friendly on the pocket
4. Tvs protorq extreme
5. Alpha H1.
All the above said tyres are good some better than the others.
There are dealers on Instagram, torque block is one such reputed dealer.

[raptor_diwan]

Great review! The bike looks stunning. As your dad said, to be honest, RE does not suit you. It may look odd from the backend with all the jacket and stuff. The Duke is a perfect bike for your body.

And I have to say, your Hot Wheels collection is hotter than the sun! Back in my day, I had a collection of 40-50, but my mom had a strict policy of giving them away every time I failed an exam or messed up. Now, I'm convinced she was just jealous of my car game and wanted to give my siblings a chance to catch up. But man, those were the days when I would ride those cars around the wall for hours on end. Ah, memories!

[saikishor]

Originally Posted by pepega

Congratulations on your purchase! I also have a pre-owned Duke 390 from 2017, and I find that the Apollo H1 tyres are a great purchase. A set of both rear and front should cost you around 10k.

I spoke to a dealer from Bangalore, asked him all of the options he had and found that the Apollo's are my best bet. I was craving for Michellin Road 5's but they are way out of my budget. I will change my tyres once peak summer season starts. I mean, I havent set any specific timeline as such, it's just that I will have a lot of time to kill in summer and hence can spend some time on tyres.

Originally Posted by vattyboy

Nicely written review Saikishor.

Thank you for the kind words.
I would've probably given a second thought on the RR310 if the BMW iteration was launched back then. I just couldn't make peace with TVS's service. Excellent bike other than this.
Unfortunately, even here the scene is still the same with KTM's, atleast in Hyderabad. 125 is literally for those ******'s, 200 a little lesser, 250 a little better and 390 a lot better. I mean I haven't seen a lot of ******* on 390's, most of the 390 owners I came across or saw were enthusiasts. I have anyways made peace with this ****** factor/angle way before making my mind up on this bike, so it doesnt bother me one bit now.

Originally Posted by Shonith

Mrf's are a bit of a let down on ktms and alike. I don't know why ktm doesn't give the option of choosing tyres when you buy the bike, there are plenty of good tyres in the market now.
Did a little digging into what are the good options and this is what I could conclude:
1. Metzeler M7RR
2. Rosso 3
3. Michelin road 5
Tyres that are friendly on the pocket
4. Tvs protorq extreme
5. Alpha H1.
All the above said tyres are good some better than the others.
There are dealers on Instagram, torque block is one such reputed dealer.

I have spoken to torqueblock a couple of days ago, and he gave me the exact same list of tyres. I will be changing them to Apollo's once peak summer starts.

Originally Posted by raptor_diwan

Great review! The bike looks stunning. As your dad said, to be honest, RE does not suit you. It may look odd from the backend with all the jacket and stuff. The Duke is a perfect bike for your body.

And I have to say, your Hot Wheels collection is hotter than the sun!

Haha, parents are there to guide us for a reason.
I lost a couple of cars, orelse my collection would've been even bigger. Thanks for the kind words.

[Samarth 619]

Originally Posted by Shonith

Mrf's are a bit of a let down on ktms and alike. I don't know why ktm doesn't give the option of choosing tyres when you buy the bike, there are plenty of good tyres in the market now.
Did a little digging into what are the good options and this is what I could conclude:
1. Metzeler M7RR
2. Rosso 3
3. Michelin road 5
Tyres that are friendly on the pocket
4. Tvs protorq extreme
5. Alpha H1.
All the above said tyres are good some better than the others.
There are dealers on Instagram, torque block is one such reputed dealer.

How did you completely miss out Ceat ZoomRad X1? I guess they're only available online in most locations, so it didn't catch your eye.

In short, for Rs. 7500 a pair on Amazon, they're easily the best value for money tyres because the grip levels are very good, almost Alpha H1 level, its hard to judge grip in close competition but I think H1's were minimally better, but mostly similar.
Life of ZoomRads is around 20-25k.

I had Metz on my 2013 Duke 390, then I tried Michelins Pilot Road (I think), then Alpha H1, then Ceat ZoomRad, then again Ceat.
I can send pics if needed.

MRF's only recommended tyre set for 390 is the Revz C1, but again, I heard negative things about its wet grip, so I never tried it myself.

[Dhruv Shetty]

Nice review! The 2nd gen Duke's are sure a looker in any of color shades, you have got a great bike with you, just do the servicing and other maintenance on time and it will be a very reliable bike.
The brakes,suspension setup and mad acceleration makes riding the Duke's very engaging to ride.
Mileage? What is mileage I have stopped bothering about it on my 390 .
Headlights I can agree, especially the BS3 Duke's have candle lights.

On the gearbox part, I haven't found the gearbox on my 390 clunky very rarely I find false neutrals. Is the chain set properly?

And that hot wheels collection is sweet. Mine are all hidden in different parts of my house .

On the tyre front, I can agree for the budget the Apollo Alpha H1 are a good purchase compared to the MRF's. I had the Apollo on the front tyre for a short while till I got my hands on the Road 5's.

And congratulations again on getting a D390, that also a used one in very condition, very tough to get these guys in good condition. Most of them aren't kept well. And wish you many more Kilometres with citrus. Sometimes she's gonna throw tantrums, acts wierd out of nowhere, sometimes she will run perfectly. Welcome to the KTM club.

And here's my D390




Cheers
Dhruv Shetty.

[saikishor]

Originally Posted by Dhruv Shetty

On the gearbox part, I haven't found the gearbox on my 390 clunky very rarely I find false neutrals. Is the chain set properly?

My bike's chain gets loose very frequently. I have to get it tightened every 500kms to avoid all of that ugly chain clatter. Gear shifts become very precise after getting the chain tightened, but I will not call the gearbox as a slick shifting unit. Take a test ride of a Japanese motorcycle, and you will know what I mean when I say Duke's gearbox is clunky. I mean, no comparison but just to give you a picture of what my thoughts are.

False neutrals are abundant in my bike. I have to deal with them every alternate day

[TrueSagittarian]

Originally Posted by saikishor

My bike's chain gets loose very frequently. I have to get it tightened every 500kms to avoid all of that ugly chain clatter. Gear shifts become very precise after getting the chain tightened, but I will not call the gearbox as a slick shifting unit. Take a test ride of a Japanese motorcycle, and you will know what I mean when I say Duke's gearbox is clunky. I mean, no comparison but just to give you a picture of what my thoughts are.

False neutrals are abundant in my bike. I have to deal with them every alternate day

Congratulations for the beast! I used to to own the BS4 White version back in 2018 till Feb 2020, 10k kms. This thing is a beast, it's just f**ks off with a little throttle.


My suggestions :

• For tyres, looking at the pictures you shared these are racing tyres and they won't provide you the grip/stability on normal roads under different circumstances you'll have to be very careful while riding on these, I would suggest to go for Michelin Pilot series or any other brand touring tyres, I had metzeler race tyres and they had the same problem, it would be more problematic if you get a puncture as they get uneven with that puncture strip lumping out of it. Touring tyres would give you more grip and stability for normal roads.

• KTM service center's are known for their pathetic quality control, check with other veterans in your city for a service center with good rep, and do a proper research for BS6 service requirements as service center just adds unnecessary things in job card, be vary of what they are adding in job card and if possible stay there and watch the service being done, don't ever let them lubricate/clean chain set they charge like 1k for a couple of sprays, do it yourself buy the motul products online lubricate/clean every 400-500km it would be much cheaper. It is a standard process for chain set to be cleaned, lubricated and tightened in every 400-500km.

• Do you still feel the same about rear brakes or you weren't used to dual channel abs system.

• Bike tanks are always prone to scratches because we don't realize how much abuse they get from us just think how many times we touch the tank wearing rough gloves, jackets and placing our helmet over it while riding or in parking. Just apply a tank sticker you'll be sorted.

• yes the ground clearance is less with engine guard but then it is setup to be used on track. The stock bike will take track day abuse all day long but on normal roads it won't. Don't be too harsh on this bike on rough roads the alloys in this thing are not meant for rough use, they'll bend if you hit a pothole at a considerable speed with those race tires, if you want to go off road in this bike you'll have tune the suspension set up and change the tires.

Ride Safe

[saikishor]

Odometer:137xx km
This is probably the first update post that I am posting on this thread.

Citrus came home on the 5th of March in 2022. To celebrate one year of its presence in my life, I got the bike washed and wanted to do a small photo kinda thing with a baloon and a cupcake. Result didnt come out as I wanted to but atleast I celebrated what I wanted to. I posted this thread exactly on my birthday, because I kinda wanted to gift my self with the existence of this thread. This photo celebration thing happened before I posted this thread.



And since I finished one year, I wanted to give Citrus a slight makeover( but I failed miserably in doing so). I always wanted to get the plastic shrouds wrapped in gloss black, so that the only colors visible on the bike will be orange and white. Along with this, I also wanted to install bar end mirrors. I loved the official KTM bar ends, but those were not available in India. Add to it the price of the mirrors was just too high. So I ordered similarly shaped budget bar ends from Amazon. I used them for a day and realised how much of a bad idea it was to install them on the bike. They were plain mirrors, and not convex ones that vehicles use so visibility was zero. I returned them after using them for a day. The only positive about these mirrors is that the bike looks sexy with them.











After this, I did a solo weekend ride to Maharashtra border. I wasn't doing any record nor was my intention to do so but it somehow turned out to be one of my quickest rides ever. I covered 360km in 4hours, and cut short my travel time by 1 hour(indicated in Google Maps). I really enjoyed the ride, solo rides really do help in rediscovering yourself.





I got the bike serviced after this and then another disaster took place. I found a radium shop guy close to my house who agreed to wrap the bike. I negotiated and the price in the end was 1800/-. But the very next day I realised how much of a disaster the guy did. There were scratches on the tank and one body panel because the guy was careless with his blade. I should've gone to him the very next day because of the damages that he did to my bike but me being me(extreme introvert; meet me in person and you will realise how I struggle to talk to new people) just left it as is. The paint quality of the tank is anyway cheap, so someday after it gets completely scratched, I will get it repainted. Credit where its due, I loved the way the bike looked with this wrap. In the future I will try to get it professionally wrapped with better quality material and ofcourse skilled workforce.









There was one errand which turned out to be a 140km trip within the city. I love the Duke's character of being a good allrounder; it can take you to places in speed but can also take you around in the city with no fuss at all. Some pictures which I captured in the middle of this errand:







I have been contemplating to get my bike's tyres changed since quite some time now. The only reason I held on to them was that they had a lot of life left in them. But they were leaking air in multiple occasions. One fine day I placed an order for new tyres on Torqueblock. I wanted(was craving) Michelin Road 5's but the fact that I could get two pairs of Apollo Alpha H1's for one pair of Michelin's just did not make sense for me. So the options I had were Apollo Alpha H1, Michelin Pilot Street and some other Ceat model. Metzeler's were also on the pricier side so I gave them a pass. I wanted to play it safe, so skipped the Ceat's despite having very good experiences with my Activa and my erstwhile Pep+ tyres. Michelin Pilot Street didn't really have good reviews, so I went ahead with Apollo. The set costed me around 10.6k if I am not wrong, and installation, allignment costed another 2 grand bringing the total to 12.6k. Not cheap IMO but it is expected for a bike of this size and capacity.

I always wanted to do a burnout and take some good pictures to preserve them, and they came out to be excellent. I am posting them here, but mods please feel free to delete if it violates forum guidelines. I did the burnout in the safest way possible, in a road with minimal traffic movement. Did not cause any ruckus, so I hope I did a safe job.





I took my bike to dynamicryderz to get the tyres installed. Although a bit pricey, I was satisfied with the work done. And coming to the Apollo's, there is a literal day and night difference in the way the bike rides and feels. I have covered 100km since the installation of the new tyres and although it is too early to judge, I could make out quite a few differences. The bike feels squishier over bumps, brakes much better, front feels much more heavier, grip levels have for sure increased in corners and somehow gearshifts have also become smoother. I am assuming the guy who installed the tyres tinkered around with the chain adjustment nuts while removing the rear wheel. Overall, I am tremendously satisfied and felt like I was living under a rock with MRF's all these days.

Transport mode:




Work in progress:


End result: spanking new tyres:


I am quite satisfied with Torqueblock. Tyres were fresh, one was manufactured in 03/23 and the other was manufactured in 04/23. I received the tyres within 3-4 days, and the price that these guys offered was the best price, as some other guys who I asked quoted 3-4k more. I would wholeheartedly recommend Torqueblock




So that's it for this pretty long update post.

Also, I urge every biker to ride safely. We never know what might happen, so it is better to ride within one's limits. This applies to me as well. Reason I'm saying this is because of the recent accident/accidents that took place. Everytime an accident like this happens, the biking community on a whole is blamed for some or the other reason. Nevertheless, it is always safe to ride within ones limits. If not ATGATT, a helmet all the time is the least I expect from people reading this.

Regards,
Saikishor

[rahul4321]

Thank you for your feedback on the Apollo Tyres. My D390 tyres are on the 2nd set of front Metzlers and rear Michelins. The tread is still relatively okay but the tyres have hardened with spider cracks being prevalent due to the high temperatures in Gujarat and a 2 year shelf life before I even got them installed.

Your motorcycle looks amazing - love the colour.

[saikishor]

Originally Posted by rahul4321

Thank you for your feedback on the Apollo Tyres. My D390 tyres are on the 2nd set of front Metzlers and rear Michelins. The tread is still relatively okay but the tyres have hardened with spider cracks being prevalent due to the high temperatures in Gujarat and a 2 year shelf life before I even got them installed.

Your motorcycle looks amazing - love the colour.

I would say go for Michelin Road 5 when the need for replacing tyres arises. From what I have read those are the best tyres that you can get for the Duke. If budget constraints exist, look no further than the Alpha H1. There are enough positive reviews out there to get convinced. From my initial impressions, the tyres are very good.

[YashOjha15]

Happy Birthday @saikishor bro. By the way, your KTM looks gorgeous. I have always dreamt of buying one.
I hope I tend to buy one when I finish my college.

[jono213]

She's definitely a looker!
Any niggles in the first year of ownership?

[saikishor]

Originally Posted by jono213

She's definitely a looker!
Any niggles in the first year of ownership?

#1: Air Leakage from the front tyre and occassionally from the rear tyre. I am assuming this happened because of the MRF Tyres I previously had. There is no air leakage after installing Apollo's.

#2: Handlebar wobble(not sure if this is a niggle) post 120kph: I haven't gone beyond 90kph post installation of the new tyres so can't judge if this problem still exists but with the MRF's the handlebar used to wobble post 110-120kph.

#3: Speedometer turning off: I posted this on the KTM 390 Duke ownership experience thread. The screen used to turn off after being in the sun for 45mins or more. I took it to the showroom twice. Showroom guys have told me that the problem has been solved, and I can take it back to them if it happens again. Apparently a software update solved the issue according to them. I am kind of worried about this because my bike is still in warranty and will be in warranty till July 2023, so if there is a requirement of a display change I wish it falls under this time period. The issue never resurfaced so I am assuming it to be solved.

#4: Busted left fork oil seal: Not sure why it happened but one fine morning I woke up to a leaking oil seal. Got it fixed immediately. Costed around 1k IIRC.

#5: Not a niggle but the sheer incompetency and laziness of KTM service guys. I have been begging them to update owner details( service is still billed on the first owner's name) but they just can't seem to figure out a way to do that

[VijayAnand1]

Sai, the moment I read the christened name Citrus, the oxymoron "lemon" was I reminded of. But hopefully and glad it wasn't the latter and happy to hear your experiences and congratulations.
Apollos are very underrated for what it has to offer. They offer exceptional dry grip, on a wall warmed up day, they oblige whatever the rider has to command for. Wet grip too is excellent, but just like Metz and Michelin, they do induce the scare wobble on a freshly dampened road i.e. rain/drizzle for 5 mins wherein the road isn't wet, isn't dry, but slippery, these are the conditions all these three tyres just don't cut it. I personally would vouch for Apollo right from my R15 days, as they offered excellent grip, both dry and wet and very much decently-priced tires when compared to its other peers.

Godspeed, ride safe and keep updating.

Cheers!
VJ

[saikishor]

Odometer:15329km

Never knew I'd be updating this thread so soon, but here goes another update from my side.

My chain and sprocket (called as chain kit in some service centres) required a replacement, as the chain made a lot of squeaking noises. Even the gearshifts became hard. My bike's service is due in August and I was thinking it will last till then but the chain noise was unbearable so I got it done yesterday. Bill came to a cute 4000 bucks, 500 rupees more than the estimate and what I had expected. Post the chain kit change, the chain noise is gone completely and in fact I am loving the smooth sound the new chain is making. Gearshifts have become hard somehow but shifts are precise now with no false neutrals. Apart from that I also noticed that the rear sprocket design has changed. I prefer the previous one as the current one looks commuter ish but it is what it is.

Here is a comparison of the old sprocket and the new one:





Apart from this, I purchased a tank bag from Amazon. It costed 2100/-. Reason I bought this from Amazon was, all the tankbags that I checked out(Viaterra, Rynox) at riding gear stores( V Gears, Powersports etc) felt too expensive for my usage. I wanted something that could withstand daily rough usage but something which would not break the bank. Viaterra and Rynox had options ranging from 3-4.5k but I found no point in spending that much. I actually wanted to return this bag back to Amazon but no guy showed up for return pickup despite of me placing a return request 6-7 times. So yesterday I decided I will keep it with me and I took it out for a spin in rain. The bag comes with a rain cover and has magnets so it just sticks to the tank. Capacity of this bag is 28 litres if I am not wrong. First impressions, well, for 2100 rupees, I would say it is not bad. And yes just after I used the bag in rain, today morning I got a call from an Amazon courier saying that he will be coming for return pickup . I cancelled the return, as I feel this bag can be used for groceries and small trips etc etc.









I also did a short 120km weekend ride 2 weeks ago to a random location. It was a group ride with 15-20 other bikes as well. The ride was boring and I regret going to this ride. The location wasn't that great as well.


Some pictures that I took at a random location:




The Apollo Alpha H1's are doing their job well. Grip levels are really good, and the handling has also improved substantially compared to the MRF's that I had previously. I feel they are the best in their price range. No wonder why I see so many bikes in the 390 Duke's segment shod with Apollo Alpha H1 tyres.

To conclude this update on a sad note, I dropped my bike for the first time ever and that too in a very funny way. I was thinking about something when parking the bike and I forgot to open the side stand. The bike tilted halfway and by the time I realised, the bike fell down. This is the first ever fall of Citrus and I must say I'm not sad as it feels very funny to recollect how I dropped the bike. There were no damages( scratch on hand-guard and scratch on crash guard) but I did learn a lesson: don't think too much when you're driving.




Until next time,
Saikishor