[scarn]

Originally Posted by Motard_Blr

Zach Courts of Revzilla reviewed the 390 Duke:

https://Youtu.be/DRi9NJL4smw?si=a9CLoOv65c_3mxQM

Does his American opinions and observations resonate with Indian owners?

I also noticed that the saddle on the test Duke has the spacer to increase height. It may be standard in export bikes.

Most of the exports are with 820mm seats that's why the spacer. I don't like this spacer idea they should have gone with different seat options. 820mm seat with a bit more padding would be a great option to go for. This is one of the biggest issues I have with this bike as it is a hoot to ride on ghats but your bum starts hurting by the time you reach those sections. I am not saying give the softer seat just a bit more padding as currently it is as hard as a rock and not at all comfortable for anything over 200 KMs.

[jbash79]

Feedback for Gen 3 2024 Model Duke 390

Please note that I currently own a 2017 gen 2 Duke 390 and 2019 Duke 790 so my opinion will be based on the experience I have with these bikes as a reference point.

Bike Dimension - Very compact bike which is both a pro and con. It is a pro for people with small build and lesser height especially this will be an excellent track bike given the seat height is only 800 mm however for me coming from gen 2 Duke 390 it took me a complete day to get used to the smaller bike feel which is not very natural and comfortable feeling for me personally. If I were to take this model in the future I would opt for the higher seat accessory to increase the seat height. Having said this bike has one of the best ground clearance in the segment.
Seats – Rider seat is not as accommodating and comfortable as gen 2 for doing longer rides and it is very compact which does not allow much room to move around however the pillion seat is much more comfortable than previous gen.
Looks – It is very polarizing, I personally like the 2nd gen styling as the best so far however this design might grow over the folks who take this bike over a period of time.
Weight - Weight distribution of this bike is magical, I am amazed on how light the bike feel even while standing at idle it is much easier to move this compared to gen 2 in fact I would even go out and say that it feels light than activa
Ground Clearance – It is excellent since they take out the side mounted exhaust however one needs to be careful with tall speed breaker especially with pillion rider with softer rear suspension setting.
Tyres - The OEM tyres are ok however given the capability of this bike the company should provide high performance tyres like Michelin Road 5 for example RTR 310 which comes with this brand of tyres.
Acceleration and Torque – Gen 3 duo 390 has improved on acceleration and torque from its outgoing gen 2 model however it is more or less on the same page when it comes to top end power as it has the same top speed around 160 to 175 km per hour.
Quickshifter and Auto Blipper – The quick shifter on gen 3 Duke is far better from the outgoing gen 2 in terms of quick shifter for upshifts however it’s not the smoothest and the auto blipper is not the best in class I would say it is more or less matches the performance of the quick shifter and the blipper that we get in 790 duke.
Low speed tractability – Gen 3 Duke has much better tractability in low speeds especially in the city in first second and third gear compared to the outgoing gen 2 and it has less engine knocking at lower speed.
Engine Vibration – I was given a brand new bike for a highway test ride which had done only 40KM on the Odo however I understand this comes with stock company mineral oil which does not provide best performance hence there were lot of vibrations through the engine specially across the power band at the peak performance which kept buzzing through the handlebar and food pegs I would recommend the company to use a high end engine oil like Motul 300V2 which performs much better smoother performance as it reduces vibrations to the great extent Plus I would also recommend the company to identify points in the chassis to dampen the vibrations that come from the single cylinder this is by far one of the deal breakers which could take away majority of its potential customers. This was one of the most significant factors for me and a major deal breaker. For a reference point I rode a hero xtreme 125CC which has great refinement and almost zero vibrations in the city compared to gen 3 duke 390.
Speed Lock Feature – I think this is a great feature more like a parental control that we have in most of our phones and online platform which will restrict the top speed when you give a bike to a newbie who is still learning the ropes to ride a high performance motorcycle however for seasoned and veteran motorcyclists it would be fantastic if ktm could have provided cruise control which makes a lot of sense given the fact that you can use the feature for cruising all day long on highway with minimal vibrations and achieve the highest mileage which I tested that I got at 4000 rpm in the six gear which resulted around 35 to 36KM per litre.
Adjustable Shock absorber – Again this is an excellent feature to have and I notice tremendous amount of difference with the adjustability being offered as standard and I like it to such an extent that I am considering getting my gen 2 Duke 390 upgraded with this adjustable shock absorbers provided the parts fit in with the gen 2 duke 390.
Console Menu and Navigation – I felt that the console and the navigation menu is too complex and overdone and there are some unnecessary features like launch control and power modes which I don’t think is required for a seasoned motorcyclist but it does make sense for someone who’s new on the bike and coming from a smaller cc engine I also felt the navigation to connect the Bluetooth is much more complex than the outgoing gen 2 model.
Fit and Finish - The quality level of parts on gen 3 Duke 390 is much better than the gen 2 and I’m happy to note that it has got better with time.
Headlight – Headlights spread in the night is ample however I did not get to test this on the highway at night. However, I think an auxiliary light setup would be sufficient in case one needs to tour on this bike.

Based on my experience from the highway test ride of the gen 3 Duke 390 I don’t think this is a meaningful upgrade for me personally given the fact that I have gen 2 390 and 790 Duke currently. However I like the new gen 390 in isolation as it is an improved version of the outgoing model however the standard package offered does not exceed my expectation so I would not be considering swapping my gen 2 with gen 3 duke 390 at the moment.

Please excuse any grammatical errors as I am not a professional blogger.

[hikozaru]

Originally Posted by jbash79

Looks – It is very polarizing, I personally like the 2nd gen styling as the best so far however this design might grow over the folks who take this bike over a period of time.

The 2nd gen 390 is definitely the ducati monster of our times, euro bike, trellis frame, cheap thrills and all but lets take a moment to appreciate the pure genius that is the new 390 design.



The green part, traces the shape of a twin spar frame, keyword being traced. KTM did not forget this is a naked and so it is. We can see the coolant reservoir on the right and the some tubing on the left. Same thing with the visible patterns on the swingarm and under the pillion seat. No geometric shape is smoothed over in pursuit of some idea of classical beauty.

One example is the small gap between the fuel tank and the seat. While studying old racebikes, it was noted that the fuel tank and seat do not form a single integrated shape. To find out why, the team asked a mechanic at the warehouse who was there at the time, who revealed that it was simply because there was no need to integrate the two, so the fuel tank and seat were placed in their respective ideal positions

When I was reading about the 2022+ XSR900 design which I absolutely adore, I came across this at https://global.yamaha-motor.com/business/mc/lineup/xsr/ . The key highlight here is 'no need'. It is what I could only call 'japanese moment', where they fixate on some small unique detail and bam, the entire world bows yet again to the mysticism of Japanese culture. I am pretty convinced that Suzuki decided to outsource their new katana design to the europeans same as yesteryear. And European weebs decided the design brief for the new duke was going to be 'one cut' and made that yellow line but for reasons unknown, Suzuki binned the project and KTM retained the design rights and decided to make it. With the sheer number of clean and parallel lines, this is pure bike sashimi.

[scarn]

Hi all, I’ve now clocked about 5000 km on my bike, riding it on highways, ghats, and in the city. The only issue I have with my Gen-3 is the seat comfort. I absolutely adore everything else about it. It's not really the hardness of the seat, but the lack of padding. I’m considering adding an additional inch of high-density foam to raise the seat height to around 820 mm. If anyone has done any seat modifications, could you please let me know how the comfort was after the modification?

[parzival]

Originally Posted by jbash79

[b][u]

Engine Vibration – I was given a brand new bike for a highway test ride which had done only 40KM on the Odo however I understand this comes with stock company mineral oil which does not provide best performance hence there were lot of vibrations through the engine specially across the power band at the peak performance which kept buzzing through the handlebar and food pegs I would recommend the company to use a high end engine oil like Motul 300V2 which performs much better smoother performance as it reduces vibrations to the great extent.

I am not sure if they come standard with mineral oil from factory but the service centers anyways use Motul fully synthetic engine oil (10w40 I guess).

[TheHelix0202]

Originally Posted by jbash79

I would recommend the company to use a high end engine oil like Motul 300V2 which performs much better smoother performance as it reduces vibrations

Under no circumstances would I recommend using Motul 300V2 for road based motorcycles. It's an oil engineered for track use.

It has a much shorter lifetime compared to regular everyday use engine oil, and you may find yourself running dangerously low on oil when you're out touring or doing long rides. Totally doesn't justify the cost for city commutes either. Overkill Pro Max.

Try Fuchs Silkolene, Amsol or LiquiMoly instead.

[Castro Gunner]

Originally Posted by TheHelix0202

Under no circumstances would I recommend using Motul 300V2 for road based motorcycles. It's an oil engineered for track use.

It has a much shorter lifetime compared to regular everyday use engine oil, and you may find yourself running dangerously low on oil when you're out touring or doing long rides. Totally doesn't justify the cost for city commutes either. Overkill Pro Max.

Agree on this. They require frequent top ups

[Vignesh_N/A]

Originally Posted by parzival

I am not sure if they come standard with mineral oil from factory but the service centers anyways use Motul fully synthetic engine oil (10w40 I guess).

+1

They use 10w50. Never the mineral oil. But I am not sure about the test bikes.

I recently test rode Scrambler 400X which had horrible vibrations. Like really bad. I believe they are skimping on the service

[b16h22]

Originally Posted by TheHelix0202

Under no circumstances would I recommend using Motul 300V2 for road based motorcycles. It's an oil engineered for track use.

It has a much shorter lifetime compared to regular everyday use engine oil, and you may find yourself running dangerously low on oil when you're out touring or doing long rides. Totally doesn't justify the cost for city commutes either. Overkill Pro Max.

Try Fuchs Silkolene, Amsol or LiquiMoly instead.

7100 10w50 is pretty much all the 390 needs honestly. Or any high revving small engine for that matter. I have used it for the last 10 years on all my 200cc+ bikes and can't complain at all. It barely changed the colour after 4k in my Gixxer 250.

[ChetanM6]

Originally Posted by Vignesh_N/A

I recently test rode Scrambler 400X which had horrible vibrations. Like really bad. I believe they are skimping on the service

+One. I had a TD of the Scrambler at Khivraj Whitefield last week. Its such a vibey motorcycle throughout the rev range. I felt bad vibrations on right foot peg, tank and handlebars. The showroom said that that bike hasn't been serviced and hence the vibrations. They might be right as i never had such a disappointing experience when i took the TD of the Speed 400 last year. I also took a TD of the new Duke 390 which had some vibrations at low rpm but not as bad as that in the scrambler . I am confused why none of the media reviews talk about the vibrations in Scrambler specifically but all of them talk about the same when it comes for the Duke.

[amyntor]

Originally Posted by ChetanM6

+One. I had a TD of the Scrambler at Khivraj Whitefield last week. Its such a vibey motorcycle throughout the rev range. I felt bad vibrations on right foot peg, tank and handlebars. The showroom said that that bike hasn't been serviced and hence the vibrations. They might be right as i never had such a disappointing experience when i took the TD of the Speed 400 last year. I also took a TD of the new Duke 390 which had some vibrations at low rpm but not as bad as that in the scrambler . I am confused why none of the media reviews talk about the vibrations in Scrambler specifically but all of them talk about the same when it comes for the Duke.

That wasn't my experience when test rode the Scrambler five months ago in my tier 2/3 city.

The bike was smooth and I have a high bar for smoothness coming from a Honda CB350 H'ness and clutch was very light too. If the 390 Duke hadn't pulled on my heartstrings, I'd have definitely bought the Scrambler.

[hikozaru]

Someone once told me to break only one law at a time. With some not so legal mods, I took my d̶o̶g̶ duke out for a bit of a walk today to test out speed control. I set it to 90kmph to give myself some overtaking headroom and hoped that GPS speed tracking would save me the day if I did get flagged. Got to say it is a totally different experience and objectively a far more dangerous one.

It does not actually take effect unless the speed control logo is green in colour. I have no idea why it even says the same thing in yellow if it does not work. The throttle adjusts in every gear depending on the gear and feels like stretching a rubber band to its limit when at the speed limit. It is an extremely soft limiter which holds the revs constant instead of constantly fluctuating like riding at redline normally does. The speed limiter itself is very unnatural at first. Power normally tapers out at redline, this just feels like a sudden but weak gut punch. Overtaking is practically impossible unless someone gives you way, which funnily enough happened to me twice. I guess the car in front of me saw me doing a lot of shoulder checks which they interpreted as me trying to overtake and failing but in reality I was just scared of getting rear ended by a 120kmph car. It does not affect city riding but the gear ratios are so well spaced for my riding that I don't think I will use speed control.

It certainly does give you a different perspective though. My normal mindset has me overtake vehicles in front of me safely for better line of sight until I reach yet another vehicle and I keep repeating this process. But given enough time, the increase in pace and reduced available reaction times absolutely does offset any safety gained from having a better line of sight. More dangerous or safer I don't know. I don't think I even enjoy one style better than the other. A part of me feels like if the roads are endlessly straight and boring, it is better to sit back and cruise at 80kmph, another part of me is quite receptive to the fact that I am riding a duke 390. In any case, around 70kmph, the engine settles around 4k and has a similar sense of calm that it has at 6k rpm and returns stunning fuel economy numbers, which comes as no surprise. I was also surprised to see so many cars cruise along at 90kmph, but overall I found the whole experience to be somewhat unpleasant and it comes down to the different speed limits for cars and bikes. It is not at all fun to hear the loud horns of a car wanting to overtake me when I am doing my speed limit but I cannot blame them either. And no way I am going to move to the shoulder or to the side to let these guys overtake me either. Here is hoping Bajaj or someone lobbies the government to make the laws more sensible.


Managed to eke out a 35.1kmpl on the dash before I pissed it all out for a quick 5km hit

[grshnehete]

Originally Posted by scarn

Hi all, I’ve now clocked about 5000 km on my bike, riding it on highways, ghats, and in the city. The only issue I have with my Gen-3 is the seat comfort. I absolutely adore everything else about it. It's not really the hardness of the seat, but the lack of padding. I’m considering adding an additional inch of high-density foam to raise the seat height to around 820 mm. If anyone has done any seat modifications, could you please let me know how the comfort was after the modification?

I have added 1 inch foam to the seat. Its lot more comfortable and it suits my 6.1 height. Got it done for 1500 rupees in Mumbai.
I had similar thing done to my previous bike, Pulsar AS200 as well.

[ChetanM6]

Originally Posted by grshnehete

I have added 1 inch foam to the seat. Its lot more comfortable and it suits my 6.1 height. Got it done for 1500 rupees in Mumbai.
I had similar thing done to my previous bike, Pulsar AS200 as well.

I have a similar height, may I ask how comfortable is it to tour on the Duke? Do you feel cramped on the saddle ? Also do you plan to add handle bar risers for better ergonomics ?

[grshnehete]

Originally Posted by ChetanM6

I have a similar height, may I ask how comfortable is it to tour on the Duke? Do you feel cramped on the saddle ? Also do you plan to add handle bar risers for better ergonomics ?

I have not toured on it. But I have ridden it continuously for 2 hours and I did not felt cramped. Yes, the space to move on the seat is less, but it's not comfortable. Only problem was the seat which has next to no padding. I immediately went to the shop and added foam to the seat after that ride. As of now, no plans to add anything for ergonomics. I feel comfortable on it.