[Zaaq]

I am thinking of choosing Duke 390 as my very first motorcycle. I live on a part of my town where it gets windy for 3-4 months of the year, I would like to know how stable is the Duke in cross winds. Thanks in Advance!!

[kedar3223]

Originally Posted by Zaaq

I am thinking of choosing Duke 390 as my very first motorcycle. I live on a part of my town where it gets windy for 3-4 months of the year, I would like to know how stable is the Duke in cross winds. Thanks in Advance!!

Duke 390 as a first bike in India is not at all recommended. May I suggest the 250? It has enough performance to keep one engaged for at least 3-4 years. You may upgrade once you find yourself being skilled enough to keep the revs high throughout your ride. The 390 feels hesitant at lower rpms, pushing you to go quicker and quicker, increasing the changes of getting into deep trouble.

As for stability, it's damn stable at speeds(with correctly set up suspension). Gets affected reasonably by cross winds, nothing out of the ordinary.

[Spikky-ZX Throt]

Originally Posted by Zaaq

I am thinking of choosing Duke 390 as my very first motorcycle. I live on a part of my town where it gets windy for 3-4 months of the year, I would like to know how stable is the Duke in cross winds. Thanks in Advance!!

Hi As Suggested by Kedar below, it is not advisable to go for a 390 as first bike. Either you can go for a 250 or 200, if not you can choose any one of the Husky 250 twins based on your comfort with them.

[hikozaru]

Originally Posted by Zaaq

I am thinking of choosing Duke 390 as my very first motorcycle. I live on a part of my town where it gets windy for 3-4 months of the year, I would like to know how stable is the Duke in cross winds. Thanks in Advance!!

It is stable in the wind but gets pushed around a bit when you get behind and past bigger vehicles like buses and lorries.

Contrary to what others say, the 390 is not an unreasonable first bike and is also the only KTM worth buying. Anyone who has gotten a licence (can ride a basic figure of 8 and change gears, manage the clutch) should be able to ride a 390 just fine. It has linear power delivery, speed control, traction control, stick to the first three gears and you won't even do triple digits. If none of that convinces you, KTM recommend you keep the revs below 7k for the first 1000km, that is basically the same as riding a duke 250.

[Vignesh_N/A]

Originally Posted by Zaaq

I am thinking of choosing Duke 390 as my very first motorcycle. I live on a part of my town where it gets windy for 3-4 months of the year, I would like to know how stable is the Duke in cross winds. Thanks in Advance!!

It depends on how much you weigh as well. For my 60 Kg weight, I did get pushed around during one my ride to ottanchathiram.

[SVS_23]

Originally Posted by Zaaq

I am thinking of choosing Duke 390 as my very first motorcycle.

Contrary to most people’s opinion, I believe it is a great first motorcycle. Gone are the days of the gen 1 dukes that used to overwhelm even experienced riders. Modern 390s come with a host of electronic rider aids that make the riding experience whole lot more manageable for newer riders. Also, it is a great foundation in case you decide to update to a middleweight sports bike later on.

Cheers,
SVS

[kedar3223]

Well you will have contrasting opinions on the beginner friendliness of the 390, to each his own. I personally don't think the power delivery is linear at all. This combined with the lumpy low rev performance that nudges one to ride at higher revs, is a sure shot recipe for disaster in our traffic conditions. One minor lapse in concentration while trying to overcome the buzzy low end with more throttle is all it takes. The next corner arrives much quickly in a 390 compared to a 250.

My school of thought is that a 250 has much better lower rpm performance for the initial learning phase, a sweet top end to get the hang of riding at higher rpms by rowing through the gears. It has a chassis, tire and brake combo that's over engineered for the power providing greater learning latitude.

If you feel you've outgrown the 250, congrats. You can always manage the financial hit and upgrade to the 390 while having much better skills.

The traction control is a good safety net to overcome loss of traction. The speed control though is something that I feel hinders safety for the most part. The throttle-rpm relation gets sort of unpredictable while overtaking IMHO.

[greenhorn]

Is there a problem with the latest gen duke 390 piston rings?
I have a friend with a 2024 duke which was suffering near catastrophic oil loss. My friend being very mechanically inclined caught it in time and his engine is being rebuilt under warranty. In a couple of other forums the root cause was bought up as inferior ring quality. Does anyone else had premature engine failure?

[Cyborg]

Originally Posted by Zaaq

I am thinking of choosing Duke 390 as my very first motorcycle. I live on a part of my town where it gets windy for 3-4 months of the year, I would like to know how stable is the Duke in cross winds. Thanks in Advance!!

No issues on getting the Duke 390 as your first motorcycle. It will be great and you won’t have to upgrade for a long long time if at all. It comes with all the bells and whistles which should give you a nice safety net - ABS and traction control

It would be very, very important to keep your right wrist under control for the first 1000 kilometres or so. This is where the running in also comes into the equation. It will ensure your motorcycle and you get used to each other.

Going slow and steady if a person is new should be a mantra for anyone new to motorcycles, engine capacity not withstanding.

Happy and safe riding.

Cheers

[Vignesh_N/A]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

Is there a problem with the latest gen duke 390 piston rings?
I have a friend with a 2024 duke which was suffering near catastrophic oil loss. My friend being very mechanically inclined caught it in time and his engine is being rebuilt under warranty. In a couple of other forums the root cause was bought up as inferior ring quality. Does anyone else had premature engine failure?

Even in my Gen II Duke 390, I suspect the compression loss was due to piston rings. Could be wrong. I hadn't opened it.

This could also be the reason for the infamous character associated with the 390 engines "Oil drinking is common bruh" as ASC said to me.

IMO, the 250 and 200 engines should have longer engine life. And also less expensive to rebuild.

[shyamg28]

Originally Posted by Zaaq

I am thinking of choosing Duke 390 as my very first motorcycle...

I personally believe the Duke 390 is a very powerful motorcycle for Indian roads & conditions. By powerful, I probably also want to mean, dangerous. I say that not because I think it's the fastest thing on 2 wheels out there, but because it's the most accessible one. 99.99% of us haven't gone through riding schools or any formal training before obtaining our licenses. Which means, that the bulk of the motorcycling in India is "bhagwaan bharose".

That said, we have one at home. We love it!

Now for this to be the 1st motorcycle of somebody's lifetime - it's all extremely relative. I recently saw a video on YouTube of an 18 year old, getting delivery of a Suzuki Hayabusa

Since I don't know you, I am not going to debate your emotional intelligence as well as your financial capacity.
But I would like to bring your attention to this - what scope would you have for upgrading your motorcycle in the future if the Duke 390 is going to be your 1st motorcycle?
Think about it. If the next best exciting thing is a 650 or a litre class machine, are you going to be able to enjoy it? Are you going to be in a position to afford it?

Conversely, there are many here who still have their Gen 1 Duke 390 from back in 2013/14. Do you think you're one of those who would never feel the need to buy more motorycles in the near future (I'm not )?

I wish you all the best in making this decision! Either way, it's an exciting time for you!

Originally Posted by Zaaq

...I live on a part of my town where it gets windy for 3-4 months of the year, I would like to know how stable is the Duke in cross winds. Thanks in Advance!!

The Duke is an extremely light motorcycle. I am 85-90kgs depending on the flavour of ice cream, but even with me, I regularly hit a stretch while commuting that has cross winds, and I do get pushed a bit. But I don't know that a "heavy" bike is the solution to this. Cheers!

[amyntor]

I'm starting a ride from Hyderabad to Himachal Pradesh tomorrow on my gen 3 Duke. It clocked 17.8k kilometres so far. I'm planning to get it serviced in Delhi or Chandigarh on the way.

This service would be a big one cos the bike would hit the 20k kilometres mark. Does anyone know of a good KTM authorized service centre in the area?

[VijayAnand1]

Originally Posted by Zaaq

I am thinking of choosing Duke 390 as my very first motorcycle. I live on a part of my town where it gets windy for 3-4 months of the year, I would like to know how stable is the Duke in cross winds. Thanks in Advance!!

Fellow bhpians have provided varied yet astute advice on your purchase decision. If anything that I'd like to add, that'd be two. Take it easy on the bike until you get to know it fully, secondly and most importantly invest in a good set of riding gear. Thirdly, yes crosswinds especially after a big object crossing can really side swipe the bike easily, case with most bikes worse with faired ones. Take it easy, the 390 is pound per pound fun like no other in its class.

Good luck.

Cheers!
VJ

[scarn]

Originally Posted by amyntor

Thanks to this post, I ordered a windshield from KyberMoto. Can't wait to install it. I definitely do not enjoy the wind blasts on the Duke.

Did you install it? How is it performing?

[amyntor]

Originally Posted by scarn

Did you install it? How is it performing?

I did but I removed it after a couple of long rides. It was rattling at high speeds and the console was shaking along with it. So, the black part just above the headlight was scratched a bit. And their “rust-free” screws caught rust in less than a month. Full disclosure, I live 3 kilometres away from the sea coast. That might have also exacerbated the rusting.

I realised I like the Duke just the way it is.