My Gen 3 KTM 390 Duke: Ownership review

While I have had a good time with the KTM 390 Duke, my plan is to travel long distance over the next couple of years and start writing travelogues. Hence, I am looking to move on to the second-gen KTM 390 Adventure

BHPian vishal.jayakuma recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Let me go on a tiny monologue about the 390 Duke, just in case some people who wanted to get the 390 Adventure feel that it might be a bit too tall; and this opinion might help them pick the Duke.

The new Duke is fantastic and in a lot of ways, reminds me of the gen 1 Duke 390, sans the handlebar positioning.

KTM 390 Duke Pros:

1. It is extremely light - at 169 kg kerb weight.
2. Extremely powerful for its class, and easy to maneuver even with one hand (I do not recommend this)
3. The engine gets smoother over time and the vibrations have reduced after the second service.
4. The brakes are absolutely sublime, although I would've preferred a bit more initial bite.
5. Honestly extremely joysome to ride and the acceleration is exhilarating and addictive.
6. Due to short gearing and the torque coming in at an early 3.5K rpm, it is quite simple to ride it smoothly. My personal favourite cruising speed at city/low highway speeds is 70 km/h in 4th gear, or 115 km/h in 6th gear.
7. When you rev it past 7K rpm till redline, it transforms into a wild beast

There are a lot more pros that I haven't listed, but I will move on to the cons.

KTM 390 Duke Cons:

1. There are noticeable vibrations between 4.5 and 6K rpm and gets smoothened out after that.
2. Ride quality. Although the suspension is really fantastic for the most bit, it is quite stiff at almost all speeds even after adjusting the shocks and the forks.
3. Highway patches and lateral wind blast, combined with the overall light weight of the bike, tosses it a bit at high highway speeds, especially while touring.
4. It is a small bike, dimension-wise. I am 5'8 at 72kg and I still feel quite cosy on the bike. I wish it was a bit larger.
5. The riding position is quite committed, unlike the previous generations of the Duke.
6. Due to ride-by-wire throttle, bad patches of road can unsettle your throttle hand, which causes jerky acceleration.
7. I have had issues with fuelling that have not completely been fixed, although there has been a 75% improvement after the second service. I only expect this to get better over time, as you can always stay in touch with your SA and discuss these issues.
8. The seats - biggest disappointment so far. It hurts even on longer city rides. Please upgrade with some cushioning or get a gel seat for highway travels. I know some experienced members of this forum have advised against adding gel cushioning to the stock seat, but I vehemently disagree. I'm sure the manufacturer had some plan with the stock seat, but I am sorry to say that they have failed miserably. After a 1000km Bangalore trip before first service, I did not even have back pain after getting back to riding post 10 years, but I had saddle sores for a few days after that. Several times during the journey, I had to stop so that my backside could get some blood circulation.

Some more notable points:

1. I have always ensured to fill only 95 octane petrol on this bike, and it has paid off.
2. Slightly off-topic and quite baffling to me, Shell is the worst-performing fuel on this bike. I have tracked every single fuel expense on this bike, along with the fuel economy (thanks to an app called Drivvo), and Shell has really been a disappointment with fuelling and fuel economy. Quite strange, because I had topped up at 3 different Shell stations - thrice so far, at INR 127/litre.
3. You can saddle well on this bike if you're about my height, albeit leaning over quite a bit. Another point to note is that because this is a sensitive throttle, you should be a bit more careful while standing up and modulate it gently.
4. Couple of rules I follow on the bike. I let it warm up to atleast 35C before taking it out of the garage. And I always wait for the radiator fan to shut off at 89C before turning off the bike.

With all this being said, it is quite obvious why I want to move on to the Adventure 390 R. My plan is to travel long distance over the next couple of years and start writing travelogues.

If anyone is interested in purchasing my 2024 Duke 390 to facilitate my upgrade to the Adventure, please do DM me or wait for my post on Team-BHP classifieds.

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