Several new Duke 390s for sale on OLX: Reasons?

The simple truth is that its not a bike for everyone.

BHPian moose recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Why so many 2024 Duke 390s' are ending up on olx? These are brand new and less than 5k kms ridden, Why are the owners trying to sell it off? What might me the reason? How different is it from the Gen 2s?

Here's what BHPian kedar2232 had to say on the matter:

Mostly it is people over stretching their finances.

It is substantially better compared to the previous gen. The advantage that the previous gen had was slightly better refinement, space and looks(subjective). Every other parameter, the new bike offers incremental improvement.

Here's what BHPian ebonho had to say on the matter:

Regardless of the bad press the brand gets thanks to a certain demographic, the bike has built an aura and aspirational mind space equity over a decade in India.

The simple truth however is that its not a bike for everyone.

Maybe a lot of non KTM type riders bought into the hyperbole that the new bigger engine significantly changed its DNA.

And then found out quickly that its still a KTM.

And of course they are still the riders they were before buying it.

I know for a fact from 12 years ago, when the first Duke 200 was launched, and India had never seen a bike like that.

Tons of guys bought it. And proceeded to ride it like any other 150-180-200 cc bike from that time.

And then came the barrage of complaints and agony aunt sessions online and with the harassed KTM Bajaj folk telling them how "unrideable" the bike was.

How crappy the fueling was.

How crappy the clutch was.

How crappy (harsh) the suspension was.

And Bajaj took a big huge collective sigh of frustration and went about Bajaj-izing an Austrian gem. For the end target audience that simply could not ride it, nor wanted to give it a shot and relearn all that they thought they knew about riding.

And this only got worse when the first VERY raw 390s were launched (I had field tested one of the 4 test mules pre launch for 3 months).

And the funny part was that the 390 made the 200 look and feel like a Rolls Royce in comparison! LOL

Here's what BHPian scarn had to say on the matter:

Expanding on Doc's insightful remarks, I've noticed an interesting trend in the reviews of the 2024 Duke 390 by international vs Indian reviewers. While the international reviewers tend to overlook the vibrations issue, Indian reviewers consistently bring it up, often comparing it to 300cc or sub-300cc bikes. Tbh I find this stance a bit puzzling, given the insane power output of 45 bhp from 400cc single; it's only natural for vibrations to be present. After all, smoother single-cylinder bikes rarely exceed 30bhp, and even then, they still exhibit vibrations under heavy acceleration. With a 400cc high-compression engine, while keeping the weight below 170kg, some level of vibrations is to be expected. However, many reviewers seem to focus solely on this aspect without properly educating their audience about the broader context. This plays into the mentality of people who think all bikes should be vibe-free and hence believe there's something wrong with their bike.

Here's what BHPian VijayAnand1 had to say on the matter:

Kedar is spot on! Overstretched budget and underutilized product. The quagmire of decisions to sell a bike stems from varied factors, with one overspent and underutilized, and secondly the resulting upkeep/dissatisfaction. Perforce to say, ergonomics takes a big role when your body settles finally with the bike, and that's where it's mostly a hit or miss.

The Bubble Wrap Syndrome is real. The zeal to get a new bike, coupled with enough self-vindication during time time of test ride -- and lo reality kicks in. It's a mixed bag of everything that leads to a great purchase to a sorry sale and everything in between.

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