[Sutripta]

Originally Posted by VedderTheFixer

it indicates the engine oil level and state of the oil as it's transparent.

Sightglass.

Those two curved hook like things correspond to the max and min level of engine oil.

Circlip. Can be in any position. Use the diecast marks on the casing.

Regards
Sutripta

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by Akhilash95

This occurred because of a combination of
1. Soft compound metzelers
2. Low profile tyres
3. Poor quality rims

D200 is less prone to rim cracking because of comparatively harder MRFs.

Damn it man! So sad to hear about it! Lots and lots of issues regarding the alloys are popping up.

And the proper reason for this crack is POINT#3 you have mentioned. It cant be associated with compound of the tyre as the underlying steel radial should be of similar strength.

All these incidents regarding the alloys is a cause of great concern. Hitting a stone/pothole @ 50kmph(assuming it was ridden solo) is not an excuse for an alloy crack!

[Akhilash95]

Originally Posted by man_of_steel

Damn it man! So sad to hear about it! Lots and lots of issues regarding the alloys are popping up.

All these incidents regarding the alloys is a cause of great concern. Hitting a stone/pothole @ 50kmph(assuming it was ridden solo) is not an excuse for an alloy crack!

The incident occured on my friend's 390 . Was a sad moment for him as the bike was just a month old.
He has decided not attend any rides from now on.
He has lost confidence on his bike's touring capability.
Will update on the repair part by evening. The svcs don't have the rear rim in stock.

[nasirkaka]

The incident occured on my friend's 390 . Was a sad moment for him as the bike was just a month old.
He has decided not attend any rides from now on.
He has lost confidence on his bike's touring capability.

Sad indeed! and too many incidents with rim sure does raise a doubt about the alloy quality.

I think in almost all the cases, its the front wheel bearing the brunt. I guess switching to a regular metal rim with spokes, in front should give some confidence. I believe the front is much easier to convert to a spoke setup, then rear. We may have to use tube inside the metz.. Shall dig in to this..

[ebonho]

The issue of these breaking and cracking and bending alloys can only be solved in one of two ways:

1) Get better quality/tougher alloys and/or have better QC of the current alloys and bend on the vendor to up his quality. The price would probably increase, but its not something either Bajaj/KTM or potential buyers can ignore any longer.

and (more than or)

2) Increase the height of the sidewall of the tyres. You will compromise on handling as well as stability under braking and hard cornering to an extent, but maybe this is what is needed for our roads and the quality of the current alloys.

The reason many more 390s are having this issue compared to the 200 could probably be the higher speeds of the 390, which would directly relate to higher stresses on the alloys when they hit objects/obstacles. Because I do not think either the vendor has changed or the QC has suddenly laxed, because otherwise we would be hearing of equally more 200s having these issues.

Are we?

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by ebonho

1) Get better quality/tougher alloys and/or have better QC of the current alloys and bend on the vendor to up his quality. The price would probably increase, but its not something either Bajaj/KTM or potential buyers can ignore any longer.

and (more than or)

2) Increase the height of the sidewall of the tyres. You will compromise on handling as well as stability under braking and hard cornering to an extent, but maybe this is what is needed for our roads and the quality of the current alloys.

The reason many more 390s are having this issue compared to the 200 could probably be the higher speeds of the 390, which would directly relate to higher stresses on the alloys when they hit objects/obstacles. Because I do not think either the vendor has changed or the QC has suddenly laxed, because otherwise we would be hearing of equally more 200s having these issues.

Are we?

+1 on the Better alloys Doc.
But regarding the third point. In all these issues I have heard so far, the bent or crack in the alloy happened at sane speeds even the 200s could do. Heard of another incident of alloy crack @40-50kmph on hitting a pothole.

Another doubt is, is it due to the added 15 or so Kg-s over the 200s(Assuming both 200 and 390 alloys are same)? I am clueless what went wrong on the testing phase. Did someone missed to fill in the excel sheet?

[Akhilash95]

On a D390,can the brake level be squeezed fully till it touches the throttle, is it normal?
It is close to impossible to do so in D200 unless you have super strong hand.
When I asked the SVC folks regarding this, they suggested that in an abs equipped bike it's normal.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by man_of_steel

+1 on the Better alloys Doc.
But regarding the third point. In all these issues I have heard so far, the bent or crack in the alloy happened at sane speeds even the 200s could do. Heard of another incident of alloy crack @40-50kmph on hitting a pothole.

But are you hearing of the black alloys on the 200 bending, crackng, and breaking like the orange ones of the 390 are? I haven't seen it on the popular forums on the net at least.

I am clueless what went wrong on the testing phase. Did someone missed to fill in the excel sheet?

I hit some speedbreakers (the abrupt sharp ones) pretty bad and at very high speeds while testing the 390. Also some pretty pathetic sections of NH4 while dug up/widening on the way to Panchgani. Also did some off roading (but more mud and gravel, not so much rocks admittedly) with the 390. Never had the alloys break or crack lie what we are seeing.

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by ebonho

I hit some speedbreakers (the abrupt sharp ones) pretty bad and at very high speeds while testing the 390. Also some pretty pathetic sections of NH4 while dug up/widening on the way to Panchgani. Also did some off roading (but more mud and gravel, not so much rocks admittedly) with the 390. Never had the alloys break or crack lie what we are seeing.

Same here. I don't baby my bike with regards to bad roads and potholes. I am a kind of person who feels comfortable standing on the footpeg and hitting an unexpected pothole than braking hard and letting the guy behind rear end me! Still no issues with my alloy even with that riding style and slight off-roadings 'Touch-wood'. But more and more of these stories are making me uneasy for sure.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by man_of_steel

Same here. I don't baby my bike with regards to bad roads and potholes. I am a kind of person who feels comfortable standing on the footpeg and hitting an unexpected pothole than braking hard and letting the guy behind rear end me! Still no issues with my alloy even with that riding style and slight off-roadings 'Touch-wood'. But more and more of these stories are making me uneasy for sure.

Also please note that the test bikes we rode initially had EU spec suspensions. Very hard and unforgiving for our roads. Hitting some of the bad sections at high speed or the bad bumps seriously disbalanced the back end as well as the handle, at times even wrenching it from your hand and almost throwing me over them (when it happened suddenly in the dark). Still the alloys came out ok. The ones you guys have have very different supension spring settings.

[CARDEEP]

As per an article in Motorbeam, KTM is quietly replacing the Duke 390 mudguard metal under plate with a plastic one. the reason for the same is that metal one was hard & inflexible. The new under plate made of plastic is extremely flexible. The replacement is being done at all KTM service centres across the country, free of cost, & is a 20 minutes job.

More details here:

http://www.motorbeam.com/bikes/ktm-d...d-under-plate/

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by CARDEEP

As per an article in Motorbeam, KTM is quietly replacing the Duke 390 mudguard metal under plate with a plastic one. the reason for the same is that metal one was hard & inflexible. The new under plate made of plastic is extremely flexible. The replacement is being done at all KTM service centres across the country, free of cost, & is a 20 minutes job.

More details here:

http://www.motorbeam.com/bikes/ktm-d...d-under-plate/

Both the old and the new are plastic. Just the stiffness and flex varies.

[Dragonheart22]

Originally Posted by ebonho

But are you hearing of the black alloys on the 200 bending, crackng, and breaking like the orange ones of the 390 are? I haven't seen it on the popular forums on the net at least.



I hit some speedbreakers (the abrupt sharp ones) pretty bad and at very high speeds while testing the 390. Also some pretty pathetic sections of NH4 while dug up/widening on the way to Panchgani. Also did some off roading (but more mud and gravel, not so much rocks admittedly) with the 390. Never had the alloys break or crack lie what we are seeing.

I did not mention this on the forum earlier because I got mine replaced under warranty
My 200 is from the first lot, received in March 2012. The incident is from November 2012. I was returning to Bangalore via NH4, and I was maintaining about 100 kph, as it got dark, I hit a bad pothole, I could not see the size of the monster, but I was thrown off my seat. Within a few 100 metres, the front is flat and I have to ride the next 80 km in that condition. The crack was through the valve nipple.
The next day, after couple of hours of negotiation, Bajaj agreed to replace under warranty. Since then have been going slow over bumps and uneven patches and for the 390 Adventure, will only purchase it if is offered with spoked ones from the factory.

[ashkamath]

Originally Posted by ebonho

I hit some speed breakers (the abrupt sharp ones) pretty bad and at very high speeds while testing the 390. Never had the alloys break or crack lie what we are seeing.

Did hit the speed breakers at triple digits just now while returning home from Anjuna without any issues. I guess the reason of breaking or cracking of alloy wheels had much more to do than hitting some breakers. I think the quality of the alloy is suspect as we are hearing this more often on 390 in the forum than being reported with regard to any other bike. I am not sure if for 1.8Lakh ex showroom price, with all the goodies thrown in, the company is not compromising on some aspects such as the alloy wheels (afterall it has to make some profit some where).
The other day my 390 let me down again. I was returning home and was doing a good 80 Kph and at a turn ahead , there was a bus and a couple of cars behind it and I slowed down, from 6th to 5th and while I depressed my clutch to shift from 5th to 4th at about 50 Kph, my bike just went dead. very dangerous situation. fortunately there were no vehicles behind me and I just parked the bike on the road side and after a minute or two, again I was ready to go. but it was scary as if there was any speeding vehicle behind me, I would have been in a very scary situation. this conking of engine suddenly at decent normal speeds is getting on my nerves ( I changed my fuel filter very recently and I fill premium petrol regularly at only one place always). so something is troubling me now. I shudder to think of consequences if my bike shuts down while overtaking a vehicle on the highway with little or no leeway . I believe reliability and confidence is a must on performance bike and such incidences leave an indelible doubt in this regard.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by ashkamath

The other day my 390 let me down again. I was returning home and was doing a good 80 Kph and at a turn ahead , there was a bus and a couple of cars behind it and I slowed down, from 6th to 5th and while I depressed my clutch to shift from 5th to 4th at about 50 Kph, my bike just went dead.

When the bike went dead, what was the engine temperature displaying? I mean how many bars? Was it normal or by any chance overheating? I know 80 kph is not high to overheat the engine but just a thought.

I guess the engine/ECU went to limp mode. I am just guessing. As you speed the bike switched off everything and switched ON again all was normal.

Anurag.