[mithunvvijayan]

Originally Posted by adrian

I gather that the mis- fires occurs during deceleration, with that engine braking going on, right ? In carburetor installed (old school) motorcycles, this is the place were deceleration pops occurs due to temporary leaning out of AFR and these motorcycles start with the first kick unless it is very cold. Why don't you try coasting down with the clutch in (without engine braking) as an experiment and see if the motorcycle mis fires and turns off
regards adrian

Actually it happens when the bike when the bike is on clutch. If the engine is deccelerating it doesnt stall. When the engine is free it happens. Sometimes the engine settles into idle and when a slight load is given it turns off.

To circumvent the problem, I continuosly blip the engine, whenever the clutch is engaged, untill the problem is solved

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by VW2010

DR.

Congrats. You will enjoy each and every minute of this ownership. And i am starting to think the riding style is a reason for someone of us who never got the stalling problem. We just ride this plastic beast hard

Lol plastic beast. I like! A plastic beast with a coiled steel core. Always ready to strike. Hard.

Thanks buddy. I am looking forward to doing some serious riding with her now. Though I have been thrashing my 500 these last 4 months since I sold Baby Duke, and enjoying myself immensely, its obviously not been the same. But as a result, Doppie has got cleaned up, spruced up (black paint on block and silencer, tuning, oiling, fluids, electricals, regular running), and is now doing well as a regular runner. Will make a conscious effort to not neglect her now this time.

I agree with you about not being remotely anal and thrashing the machine working for old school Bulleteers on Dukes. We are just so "seasoned" (polite word for traumatized, emotionally and financially scarred, toughened like old well tanned leather, etc. etc.) by a decade of our Bullets, that I honestly don't get what if anything can be remotely wrong with a rorty bike like the Duke.

You and I both know how blessed we feel when our 500s are running fine on a cold winter night. How horrible they feel on a hot summer afternoon. How we baby them on the highway with our butt and wrist and ears and nose, constantly alert.

The Duke's "issues" are not issues at all! They are amusing reminders that even modern high strung machines can still be raw and entertaining and involving. I would honestly hate to own a smooth silent characterless machine, like those made by some huge auto giants.

Originally Posted by sharanvenu

This is some seriously good news. Congratulations.
I wonder, what took you so long.

Thanks bro. What took long was first finding the right buyer for Baby Duke, then deciding which my new bike would be (for nearly 2 of the last 4 months I was looking at used Ninja 250s), and then finding the right 390.

In bike (and car - though I have never sold a car, nor bought a used one yet) deals, whether you are selling or buying, the right guy/bike is destined. Other deals you might be lusting for or almost on the verge of closing for some reason or the other will invariably fall through. That is my learning over the years.

Originally Posted by Insearch

Congrats Doc! Satisfying to see you back on something you have tested pre-launch. Speaks volumes of your faith in the product, and gives me that much more comfort, in my choice.

Hopefully this thread will not be "stalled" now! Here is a thought:

Younger days, I really liked sugarcane juice and would watch incredulously when the cane would be inserted into the crusher for the fourth or fifth time. The mangled mass would release some foam, and the vendor would have a look of satisfaction on his face, that I felt bordered on evil.

Somehow I am getting the same feeling for the last few pages here.
And like VW2010 said: A steed is not everyone's horse

Regards.

Thanks buddy. I remember my days in small town Bihar as a boy growing up too. Only we never had this evil maniacal guy like yours.

We instead had this central machine with gears fashioned and hewn out of wood, with this huge long pole, attached to a big huge bull, which would go round and round and round till there was no juice left .......

[anilp]

Originally Posted by ebonho

I agree with you about not being remotely anal and thrashing the machine working for old school Bulleteers on Dukes. We are just so "seasoned" (polite word for traumatized, emotionally and financially scarred, toughened like old well tanned leather, etc. etc.) by a decade of our Bullets, that I honestly don't get what if anything can be remotely wrong with a rorty bike like the Duke.


The Duke's "issues" are not issues at all! They are amusing reminders that even modern high strung machines can still be raw and entertaining and involving. I would honestly hate to own a smooth silent characterless machine, like those made by some huge auto giants. Attachment 1306507

Hahaha, absolutely spot on. Congrats, doc. Wish you many miles of bliss with the "plastic beast".

[shan_ned]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Thanks bro. What took long was first finding the right buyer for Baby Duke, then deciding which my new bike would be (for nearly 2 of the last 4 months I was looking at used Ninja 250s), and then finding the right 390.

Congrats Doc !!! Even I was wondering why you were not owning D390 even though you had good words/opinion for it.
I suspected you were waiting for the RC version.

Getting to know the ownership experience with D390 from seasoned riders like you will be eagerly waited.

[the VTEC guy]

Originally Posted by ebonho

So I went over to Kolhapur to pick up her new stablemate, got her checked out and a few adjustments/oiling/settings done, and then rode her back home in the evening, managing to touch down in 3 hours flat, in spite of not really pushing it

Congratulations Doc. Welcome to the 390 and KTM club again. Surprised Tinu didn't brain wash you in getting a Ninja 650 or Continental GT . Lets ride together sometime soon. Would love to ride again with old timers like you, Tinu and Adil.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by anilp

Hahaha, absolutely spot on. Congrats, doc. Wish you many miles of bliss with the "plastic beast".

Thanks Anil! Old long suffering / still in love Bulleteer?

Originally Posted by shan_ned

Congrats Doc !!! Even I was wondering why you were not owning D390 even though you had good words/opinion for it.
I suspected you were waiting for the RC version.

Thanks shan. I was not owning a D390 because for the longest time I was wanting to try something different, and had the Ninjas on my radar. That was when this bike was supposed to be a one year gig, a stop gap at best, before the 690 rolled in. Now that baby was to have been my minimum 3-5 year bike. Sadly that dream seems to have been rudely squelched. We will see what they come out with once the 500 and 800 cc twins roll in.

But seeing as that's going to be a minimum of two years more, I'd rather have a 390 then as it ticked a lot more boxes than the Ninja 250 did. Though to be honest, my heart still gets pulled when I see a nice shiny wel kept Ninja standing somewhere or passing by. It really is a brilliant bike. But all said and done, the Duke 390 is brillianter. And it makes a lot more sense from a financial perspective as well.

Originally Posted by the VTEC guy

Congratulations Doc. Welcome to the 390 and KTM club again. Surprised Tinu didn't brain wash you in getting a Ninja 650 or Continental GT . Lets ride together sometime soon. Would love to ride again with old timers like you, Tinu and Adil.

Me Tinu and Adil have been riding too to long together from our earliest Bullet days to even try and convince each other. Yes we really do give a huge deal of importance to each others opinions, and ride feels on different bikes, but each of us is different as a rider so the final call is always left to each. That of course does not stop the other two from being very strongly and often caustically opinionanted about what they do not like. As any passionate hardcore biker would be of course.

Tinu knows I did not gel with the 650 and do not like the Con GT all that much. In fact he still looks at Doppie wistfully and remembers Warlock (we all know he misses her and regrets selling her and would buy her back in a flash if he could). Adil was done with Bullets though I still think he misses Maverick (who he got to ride again recently) and Turqo (his 535 he just sold). He always wanted to wait for the 390 after getting to ride Baby Duke and seeing what I had started doing with her .... so yes in that way I did influence that decision. Tinu somehow never gelled with the Dukes.

Most of us old Bullet crowd have moved on to other bikes, and the theory is that so challenged are the Bullets as bikes, and so hard did we push them in order to get that last drop of sugarcane juice out of them (!) that when we moved on to competent modern machinery, we just elevated into biking heaven! Here is another one of us old timers and a very close riding buddy, Imran, kicking buttocks in Delhi, getting his 1st place award from yet another old school RD/Bullet rider ..... Incidentally, Imran too had been waiting eagerly for the 390, and true to my word to the company I had not even told him that I was testing it .... till he found out anyways and the rest is history. So yes, I influenced him as well. LOL In fact his was the first 390 in the country and is regularly doing 179 kmph and bouncing of the rev limiter in 6th on the straight at Buddh.



Sure lets ride buddy. Are you going for the Goa RM? Otherwise any Sunday morning, as always.

[anilp]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Thanks Anil! Old long suffering / still in love Bulleteer?

Old long sufferer of the CI tribe, parted reluctantly couple of years back after the 8 year affair. Still missing her, despite the 390's constant adrenaline rush.

[ebonho]

Did I mention to you guys that I am very impressed by the brakes on this 390? Seriously good especially when compared to my test 390, which had a spongy feel, not great feedback, and required quite a bit of pull, and had even contributed to a set of soiled trousers once on the way to Gujarat.

These ones are great. One finger stuff. I found myself reflexly dabbing them with two at times, but that just did not feel ok. Maybe it was the angle the lever was set at, but if its needed you will compensate for the angle. So obviously it was not need, and one finger hit the anchors hard at some pretty nice speeds. I recall even gettin g the ABS to activate at the front once while approaching a diversion that came up suddenly .... something I had never done (or been able to do) on the test 390.

[Silverflash]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Did I mention to you guys that I am very impressed by the brakes on this 390? Seriously good especially when compared to my test 390, which had a spongy feel, not great feedback, and required quite a bit of pull, and had even contributed to a set of soiled trousers once on the way to Gujarat.

These ones are great. One finger stuff. I found myself reflexly dabbing them with two at times, but that just did not feel ok. Maybe it was the angle the lever was set at, but if its needed you will compensate for the angle. So obviously it was not need, and one finger hit the anchors hard at some pretty nice speeds. I recall even gettin g the ABS to activate at the front once while approaching a diversion that came up suddenly .... something I had never done (or been able to do) on the test 390.

The bike I test rode had wonderful brakes. IT was one of the things I loved so much about it. But it seemed newish, so maybe that was why?

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by Silverflash

The bike I test rode had wonderful brakes. IT was one of the things I loved so much about it. But it seemed newish, so maybe that was why?

Could be (hope its not though). My test bike had the soft squishy front brakes with too much bitepoint-travel from day 1 almost though.

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Did I mention to you guys that I am very impressed by the brakes on this 390?

+1. The brakes are impressive. Although it still requires some extra lever pull than my liking and lacks the initial bite, the super progressive braking feel makes up for all these!

[mithunvvijayan]

Got the bike back. They have changed the stepper motor as well as the temperature sensor. Asked me to take a test ride. There were two bars in the temperature guage. The bike didn't stall in the usual conditions. They said that they are not closing the job card. They asked me to check for the problem during cold start. If I am satisfied, only then will they close the job card. Very hopeful.

[shan_ned]

Originally Posted by ebonho

But seeing as that's going to be a minimum of two years more, I'd rather have a 390 then as it ticked a lot more boxes than the Ninja 250 did. Though to be honest, my heart still gets pulled when I see a nice shiny wel kept Ninja standing somewhere or passing by. It really is a brilliant bike. But all said and done, the Duke 390 is brillianter. And it makes a lot more sense from a financial perspective as well.

Thanks for sharing your perspective.
I remember you saying about going for the bike where one's heart is

I like to narrate a funny incident which happened few days back. Just like a person who takes his entire family to see the bride, I too took my entire family to the KTM showroom for having a look at D390. There were many bikes standing next to each other, but my entire family was looking only at the RC and I was looking only at the Ninja. In fact we completely forget the original purpose of visiting the showroom. It went on like that without noticing D390 until the showroom closing time approached. After coming back from the showroom, my son was almost crying to have the RC and all other members in my family also felt the same. Adding more fun to that, I was just dreaming about the Ninja that I saw on that day and so there was no any meeting point. After a couple of days, some sense prevailed and I finally told them that only D390 would do. The most funny part was that the entire gang visited the showroom again and the manager looked at me so differently. He himself might have felt whether he was selling brides or something else. The other terrible part is even now my son is still crying and insisting on getting the RC

Doc, can I ask you a politically incorrect question ? You can choose not to answer if it is going to create a war like situation between the KTM and Ninja group Assuming all the things (price, build quality, after sales support, etc.,) being same, which one will you choose between D390 and N250/300 if the only criteria is pure/raw performance ?

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Did I mention to you guys that I am very impressed by the brakes on this 390?

Congrats on the bike, Doc. It is nice to have you back and with a bike at hand, we can bug you more for answers to our queries

Any plans to graft that exhaust you mentioned earlier? The one you found so impressive.

--Anoop

[zulfi hansi]

Originally Posted by ebonho

No. Not at that price. Does it have insurance renewed? That's around 4K extra if it hasn't. Transfer around 1-1.5K if its in state. If you need an NOC, out of town but in state, that's another 1-1.5K. If its out of state, then the taxes etc. and new registration number add up significantly. Both tyres are due for replacement (the front too if not now then in another couple of thousand kms - never take a risk with the front. One can get away with a lot at the rear). So add another 17-18K for that to the price. Then you take into account other wear and tear items like brake pads, clutch plates, and chain and sprocket (at 12000 kms). Not to mention whatever price you want to apportion to inevitable general wear and tear of body and engine components. So all in all, at 1.4L, the deal eventually means you are buying a 12000 kms old one year old bike at around 1.65-1.7K. That's really not a good deal. Remember, in less than two months, that bike (model wise) is going to be a 2 year old model. That's good for another 10-15K drop in value in the market.

Disclaimer: I do realise Bangalore prices by and large are higher (for whatever reason .... aside from the higher initial taxes .... whether they make sense or not) than what we guys here work with. I still think you can do better if you look around. There will be low mileage bikes hitting the market soon. And prices will drop in a couple of months with the model change.

Thanks for opening my eyes, literally, I was so smitten by the cheapest available 390 in Bangalore that I had not thought of may of these issues.

Insurance was good for another 6 months, within the state so only CC and no extra taxes, but the rest was a definite expense. Ironically he found a buyer who paid 1.5L

Most of the other 390s available are in the price range of 1.65-1.85 L which have run about 5000-8000 kms. The New 390 is 2.16L OTR.

About the Bangalore way of fixing prices, pray God you are the lucky one who doesn't stay here in Bangalore.