[ebonho]

Lovely bike bro! Looks neat and new. Congrats!

[anilp]

Originally Posted by b16h22

I was expecting an absolute nightmare of a concrete slab for the seat but i was pleasantly surprised. Its perfect for me. Even sat pillion for two hours in very hot and humid conditions.

Once you get used to the seat, it's amazing even for multi-day tours. Pillion seat is a different story though.

[twinblades]

Great buy. The seat is not too bad. I would suggest keeping an eye on the speedo, that bike is deceptively fast.

[b16h22]

Originally Posted by anilp

Once you get used to the seat, it's amazing even for multi-day tours. Pillion seat is a different story though.

Pillion seat is fine for short stints. Not taking pillion for long rides. I mostly ride solo with occasional short rides with my brother

Originally Posted by twinblades

Great buy. The seat is not too bad. I would suggest keeping an eye on the speedo, that bike is deceptively fast.

It pulls like a train. I'm being extremely cautious in narrow and small roads.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by twinblades

Great buy. The seat is not too bad. I would suggest keeping an eye on the speedo, that bike is deceptively fast.

Sadly not fast enough though.

[twinblades]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Sadly not fast enough though.

I am curious, what scenario/ riding conditions do you find it 'not fast enough'

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by twinblades

I am curious, what scenario/ riding conditions do you find it 'not fast enough'

When you are flat out on an open road. Engine screaming trying to keep contact with the superbike in front of you. The distance closing as he slows for a pass, and opening again as you both throttle up past again. On and on till you hit a narrower or twistier section, and you are on level playing field. In fact dictating terms.

[Suraj25]

Doc, I think it's unfair to compare the 390 to 8+ lac superbikes. This little thing can can blow other bikes below 5l out of the water! Even 150 hp German sedans can't hold a candle to it below 140kph.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by Suraj25

Doc, I think it's unfair to compare the 390 to 8+ lac superbikes. This little thing can can blow other bikes below 5l out of the water! Even 150 hp German sedans can't hold a candle to it below 140kph.

I'm not really comparing Suraj. Just qualifying my statement with regard to the circumstances where "sadly it is not enough."

Regardless of who spends how much on his bike, you have all sorts of bikes joining up to have some weekend warrior fun on Sunday mornings. And depending on the riders and how they ride, regardles of the size of their bikes, they will be gunning.

On the road you only see the guy and his bike, as one unit in front of or behind you. Mental calculations of cc, bhp, torque curves, and on road prices do not come into the picture.

Its one hell of a bike for its size and price. No two ways about it. Just that on the open road, its one limitation becomes apparent.

I had the same feeling with the 200 at 140. But with the 390 at 170 (all theoretical top end capabilities), you are able to stay with the bigger bikes a lot longer and a lot further.

I guess there is no end to this. With a 650 which does 210 (theoretically) you might feel that might now be enough. But once you get used to that, you would want the next bigger machine that now pushes 240 (again, in theory) ......

[twinblades]

Makes sense in the conditions ur referring to, realistically though I find even 390 over kill for me in Bangalore city. Which is were I ride most of the time. Maybe a few year down the lane I might be doing more rides on the highway and sing a different song

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by twinblades

Makes sense in the conditions ur referring to, realistically though I find even 390 over kill for me in Bangalore city. Which is were I ride most of the time. Maybe a few year down the lane I might be doing more rides on the highway and sing a different song

The 390 is actually a pretty horrible bike to ride in traffic like you have in Bangalore. A 200 would be so much better.

99.9% of my KTM riding is done out of the city. For the city I use my Bullet, which with its nifty little neutral lever and low rev thumping is just perfect.

[shan_ned]

Originally Posted by twinblades

Makes sense in the conditions ur referring to, realistically though I find even 390 over kill for me in Bangalore city. Which is were I ride most of the time. Maybe a few year down the lane I might be doing more rides on the highway and sing a different song

I would say D390/Ninja300 are the best bet for Indian conditions (even on the Highways). Yes, bigger bikes are faster, but only for the short burst rides. Even those short burst rides have some risks attached. Anyway, our human mind is vulnerable in the quest for more

Originally Posted by ebonho

I had the same feeling with the 200 at 140. But with the 390 at 170 (all theoretical top end capabilities), you are able to stay with the bigger bikes a lot longer and a lot further. If someone is used to those speeds, I guess God mush have wired his brain very differently :-)

I guess there is no end to this. With a 650 which does 210 (theoretically) you might feel that might now be enough. But once you get used to that, you would want the next bigger machine that now pushes 240 (again, in theory) ......

Doc, Very scary to hear one getting used to 170s and 210s. And that too on our highways ? At least very scary for me to hear that. If someone gets used to such speeds on our roads, I guess God might have wired their brains differently

[twinblades]

Yes the risk is why I say it over kill. But I don't see a problem in buying it for short bursts (controlled conditions )of fun. Z800 seems to fit the bill for me. I don't think I will go over that.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by shan_ned

Doc, Very scary to hear one getting to used to 170s and 210s.

To be honest, the 390 in normal riding stance is not a 170 bike. Its a 145-150 bike.

Just as the 200 in normal riding stance was not a 140 bike, but a 120-125 bike.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by ebonho

the accepted wisdom now for the old 390s is to shut off a hot engine, even with the fan whirring, only when one is to park it for any length of time. Right?

Right.

Why do you say old 390's? What is different with the one's on sale right now compared to the first batch?