[sridhu]

Re PDI, please search this or the Flamberge thread. I am sure I uploaded the xls I used for my 390 Pdi.

Else inbox me.

[Insearch]

Triumph of the underdog:


This post is in continuation of my earlier post on the 390's prowess of riding along with bigger bikes. For reference:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...ml#post3533428

Last Saturday, I rode out with approximately 15+ bikers to Medak, from Hyderabad. The bikes were mostly Triumphs with an odd Ninja 650. So we had Daytonas, Bonnies and Street Triples. I was the lone Duker. At the start, at least a couple of riders looked at me wondering if they should speak their mind or keep to themselves, their opinion loaded questions

We took a scenic route through a forest (Narsapur) and open fields. This was a very good hunting ground for the Duke as it had many turns and some of them were quite sharp. Here is a report on the proceedings:


I started off gingerly, right at the back of the group, wondering how fast they would go and how much the Duke would keep up. As the riders gained momentum, leaving the city behind, I found that it was impossible for the Duke to stay at the back. All the bikers would speed and brake on the curves to manage the mass of their bikes around the corners. The Duke would easily overtake them from the inner line or outer (Depending on how wide the rider in the front had gone) without breaking too much momentum. Before I realised it, I was riding right at the front of the group!! I was initially a bit uneasy being there and allowed the other bikes to overtake me a few times. But every time the Duke would unwittingly catch up and soon head the pack. Sometimes I would shift down to 3rd gear so that they could catch up and I could see them in the rear view mirror. Due to such gaps, when they stopped for a break, I had to trace back my steps, and again on purpose I parked right at the back and beyond the shoulder of the road.

Here is a snap of that stop



Another one


A skilled Bonnie rider joined me at the front and stayed with me (this eased me and I was more comfortable keeping the Duke at the front). On the straights, he seemed to have a slight advantage with his front wheel being ahead of the Duke as we sped up. But each corner, the Duke would lunge ahead and then I would ease the throttle a bit for him to come abreast. Great experience!

Here is a snap of this thorough Gentleman, posing with someone else's Bonnie. He is third from the left, with the V sign. I am also there with my back: Extreme left.


We finally reached Medak and parked our bikes. The Duke got to be right in the centre, literally and in terms of the attention.
I am sure you can spot the orange wheels and the red and white helmet on the Handle bar.


I was not prepared for the interest that everyone showed in the Duke. At least three people took a test ride, including a partner for the Triumph dealership in Hyderabad. They still could not figure out how the Duke managed to do what they had just seen. It made the sound of a puny generator, sounded uneven (not smooth) and did not seem to have quality or chrome and cost was only 2.1 lakhs...
Our own moderator Avi, aka Mobike008 was disarmed and openly, all praise for the Duke. Some were polite and subtle, asking when the 690 was expected to be launched. Others were more sceptical, but praised the bike nevertheless.

Avi is wearing the yellow and black jacket, back towards the camera.




The underdog had given me a big reason to smile:



It went to my head! On the way back we took a different route: a 6 lane highway and I earnestly sped to the front and got royally creamed by a Street Triple. I guess my antics on the curvy roads had bruised some egos . It was an arrow straight road and he stayed about 50-100 metres ahead of me most of the way. I would catch up when negotiating the odd truck, but otherwise the triple easily out accelerated the Duke. I am sure that if there had been a Daytona rider, in the mood, he would have been ahead of us both. This went on for 40 odd kilometres after which he eased, having proved the point.

So straight roads the bigger bikes have better acceleration to their top speed, but otherwise the Duke can be quite an irritating presence in the rear view or right ahead. Especially with it's unflattering engine sound. Though I do feel that at high speeds the mass of the bigger bikes would give them a more planted feel, in straight line and hence braking would be a bit more confident (we are talking of max speeds on the bikes, here).

So a 2 lakh bike riding in front of some 15 lakh beauties. Do I have a reason to complain...?

[TheCelestial]

Originally Posted by Insearch

Triumph of the underdog:
....
So a 2 lakh bike riding in front of some 15 lakh beauties. Do I have a reason to complain...?

I am sorry but I didnt quite get the point of your post. Yes, the D390 is a great bike but a skilled rider on a Striple would have left you in the dust. Most of the folks probably were riding well below their thresholds and/or weren't even trying to compete.

[Insearch]

Quite possible Celestial. I did mention the Triple creaming me. But on the curvy roads (as mentioned in the post, sometimes very sharp), they did try a couple of times, but I remember overtaking them.
I am quite aware that I have posted something debatable, sometimes a rider's skill makes the difference.

Since I can still edit, adding comments in respone to your post below:

Cannot mention speeds, but many of us were pushing our bikes to whatever they could take on those curves.

[TheCelestial]

Originally Posted by Insearch

Quite possible Celestial. I did mention the Triple creaming me. But on the curvy roads (as mentioned in the post, sometimes very sharp), they did try a couple of times, but I remember overtaking them.
I am quite aware that I have posted something debatable, sometimes a rider's skill makes the difference.

Yes I was talking about curvy roads specifically. On a straight road, even skill is not required.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by TheCelestial

I am sorry but I didnt quite get the point of your post. Yes, the D390 is a great bike but a skilled rider on a Striple would have left you in the dust. Most of the folks probably were riding well below their thresholds and/or weren't even trying to compete.

Could be.

Could also be that the rider skill levels were different.

Its never only about the bike.

That said, I get InSearch's excitement about being the underdog and creaming bigger more expensive bikes. I've felt the same on my even more humble 200 in the past against significantly bigger bikes. Its perfectly natural for any rider. All riders make the best of what they have under them.

And a rider who is not competitive in my experience is more often than not a slow rider.

Don't know which follows which though ...... (feel free to disagree)

[nasirkaka]

Recently I have test driven the 390 Duke and am confused between my C5 and the 390.

I am not so keen on selling my beloved C5 but test riding the 390 was great fun! I do not want to keep 2 bikes and a car and hence have to decide between the C5 and the 390.

I don't do a lot of travelling on my C5 but it does keep going into a lot of potholes and the bike is still intact with nothing going loose yet.

Will be great if some of the 390 owners and C5 to 390 turned owners could share their views and help me in making this decision.

Now this is a difficult one. Both the bike belong to entirely different schools, and its good to have them both, if you can. Once or twice a week, i take my C5 to work, and the same route feels so different compared to when on 390.

But if you have to choose between the two, it would be based on something very personal. In general, If you are bitten by the speed bug, and find the C5 under-powered, you will enjoy the 390. If you like the relaxed nature of C5 and are more into sedate riding, and dont get bugged by other riders overtaking you on smaller displacement motorcycles, then C5 suits better. Cost of running, Maintenance wise, etc there is no big difference. another imp aspect where 390 scores heavily is the SAFETY. By default, the handling is precise, good tyres, good brakes, ABS, etc makes the rider feel safe on the 390. Another way of looking at it is that when on C5, you will not attempt even half the maneuvers on road which you would on the 390, so to begin with, there are less changes to getting caught in a tricky situation on C5.

If you want best of both the world (and can stretchhh you budget), sell your C5 and get a bonnie. Old world charm combined with modern heart + good power, torque, handling, fit and finish etc. i have been saving up for the same.

Triumph of the underdog:
....
So a 2 lakh bike riding in front of some 15 lakh beauties. Do I have a reason to complain...?

Sounds vaguely like a similar feel when i use to be ahead of mercs and BMWs, on my MTB, in the B2B Bangalore traffic dotted with signals.

On a serious note, a while back, i had taken a longish test ride on the bonnie. Been riding 390 for last one year So mental comparison between the two was inevitable. No doubt both the bike are fast, and 390 does score a few brownies for its light weight, handling, ABS etc. I am sure in terms of performance, 390 can do whatever bonnie can do and more, till about 130kmph, but again it may not be fare to compare them. I may be a bit biased here, but bonnie is more about feel rather then performance (it does perform well). The sound from arrow exhaust (with DB killer removed) is orgasmic. The roar of the twin.. the quietness and smoothness of the engine, lack of ANY vibrations, the fit, the finish, the looks, the torque, the preciseness of gear shifts, the twin pipes, it all just takes one on to a different plane. for me, 390 is a great fast bike, but it fails to make a place in my heart. Even today, i am more attached to my C5 then the 390.

[mithunvvijayan]

Please Advise.

I have read an article regarding the Nikasil coating, it's advantages and disadvantages.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars...uar-nikasil-v8

In some other article, it was mentioned that engine failures happened in places where High Supher Petrol was used. It's also mentioned in wikipedia, for instance.

So, how can we trust the fuel quality, especially when we go for touring in remote areas. Or is there a difference in the technology used in Nikasil coating used in Duke 390.

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by mithunvvijayan

...So, how can we trust the fuel quality, especially when we go for touring in remote areas. Or is there a difference in the technology used in Nikasil coating used in Duke 390.

If you observe carefully, the article mentions this.

Sulfur levels in the world's fuel supply varied widely during the time Jaguar produced this engine.

And with today's most modern oil refineries around the globe, I guess it is safe to assume that the sulfer content will be within the safe and acceptable limits throughout the country.

[sharanvenu]

I remember somebody mentioning this radiator grill from a firm called motofusion
Any user experiences so far?
I am having nightmares with the gravel and debris on the roads of Nagpur. I love the radiator grill from Evotech for the impeccable fit and finish. But still confused whether or not to spend INR 7k on this.

By the way, my duke has completed 650kms and I did first service last week. One thing that came to my notice is that the owner's manual recommends Synth oil of rating 10W-50 and the service bill indicates Motul 7100 20W-50. I doubt whether 10W-50 motul is available here and most of us will have 20W-50 filled in by service centers. Please share experiences with other brands of oil.

Also installed the power parts tank pad on the bike. Even though over priced, I feel that it looks the part.

Can somebody recommend a good wax polish to be used on the painted surfaces? I am using ArmorAll dashboard polish for the dull black surfaces on the bike. Now planning to get a regular wax polish to use once in a month or so.

[mobike008]

Insearch, It was a wonderful ride last weekend and I acknowledge that Duke 390 is a fast machine but, my opinion is your a better rider than the Duke 390 being superior

Iam personally impressed by Duke 390 but, will I ever buy that? Nope !!

It never even came into my consideration list and might not in future as well if I decide to change my existing bike

As Nasirkaka said, Bonnie cannot even be compared to the Duke. It's lot more than about speed and performance. It's the overall feel of the bike that makes the whole difference along with lot more other aspects like quality, smoothness, brand etc. etc

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Insearch, It was a wonderful ride last weekend and I acknowledge that Duke 390 is a fast machine but, my opinion is your a better rider than the Duke 390 being superior

I know that on mixed bike rides the 390s push the 650s very close. Above certain speeds, even in a straight line (this is for Celestial) it IS the rider. Or at least the size of a certain part/s of his anatomy .....

So I am not surprised if the same is with the Bonnies - which are slower than the 650s.

Not saying it isn't the rider - the rider is ALWAYS a part of every equation - but I would not be so ready to say that the 390 is not a superior or even an equal machine.

There is not much in it. And in the right hands, the 390 wil be ahead.

The other bits like feel, quality, smoothness, brand, etc. I am more used to hearing from the Harley crowd Avi. Aren't you?

[ani_meher]

I have seen this many times, a Splendour guy will boast beating other 110ccs, 125cc scooters will boast beating 150s, 180/200/223 cc guys will be proud of beating 250cc bikes and so on. I think psychologically it gives satisfaction that my decision was cheaper and better

I think smaller vehicles need to respect bigger ones, and bigger vehicles need to care for small vehicles. This is what makes the ride harmonious. Else it is just a competition to lead.

Not saying anything to you in particular, Insearch. From the description I read here, you seem to be very capable rider. I am only commenting generally.

[mithunvvijayan]

Originally Posted by man_of_steel

And with today's most modern oil refineries around the globe, I guess it is safe to assume that the sulfer content will be within the safe and acceptable limits throughout the country.

But some of the petrol pumps, at least in Kerala, have a habit of mixing Kerosene with Petrol. That might cause the sulfur content to increase, as commercial kerosene is not regulated for sulfur content.

But I guess, we might have to fill from a factory outlet, if we are that particular.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by ebonho

The other bits like feel, quality, smoothness, brand, etc. I am more used to hearing from the Harley crowd Avi. Aren't you?

LOL Doc. Do I sound like a Harley rider now? I never mentioned the chrome shine anywhere in my post

Jokes aside, Duke 390 is a capable bike but, in my personal opinion without any offense to any duke owners but, it looks more at home with a teenager with its gaudy color palette & design style and for some that itself is a turn-on OR off

I chose a Bonnie not because it can BEAT any other bike but, for several important parameters that are far superior than the Duke (which incidentally was never considered) with respect to design, style, engine characteristics, stability at high speeds, overall performance and finally not to forget owning a marquee brand