[r_nairtvm]

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

.

I follow the below steps for lubing the chain:
1. Clean the chain using chain clean
2. Run the bike for a few kms to ensure the chain is hot
3. Use the chain lube right after the ride as it helps get the lube absorbed if the chain is hot.
4. Leave the bike unused for an hour or 2.
5. Ride away !!

If on a multiple day ride and I dont have time to clean the chain, i just use the spray to ensure the chain does not dry up (specially when caught up in the rains).

Get one of these - Grunge Brush -, costs around USD 10/- on ebay



Its a great help in cleaning and it can be done really fast and efficiently as well

Best Regards & Ride Safe

Ram

[gharika]

Originally Posted by basuroy

My bike is 750 km old . I have observed the bike progressively taking more time to start be it in gear or neutral with the passage of miles .For example , first 200kms it will start in a single crank both cases . Yesterday it refused to start(tried once for about 5 second before shifting to neutral) in 1st gear after I stalled (my fault ) , recently I have observed the bike taking way too long(3-5 second and a couple of tries ) to start in gear . Even neutral is taking a couple of cranks now as opposed to a single crank without fail during early ownership . Temperature has dropped by 4/5 degree since I took delivery so that may play a part .

In its current state , I have no problem with the way it is . It starts , it runs but the way it is ageing may not bode well once I have clocked 5 or 10k kilometers . Hope it settles down to a steady state soon .

I have done 1100 km so far and have no trouble in starting it in <3sec starter with temperature around 15 degrees today morning.

[adrian]

As there is the chain cleaning and lubing episode going on, I might as well post my method of cleaning the chain.
Be forewarned as the following method will soil your garage floor, your motorcycles swing arm and front sprocket area, which you will have to clean up afterwards.

1. Start with a toothbrush dipped in kerosene and scrub the chain to loosen the dirt. The grunge brush as recommended by Ram would be of added advantage as you can clean all the sides of the chain in one go.

2. Squirt Gear HP-90 to each link of the chain generously (the oil should drip from the links) using an oil can (This job has an added advantage - it will increase your patience). Do this at the rear sprocket area simultaneously rotating the wheel backwards so that the chain moves away from the rear sprocket in the bottom run and the dripping oil from the recently lubricated links falls on the garage floor instead of seeping into the rear hub. You can see the oil mixed with kerosene and dirt dripping on to the garage floor.

3. Rotate the wheel a couple of times and after waiting for a few minutes, wipe the chain clean using a banyan cloth.

4. Spray chain lube (I use Diamond chain lube which is cheap and efficient and is also neutral on the o-rings) on the inside and outside of the chain. (Actually I don't mind a little bit of lube flung on to the rear of my license plate or my rear wheels)

I do this every three weeks and after each run in the rain, I simply spray it with the chain lube.
regards adrian

[basuroy]

Originally Posted by gharika

I have done 1100 km so far and have no trouble in starting it in <3sec starter with temperature around 15 degrees today morning.

Thank you for that , mine has settled in now to about 2secs or less in neutral (temp at night is normally around or below 15 ) . Not once has it refused to start in neutral so far .

[mithunvvijayan]

Can any body please suggest where can I source 47T sprocket for Duke 390 in Banglore?? Bangloreans?? I am planning to come down yo Banglore this week.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by r_nairtvm

Get one of these - Grunge Brush -, costs around USD 10/- on ebay

I am definitely getting one of these. A shade under Rs. 1500 shipped, from Amazon.

DuPont makes them too.

[nasirkaka]

i have booked my 390 for a chain set replacement this saturday, but now i am having second thoughts. Bike is done about 13300kms and there seems to be some uneven slack in the chain. ON keeping the chain on slightly looser side and with adequate lubrication, it seems to be working fine. Visually, the chain and sprocket looks in decent shape.
The question is should i just run it for some more time, or get a replacement. My main reason for replacement was excessive vibes at the RHS foot peg, but i am not sure a replacement would resolve the issue.

It makes sense to mention here that about 3-4 months back, i was carrying 10-12 gulaab jamoons dipped in the usual thick sugary syrup, in a plastic container. I did not not find a suitable place to hang the plastic bag inwhich the container was so it hung it on the rear grab rail. Stopped at a bunk a few kms ahead and found that the container in the polythene bag had rubbed against the rear tyre, and syrup had fallen over the tyre, SA and i suspect it would have gone in to chain also. Needless to say the gulaabjamoons were wasted and i had a tought time explaining the incident to my bengali wife. i did wipe the bike a bit on reaching home and i think i got it pressure washed within a couple of days. After that the bike is been serviced twice, chain cleaned numerous times once very thoroughly at indimotard. But even today, when i touch the chain after generously spraying the motul cleaner and rubbing with toothbrush, it feels quite sticky. Could the sugary syrup have some role play?

[basuroy]

Guys urgent reply .

At SVC right now , price of engine oil qouted is 1250/- , when I asked for entire bottle he just said 1500 ml . I asked the grade and brand name to which he replied just we have morul oil for Ktm . I don't mind if they charge me for entire bottle but worried if they will fill her up with pulsar oil . Refused my request to be present when the job is done , inqueue right now . What is the exact grade of oil and from what ihave read , elsewhere they sell by bottle and not specific quantity .

EDIT gained entry after speaking to owner . No doubts now in my head .

[Motard_Blr]

Originally Posted by nasirkaka

...

It makes sense to mention here that about 3-4 months back, i was carrying 10-12 gulaab jamoons dipped in the usual thick sugary syrup, in a plastic container. I did not not find a suitable place to hang the plastic bag inwhich the container was so it hung it on the rear grab rail. Stopped at a bunk a few kms ahead and found that the container in the polythene bag had rubbed against the rear tyre, and syrup had fallen over the tyre, SA and i suspect it would have gone in to chain also. Needless to say the gulaabjamoons were wasted and i had a tought time explaining the incident to my bengali wife. i did wipe the bike a bit on reaching home and i think i got it pressure washed within a couple of days. After that the bike is been serviced twice, chain cleaned numerous times once very thoroughly at indimotard. But even today, when i touch the chain after generously spraying the motul cleaner and rubbing with toothbrush, it feels quite sticky. Could the sugary syrup have some role play?

Compared to what chains go through on a daily basis, a bit of syrup would not make any difference to the chain at all. Especially since the chain is a sealed o-ring type.

Replacing your chain and sprockets may or may not make any difference. You should probably try having all the chassis and bodywork screws and nuts tightened. This seems to solve a lot of vibration issues for many people.

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by Motard_Blr

You should probably try having all the chassis and bodywork screws and nuts tightened. This seems to solve a lot of vibration issues for many people.

Any idea about the ball park figure interval at which the chassis nuts need to be torqued for the Duke? I used to do it every 3000-4000 kms on my Royal Enfield.

[Added_flavor]

Originally Posted by man_of_steel

Any idea about the ball park figure interval at which the chassis nuts need to be torqued for the Duke? I used to do it every 3000-4000 kms on my Royal Enfield.

Why not get them loctited?

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by Added_flavor

Why not get them loctited?

I thought all the major Bolts were already loctited in the bike. But is Loctite enough to hold all of them in place for long with that buzzy engine? I am not sure.

[anilp]

Originally Posted by man_of_steel

Any idea about the ball park figure interval at which the chassis nuts need to be torqued for the Duke? I used to do it every 3000-4000 kms on my Royal Enfield.

Keep it around the same. The SVC had to tighten some of the bolts this time when I went in for service. The bike had done 2.5k between services.

[basuroy]

First Service Report ( 980km ) -
The technician Umesh seems like a nice guy , once he got to the job after about an hour(during which bike was washed thoroughly and then I suppose allowed to cool down) , he finished it without a break . The service floor manager/incharge is a rude person , his behavior during delivery was not confidence inspiring and stayed true to character today .

Oil change - charged me 1155/- for exactly 1400ml , is the rate reasonable and it surprised me because elsewhere I have read one has to purchase the entire bottle and take home the balance .
Chain cleaned , adjusted and lubricated - charged me 144 for the OKS lubrication .
Oil filter for 65/-

Total service charge worked out to 1428.00 .

Steering was loose as per Umesh after a cursory ride , tightened it .

Got the clutch adjusted - cannot tell a difference .

Repeatedly stressed on the front brake fading issue but the floor in-charge aggressively tried to downplay the issue , Umesh quickly calmed the situation down by saying he will attend to it . However all he did was adjust the freeplay and not bleed the system as I would have preferred(and advised here by multiple persons) . The manager at this point who sold me the bike came down and we exchanged pleasantries , he said take the bike home today and if anything still feels not correct , we will do all within our means without question asked . I agreed (will carry out some braking specific tests this weekend and hold him up to his promise if I am less than satisfied ), braking so far seems better in one sense - the force now arrives with less pressure applied , nothing major but a positive change and helps while riding with gloves . The sheer force experienced initially is still missing though , hot pad fading remains to be seen .

General riding experience after service - cannot really tell a difference , snatching at low rpm has reduced slightly but that is about it . One thing I have noticed is twice the bike refused to start in neutral (held the switch for 7/8 cranks and no throttle , I never throttle but nothing. started on the 2nd or 3rd attempt ) , no biggie as such but never(I really mean it has never refused to start in neutral until now) happened until now so lets hope these are isolate incidents .


Overall ownership review (997km)-
Why I purchased the bike ?
1. Acceleration , the brutal pace with which it reaches triple digits . Don't mis-interpret this as me being speed junkie , I don't have the experience or skill for that and my usual roads don't permit anything safely above 80 either but it is fun even if for just a few seconds and fun is why I purchased the bike .
2. Control/handling - the sum total of the ergonomics(upright position specifically ) , general connection with bike and the confidence level especially down corners . Only and only one limitation but this is proving to be one that will need fixing is rear brake pedal position , I have to consciously focus to actuate rear and that is no good . A DYI a few pages back is as such something that I will get done ASAP .
3. Braking - coming from an enfield with only a rear brake , this is another world . And ABS .
4. Aesthetics - I like the way it looks . The proportion , the silhouette is striking , the stickers not so much . I wish they offered more body color options though for varieties sake .

Any other options considered ? naahhhh , when I purchased my first bike last year , it was always going to be an enfield and now due to limited options none of which attracted on paper , it was KTM or bust . I was initially lusting over the harley 750 but sense prevailed and realized no way I can comfortably afford that and will be "too much" at my age anyways .

So far over 1000km , I have not faced any major(or minor) problem with this bike . No starting issues , no over heating issues ( it was cool by the time I took delivery and temp. dropping steadily ) and no engine related malfunction . My run in involved mostly cruising around 6/7k rpm but after the initial 200kms , I often used to red line in the 2nd and 3rd gear for fun when road permitted . Never held it above 8k for more than 10-30 seconds though . Aside from the usual first service routine and adjustments here and there , front brake was the only complaint from my end .

The bike is fun , it is perfect for the short open road blitz(as short as 30km to 60/70km) I enjoy . My riding due to a lack of buddies(my year long stay in Bareilly is down to some unforseen circumstances ) and poor , really really poor roads and traffic is limited to either night time cruising around city (after 11pm which have come to an end now due to cold weather ) or blitzing around the cantonment roads which are empty , good surface and loads and loads of turn - it is almost like a track , you have sweeping 200/300mtr long shallow curves , tight turns and kilometer long stretches with only dogs and monkeys(major threats especially dogs and baby monkeys ) as the threat to look out for and this bike is a hoot to ride around that . The bike is also very forgiving - it is difficult to explain but it never loses control , doesn't pops unintentional wheelies and for a newcomer like me to the sportsbike setup , I like how I have enjoyed the bike , rode her hard when my abilities safely permitted that and not even once felt like I will tip her over or faced a potential accident situation . That is something in hindsight I really appreciate .

My stay here will come an end soon(this knowledge was decisive factor behind purchasing this bike , if I were to stay here forever , I doubt I would have) and will likely relocate back to Kolkata which offers easier access to better highways . Before leaving though , a ride to Nainital will be done early next year (weather currently and lack of experience riding on mountain are limiting factor). I have not used it for commuting or visiting to inner city areas , why do something you won't enjoy and a car is better for those mundane drives/rides. This is a bike that needs certain favorable conditions to be enjoyed . So far it has been very happy ownership if a somewhat lonely one , I wish I had a couple of friends to ride around with but even then there are hardly any places to ride to or roads worth riding on (I am not exaggerating , the roads are a mess here . Jim corbett park ? 2 lane undivided road with commercial traffic . And bad roads too . Lucknow ? even worse , sometimes just a single lane . nainital is the best bet , about 100km within UP off which 30/40km is torture but once in UK , the change is drastic and remarkable ).

[abhinav.s]

You do have a good technician at hand at the SVC. Good to know that! Regarding the brakes, are you saying that the modulation of the lever with and without gloves is different? I use a full gauntlet gloves in city and highway. The rare occasion when I'm taking my son for his dose of daily joy ride is when i am gloves less. Yet I dont find a major difference in the lever modulation required.

The below line in your post caught my eye. Agreed about the lack of places & poor roads, but it seems like you enjoy riding with buddies rather than riding solo. You must try a long ride solo once you are back in Kolkatta. You will surely enjoy it and its a different experience altogether to ride solo.

PS: Recently did a 1000kms solo ride on my D200 and came away totally impressed. On my earlier ride (RTR), I had done 10,000kms in 6 months on long rides - again all solo! So speaking from my personal experience but your mileage may vary!

Originally Posted by basuroy

My riding due to a lack of buddies(my year long stay in Bareilly is down to some unforseen circumstances ) and poor , really really poor roads and traffic is limited to either night time cruising .....