[ArizonaJim]

Originally Posted by deepfreak15

KTM has initiated a recall for MY2017 Duke 390 under the guise of "Pre Monsoon Check". ECU mount replacement, headlight washer to prevent rattles and rear under seat damping to prevent tail light water entry is included.

In this case hopefully they will include new front wheel bearings as that's my top candidate for the cause of the noise and poor handling.

As some sounds are also coming from the rear wheel it would be a good idea to have the bearings in it checked too.

Wheel bearings are not very expensive and replacing them is not very labor intensive so the cost of fixing them, if they are indeed the problem, shouldn't be very great.

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by DrGonzo

I'm converting my Duke 390 into a scrambler/ off roader. I've already made a ton of mods on the bike that include a powetronic, Zard Full system, KTM powerpart comfort seat, K and N filter, risers. But the most important mod is the one I made today.

I do feel the enthusiasm but going free-flow on the internals especially on a choked motorcycle such as the KTM 390 is not a good idea cause when it comes to actual adventure riding it doesn't matter how fast you go if your motorcycle breaks down in the process.

The pegs are not a direct fit and require a bit of engineering. The pegs cost me Rs. 650 and another few hundred rupees to fix them. It's one step closer to my scrambler vision.

I would recommend you give Bhushan Karde from Sahyadri Moto a call, he rides a D390 as well;



The reason for me recommending Sahyadri is due to their unmatched quality and reasonable pricing, plus Bhushan being an enthusiast who has ridden his infamous Pulsar-strada through Indonesia knows a thing or two more than the rest.

Anyone here change their rims to spoke wheels? That's my next step. I'm looking at a 21/19 or a 19/17 setup.

The downside of up-sizing is that tire options are limited unless you opt for a common size such as the 21/17 setup which comes as stock on the RE Himalayan.

Sahyadri has also set up some motorcycles with aftermarket purpose built suspensions and spoke wheels, here's a snap of their test-bike with the aftermarket suspension and wheel setup;



The box racks and windshield seen on the motorcycle were fabricated for my P220, satisfied customer here!

[unk9ja]

A long read, please bear

For the hurried ones here, I replaced the tires to Timsun, a Chinese brand





The stock Metz which I was running was on had squared off and worn out and I was slipping and sliding during the rides. The squaring off was due to the city use and I did not get off road with this as I feared the worst. During this time, I started to scout for a new pair and I wanted something on which I can take this bike off road, I meant soft roading.

My discussion with a few of the owners in Bangalore revealed that Mich is a great alternative to the Metz, but again on tarmac. It could do soft roading but I was warned it is at my own risk. And I resigned to these at that moment. Black12rr who was running the Mich went back to Metz and his pointers made me to take a U turn again. This went on for a couple of months before I saw a strand of metal in the rear Metz. I was just horrified to find this one day and I wanted something badly now. At that point, avinash_sg pointed to the Timsun his friends were riding on. I saw the profile and a quick talk with his friends tilted the favour towards Timsun. The other alternative was Vee rubber VRM193/163 which came to my mind and which has good reviews by the users.

I got the tires in stock configuration from Motostore in Ulsoor area. I paid a total of 7750INR. The tyres were wrapped neatly and looked this way.









The next day, took it to the FNG who is also a good friend of mine, removed the wheels and got the tyre replaced. Got back home and everything seemed fine. The front mudguard was removed as it was brushing against the tire. Some pics here.





















These plastic pieces were kept in between the tyre walls so that it would not collapse and deform. Nicely done.







The next day, on my way to work< I find a howl from the bike. Stopped a couple of times, went round the bike and checked the cause and everything seems fine. The same evening, jacked up the bike on paddock and then I realised the rear tyre was touching the swing arm.





The rest of the evening was spent at the FNG trying to solve this, but I was unable to find a solution. The chain set was new and was a few hundred kms old which meant I could not tension much. Dropped the tire pressure, increased but to no avail. Dejected came back to home. Spoke to the guys at the Motostore and they were very helpful and agreed to give a 140 section tire the next day. But the next day, I got another jolt as they had run out of 140 section and the next delivery was around a month. I pinged black12rr who gladly lent me his Mich. A savior to me at that moment of time. Replaced the rear with Mich the same evening as this is my daily driver.

Between the times, I did a couple of runs to Udupi through Bisle and Kudremukha. Everytime I hit a gravel, the Mich would make me very nervous. It just slides and my heart skips a beat when it acts like this. A couple of pics from the ride.

Bisle ride





Kudremukha ride







I got busy for a couple of months and so the bike ran with this setup for around 2k kms. I called up Motosore guys again and was glad to heart the availability of the 140 section. Wasted no time and got the tyres. I also came to know after my ordeal, there were couple of instances of similar happenings.

This time I took the bike to Madhus for the replacement and also to get the wheels balanced. What a fantastic team at Madhus, more of my experience here

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/banga...ml#post4416277 (Wheel Alignment/Balancing : Madhus Enterprises (Langford rd, Bangalore))

I did a short ride of around 150 kms after the change and I have noticed the tires have good grip on the tarmac, excellent off roads and no roads. I can fly over the potholes and speed breakers without any worry on my mind. I will update this post as and when I find pros and cons from these rubber.

[VijayAnand1]

Thank you for the post unk9ja. I am surprised, how your fellow comadres didn't warn you against the oversize and the graze you experienced. Were any of your immediate friends using the 150/70 setup? Nonetheless, do let us know how well TIMSUN 150/60 treads the road, looking forward for your review.

Keep 'er revvin.

Cheers!
VJ

[unk9ja]

Originally Posted by VijayAnand1

Thank you for the post unk9ja. I am surprised, how your fellow comadres didn't warn you against the oversize and the graze you experienced. Were any of your immediate friends using the 150/70 setup? Nonetheless, do let us know how well TIMSUN 150/60 treads the road, looking forward for your review.

Keep 'er revvin.

Cheers!
VJ

It wasn't a case of oversize. The size was stock, but the height of the tire and the new set of chain and sprockets played spoilsport. I have seen around 4 bikes with the same 150 setup but these had run for around 10k before the tyre change and the slack of the chain was able to accommodate the height. Even in my case a 2mm shave off the diameter would have made it possible but I went against it.
And the new downsized one is 140/70/17 and not 150/60 as you have mentioned.

[Red Liner]

Couldn't you have just adjusted the rear suspension to be harder to accommodate the extra slack required in the swing arm to give you height and fit the Tyre?

[unk9ja]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Couldn't you have just adjusted the rear suspension to be harder to accommodate the extra slack required in the swing arm to give you height and fit the Tyre?

The following sketch will give you an idea where the tire was rubbing against the swingarm.

The only way is to move the wheel out towards the open area and that meant the chain would be tightened. The chain was optimally tightened and this meant the wheel could not go further back, so the tire started to scrape the swingarm.

The gap was sufficient for the vertical movement and so I did not touch the suspension setting.

[Motard_Blr]

Originally Posted by unk9ja

...The chain was optimally tightened and this meant the wheel could not go further back, so the tire started to scrape the swingarm.

The gap was sufficient for the vertical movement and so I did not touch the suspension setting.

Would it be possible to add one or two links to the chain to allow the wheel to be moved backwards?

[Red Liner]

One more question for you unk9ja. What is the speed rating and load indexes for these tyres. I think these are the ts 822 or 823. Have you ventured above 120?

Ok 69h for the rear is okay. But p for the front? I know these are off-road application tyres.

[sukiwa]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Ok 69h for the rear is okay. But p for the front?

61P would mean load of 257Kg & speed rating of 150 Km/h whereas 69H would mean load of 325 Kg & speed rating of 210 Km/h.
Isn't this good enough on roads for Duke 390?

If 'unk9ja' hasn't ventured upto/beyond 120 Km/h yet, he soon will.

[unk9ja]

Originally Posted by Motard_Blr

Would it be possible to add one or two links to the chain to allow the wheel to be moved backwards?

The chain of the Duke is endless. To insert the link as you have mentioned, the chain has to be cut and link has to be added. This will make the chain weak at this point and I will definitely do not wantyself to get stranded at some place with a broken chain. If you go through Youtube, there are some videos where the consequences of chain breaking at speed resulted in injuries. The next possible solution was downsizing and I embraced that idea.

Originally Posted by Red Liner

One more question for you unk9ja. What is the speed rating and load indexes for these tyres. I think these are the ts 822 or 823. Have you ventured above 120?

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Ok 69h for the rear is okay. But p for the front? I know these are off-road application tyres.

I have ridden it a bit more than that but I am not a fast rider but quick one. I can do 80-100 all day long and still be with guys doing 120+ for that short bursts.

Originally Posted by sukiwa

61P would mean load of 257Kg & speed rating of 150 Km/h whereas 69H would mean load of 325 Kg & speed rating of 210 Km/h.
Isn't this good enough on roads for Duke 390?

Originally Posted by sukiwa

If 'unk9ja' hasn't ventured upto/beyond 120 Km/h yet, he soon will.

I always ride within my limits and that is a ton most of the times. I try to go over only for overtaking or some emergency situations where I need to go fast. My thumbrule is an average of around 65-70kms over a 14 hour ride time.

[Gordon]

Have been facing issues with the Duke recently. The bike misfires too much.

1. Changed spark plug. NGK Iridium.
2. Checked the fuel pressure.
3. Drained and replaced the fuel.
4. Cleaned the injector.
5. Charged up the battery.
6. Checked the fuses.

The bike starts. A bit of throttle and it starts to misfire. If I open the throttle just a bit more, it would stall.

It's really annoying to open up the tank cover each time something needs to be checked.

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by Gordon

The bike starts. A bit of throttle and it starts to misfire. If I open the throttle just a bit more, it would stall.

It's really annoying to open up the tank cover each time something needs to be checked.

Pulser coil is at fault or the supply is shorting.

Experienced the same on my CT100B, in my case, it was shorting due to a pressure wash, you can start reading this post, the issue was resolved in the post following that;

Bajaj CT100B - Utilitarianism Redefined!

[Gordon]

I suspected the ignition coil but didn't mention it to avoid misdirection.

Thank you so much for your advice Ashwin.i still check the connectors tomorrow and spray them with WD40 first and then check if there is some improvement. Will also test the ignition coil on the multimeter to see if the readings are okay.

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by Gordon

I suspected the ignition coil but didn't mention it to avoid misdirection.

Thank you so much for your advice Ashwin.i still check the connectors tomorrow and spray them with WD40 first and then check if there is some improvement. Will also test the ignition coil on the multimeter to see if the readings are okay.

If the ignition coil were at fault then the motorcycle won't idle.

In your case, the motorcycle is idling fine but craps out once the revs start climbing, which makes the pulser(pick-up) coil the primary culprit, as it is responsible for signaling the CDI/ECU to fire the spark plug accordingly.

I sure hope your issues get resolved with cleaning the connector if your motorcycle's odo reading is around the 50k mark then I would suggest you clean all connectors, we had worked on a CBR 250R with a reading close to the 75k mark and there was sand inside the connectors.

Do source electrical grease if possible, I tried and failed so had to settle with bearing grease which is only as useful as vaseline.

P.S. It just hit me! Why are you even going about trying to find the issue on your own, you paid a premium for this motorcycle which is why it comes with numerous sensors and an OBD port, so get a reader and let the motorcycle do its magic.