[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by Thar4x4

Hello Anoop,

We talked to Greashouse people from Pune for the engine guard / bash plate and they do not have it in stock for 390 however they said that 200 one fits for 390, we asked if they can take return if this do not fits however they are not ready to do this. Is it possible for you match the holes on plate with 390 if you drop at them next time? It will be really helpful for us to place the order from here.

Hi,

I would be glad to try that, but for the fact that I don't have access to a D390. Right now, my bash plate is with Indimotard. Lisbeth suffered a bad hit during off roading which broke the OEM brackets (The bash plate took the hit well), so now I have removed the bash plate and is waiting for the brackets to arrive. I will be going there next week to get the plate fixed, so can ask them if you have any specific questions.

--Anoop

[rahulskumar]

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

You can surely get a helmet but it will be a local made one and not very strong. Also if your son's head is very small you might not find the right fit yet. I started the search since my son was 2 years old and found one only 2 months ago when he turned 3 that fit him really well. Scout the local helmet shops and you will surely find one. I got him a full face with visor!

Please avoid taking 2 yr olds on two wheeler. I feel they should be atleast 6-7 years to realize our insane road conditions .

[Vignesh_N/A]

Hello everyone,

I have a quick question. Have any of you used Glysantin engine coolant for Duke? It is available at Shell Outlets and the specs match the ones recommended by KTM. I have been using it for the past 3000 Kms and do not see any issues as of now. Performance wise, the differences arent big. Should I revert back to Motul or stay with it?

[CGB]

Originally Posted by Vignesh_N/A

. Performance wise, the differences arent big. Should I revert back to Motul or stay with it?

All coolants except engine ice wont make any change to the cooling system. You can use the present coolant and when you flush, fill up the new liquid.

O.T: Did you participate in Baja? if so which year and college?

[Vignesh_N/A]

Originally Posted by CGB

All coolants except engine ice wont make any change to the cooling system. You can use the present coolant and when you flush, fill up the new liquid.

O.T: Did you participate in Baja? if so which year and college?

The whole system was flushed and topped with Glysantin. The one which came with the bike used to disappear over the time. In the order of half the coolant tank per 1000 kms. With the glysantin however, the issue seemed to be fixed.

And Yes. I participated in 2013 Baja under the name Stranotyter (Sree Sastha Institute of Engineering and Technology). Were you there ?

[CGB]

Originally Posted by Vignesh_N/A

The whole system was flushed and topped with Glysantin. The one which came with the bike used to disappear over the time. In the order of half the coolant tank per 1000 kms. With the glysantin however, the issue seemed to be fixed.

And Yes. I participated in 2013 Baja under the name Stranotyter (Sree Sastha Institute of Engineering and Technology). Were you there ?

Yes. For myself after the coolant change, the level isn't dropping!

I was with my team for two years, 2012 & 2013 representing my college !

[Vignesh_N/A]

Originally Posted by CGB

Yes. For myself after the coolant change, the level isn't dropping!

I was with my team for two years, 2012 & 2013 representing my college !

Nice. Baja vehicles are very much of a purist thing. We should probably meet sometime. I will PM as soon as the feature gets unlocked.

[CGB]

Originally Posted by Vignesh_N/A

Nice. Baja vehicles are very much of a purist thing. We should probably meet sometime. I will PM as soon as the feature gets unlocked.

Yes, please! Looking forward for that!

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by Vignesh_N/A

In the order of half the coolant tank per 1000 kms. With the glysantin however, the issue seemed to be fixed.

Wow, that is not normal. Happy that it is not reducing now, but please do keep an eye and if it still drops, please take the bike to SVC. Also, check if the engine oil have froth in it.

Lisbeth celebrated her 2nd anniversary few weeks back. The 2nd yer service was done at Whitefield KTM SVC and they did a decent job. Not really to the standard of Auto Service, but quite close. There was not much rush and I hanged out there till the service is over, so I could see the work getting done.

I replaced the spark plug during the service - not really necessary, but just did it as a precautionary measure - and changed the front break fluid and break pads. Other than this, it was a normal service and IIRC, cost came around 4K in total.

Few pics to spice up the thread:

















--Anoop

[Vignesh_N/A]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

... but please do keep an eye and if it still drops, please take the bike to SVC. Also, check if the engine oil have froth in it.

I have done 3000kms post the coolant change. Things are very much fine.

And Happy anniversary ! You got to admit. Duke loves mud as much as it loves tarmac. At one point you would be scraping your knees (not literally though ) through corners and as you get bored you can take it off road and let the rear slip all day long. Its a beautiful compromise between the two extremes.

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by Vignesh_N/A

Duke loves mud as much as it loves tarmac. At one point you would be scraping your knees (not literally though ) through corners and as you get bored you can take it off road and let the rear slip all day long. Its a beautiful compromise between the two extremes.

Yes - this is something I love about the bike. No matter what the terrain is, the bike is game.

This is a huge plus point for some one like me who love to go off the tarmac at the drop off a hat, but I wish if we could get some good tyres which will help the bike better in slush and gravel.

I feel that the off road potential of Duke is severely limited by the available tyre choices - The Michelin Pilot Street radial is a compromise and though is good enough for hard trails, it is not at all suited for slush and not much better in loose gravel. A proper trail spec tyre like Michelin Anakhee \ Metzeler Tourance\ Pirelli Scorpion mt90 would help Duke tame the off road much better. Well, If wishes were horses.

--Anoop

[Darth Sid]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

Hi,

Lisbeth suffered a bad hit during off roading which broke the OEM brackets (The bash plate took the hit well), so now I have removed the bash plate and is waiting for the brackets to arrive.

Hi,
Could you please elaborate a bit on that hit your bike took? Also, Did you snap the front brackets? My 200 is a 2012 model with a 2013 engine and has two individual front brackets for the belly pan. I installed the Indimotard bash plate and it was a real pain getting the alignment of the bolt holes right. I have bought a new front bracket which is similar to the existing ones but joined together to make one piece. Will get it installed later.

Even my plate has made the engine sound a bit harsh but that is probably due to the stiff aluminium plate reflecting all the fine sounds instead of absorbing them like the stock plastic unit. However, it also resonates a bit and that needs an inspection of the bolts' torque. They should actually provide rubber or plastic washers to dampen the resonance.

Originally Posted by theexperthand

Also, check if the engine oil have froth in it.

Is the froth you are talking about that which forms when oil mixes with water? That should also create a mayonnaise-like substance.

Have you ever suffered any starting issues with your bike? Mine started to demand a longer crank of the starter last winter when starting the engine for the first time in a day. Basically a cold start. As the winter started receding and temperature started to go up, that issue started to go away. Low pickup was also a problem. When I got it serviced the acceleration became normal but the issue returned in spite of the warmer temp.

Even in the hot Delhi summer the problem persists. Long crank (or two cranks) of the starter when starting in the morning or after my shift at the end of the day. Turning the engine off and then cranking it again is effortless. So it only happens once and for the first crank only.

The area manager here told me to get the valves lapped after I told him that the new engine has 18000 km on it. The old one had 14000 km before it was replaced. I'm suspecting a sensor issue but the mechanics at the SVC said if that was the case the MIL would light up.

I was wondering if you have seen anything like this.

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by Darth Sid

Hi,
Could you please elaborate a bit on that hit your bike took? Also, Did you snap the front brackets?
They should actually provide rubber or plastic washers to dampen the resonance.

The hit happened during a trail ride - I was clearing a boulder but there was a rut immediately after the boulder which I couldn't see. So, after clearing the boulder, the front wheel went to the rut and the belly pan hit the boulder, which broke the front clamp on both sides.

My clamp was the joined one and the replaced one is also same, but aligning it is a pain - unless it is done by the Indimotard guys themselves. I got both the clamps replaced at Indimotard itself (front and back), but during my last service, the SVC guys removed the bash plate for oil change and while putting it back, it took lot of time and effort to get the correct alignment.

They are now providing rubber washers with the bash plate, and they put the rubber washers when fixing my bash plates.

Is the froth you are talking about that which forms when oil mixes with water? That should also create a mayonnaise-like substance.

Yes - was asking him to check if the coolant is mixing up with oil.

Have you ever suffered any starting issues with your bike? Mine started to demand a longer crank of the starter last winter when starting the engine for the first time in a day.

I was wondering if you have seen anything like this.

Touch-wood, no starting issues till date. Did you check the cranking voltage of your battery?

I feel 18K is too early to do a valve lapping. If Delhi have a good place like Indimotard or AutoService, do take it there for a second opinion.

Why did you change the engine? What happened to your original engine? Sorry if it is already documented in the forum and I missed it.

--Anoop

[Darth Sid]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

They are now providing rubber washers with the bash plate, and they put the rubber washers when fixing my bash plate.

Touch-wood, no starting issues till date. Did you check the cranking voltage of your battery?

I feel 18K is too early to do a valve lapping. If Delhi have a good place like Indimotard or AutoService, do take it there for a second opinion.

Why did you change the engine? What happened to your original engine? Sorry if it is already documented in the forum and I missed it.

--Anoop

Well, I bought the plate in June and they did not send any rubber washers or bushes. I suppose I should get them made.

I got the battery voltage and charging performance checked through the load tester at the SVC and all the indications were normal. They even checked the alternator output and found it OK. When you say cranking voltage, do you mean the voltage across the battery terminals when the self starter is cranking the engine? I will have to check that myself using a multimeter.

Since we are talking about the alternator, I should mention a couple of other things too. I have an HID projector installed in the headlight and a pair of Hella Supertone horns too. I don't think they should be causing any problems though. Here is the interesting part - the speedo console sometimes shows zero speed while the bike is moving. It has been happening for a few months, maybe even a year and even before this cranking issue started. But a few days back the zero thing started happening even more frequently.

Now if the alternator was faulty, wouldn't the speed stay zero? That issue could be because of the console's faulty logic. But since this has starting happening more frequently, maybe it is in fact the alternator that is causing all issues. I also used to see a low battery warning every now and then. This happened a year or so back I got the battery changed and even after that the warnings persisted. However, since the speedo zero became more frequent, I haven't seen the low battery warning.

Here is a video I recorded last night of how my bike behaves. First crank does not start the engine. Second crank does and I immediately turned it off after the engine started. After that I cranked it again and it started instantly. This is how it always behaves.

https://youtu.be/FRqPHecFNls

And no, I haven't documented the engine replacement anywhere. Maybe I should. In short, the engine had to be opened thrice in the first 14000 km to try and solve the problem of the airbox getting flooded with oil. The breather pipe would spray oil into the airbox and air filter. On the second service the problem was discovered. Coolant was found to be mixing with the oil. The coolant pump shaft seal and O-ring were changed. Cylinder kit too, to be safe. Problem occurred again and they changed the valves. It appeared again after some time and they gave me a prototype airbox issued by R&D. That didn't solve the problem so they replaced the cylinder kit with the revised clearances. The problem reappeared after a trip to Manali. Finally, Mr Prashant Pingle said I will get a new engine. I got a 2013 engine which was then re-stamped with my engine number at the SVC itself. New engine sounds quite different from the original one. Problem never occurred again. Not such a short story after all...

[Darth Sid]

I was doing a random search on the 200's alternator and came across this blog post:

https://orangemadnes.wordpress.com/2...r-duke-200390/

I don't know how much credibility, if any, this post has but if you look at the very first issue the person has mentioned seems awfully similar to what I have observed. So it might just be the alternator. What do you think?