[Shanenanigans]

Not sure if this will help now, but there's a KTM dealership on IFFCO Chowk (right off the highway in the Panasonic building) which is open from 10-6.

Number listed on google is 088265 94755. Hope this helps.

[barcalad]

Originally Posted by mehuel

Need urgent help. Potholes have taken their toll. Stuck in gurgaon with front alloy cracked and rear bent. Can someone please tell where is the service center located. Preferably a contact number aswell.

There's one near IFFCO Chowk. Contact the manager at +918826594755.

Get this sorted and then detail us as to how did this happen. Hope she's back on the roads soon!

[mehuel]

Thanks, finally the bike is with the service center.

Both the alloys have cracks, i didn't notice the crack in the rear one till sun came out. As for how it happened. Well, don't want to blame Bajaj/KTM. I'll be honest and confess that I have to share the blame. Or maybe I am the only one to be blamed.

Let's see. I knew from day one when first picture of cracked alloys started doing rounds on the web, that these alloys do have the tendency to crack. I choose oblivion and made up my mind that I'll still buy it,and ride it sagaciously and keep an eye out for those potholes. Life was great. Bike had done about 3300 kms in a months time. So yes she is being ridden to all length and breadth.

It's almost addictive. Few short ride, one long ride, daily commutes, you name it. It hasn't been to track yet but that's certainly on charts(as soon as I save enough to get full leather). But its just so likable.

But i got a bit carried away. After the rain last week a lot of potholes have crept up. And I usually ride around those sometimes even over them depending on the depth. But the one I witnessed yesterday, trust me you, this was no pothole, it was a crater.

Anyone travelling from jaipur side towards toll just before you enter gurgaon please be wary, this monstrosity exist just 300-400 meters before toll. I can only hope pwd would have filled it by now. It was atleast a feet deep. Length atleast 4-5 feet. And 2-3 feet wide. I am not exaggerating.

Now one might ask how could I not have seen it. It was dark but i still did see it, I slowed down, stood up on the footpegs a bit to brace the impact, as there wasn't much time to break (abs or no abs, with a distance this short i would have been lying in that ditch itself), and just about when I was about to waft over it(or so i thought) I realized i had miscalculated the depth.

Alert mode. Too late. Brace for impact. And bam, front end dives in, rear follows suit, front ones out, i could feel the wobbling and hear the tyre losing air, and this i am not kidding, the rear kinda ricocheted out of that crater, about 1 and a half feet off the ground(this was also witnessed by my friend who was riding at a safe distance behind on electra ). And the rear landed on the ground with a thud. Again sound of tyre losing air and rear starts wobbling. Engine braking along with the flat tyres helped in curbing speed and somehow making the wobble to be controlled aswell.

Pulled the bike to the side. my complacency leading to over confidence resulted in this disaster along with the great work done by our PWD. But honestly I can't even blame roads/highway dept. That just leaves me.

Love and respect for bike.

The service center in 14 sector has provided me with the quote for 13000 INR. The bike will be at SVC for atleast 10-15 days. As they didn't have the rear alloys in stock.

Insurance is an option and i am looking into it.

[Sudipto-S-Team]

If it is of any help, this is KTM's On Road Service number 02240901529 . But I suppose you have to be a member of that special service that they offer for them to respond. No harm trying though.

PS: I did not realise I was reacting to the first post and the issue has been solved already. Mods can please consider removing this post.

[dranjithk]

First post here! Can you guys suggest a good alloy lock for the RC390? The parking spaces at home and office are safe, but I feel insecure parking in public places (Malls, restaurants).

A friend gave me a alloy lock (not sure of the brand), but it's not fitting into the holes in the RC's alloys. Any help or pointers are appreciated. Thanks!

[mehuel]

5 days and I am nowhere close to getting my bike fixed. But i am a glass half full kind of person. I have moved the bike from gurgaon svc to the one near my place that is ghaziabad svc near Vaishali metro station.

And currently working on the idea of getting the black alloys from Duke 200 fitted on the RC. Orange was not my color, but since the bike came with the tag ' You can have any color as long as it is orange' I was out of options. But now a window of opportunity has opened.

This ghaziabad svc is a big one and stocks up on spares big time. They have in stock the 200's black alloys and the best part is they have 6 flange hub alloy. Most of the 200 have 4 flange hub. But few of the newer models have that six flange ones. And the RC's and D390 come with 6 flange hub, you get the picture.

I have a few questions though.

Will these alloys from 200 be a simple swap job on rc. Service center guys are sure that it indeed is, though they have not done this before. All i know is that the weight is same and so are the other dimensions. Does any one know of any distinction or any problem that could be encountered. Any issue with the abs?

P.s: I won't be getting insurance. So that's another thing to consider. But the bike does need wheels. Glass half full

[sriramv.iyer]

Originally Posted by mehuel

P.s: I won't be getting insurance. So that's another thing to consider. But the bike does need wheels. Glass half full

Is there any reason why you won't be getting the insurance? I got it when I cracked the alloys of my D390 almost 1.5 years ago. I think it was about 10K and I got 8.5K from insurance.

Also, do get Orange Assist. Pretty useful when you are stranded. With Orange Assist from KTM, you can get 24 hour Road side assistance. I have one for both my D390 and RC390

[mehuel]

So finally the addiction has carved it's way through all the resistance and here to serve my cravings. (more or less)

@sriramv.iyer - i ruled out the option of taking insurance for now.

As for the alloys. well, black ones are slightly heavier than orange ones. I am not sure but if i were to guess, it would be somewhere in the region of 200-400 grams.

And I havent noticed any difference in abs functioning. But handing has gone for a toss.

The bike at slow speed feels very scary while turning braking. over steer under steer. I am not sure what has happened, something else has been affected after the impact in the ditch which cracked both the alloys. Handlebar seems straight so i am assuming the suspension arent the issue, i could be wrong though. and at faster speeds all is good, but that sharp steering is amiss. while cornering aswell i dont feel that confident either. I will have to inspect it thoroghly, may be its the cone set or the handle t hub. I hope its not the chassis. What are the chances of chassis being affected in such situation?

Any pointers guys as to where I should start looking for the problem?

P.S: I almost forgot. Now that the black ones are in, I do feel that orange ones looked better . That is why I have added the last pic for comparison. But black is black for me, first preference any day. As for strenght, there were plenty of cracked and bent black alloys lying in the svc scrap yard.

Once the steering issue is resolved I might even consider painting the chassis black. But back to the Steering issue for now.

[barcalad]

Originally Posted by mehuel

Any pointers guys as to where I should start looking for the problem?

I place my bet on the front forks and the cone set. Yours truly has had that very same feeling many a times, on a lighter degree though.

Mehuel mate, the black rims look fabulous. I don't know if it's just me but the bike surely looks meaner and has that litre-class charisma now. Get rid of the decals and many of these enlightening car/bike websites will go 'Exclusive : India bound RC 690 spotted!'.

[B O V]

Man, it just looks downright lethal in black! I've always felt the orange rims to be a bit too loud for my taste.

Sorry to hear about the cracked alloy, shouldn't this be covered under insurance though?

Regards,

BOV

[mehuel]

@ barcalad : Yup, i suspect the coneset and suspension aswell. I have played around a bit today and results will show tomorrow.

@B O V and @barcalad

Thanks for the 'exclusive' bit and black alloys. You know by saying these kind of things you guys are tempting me to play around with the chassis even before I sort out the handling issue

I have some ideas for chassis which include a can of plastidip, some old newspaper and whole lot of masking tape.

@B O V . As for insurance. The number of reason why I should not go for insurance were piling up. Like first, svc guys weren't sure if black alloys would be covered or not. Second the time it was taking was almost unbearable. Third they gave me a quotation of 21000 INR, whereas getting it done with cash only robbed me 7800 INR. I decided to just end it and get her back as quickly as possible. Insurance is still there, as they say 'there's always a next time'

This is just a photo editor rendering. But i am thinking of something close to this.

[barcalad]

Originally Posted by mehuel

But i am thinking of something close to this.

I gave it a try. Might not to be too neat, but surely gives a good idea about the outcome of your efforts.

[mehuel]

The steering issue is resolved. On my way back from work I was running all sorts of ideas through my head. As i mentioned earlier, since the handle was straight I ruled out suspension bend. Next was the disk rotor, but i high speed there was no wobbling while applying front brakes. As a matter of fact that handling issue only existed while riding slow through traffic and changing direction. After a lot of brainstorming it suddenly struck me that the svc guys might have over tightened the steering t nut. I looked at some old pis I had taken after buying the bike and the nut angle looked out of place. I reached home and took the pipe wrench and loosened the top nut above the handle bar clamp, next i loosened the t hub nut and re tightened the top nut. Since I don't have a torque wrench, i roughly tightened it to the angle as seen in old pics.
Pretty much a sleepless night after that, as i wanted to test it right away. But had a morning ride planned, took the bike out in the morning and voila, difference was spectacular and relieving. That similar surgeon's knife precision was back.

I was not upset when the alloys cracked, but this handling bit was truly unnerving. I have never trusted the mechanics at svc, this is the main reason I service the rest of my bikes at home. Be it major or minor. I just made an exception in ktms case. But i suppose it's time to take matters into my own hands now. Torque wrench has moved up at the tools to buy list.

Just adding some pics of the ride today

[mehuel]

Originally Posted by barcalad

I gave it a try. Might not to be too neat, but surely gives a good idea about the outcome of your efforts.

That is exactly what i have on the mind. Though i still cant decide if i should go ahead with it. But thanks as it gives me some idea of what it would end up like.

P.S: some sizing confusion lead to duplicacy of images above. Apologies.

[barcalad]

Originally Posted by mehuel

That is exactly what i have on the mind. Though i still cant decide if i should go ahead with it. But thanks as it gives me some idea of what it would end up like.

Cheers, man. Glad it came of some use to you. I reckon that if you go for a chassis painting, it would be wise to live a hint or glimpse of orange somewhere. After all, Orange is the blood of KTM rides.