:Shockked:
"But weren't you gonna buy a Versys 650 after selling the Z800?".
Yes, Infact I was going to book the Versys the day the Z800 was sold. I had read through all of Mobike's posts, watched Powerdrift's reviews, Schumi's (Overdrive) review more than a 100 times. I even went to the extent of
researching for panniers and other accessories for it. If that was planning, beat this - even when I had the Z, I ordered for the Puig frame sliders from a good friend.
"So what happened? What went wrong?"
A couple of things actually...I won't say things went wrong, but certain circumstances (other than the ones listed
here) that made me change my mind.
1. The recent split between Bajaj-KTM and Kawasaki - KTM had stopped taking bookings and supporting servicing of Kawasaki bikes since Feb. The Mumbai showroom wasn't operational and there was no timeline of when the service center would be up. I didn't want to pick up a motorcycle which does not have a service backup.
2. Certain issues being faced with the Versys 650 - Had heard of the triple clamp cracking on some bikes after hitting a bump.
Considering these factors, I decided to keep the bike plans on hold for a year and use my trusted
RX100 for the time being.
"So, how did the Duke 390 happen?"
Well, I never had the Duke 390 (or for that matter any other motorcycle) in mind at all for this year. The RX100 would do its duty of taking me to work and back and anywhere I wanted to go within the city. But what about out of the city? I couldn't use the RX for long rides because it is too slow. But still I never thought of getting anything. During this time , my close friend informed me about his decision to sell his
Duke 390. Thought about it for a while - although, the Duke 390 didn't tick a single requirement - The only reason I decided to buy the Duke was that the bike was in IMMACULATE condition. I could also use it for long rides (he had installed a gel seat). Pillion comfort (for long rides) was not a priority for the moment so I could ignore the back seat.
So in conclusion, it was a very sudden and impulsive decision to pick the Duke 390.
"So what's special about this Duke 390?"
The most special thing worth mentioning is the condition of the bike. All my friends who seen this bike (including the number plate guy) were not ready to believe that this is a 2013 model. Its really maintained and serviced very well, always under covers and parked in a closed garage.
The motorcycle is stock - but has all the OE accessories - the hand guards, the front and rear spools and the front mud flap. Additional accessories include Philips Nightvision bulbs and a Indicator module (which has 30 different modes and function like strobe lights - he is a pilot). They really look amazing when switched on - will try and post a video of the same.
On the day of delivery
Accessories on the Duke
4923 kms only
Details
Model : Nov 2013
Mileage (at the time of buying) : 4923 kms
No of owners : 1
All services done at authorised KTM service centers
All accessories were purchased at the time of purchase - Hand Guards, Front and Rear Spools and Headlight windshield.
Initial Impressions
Before I give my impressions on the bike, I would like to point out that this is one of the best maintained Duke 390 that I have ever seen. Close to 3 years and the bike looks as if it's just out of the factory. Not a single scratch and paint hasn't faded yet. A very lovingly maintained motorcycle.
What I like
1. Excellent build quality - paint and finish.
2. Seat felt comfortable (possibly because the gel seat was installed)
3. Powerful 44 BHP engine enough for city and highway rides.
4. Digital Console - is very informative.
5. Love the rear swingarm. It's really a work of art.
6. Light weight and easily flickable.
7. Good list of accessories that the bike came with - hand guards, spooks, engine guards.
8. Coolant tank is easily accessible without opening the tank.
What I don't like
1. Seating Position - I find it a bit difficult with the upright seating position and the footrests being rear sets.
2. Heating Issues (Obviously) - Bike heats more than my Z800.
3. Wife also found it more comfortable to perch onto the Duke than the Z. Rear seat comfort was also better than the Z and not as high.
4. Fuel Tank capacity - approx 10-10.5 Litres means you have to keep refueling.
5. The sound. Yes how did I miss that. I don't know what others feel - but according to me the Duke sounds like a Tata Ace.
6. Side stand - I feel this is the worst side stand I have ever seen on any motorcycle. The angle of the side stand is such that the bike remains upright when parked. Also it's difficult sometimes to pull the stand down even if the motorcycle is tilted a bit towards the left. Bad design, I would say. I also had difficulties in swinging my leg over the bike with the tail bag in place. If the lean angle was more, the bike would be much lower and hence easier to get onto.
Riding Impression
I haven't ridden the bike enough to post a riding impression. But below are some of my findings on short rides within the city
1. Bike gets heated too quickly and are easily felt on the legs. Now I know what you mean by "tandoori thighs".
2. Shut down a couple of times when it I suddenly slowed down to a halt (Street Triple effect). But have learnt to keep the throttle on slightly so it doesn't switch off.
3. When I ride for a few seconds in 3rd - I hear a swish swish sound from under the bike. Feels like the chain rubbing against the chain cover. But I am not sure.
4. The gear shifts are smooth and slick. First always engaged with a clunk and the rest of the five gears are smooth. In city traffic , you cannot go above 2 gear. And in bumper to bumper you have to be only in first gear. In this one month that I had this bike, I have very rarely taken it on 5th and 6th. The gear indicator does really help in keeping what gear you are in.
On long rides
Finally after 2 months, I finally got to take the KTM out for a ride to Lonavala (where else). The impressions that I had that the bike would be uncomfortable on long rides completely vanished within an hour of riding it. We left at 430 in the morning to escape the morning heat. It was my first ride with the KTM, the new Bell Qualifier helmet and the Nelson Riggs tail bag. The Bell was bought as a replacement to the LS2 for long rides on the Z800 (which is sold). The Nelson Riggs bag was bought to use on the Kawasaki Versys 650 (which I never bought). It all felt so funny. Anyways coming to the Duke - I was surprised that the Duke was really comfortable - more than I had expected. The overall ergonomics we're good, seats were soft (probably because of the gel seat). Only thing I found uncomfortable was the leg position where I found it difficult to stand even for a few seconds when I got tired. It may sound funny, but I was more comfortable and stress free riding this bike fast than riding the Z. As you know I don't ride fast - always hover around 80-100 and it was very easy to do it on the Duke. I think it was more due to the light weight if the bike and my lack of confidence in riding a big bike.
The ride consisted of the D390, CL500, Speed Triple and a Tiger (no guesses for which is my favorite). Needless to say the Speed and the Tiger disappeared into the horizon and it was me and my younger brother on the Duke and CL riding at our comfort pace. On many occasions we exchanged bikes whenever we took a short break. Riding both the CL500 and the D390 back to back, it was easy to figure why the Duke is used very often for long rides / touring. It can cruise at triple digits speeds all day long and can do it very effortlessly. Obviously the RE is slower and more comfortable and in a different class altogether. I couldn't decide which one do we better than the other but I really enjoyed the KTM more because it had better brakes and ABS too. Handling wise also it's much better than the RE. Where the RE scored was on comfort - I don't think any motorcycle can match it.
The mirrors are a bit if a disappointment though with limited visibility especially when you are wearing a jacket. The movement fore and aft also is very restricted. May need a set of mirror extenders. May try Handlebar risers too and see if they are more comfortable.
On a mileage front - its pretty good to - gulping around 7.67 litres for 215kms which is around 29 kmpl. The only concern is a very small tank capacity which means multiple fuel stops. Within the city, the mileage dropped to around 20 kmpl - which I feel is too low. But again probably because my travel route is a mix of stop-go and open roads.
Immediate plans for the bike : 1. A full service - it was almost a year since my friend had done the last paid service. But the bike wasn't even run for 500 kms from the last service. So I thought I'll get all the fluids and filters changed. Had heard a good reviews of the KTM Andheri East service center (Ahuja Automobiles), so took the bike there. Took the bike in at 5300 kms and had the oil changed, coolant topped up, brake pads cleaned, oil, fuel and air filter replaced. All in all the service cost came up to a decent Rs 2500 of which Rs 750 was labour.
A couple of observations- the "swish swish" sound was apparently from the front break pads and not the chain. Had a chat with another Duke and he mentioned too that he facing the same issues. The pads were cleaned and the sound has reduced but not eliminated.
After the oil change the bike is running a bit cooler. Even in heavy traffic the temperature did not rise enjoy to activate the fan. The bike is now smooth and sounds more refined and slightly muted.
2. A decent tail tidy kit- don't like the extra long rear mudguard.
3. A tail bag - have fitted a Nelson Riggs tail bag that mounts onto the rear seat. Fits perfectly like a glove and the best part is it is tail mounted and you don't have any straps and cords hanging outside. So looks much neater and feels like a part of the bike.
Ordered the bag from
RevZilla and a friend helped in getting it here. The bag comes with 4 set of short straps which can be used to mount the bag to the rear seat (only 2 required) and one set of long straps Incase it needs to be mounted on the tail. It also came with a waterproof cover and the instruction manual.
Open the bag and it has a medium size main compartment which can be used to hold a first aid kit, clothes etc.
There is a mesh pocket under the lid (almost the size of the lid) which can be used to store documents. Above that there is also a small pen / pencil holder.
4. Changing the front / rear number plates. Being a pilot, my friend had a customized Boeing plate / registration on the Duke and wanted to keep those plates as a remembrance. So I have installed new plates at the rear (similar to the Z buy with an orange sticker). The number plate guy made a mistake and put the initials as DZ instead of DF which has been corrected.
5. Removal of the Tyre hugger / mud flap. For 2 reasons - it looks better without it and also having the mud flap makes it difficult to clean the wheels / tyres. Will probably fit it back during the monsoons.
6. Bar end indicators (just because they look cool).
Nostalgia? - not exactly. A rare pic of the Duke and the Z taken on one of our breakfast rides 2 years ago. Who knew then that the Duke would one day replace the Z.
Thank you all for reading through - will post more pics over the weekend. Now have a huge task of going through the Duke 390 Ownership thread.
Great report mate! Even I'm always thinking about getting a pre worshiped Duke 390 as a daily driver and keep my harley only for long rides. I love the design and the power to weight ratio and in it looks awesome in monochrome matt grey wrap. (Also helps that these are just 1-1.2 lakhs to buy extreme vfm).But too difficult to convince wify - she says why one more bike? That I could use that same cash to run and maintain the harley for 5 more years-hard to argue with a womanstupid:
Allen : Congrats on the Duke 390 and pretty neat observations of what you like and what you dont
I know Duke is a legend in it's own right for it's powerful engine and flickable abilities but, moving away from Z800 for this bike is little hard to fathom
Since you were already in middle of the ownership of Z800, you should have retained it and strive to ride more (which I think was the primary reason for you to sell it)
I have ridden the D200, D390 on a few occasions for a short distance and due to my large personality it never impressed me and that engine like your rightly said was one of the sore reason and other being it's extreme compact size. It would have been an awesome bike during my teen days
When I was servicing my Versys for 12K kms service I got a chance to ride the new RC390 for a small distance and some observations
I started the bike and was about to start riding and the heat that I felt coming from the engine was simply unbearable. Imagine this with a cold start:eek:
Seats look narrow on RC390 and I was confident I will never be able to perch myself onto that puny seat. But, the seating position was quite comfortable
Power delivery was nice and crisp
Overall, it's a nice bike for folks looking at a VFM pocket rocket:)
Hope you will ride this one longer and harder...Enjoy and Ride Safe !
