[deepfreak15]

Prelude
1st Jan 2015 I rode my new KTM Duke 200 out of the showroom and at the first signal realized I should have bought the D390 instead. So why did I buy the D200 in the first place? I used my head instead of my heart -D200 full cash, D390 would have to take a loan for the remaining amount. While I did eventually reconcile with my purchase the itch was always there for something better.



The bike was sparingly used with only two long distance rides, Bangalore -Salem -Bangalore (460KMs) and Bangalore - Hampi - Bangalore (680KMs). While for city usage I could not ask for a better bike the longing for a better highway bike did not go away.

Turning point

On Feb 23rd 2017 KTM launched the 2017 models in India.

The buying process


So with nothing much to do over the weekend (25th Feb) I went with the Mrs to the KTM showroom to check out the new bikes (little did we know but this was going to be the start of a very torturous 3 months for her. She deserves a medal for putting up with my decision making during this period!)

Since I had bought my D200 from the same showroom I knew the sales rep, had troubled him about the Versys 650 when KTM and Kawasaki were still married. I was surprised that there was no display bike at the showroom but the sales reps enthusiasm was infectious. He showed me list of people who had already paid in full for the D250 and D390 and those who had booked and was trying his very best to get my name in that list.He even gave me a ridiculously low booking figure because I was a repeat customer which he said I could cancel anytime and get a full refund. Now when it comes to 2 or 4 wheels I become the most irrational and illogical person. I turned to the Mrs for support, she had a funny look on her face (I will get back to this look later because eventually I deciphered it) but she didn't say a word . I could feel my hand reach for my wallet and handover my credit card. It was swiped and we walked out of the showroom with mid-March as the delivery window. I still remember on our way home I kept saying it was a refundable amount and it was an insignificant amount.

Patience is not my biggest strength. I don't know why but as soon as I came home I sold my D200 to a friend of mine. (Like they say hindsight is 20/20, I should have held on to it and looked for a highway tourer). For the 2 years I had the bike I only rode it 6600Kms but as soon as it left my garage I felt emancipated. It literally left a hole in my heart and I became very moody and borderline intolerable person. To make matters worse the whole BSIII to BSIV fiasco happened with "rumors" of dirt cheap big bikes. I'm sure people did get good deals but I visited every Big Bike showroom in Bangalore only to be told sorry we don't have any BSIII
bikes in stock. So, I continued calling the SA at KTM every day for a status on my bike. March came and went with no bike. But then other owners started getting delivery and that's when the stories of ECU failure messages, headlight going off started floating around. I was no longer interested in this bike!

Around this time I got a call from Triumph with an offer on the Tiger with finance via Yes Bank. I asked for them to arrange the Yes Bank representative to get in touch with me. Within a few hours I got a call and once again I felt myself nibbling at the bait. Long back had gone on a test ride with the Mrs., we rode (she pillion) both the Street Triple and the Tiger 800Xr back to back. The Mrs. was dead against the Striple but loved the Tiger. It was the exact opposite for me. So I asked the Yes Bank rep if Triumph was their only tie up when he said they deal with Kawasaki too. This was about the same time the KTM-Kawasaki divorce happened and the 2017 models were launched. Now the number crunching started again. Z650 I would have to part with some savings and then would be able to manage a minimal loan or for the Ninja 650 would have to bump up the loan amount. Again, the Yes Bank guy was super quick and collected all my documents to get a loan sanctioned for the N650.Again with the Mrs. in tow we went to the Kawasaki showroom, she liked both the Z650 and the N650 so it boiled down to my choice, this happened in May with the second week of June offered as the delivery date. In a couple of days, I got a text saying my loan was sanctioned but no other details. The Yes Bank rep called and asked me a weird question - How much was sanctioned and what is the interest rate? I was a bit taken aback because I had no clue and assumed he was the one to tell me, to which he said he would call me again. Funnily there was dead silence from both Kawasaki and Yes bank for two weeks. That is a long time and two things happened

a) My KTM rep called saying my bike was ready
b) I got cold feet with buying a big bike especially by eating into my savings and taking a loan (Had either the Kawasaki or Yes bank rep been a little pushier I’m sure this post would have been how I ended up with the N650-I was sold on the motorcycle)

This was when my moodiness and being a pain in the wrong place to live with was peaking! Then rumors started floating around that KTM had a new software update in place that would fix these issues with the caveat that Bluetooth would not work with Android (more on this in the Like/dislike section). So, wake up on 21st May (Sunday morning) with an epiphany! Why don't I buy a small scooter first and then save up for a Ninja 650 (The reason I hadn't thought of this earlier was because in 2015 I bought a Suzuki Lets and had to sell after 500KMs on the ODO because it was not being used at all!). So, Sunday morning dragged the Mrs. to the Yamaha showroom. Both the Ray Z and the Yamaha FZ25 were ready for immediate delivery. Pay cash take it home. Thought long and hard for all of 5 minutes and then decided to buy the Ray Z. Once more felt my hand reaching for my wallet when I saw the same look on the Mrs. face that she gave when booking the D390 and then she spoke softly but firmly

"We will come tomorrow and pay the amount because it’s a Sunday and we won’t get it today" (The sales rep didn't read between the lines but I did - Stop acting like a fool and lets go home and talk about this).

On the way, home I got another epiphany! Used big bikes! It should be easy and I can’t go wrong..can I? So stopped over at TORQ92 - Sahakar Nagar. I remember seeing some facebook ads about used bikes a long time ago. The garage was well set up with a variety of bikes being worked upon, Triumphs and Kawasakis predominantly. Since I had done a lot of research on used big bikes (read-No clue at all) I walked up to the owner Mr. Satheesh, pointed to a few bikes parked there and asked how much. All credit to him he didn't look at me like I was a fool (or did a good job of covering it up) asked me what I was looking for. Since I had come totally unprepared I started blabbering in-cohesively when I thought let me just spit it out. Told him I had booked a D390 but had concerns about the product. Out of the goodness of his heart he pointed to a corner of his shop where there was a sparkly new D390 standing, offered the keys and said take a ride and then go ahead with your initial booking! The bike standing there was his own personal bike and he had only glowing reviews about the bike, what struck the Mrs. and me was he could have easily sold me a used bike that day, I was the perfect gullible patsy but instead he put my heart at ease and assured me I wouldn't feel bad or shortchanged if I bought the KTM from the showroom. Again dragging the Mrs. along with me (This is when I realized she does truly deserve a medal) went to the KTM showroom and made the payment in full and on the 24th of May 2017 got the keys to my brand new KTM Duke 390.

Alternatives considered

Anything better than the D200 in terms of performance!

The Bike

I am completely thrilled with this bike period! Yes, there is an irritating rattle/buzz coming from the tank or below it and occasionally the headlight goes off for a couple of seconds (I have the latest firmware v39) but once you ride the bike those are but minor niggles that will get fixed hopefully with the first service.

Absolute strangers walk up to you and ask about the bike, at signals people give the bike a complete once over multiple times. You can’t but help feel a little violated.

I really like the bright orange, the paint has a UV protection finish and the orange is a much brighter shade from the pre 2017 models. It stands out. From these angles, it sure does have a big bike look.






View from the back just to show how narrow this bike is



The all-important TFT console, while I like it, I'm not overtly thrilled because it becomes more of a distraction. Also at traffic signals people on bikes, tempos, SUVs crane over my shoulder to take a peek.




The switch on the extreme left (loopy arrow) is the one I have used the most so far. It helps you disconnect a phone call when your BT is paired. Even if the contact is stored on your phone it only displays the first 4-5 digits including the +91 so not very useful, though when I disconnect the call I have no qualms as I have no clue who it was. The levers are adjustable which helps you fine tune the bike to suit your riding style.




This for me is the best feature of the bike! It has 25 LEDs and looks gorgeous



DRLs on



Headlight on



Check out the colored Zip tie, it matches the color of the frame there are black ones also to match the frame or wire its used on.



Not only do the lights look gorgeous they serve their purpose too.This is the throw from the low beam



And this is high beam. My baby TSI headlights can't hold a candle to these lights. I always used to envy the lights of these German luxury cars when they flash from behind, it would feel like the whole road ahead was lit up by lightning. Now guess what, I can do the same at a fraction of the cost (My bike probably costs as much as the headlights on those cars)



Notice the gap in front of the key slot and the head-stock



This is when the lock falls in place its easily accessible with a hand held battery powered tool to slice through. I am going to buy a disc lock shortly! That said I love the black finish of the handle bar as compared to the previous aluminum one, though this is heavier



Note the proximity of the exhaust to the rear shock, I'm going to trust KTM knew what they were doing and only one reputed auto journo (Spurg from revzilla) has called this out. Not sure if this will cause a problem if you want to upgrade the shock to say, an Ohlins



The oil filter can be accessed without having to remove the bottom fairing. The same with the picture of the oil drain screw below this. Its a blessing because removing the fairing on the older one was very awkward (Yes, I change the engine oil, air filter and brake pads myself)



pardon the low lighting -the nut is not visible

In the D200 the front seat was bolted down, but in this bike its not. If you remove the rear seat the front seat slides out easily. But removing and putting the rear seat is not a one hand job like in the older bike, you must use precision



The air filter box has way too many screws than what the older bike had



Also I do not remember the older bike tool kit being this extensive.



The fuse box layout can be found under the front seat. For those who use this bike for stunting (in controlled environments) this is where you can pull the ABS fuse out. Also it looks like there is scope to plug in an alarm system but would not venture that far until KTM have fixed all their current electronic gremlins.



Safety features
Dual Channel ABS - which means both front and back brakes have ABS which can be switched off completely or if you have a hooligan streak/intend to go offroad you can turn off the ABS in the back allowing it to slide.

Large 320mm front brake disk with sintered pads

Extremely sticky but fast wearing Metzeler M5 interacts

On Road Cost
The cost of the bike including 3 years comprehensive insurance came to 2,91,000/-. The only add on included Orange Assist, valid for 1 year and I ordered the KTM powerpart tank pad which I had to eventually cancel since it was not compatible with the MY2017 version

How is it to ride?

I have only ridden 200 Kms within the city so far (owing to a hand injury) but these are my initial impressions my assessment would be based on the bikes owned and ridden in the family

RE Bullet 350 (1986-2016) - Dad
RE Classic 500 (2016-Till date)- Dad
Yamaha FZ (2013 -2015) -Mine
Duke 200 (2015 -2017) -Mine

Fancy electronics and being the first batch of its generation model has forced me to take the running in period seriously. 1st to 4th gear acceleration is addictive even if you don't cross 5000rpm. The only fly in the ointment is at around 4000rpm the rear-view mirrors vibrate from the stock (will try inserting a thin rubber layer at the mount). In the city 5th gear is the maximum you can go without the engine lugging. In 6th gear you better be above 50kmph otherwise the engine starts complaining. Downshifting is a breeze with the slipper clutch but I don't perceive the benefits because I still rev match (force of habit). The clutch action is light and smooth though I don't think that was a problem with any of the KTM models sold in India. The gearbox does feel tight but I'd chalk this down to the fact the bike is brand new.

The seating position is spot on with a lot of room to move around. There is no pronounced crouch putting any strain on your wrists but the pegs are nice and high and rear set giving you that pseudo racer feel. The only thing you have to be careful about if city commute is your playground is ensuring you have the right footwear. Your heel and ankle are pretty close to the exhaust head and yes it does tend to get a bit too hot. I'm 5'9" and have no problem putting my feet down at standstill. As with all KTMs form does follow function, you feel right at home and chucking the bike around is child's play. The fact you have M5 interact Metzelers for shoes and the safety net of ABS (Note: ABS is no substitute for common sense) only makes you enjoy the bike even more.

The major difference apart from the boatload of power you get compared to the D200 is the suspension. The front forks and rear shock are different than the older versions and you can feel the difference. In the D200 if you stand on the pegs over rough patches the rear would bounce around like a pogo stick on the MY17 D390 its more composed and if you have the misfortune of not noticing a pot hole it does not crash into like the previous model would. I haven't done any crazy lean angles yet so not sure if the cornering dynamics have been affected or not.

I have not ridden the previous version D390 but the brakes on this bike perform their duties extremely well. Though till the time of writing this I have not had the need to panic brake so have not experienced the ABS nor the back brakes yet and I have no inclination to find out how they perform.

The only thing I really don't like about this bike is the sound of the radiator fan. Let me explain why. The fan only helps keep the engine cool and they say its been tuned to kick in early for our hot humid climate, which I do not have a problem with. The only problem is that the fan is super loud and when it kicks in, a small subconscious thought process goes off in my brain - make the fan stop and the only way to do that is to go faster and when you are stuck in city traffic its starts to get on your nerves.


On a full tank of fuel you can ride for about 200KMs in the city before the low fuel warning comes on. The service team at the showroom were pretty insistent on filling it up as soon as that happens (maybe they know something that I don't). The only reason I would think so based on my D200 is that the fuel gauge is the most unreliable gauge I have seen on any vehicle so far. You start your trip with more that half tank, the moment you start enjoying yourself the bars drop all the way to the bottom in the most non-linear fashion I have ever seen, its a straight drop!

I still haven't taken it out on the open highway but I'm pretty confident it would perform well. Though I do not intend to make this a highway tourer as of now.

Likes
-Whichever camp you are in, pro motorcycle or against, you can’t but help admire/love those headlights
-Love the bright orange paint scheme, it makes the bike look like a blown up toy.
-Love the way the bike has been put together, feels and looks like a premium motorcycle (even the zip ties are the color of the frame)
-Insane handling used to think the FZ had good street dynamics but this one takes the cake
-Seating position feels natural with no strain on the wrist, back or knees(I get back aches with the upright seating of the RE),I'm 5'9'' and don't find it a problem putting both my legs down
-Insane acceleration in gears 1-4, have not revved till 7K but you can clearly feel the beast lurking within
-Well stocked tool kit, don't think the D200 had all these tools included
-Personally like the way the new exhaust sounds when the revs rise and in basement garages.
-Grippy tires, even on short rides you can see gravel sticking to the rubber.
-Suspension is plusher but don't feel the bike wallowing when leaned over, not sure how KTM did this trick but I like it so not complaining.


Dislikes
-This might sound weird but it’s an absolute attention magnet now that its new and not too many on the road yet
Why is this a problem? I am very possessive about my vehicles and when I park it I am consciously trying to make sure its in my line of sight, I can’t imagine what I would have gone through had I bought a Kawasaki
-Personally did not like the hand guards so removed them and the saree guard as soon as I brought it home.
-Rear-view mirrors vibrate from the stock at around 4k rpm
-The Mrs. complained of a back pain on the first pseudo long ride we did in the city (she never complained on the D200 so for now will put this down to being a while since she has ridden pillion only time will tell)
-The head-stock lock is too exposed for my liking, looks like you can hack it off with the right blade, will be investing in a disc lock shortly
-The rattle from the tank or below it is a little annoying at slow speeds need to get this checked during the first service
-Bluetooth connectivity does work with Android after the software update but its more of a distraction, I would have preferred self-cancelling indicators to bluetooth connectivity.
-Heel/Ankle tends to heat up from the exhaust head but that comes with the territory and only makes a better case of wearing the right footwear.
-As of now not sure if I should worry about the rear shock being so close to the exhaust head.
-Loud radiator fan
-6th gear is useless in the city
-Lack of D390 specific accessories like wind deflectors, fuel map controllers etc. , this is expected as it’s a new launch
-Totally detest the break in period but that's a very short lived problem which I can't wait to get rid of.

As you can tell most of my dislikes are minor pet peeves, so don't let them detract you from trying out this bike. I have ridden the bike for a very short while at less than 40% of its peak performance and it still manages to put a huge smile on my face, thankfully hidden within my full-face helmet otherwise I would look like an imbecile riding around.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Motorcycle Section. Thanks for sharing!

[deetjohn]

Congrats on the big Duke Thompson! Hope you can make peace with that radiator fan soon.

And like the service guys mentioned, don't wait for the low fuel warning to fill up gas. I don't know much about bikes but in cars, the fuel pump doesn't like low fuel levels. When the fuel level is low, the pump could suck in air and it can also heat up - most pumps are submerged inside the tank and its the fuel which cools the pump down while in operation. Both of this is not good and can make the pump fail.

Have fun and ride safe!

[deepfreak15]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

And like the service guys mentioned, don't wait for the low fuel warning to fill up gas. I don't know much about bikes but in cars, the fuel pump doesn't like low fuel levels. When the fuel level is low, the pump could suck in air and it can also heat up - most pumps are submerged inside the tank and its the fuel which cools the pump down while in operation. Both of this is not good and can make the pump fail.

Have fun and ride safe!

Thanks buddy, at least one of us paid attention in class

[abhijeet080808]

Congratulations on your new Duke. I upgraded from the 2013 390 Duke to the 2017 390 Duke and I am enjoying it so far!

However, I noticed something in one of the image you posted.



The RED indicator is the LOW OIL PRESSURE indicator and it is ON in your image even with the engine idling. The same happens on my bike too! When the engine is warm (4 bars on the temp gauge) and the bike is started, the indicator stays on unless the engine is revved once to somewhere beyond 2.5k rpm. Post that, the indicator does not come ON even at idle. This continues till the engine is killed and restarted. Also, this does NOT happen on a cold engine.

I was thinking something being wrong with my bike. Seeing your image gives me the confidence that is must be yet another electrical gremlin! I was about to ask the SVC to investigate this issue. Now, I will refrain, since they have the potential of doing more harm in the name of "troubleshooting". By the way, I am on V39 firmware.

[deepfreak15]

Originally Posted by abhijeet080808

Congratulations on your new Duke. I upgraded from the 2013 390 Duke to the 2017 390 Duke and I am enjoying it so far!


The RED indicator is the LOW OIL PRESSURE indicator .

Congrats on your new bike! I had no clue that was a warning light. Thanks for the heads up

[farhadtarapore]

Congrats on your new bike! Mine's coming this week!

On the note of that warning light, in my CBR250, the ABS warning light used to remain lit until I cross 20kmph. After that it wouldn't come on again unless I shut the bike off and start it again. Perhaps a similar algorithm here might be at work. Best to get it checked at your service center.

[deepfreak15]

Originally Posted by farhadtarapore

Congrats on your new bike! Mine's coming this week!

On the note of that warning light, in my CBR250, the ABS warning light used

Thanks. You won't be disappointed with your purchase.The ABS warning light is different here but still stays on till you start rolling away

[Coplay]

Congrats on the new Duke390. It is one of the best VFM bikes available in the market today and can give a lot of bigger Japs or Brits a run for their money.

The bike looks stunning. simply stunning. I am in two minds to sell my CBR and buy the D390 or a Dominar.

[abhijeet080808]

Originally Posted by deepfreak15

Congrats on your new bike! I had no clue that was a warning light. Thanks for the heads up

Thanks. If you get this checked with the SVC, do let us know on this thread. I am in 2 minds whether to ignore this or get this "investigated" by the SVC.

[Urban_Nomad]

Congrats on your purchase. What a beautiful bike!!

I own a 2014 Duke 390 with around 40K on the odo. I managed to ride one very briefly in my office parking lot. A few things that immediately jumped out at me were:

- The SILKY smooth throttle response, no low RPM jerky behavior like my 390
- The suspension is so much better at absorbing bumps compared to the older 390
- THE brakes. WOW. Post riding the new one, my 390 felt it had brakes made of cookie dough. I am waiting for the 2017's spares to arrive at the workshop and see if the entire braking system can be transplanted onto my bike. The rotors may or may not fit, but am definitely getting the new one's (bigger) Master Cylinder and brake pads

Wish you and the Missus many happy miles together on the BEST BIKE ON SALE IN THE COUNTRY TODAY!! Ride safe

[deepfreak15]

Originally Posted by Urban_Nomad

Congrats on your purchase. What a beautiful bike!!



Wish you and the Missus many happy miles together on the BEST BIKE ON SALE IN THE COUNTRY TODAY!! Ride safe

Thank you very much for your kind words.

I think Galfer makes 320mm rotors that are a straight fit for pre 2017 models. You would have to import them though, combined with EBC sintered pads I think you should get the same performance if not better

[Urban_Nomad]

Originally Posted by deepfreak15

I think Galfer makes 320mm rotors that are a straight fit

They do, as does brembo. but it costs about an arm and a leg. Don't want to spend that much

[PatienceWins]

Congrats. This bike is a very good value proposition with some great features.

I would have preferred a toned down colour version considering that the current one is an attention magnet. I prefer subtle looks.

All the best. Please keep the thread updated as you keep on munching miles.

[dreamseller]

Congratulations, Deepfreak! The way you've penned down your buying thought process made for an interesting read. Felt good to know there are more of my kind.

Like someone has pointed out, I too had almost made up my mind to sell off the CBR 250 and get myself that beautiful Katoom. Have a query: did they still have the limited edition white colour when you bought yours?

Hope to catch up with you one of these days while commuting. Happy riding!