[mohansrides]

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

Welcome to my ownership thread....

Thank you Prasanna for such a detailed and meticulous ownership review. Also, thanks for keeping it updated on an ongoing basis thereby making it a very useful resource not just for prospective KTM guys, but for other bike owners as well. Seeing the numbers in the KTM (performance vs. cost) will serve as a good reference point to evaluate one's own machine; if someone is so inclined that is.

Originally Posted by Rob UK

I think the 300-500cc range is really where it's at in India for the roads & traffic. If I had 5lac to spend in India on bikes I would be most likely to go for a KTM 390 and an classic CI Bullet instead of a pre-owned superbike.

Correct. And how I would like to have different bikes for different purposes!! Having said that, I am ultimately a convenience guy. So, I'd probably just sell off the ones that I am not using and keep the bike that I ride the most.

Originally Posted by Rob UK

With a slightly pitched forward position, you are using your core muscles to support your weight, so your back stays neutral. Guys who ride infrequently and have a weak core from a sedentary lifestyle often complain of wrist ache from this riding position as they lean into the bars rather than supporting their weight - they often end up buying bar risers or changing to an upright bike where no low level muscle tension is required to hold position. Whether you do powerlifting, yoga, play squash or simply ride all the time (racing legend John McGuinness does no gym work, he just rides Motocross to train), basically anything that gives you good core stability will mean you can ride in comfort for hours on a bike that pitches you forwards a bit.

Correct indeed. However, it is impractical to expect everyone to have the core strength to last hours in such riding positions. The fact is that 90% of the world doesn't have sufficient core strength. I am not going to get into it here and start citing my experience with weight training. I have no desire or patience to impress anyone. Suffice it to say that while it is a fantastic thing to have, core strength is simply not required to go through the rigors of daily life. And with that being the case, these kind of bike ergonomics are typically not ideal for most road bikes; especially in India. Still, I say more power to those people who like such riding positions and feel comfortable in them.

Personally speaking, I have other reasons to not choose fully faired sports motorcycles. Aside from a sporty, and yet a more uprightish riding position, I also like my bikes to look elemental in a sense. All that fairing is simply not for me. More so because I am not someone who enjoys speed all that much.

Originally Posted by marcussantiago

I owned a KTM Duke 200 for just under a year and did 13 K on the odo with absolutely zero problems..

There have been the odd problems here and there but really nothing severe or major, and at least speaking for my own experience as a somewhat foreigner with poor Hindi skills, the service at KTM / Bajaj has been quite good overall.

I have a theory about the reliability of KTM bikes, as follows:....

What a fantastic post. I could not agree more. Thank you for stating your own bikes (minor) issues and for unpacking some plausible use case scenarios in such detail. Brilliant job. Loved reading it.

But that said, it may not be the best thing to generalize and assume that most blokes end up having problems because they didn't do the proper upkeep of their steeds. That could be the majority. But, there are cases where the owner does the required maintenance as best as they can and as per the manual. And yet, the bikes present some serious issues. We have seen examples with RE and also a couple of Bajaj Dominars. These may be few and far between. But, as a consumer, I would feel reassured if the manufacturer goes the extra mile to figure out why those issues occur as it helps build up the repository of knowledge in the service ranks and also helps the riding community at large.

Originally Posted by dipak1406

Dear Prasanna

Thank you, from my side RC390 is the way to go, however as you know if you want to buy something along with your wife then it is adviceable not to share your decision with her. There should be a feeling that its a joint decision however one must slowly suggest strong points of product you want to buy

In this case have already pitched ABS = Safety factor to her. Hope to close this in Jan 1st week. best regards Deepak

This forum is absolutely hilarious. There is so much material here about how to mind-manipulate our hapless spouses and significant others to go along with our purchase decisions. We are such hopeless cases!! How our families put up with us probably warrants another full fledged forum like Team BHP. I can already see the title on that one "OhNowThis.com"

[PrasannaDhana]

Hi all,
Today marks the first anniversary of the RC 390



It still feels new and rides like new. This one year hasn't been a very active one with regatti riding. Have just completed 7000 km on the RC. Looking forward to more riding the coming year.

[PrasannaDhana]

Update:
Odo : 7050 km

Since the first anniversary of the bike, I wanted to use the bike atleast for the gym runs regularly. I had a tough time cranking the engine to life as I was starting it after three weeks of being idle. It took 4 full cranks to come to life. So it was decided that I use it daily atleast for the gym runs (30 kms totally, to and fro)

The rear tyre was totally worn out (to the point the metal lines were showing) and since I wasn't riding I didn't think about replacing it nor did I have the time to do it. Since I want the bike to be operational regularly, I had to replace the tyre. And fortunately I was free today and used the time for replacing the worn out Metz with Michelin PSR 150/60 tyre. Front tyre is good to go for another 5000 km. Michelin costed me 6200 and the KTM svc charged 300 for labour.



Also bought a new helmet. My Axor was too heavy and had a dark tint which will be a pain riding in the dark. Since i will be riding to gym early in the morning by 5 or late evening by 8, I wanted a transparent visor and a light weight helmet.

I had very few options to choose from, precisely SMK and Steelbird Air RSB 1. I liked SMK (ECE certified) but it was too small a fit and they did not have xl. While the Steelbird Air was perfect fit and lighter. Costed me much lesser than the SMK and also looked smashing, pretty VFM at 2k. So the rc gets a new tyre and I got myself a new helmet.






Attachment 1830399

Aren't they beautiful?

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

Update:
Odo : 7050 km
The rear tyre was totally worn out (to the point the metal lines were showing) and since I wasn't riding I didn't think about replacing it nor did I have the time to do it.

Congratulations on the new helmet. I was a little surprised by the wear on the rear tire for the odometer reading of only 7050 kms. Had I seen the picture only, I would have guessed that your tire had done at least 15,000 kms of hard riding. Is 7K kms the expected tire life from the OEM tires?

[PrasannaDhana]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Had I seen the picture only, I would have guessed that your tire had done at least 15,000 kms of hard riding. Is 7K kms the expected tire life from the OEM tires?

Well, even I was surprised. I have heard Metzelers last usually upto 12k km and if you are aggressive it may last a minimum of 10k km. But then mine gave up beyond 6500km.

I am pretty aggressive but the front is still good. I am guessing the rear tyre was defective from the shop floor (just a guess). I have always had the tyre pressure right (26 psi in front and 32 in the rear). My earlier Michelin's(in CBR and Duke 390) were good as new even after 15k km of aggressive riding.

[PrasannaDhana]

Merry Christmas to everyone!

The RC starts the gym duty Some pictures from today:

[theredliner]

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

Update:
Odo : 7050 km

The rear tyre was totally worn out (to the point the metal lines were showing)

You sir, must be launching the bike at every traffic signal or must be doing a lot of burnouts

Here's how the stock tyre looks on mine at 9k

[PrasannaDhana]

Originally Posted by theredliner

You sir, must be launching the bike at every traffic signal or must be doing a lot of burnouts

]

Lol! I hate the stupidity of doing burnouts. I have never done that nor would I . The only good use of the grip I took from the tyre were the three times it was ripped on the hills

And as I already said, I ride hard. But yours look great for a 9k run tyre

And regarding Michelin, they stayed good for 30k + km on my previous Duke 390.

[ksameer1234]

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

Update:
Odo : 7050 km
The rear tyre was totally worn out (to the point the metal lines were showing)

Originally Posted by theredliner

Here's how the stock tyre looks on mine at 9k

Wow!! You guys are something. While I don't have the pic of my original Metz, it was changed at 17k and looked about the same as that of theredliner. The only reason I changed it was because there was a puncture and fixing that revealed seemed to be 5-6 micro-punctures during one trip.

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

And as I already said, I ride hard.

That is an understatement. I have a friend who pops wheelies on his Duke 390 every time he shifts into first gear and even tires last 9-10k!!

[Motard_Blr]

My riding style which is hard on the front brakes puts a lot of stress on the front end. So my front brakes and front tyre wear out much faster than the rear.
In your case, I think you might be harder on the back brake than on the front, hence the faster wear on the back tyre.

Even though I use engine braking all the time, I don't usually do hard starts so my clutch is still the original one after 40 k km.

As usual, YMMV

[PrasannaDhana]

Originally Posted by ksameer1234

That is an understatement. I have a friend who pops wheelies on his Duke 390 every time he shifts into first gear and even tires last 9-10k!!

Well I also feel there must be a difference between the H rated and W rated Metzelers wrt the durability.

And regarding my usage, it is 60:40 national highway: state highway and a minor part of it in city.

So majority of the time, I am at 7500-10000 rpm (8500-9500 rpm on NH) at the 6th gear. And the way I reach 6th is by hitting the limiter in the first 5 (most times, except the 1st gear). I am not indicating it in speed terms for the sake of forum rules
With such riding, there are quite a few times I have to do rapid braking (engine braking + brakes). And when it comes to hill rides, I go all out (that's why I chose the RC over the Dukes). Also need to remind you guys that I am quite heavier than most KTM riders LOL. So all these may have contributed to the poor Metz giving up a bit early.

[Vignesh_N/A]

I remember reading on ninja300 forum that Diablo Rosso 2s getting rubbed away in less than 10k kms under hard riding. Metzeler being softer(I presume) than DRII is obviously expected to have a shorter lifespan on a 44 bhp machine.

And someone has been riding real hard.

[LipDog43]

Can you comment on any difference you have felt after switching to Michelin? I am looking to change as well, and i enjoy regular hill rides as well. Is the reduction on grip noticeable?

[PrasannaDhana]

Originally Posted by LipDog43

Can you comment on any difference you have felt after switching to Michelin? I am looking to change as well, and i enjoy regular hill rides as well. Is the reduction on grip noticeable?

No, I don't feel any difference but I am yet to hit the ghats. So I can't comment on it until then. But my previous experience with CBR250R and Duke 390 which were on Michelin PSR was great on ghats. No perceivable difference. Only area the Michelin lags behind the Metz is the wet grip.

[VijayAnand1]

Can weight be a factor for the rapid wear of your tire, Prassy? Just me thinks I had the exact questions as other Bhpians had about your tire wear. Nevertheless, I think it can be due to less tire pressure coupled with the weight the bike has to carry.

Nonetheless, now that you've changed to PSRs, do keep your observations after 7k, that'd be an interesting read me thinks: Wink, wink.

Ride safe!

Cheers!
VJ