[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by PatienceWins

Most reviewers complan about poor low end torque and bike stalling in initial gears. That would be an issue during commuting in city traffic and off roading, especially off-road inclines. Love Himalayan for the low end torque, seems we cannot get the best of both worlds with a short stroke motor. Hope there will be some modification available.

Simple fix. Lower the front sprocket by one tooth. Globally accepted “modification” on all bikes including the crf 250l Honda.

[RabidBull]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Simple fix. Lower the front sprocket by one tooth. Globally accepted “modification” on all bikes including the crf 250l Honda.

Indeed. Or you can also consider going up by 2-3 teeth on the rear sprocket. Believe this is available as a powerpart from KTM, not sure if a lower teeth front is available with them.

[shree_shell]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

The bad

Highway cruising - I have bought this bike for city commute mostly, and for those one-off trips where I might ship the bike, so this may not be really an issue for me.

Butttt for people who are buying it mostly for long highway tours, I would suggest a big NO!. Yes, it is fast, it 'maybe' more reliable yadayada, but just get a Himalayan instead, save a lakh or more and be very comfy during your tours. The issue is ironically this bikes major plus point compared to Himalayan, the weight factor. The laws of physics though doesn't work for it on highways as expected. The bike feels too light, at speeds above 100 Kmph, just a slight wind makes it nervous, so one has to really be concentrating so as not get pulled into a wind drift, say while overtaking a huge container lorry. The tall gearing again results in low engine braking at higher gears, which again adds to a disconnect while touring at speeds. Add to that the vibes from engine and stiffer progression of suspension let in lot of fatigue onto the rider.

I think it is the Rake that's responsible for high-speed handling and turning.

Ktm 350 adv: 23.5 deg / Wheelbase: 56.3 inches
My 2004 XT225: 24.0 deg / Wheelbase: 53.1 inches
My 2004 ZRX1200R: 25.0 deg / Wheelbase: 57.7 inches
Himalayan: 26.5 deg / Wheelbase: 57.7 inches

Every motorcycle is a compromise and while buying you choose what kind of trade-off is enjoyable to live with. I believe the KTM's geometry is more suited to off-road; Himalayan's is cruising, however, they might not have the equipment to be good at that (Himalayan is underpowered).
From personal experience, the low rake XT is very finicky during 100kph curves, while the ZRX wants to do 200kph on curves. But then the former is a dual-sport trail bike and latter an overpowered UJM cruiser.

[drt_rdr]

Originally Posted by Cyborg

I think it was his mistake.

We have no way of knowing for certain, but yes, it sounds like it was his mistake, which was what I was referring to earlier.

He could probably have been sitting down on the seat when he supposedly hopped it off the footpath, and his behind probably came down hard on the seat, bottoming the suspension out and making the underbelly hit either the edge of the footpath or a rock as he claims. Were he standing up, things would probably have been different.

Or maybe he had a pillion with him when he tried this out. Whatever the case, the bike has a bashplate to protect it somewhat against this kind of riding.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Only concern is the huge variation in FE

That lines up right to what I used to get on my 390 Duke. Highway sprints used to range between 26 - 27. Go easy on the gas and you will be rewarded with 30kmpl or so. No use looking at bumper to bumper figures. The bigger problem was dealing with engine heat which I assume has been addressed here, as you have not highlighted any.

Originally Posted by Jaggu

True to the brand image this is another hooligan of a bike from the stable.

Considering the motor is essentially unaltered to the 390 Duke, the hooligan attributes are likely to pass on.

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Things have improved a lot from day 1 and hopefully, the move to synthetic oil at first service will improve things further.

I assume the Motul oil from the factory is all Synthetic.

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Mid range engine vibration

Little you can do about this. The motor is just buzzy at times.

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Yes, it is fast, it 'maybe' more reliable yadayada, but just get a Himalayan instead, save a lakh or more and be very comfy during your tours.

I quite enjoyed riding the Himalayan, during the brief test ride I did. It does not give you much reserve when it comes to power. 100 - 110kmph feels good but demanding anything more from that engine isn't all that rewarding, whereas on the KTM, all you need to do is twist that throttle a little more and you can blast past almost anything.

[Jaggu]

Mod note: A dedicated ownership thread has been created here now that the bike has been launched and we have substantial content coming from real-life TeamBHP buddies.