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-   -   My 2014 KTM Duke 390 | Ownership Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorbikes/242452-my-2014-ktm-duke-390-ownership-review-5.html)

Low oil pressure and engine rebuild incoming

During the Malkapur ride I came across low oil pressure warning, which used to come on briefly below 80 kmph and disappear in 3 minutes and keeps coming back at a 10-minute interval. On the way back it became constant and stayed on till I reached back home. In the entire 900km ride the engine was responding perfectly and shifting smoothly, it even survived peak hour traffic of Mumbai on the way back, found it very puzzling. In Pune I even stopped at a garage and asked for 10w 50 and they did not have it. Next day in the morning, went to the KTM SVC to pick up an oil pressure sensor and 2 bolts for the leg guard, while returning, inquired at a few garages for 7100 10W 50 and none of them had it, so put an order for it on Amazon and opted for same day delivery. When I saw the status out for delivery in the evening, put the bike on the paddock, cleaned off the chain with ease with a cloth, the chain had become so dirty during the ride, that it didn’t need the chain cleaner, removed the belly pan, cracked the drain bolt loose and slide a pan underneath and let the oil drain oil, I was expecting 500 to 800 ml of oil to come and the oil pressure sensor to be faulty, but to my shock only 200 ml of oil came out, the oil had done only 1500kms. My brain was attacked with strong emotions, I was questioning myself on how the engine survived the trip, same thoughts were in others minds. And luckily while the oil was draining, the fresh oil just got delivered, bolted everything up and filled her up with fresh oil, did a test run later in the night to see if everything is proper and it was. Post all this, had some talks with myself for hours whether to sell the bike off and buy a new bike, store it off forever or still spend on it, after 5 long days of thinking and riding the bike once awhile, decided to keep it and start saving up for an engine rebuild as it is burning too much oil, plus the bike has never stranded me anywhere. Had a long chat with Vighnesh about the plans about the bike, he suggested to just open the valve cover myself to check the condition of the valves and timing, opened up the cover after a few days and everything looked good in there, some relief to the mind. During the rebuild, we are going to strip the entire engine and make sure nothing else bad or going bad in the engine, if I am lucky, it will be just the block piston assembly. On the positive side, I am proud of the engine that it has held up well for close to 40k with 3 owners and it still runs how it should, it has been a good 23k of riding from my side, it comes down to the way the bike is treated, only a select few people are allowed, very particular about maintenance and who works on it.

When picking up the oil pressure sensor and 2 bolts, all three gens in one frame :cool:




This is 1500kms and 200 ml of oil. The shocking realization.


Just before 2023 ends, one final time it gets opened up


The valves looked good and felt good while doing the fingernail test, will have to check it properly when the engine rebuild time comes or when i do a valve clearance check.




Installed Dominar fork protectors

I always wanted to put the Dominars fork protectors in the duke, I have been searching for them for quite some time, went to Bajaj SVC also once, they didn’t have them either. As the Domi and the Duke share the front suspension, I was 100% sure that it will fit. One fine day, post-midnight was casually browsing bike stuff, went on 99rpm site got myself registered, searched for the part and placed an order for it and waited for a week for it to come. Compared to the 1st gen duke fork protectors which have less coverage , the dominar ones have a better coverage.

The day it arrived, I wiped out the tool kit and got down to work, removed the old ones and placed the Domi ones in and realised that some portions of the protectors are fouling with the fender, so some adjustments were needed, the right side one I did it In a crude manner by taking a Swiss knife and flame to do some cutting and the left one, did it in a more sophisticated way after realizing that I can file it off lol:, while I was working on the right side one. Took some time, along with some cutting and scraping, but it fits.

The package


Side by side comparison, can see the difference between the two.



Left side, it even covers the top portion of the disc all the way from the caliper



Right side, forgot to remove a pic, on the day of installation :p



Until next time

Cheers,
Dhruv Shetty.

Druv that is the most wholesome and enjoyable triplog I have gone through in a long time.

I loved your uncle's property. Once its lush and green it will be beautiful. The house is very tastefully made too. Very earthy. Not ostentatious like many farm houses tend to be.

Also loved the way both of you packed. Perfect. Light and slim and fast.

Cheers, Doc

The fact that those cam lobes haven't been scored with oil being less than the minimum 1 liter required is simply luck personified. Usually the first thing that seizes are the crank. Would be interesting to see how the crank bearing has held up considering the color of the oil and quantity, hoping the hydrodynamic lubrication of the crank wasn't compromised and the cam lobes held up to nick...is.. simply astounding..

Good luck on the rebuild.

Cheers!
VJ

Thank you doc for the kind words. The property is tastefully made and the best thing is, there is barely any network connection, only at certain places you will get reception, this makes it a nice getaway from all the distractions of city life and enjoy the slow paced rural life. The house has been made with practicality in mind:).


Now I am keeping an eagle eye on the oil window after each spin on the bike, so I know when to top up oil. Not going to push my luck with the oil level, keeping a extra can of Motul ready at all times lol:.

Time will tell what is the actual condition in engine once it is opened up. Going by the looks of the cams, one can say that these older Duke's had some quality parts in them, also it boils down to the rider also and how it is maintained.

Cheers,
Dhruv Shetty.

Build quality and machining are second to none on the original KTMs.

Please look at our bikes and take a moment to appreciate that they are 10 year old machines.

Cheers, Doc

Type 2 Dukes have the same protectors, I have those on my bike purchased from the KTM showroom

Whenever I went to ask about the type 2 Duke fork protector, it was out of stock. :coldsweat. Looking at the left side, it seems like it doesn't cover much.

Well, that is a problem. The right fork protector was in ready stock, the left one took about 5-6 months before it was in stock for me. Come to think of it, I never thought of the dominar part being similar. Oh well you learn new things every day!

On the topic of using dominar parts, the block piston kit of the dominar is apparently a direct fit for the duke and costs a measly 4500rs or so. Something to ponder about

Performance would take a severe hit. There's more to just parts matching costmetically i.e. footpegs, fork protectors, fork seals, sprockets packing and what not, the cylinder is what makes the Domi simply different from the Duke.

Cheers!
VJ

I would think so.

The first time I rode a Dominar, I was wondering how you could copy an engine and still have a totally different bike.

Even when on paper the numbers are almost the same.

Cheers, Doc

I disagree. The head, camshaft lobes and ecu tuning is what makes the performance difference between the dominar and duke, not the cylinder. After all, the cylinder is just literally a hollow cylinder with a steel insert plus a piston and rings.

The duke 390 bore kit costs 18K? you can just imagine how much money you've saved, you can spend that saved money on even a brand new head that costs 6k, new cams 3k and valves 1k - this way you a completely new top end and thus a completely new engine.

I think you've answered your question.. If it's just a hollow cylinder with steel insert and piston rings why does it cost 18k. It's the finer details Boi, after rebuilding enough engines a humble advice I would propound is do not use Domi's cyl to the 390. It is 100% doable but 200% not advisable.

Good luck.

Cheers!
VJ

https://youtu.be/niR-s3zNJeY?si=umEBECF451tWSy2i

Cheers, Doc

Cheers, Doc