[Tgo]

Originally Posted by ebonho

That has been discussed here. Its the cheap and not very scientific fix, which requires little R&D. There are other ways of making the wheels stronger besides throwing extra material into it. Forged wheels, internal metallurgical matrix construct, strengthening weak points by providing properly positioned support, all of this can and has ben done. A heavier wheel is the typical China mag alloy solution - which these wheels are, incidentally.

Again I have no experience or qualification to comment on allow wheels, but when FZ and Pulsars come with the cheap chinese mag allow solutions factory fit, then it is acceptable.. Not when KTM does it.

Are you saying insurance companies do not cover bike riders?

I'm not saying that.

Are you also saying that bike manifacturers can get away with dangerous equipment and quality because the risks inherent to motorcycling are greater than driving cars?

I'm not sure about this either as I have never faced something like this.

Should it not be the reverse? The bring the odds back into the rider's favor to the extent possible?

It should be but sadly isn't

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by Tgo

1. Suspension setup?.. stiffer on the duke?

My Take: it would be possible only if that stiff suspension bottoms out too quickly. Personally I haven't experienced any bottoming out of the front suspension even while light off roading.

2. Duke rim:
Front is 10 mm wider and 10 (..mm?) lower in profile.
Rear is 10 mm wider

I hope you are referring about the tyres instead of the 'rim'. The Duke comes with a 110-70 where as FZ-16 comes with a 100-80 size. Yes you are right on the profile part of front tyre. The Duke's tyre height for front is 3mm less than the FZ (not by 10mm). But still it is of the same spec as of the CBR250R.

Now, I cant understand your statement that the exerted force by the tyre at the alloy's flange(the lip you mentioned) will be greater for a wider tyre. From my knowledge any contained fluid(air inside the tyre) will equally distribute the pressure/shock applied to any point of it throughout its volume. So a wider tyre with same profile should have more fluid/air in it and hence posess a greater shock absorbtion properties. And yes, across most the tyres(fat or slim) the recommended front tyre pressure is around 25-30psi, its not that the fat tyre needs more tyre pressure.

Even if we assume your statement is true, the manufacturer should reinforce the alloy more along the flanges to hold the wider tyres, thay cant just skip this and blame it on the wider tyre.. Again this should reinforce the idea that something is wrong with the design/manufacture process.

3. Metallurgy

Whatever small idea I had about it was conveyed in the opening post. And I am not claiming that it is the thing with my limited knowledge! But the cracked rim incidents is a fact and not a myth or rumour.

There are a lot of reasons and I do not know why people are making a fuss about it.

I'll just pretend I didnt read this! Doc has already spoken most of my mind.

[Tgo]

Originally Posted by man_of_steel

From my knowledge any contained fluid(air inside the tyre) will equally distribute the pressure/shock applied to any point of it throughout its volume. So a wider tyre with same profile should have more fluid/air in it and hence posess a greater shock absorbtion properties. And yes, across most the tyres(fat or slim) the recommended front tyre pressure is around 25-30psi, its not that the fat tyre needs more tyre pressure.

What I wanted to convey was the damage caused due to impact when the rim physically touches the pothole edges or with the tyre sandwiched in between.

[Spectator]

Can someone tell me if the following is right? Has KTM made changes? I am contemplating buying a Duke 390 but was apprehensive when I read about the wheel problem.

http://www.motorbeam.com/2014/09/bik...-alloy-wheels/

[theredliner]

After 390, it is the turn of RS 200 it seems



http://www.rushlane.com/bajaj-pulsar...-12156970.html

Come on Bajaj, increase the price by 20K, but conduct proper QC and provide better quality at least on critical parts like the wheels, handlebars, pegs etc.

Originally Posted by PratikPatel

The good thing about the KTM rims are that they are of standard international size. Therefore if you wish to opt for aftermarket ones, a number of options are available such as Dymag, Marchesini, Marvic, etc.

Quoting an old post to get your attention.
Since these aftermarket wheels are very expensive, can the Ninja 300's stock alloy wheels (less expensive relatively) be used on the Duke/RC 390 without any issues? TIA.

[Manoj2268]

In response to the above question, this can only be seen once the wheel diagram of both wheels, D390 and N300R are posted. There could be differences in axle width, bearings, spacers would have to be made accordingly. As these are International models, you may be able to find the specs on the internet relatively easily.

Doubt that N300 rim would be a direct fit.

[greenhorn]

stupid question, but are all the wheels made by the same vendor?

[mehuel]

Just had the same experience on my RC 390. Here
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...-review-2.html

Originally Posted by theredliner

After 390, it is the turn of RS 200 it seems
Quoting an old post to get your attention.
Since these aftermarket wheels are very expensive, can the Ninja 300's stock alloy wheels (less expensive relatively) be used on the Duke/RC 390 without any issues? TIA.

Not possible, to begin with, front disk rotor mounting is completely different. The mounts on RC are very close to the axle. where as on Ninja 300 mounts are further apart. Using the ninja disk rotor wont help either as the both disk rotor are of different sizes. And even if we get the the disk rotor which will fit into ninja alloy i.e. 300 mm, the issue remains with mounting abs sensor plate.

and more or less same issues for rear ones.

Originally Posted by greenhorn

stupid question, but are all the wheels made by the same vendor?

Yes, they are coming from same vendor (i shouldnt speculate or guess but I heard its endurance, I doubt it though). and its high time Bajaj/KTM should do something about this.

[theredliner]

Originally Posted by Manoj2268

Doubt that N300 rim would be a direct fit.

Forgive me if this question sounds stupid (I'm a total noob in this area), but how do the aftermarket wheels fit on both of them (as told by PratikPatel in the post I quoted)

Originally Posted by mehuel

Just had the same experience on my RC 390.

Yes Mehuel. I did go through your post That was one of the reasons I posted in this thread. Yours was the first incident I read about, in RC 390. I had thought that it was a thing of past when Bajaj announced during RC release that the wheels were strengthened. Sad to see that thing continuing.

Anyway, happy to see your bike back and the steering issue fixed. It looks good with black alloys. I have gone through your posts and you seem to be enjoying the bike to the fullest I will pick one up too when they roll out the slipper clutch variant (and after I change my residence, no parking space for one more bike now) Might have to shop for some aftermarket alloys as well.

[mehuel]

Originally Posted by theredliner

Forgive me if this question sounds stupid (I'm a total noob in this area), but how do the aftermarket wheels fit on both of them (as told by PratikPatel in the post I quoted)



Yes Mehuel. I did go through your post That was one of the reasons I posted in this thread. Yours was the first incident I read about, in RC 390. I had thought that it was a thing of past when Bajaj announced during RC release that the wheels were strengthened. Sad to see that thing continuing.

Anyway, happy to see your bike back and the steering issue fixed. It looks good with black alloys. I have gone through your posts and you seem to be enjoying the bike to the fullest I will pick one up too when they roll out the slipper clutch variant (and after I change my residence, no parking space for one more bike now) Might have to shop for some aftermarket alloys as well.

Is Pratik the same guy who owns that heavily modified white ninja 300 of the motozone fame. If yes than I believe motozone might be able to work something out. Very talented and technical bunch.

As for black alloys.

Now to the question of cracking. I can't say much. I even know a guy who cracked harley superlow's rear alloy, while trying to negotiate a pothole. So these things do happen, plus bike is great. Just ride safe.

[theredliner]

Originally Posted by mehuel

Is Pratik the same guy who owns that heavily modified white ninja 300 of the motozone fame.

Now to the question of cracking. I can't say much. I even know a guy who cracked harley superlow's rear alloy, while trying to negotiate a pothole.

Yes, he is the same person. He has mentioned it here.

Coming to the alloys, I too have heard a couple of cases about Harley. I guess our roads are too bad.
Then again, if it breaks like it did in your case, it is somewhat fine. If it breaks like it did in that RS 200, it can be fatal. I guess paying 50k+ for forged wheels is the only decent solution. They'll bend but not break

[RiderZone]

In my opinion, the Duke 390 alloy cracking problem is a KTM quality issue, in the sense that not all bikes suffer the same. I've seen completely dismantled rims that look like the wheel was made of butter and somebody sliced through the spokes with a hot knife.

On the other hand, my personal experience with the rims has been nothing but amazing. I've gone through insane potholes, rammed speed breakers, and jumped over stones. In the last scenario, the stone ripped through the front tire, bent the front rim, then bent the rear rim. This is pretty amazing, considering the fact that the impact was so severe that I was airborne for about a second.

A further proof of the strength of the rims is the fact that I'm still using those bent wheels since the last 15,000 odd kilometers. All I did was heat them up, bend them back into shape, and then kept riding. Nobody can deny the fact that this is a very bad idea, but this does show that not all rims are the same.

You can read about the whole rim bending episode here.

[PratikPatel]

Originally Posted by theredliner

After 390, it is the turn of RS 200 it seems

Attachment 1395254

http://www.rushlane.com/bajaj-pulsar...-12156970.html


Quoting an old post to get your attention.
Since these aftermarket wheels are very expensive, can the Ninja 300's stock alloy wheels (less expensive relatively) be used on the Duke/RC 390 without any issues? TIA.

Yes, the Ninja 300 stock rims would work, however, someone will have to workout the spacers size details. Also on the Ninja the disk is mounted on the right side. So someone will need to take a look at that detail too. The rims for N300 are also not cheap, I think they are somewhere around Rs.20,000/-.

[Ricci]

It's not just the wheels, the handlebars too are now suspected of quality problems.
While these are cases of falls, clip-on bars don't or shouldn't break so easily, considering most of them were at city speed-limit compliant speeds.

http://www.indiancarsbikes.in/scoops...photos-127214/

[Rehaan]

Has there been any official statement or action regarding this?

Are KTM/Bajaj at least replacing the wheels, or are customers being made to pay?


Shyam Cmr just shared this on our facebook page:

Am too lucky and unlucky at the same time when Duke 390's alloy broke when it gone over an joint in concrete road which is just 1 inch above the road. Survived crash with some minor crashes.



Yea just after buying bike i noted [the possible issue with wheels cracking]. But I haven't gone through any pothole. This is the place where it might have cracked.


This is the road.