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How I ended up buying a used KTM 390 Duke as my 1st bike: Pros & Cons

24th March 2023, 09:32 by Rahul Nagaraj

I have been getting fuel efficiency numbers ranging from 22 - 28 km/l.

BHPian saikishor recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Index

Disclaimer: This thread has more content on my selection process and my backstory rather than the actual bike itself. If you are here for a proper review of the 390 Duke, I will suggest you to go to this thread or search for a youtube video. Please feel free to skip any portion of this thread if found boring or lengthy.

Intro and backstory

I’ve been on this forum for close to 2 years now (my membership was approved on the 20th of December,2020) and have been a rather silent follower with occasional posts here and there. I remember making a small intro post when I was new, but that’s all. I was born here and moved to the USA after 6 months after my birth. Stayed there for six years, and that’s how my passion started and grew further. After coming back to India in 2009, my uncle introduced me to Autocar India magazine. And then my knowledge & passion towards Indian cars grew in a positive direction. I’m grateful to myself for holding this passion towards automobiles for such a long time, and I am sure it will stay the same & grow even after a couple of years. I am aiming for a career in the automobile industry, let’s see how it goes-only time will tell. I did try some other stuff like singing, playing the piano, basketball, volleyball and tennis, but nothing lasted for long. Except for this.

I don’t remember how I came across T-BHP, but ever since I started reading stuff it has become a habit of checking the T-BHP website a couple of times every day. Heck at times when a TV program becomes boring I take my mom’s phone and start reading some random old car official review on the website.

So coming back to my story, I was a car guy all along my childhood. I loved cars to the core, so much so that my dad used to take me for walks and I end up checking out each and every car parked in the parking lot. Such was the enthusiasm I had when I was 5-6 years old. I have a close to 200 hot wheels car collection if that matters to anyone. It sure does to me. I loved cars, every shape, size, style, everything. Cars were everything for me.

And then, one day, somewhere in the middle of my 8th-grade summer vacation, I came across videos of the Heartbrokenbiker, Zohair Ahmed, Sriman Kotaru (OG content was dope, scrap nowadays), Oggy F, Dinos Vault, MSK, and Buffmoto IIRC. I hated motorcycles for all of my life. But somehow I was hooked to motorcycles. Just like that, all of a sudden. I liked the content and started to like motorcycles. This happened sometime in 2016. I liked some of the aforementioned YouTuber's content so much so that I still remember the numberplates of their motorcycles which they sold long ago. I converted to a motorcycle guy just like that. I started dreaming of having my own motorcycle. This was sometime in 2016-2018 I guess, and the daydreaming continued until I bought my bike. I dreamt of having either a Pulsar 200NS (yes it was called this back in the day) or a KTM 200 Duke. I remember posting a Facebook poll on which motorcycle to buy once I turn into a legal one.

Since a motorcycle was far far away, the only other two-wheeler I had access to was a bicycle. It used to give me a positive two-wheeler feeling. I used to do 10km commutes on a regular basis in 10th grade, occasionally 25 km commutes. The highest distance I covered on a bicycle was 34km in 2019. I left cycling in 2020, and I don’t think I’ll go back to it anytime soon.

So come 2021, I received my driving license on the 27th of September. I didn’t go to a driving school to learn how to drive a car( turns out you can learn better by yourself instead of learning from a useless low qualified instructor). It was my dad who turned instructor for me. I had a proper feel of the clutch, gears and brake pedals as I used to park our little Beat inside and outside our parking lot in 2020. I am by no means a gentle driver. I drive with a heavy right foot. I did do a couple of cheeky stuff as J turns, handbrake turns first gear wheelspins etc. I will cut it off here as this thread belongs to a different topic.

I started convincing my dad. This episode ran for close to 6 months. I started to beg him after my 18th birthday(March 2021) and it finally ended in August or September in a Reliance Digital showroom. Don’t remember the exact scene but he somehow said yes. I told him a lot of things about how a motorcycle isn’t just a commuting tool but a recreational tool etc and I will ride safely and stuff. The ordeal finally ended. Now it was time to hunt for the bike.

Shortlisting and selection

I checked out almost all bikes available in the 1.5-3.5 lac price segment. I don’t remember the exact order, but here goes the list:

Honda: Honda Hornet 2.0, Honda CB200X

I was interested in both of these bikes as Honda didn’t launch the CB300R yet. I asked for a test ride of the Hornet 2.0, but couldn’t get one as I visited the showroom at almost closing time. I did see the CB200X at a different showroom, but it seems test-ride vehicles would take some time(2 months) to arrive. I dropped these bikes from the list thereafter.

Yamaha: R15, FZ25

I originally had the MT 15 on my list, but since it wasn’t available for a test ride, I had to decide by riding an R15. R15 was a nice motorcycle, but not my kind of motorcycle. The riding posture was way too committed for me. I had experienced back pain in the short 15-20 minutes I had spent with it. But apart from that it is a really nice motorcycle, which truly deserves the “R” tag. The slipper clutch worked like a charm, by facilitating aggressive downshifts and upshifts. The engine, despite being a 150cc unit, is an animal in its own respect. The technology it packs in its engine is truly industry-leading, VVA really makes up for this character.

And coming to the FZ25, forget about a test ride motorcycle, there was no display motorcycle in the showroom. Later I had visited another showroom which was close to my old house, but even they had no test ride motorcycle. Both of the showrooms I visited quoted a waiting period of 2-2.5 months. I dropped both R15 and FZ 25 from my list.

Suzuki: Gixxer 250, Gixxer SF250

I am a huge fan of sports tourers. And since the legendary CBR250R was no longer available in the market, I had to look at another Japanese counterpart which some people refer to as a worthy successor to the CBR250R. I rode the SF for a good 2-3 kilometres and the naked inside a parking lot. I was impressed with the smooth nature of the motorcycle, and of course the solid build quality it had on offer. But, I had doubts about Suzuki’s service. There is no denying the fact that the Suzuki 250 series is a low-volume product. I was also unsure about the spares situation. Let's say the bike is discontinued after a year of my purchasing the bike. Will regular consumables(brake pads, oil filters etc) and some occasional body parts(indicators etc) be available at immediate disposal? I don’t have a good impression with regard to spares and Japanese two-wheeler brands. I had a situation in which an indicator lens wasn’t available for my 2011 Activa. Sometimes even basics like brake cables weren’t available readily. So I kept this aside, not finalised yet not ruled out.

Jawa

These were never on my list. I preferred RE over these bikes simply due to the fact that RE has somewhat proven itself on the reliability front compared to these guys.

Mahindra: Mojo

I had a huge crush on this bike in 2016-2017, especially the Sunburst Yellow and Crimson Matte Red that they had on sale for a short period of time. Come 2021, Mahindra hardly sells motorcycles, and the Mojo goes off the list just like that.

Hero MotoCorp

Nothing from the Hero stable impressed me.

TVS: Apache RR310, Apache RTR200 4V

I remember checking out the 200 4V when it launched sometime in 2016 IIRC. I couldn’t find a test-ride vehicle, but I really loved the Showa adjustable suspension and the matte blue colour.

Coming to the RR310, man I really love this motorcycle. Had TVS offered a proper test ride, I would’ve bought it home. I remember receiving an on-road price quote of 2.85 lacs in July 2021, the same price I paid for my 390 Duke. TVS isn’t serious about selling this motorcycle. Well, at least their “premium’” showrooms aren’t serious about selling this bike. I visited two showrooms multiple number of times for a test ride, but all I got was a 300-400 meter spin. IIRC, the showroom guys were adamant about booking, even before test riding. One showroom had a test ride bike ready but they didn’t want to give it for a test ride. God knows why. Still, I love this bike even today, and I wish I get to spend more time with it someday.

Bajaj: Dominar 400

This was one of the last bikes on my list. I somehow never had my heart set on this bike. But I do admire the twin display speedometer and the Diavel-inspired design. I took one short test ride and was impressed with the pickup it had on offer. It was a heavy bike, no second thoughts about this.

KTM: 390 Duke

There was only one bike that I wanted, admired and always dreamt of owning; the beautiful 390 Duke. I always wanted this bike in the BS4 white shade. I even remember daydreaming about riding and owning this bike in class hours. When the BS4 Duke was first launched, I went to the showroom on my Montra cycle to see it in person. But upon going to the showroom, the bike gets delivered to someone and I return home without seeing the bike. I however did end up seeing the bike at a local auto expo. Coming back to this story, I took a short test ride of the bike. I remember the bike felt very linear and power delivery was not frantic or scary. That was just a 500m spin with the sales guy as pillion, but at least I got a feel of how the bike felt. I was only interested in the 390 Duke, as 125 felt useless, 200 was overpriced and 250, well, why not stretch and get the 390 itself?

Husqvarna

Wasn’t interested in this brand, as they only had the 250s on offer and there was no sign of the 401s being launched.

Royal Enfield: Interceptor 650, Himalayan, Meteor 350

I had my first tryst with the Interceptor 650 on my 18th birthday. Keeping aside the bike’s weight, I fell in love with the way the engine pulled. The smoothness of the engine was unreal, and the exhaust note, well, sweet like candy. I loved the bike to the bits and told the showroom guy that I will come to book the bike in the next 3-4 months. I bought an RE t-shirt and left. On the same day, I test-rode the Himalayan and somehow didn’t like the bike. I didn’t like the weight balance of the bike. I tested the Meteor 350 at a later stage.

Kawasaki

This wasn’t on my shortlist, as no bike was in my budget. The closest match was the Ninja 300, but the pricing was absurd to my senses.

BMW Motorrad

Even this brand wasn’t on my shortlist, squarely because of the maintenance cost. I liked the G310R, but this bike somehow didn’t give me that take-me-home vibe, even after a test ride.