KTM Duke 390 with Zana crash guards: Keep or switch to stock?

The Zana crash guards add 4 kilograms to the bike, compared to the stock.

BHPian saikishor recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello BHPians,

So I purchased a pre-loved Duke 390 around 2 weeks ago. The bike came with a couple of accessories, one of which is these Zana crash guards. I never liked these crash guards, and I still don't.

I've seen a couple of reviews in which they mentioned these do more harm than good, as the crash guards are really close to the engine casing and might damage the engine casing in case of a fall. Add to this, the Zana crash guards make the bike an extra 4 kilos heavier. They also come in the way and hit your legs when you're reversing out of the parking lot and when your pillion sits close to you or your pillion is of heavy build.

I'm in a huge dilemma, whether to remove these and switch to stock or keep them as is. Last week when I decided to remove them, I had a small incident because of a moronic uncle on the road. He kind of rammed into my bike and luckily he hit the Zana crash guards. After this incident, I decided to keep them but now after having the hassle of removing the bike out of my cramped parking, I'm thinking of switching to stock.

I would really like to know your view on these Zana crash guards, do they do more harm than good or vice versa? Are they worth the extra 4 kg of hassle or are the stock ones good enough?

Inputs and valuable gyaan regarding this will be highly appreciated.

Here's what BHPian RiderZone had to say on the matter:

I would personally get rid of it. Adding 4 kgs extra to something like the Duke is counter to its purpose. The stock guards are more than capable of handling falls and small crashes. Permanently ruining the looks and handling of a motorcycle for the off chance that you're involved in a big-ish crash that hits exactly where the Zana sits and it doesn't do more harm than good, is not worth the hassle to me.

Here's what BHPian Sahil00090 had to say on the matter:

Can't say about Duke but I have a Zana crash guard installed on my D400. Last year I had a pretty nasty fall when I was doing saddling while going downhill in Spiti, thanks to that crash guard, the engine was completely safe, without that there would have been damages surely, one screw of the crash guard was broken in that incident and that's it.

I really like the crash guard, to be honest. They protect your legs too.

Here's what BHPian kosjam had to say on the matter:

I don't own a D390, but a V-Strom, and had installed a custom crash guard looking more or less like yours. My father wanted to ride it once, and as he was coming to a stop, he didn't realise there was a plastic speed breaker precisely at the point he chose to stop. Needless to say, he lost his balance and the bike fell. But what prevented the bike from crushing his leg was the brand new crash guard. It cracked at one of the joints, but it did its job. Protected the bike as well as my dad's leg.

My two paisa advice. Don't remove it, if you feel it is too large, change out the spool piece at the very edge of the guard with a smaller one (lengthwise)

Here's what BHPian VijayAnand1 had to say on the matter:

Let me throw in my experience as well. Zana does make great products with decent pricing. Some of their products are definitely a wee bit overpriced but for what it has to offer, the quality of the welds, the quality of fasteners provided are all excellent quality and last really long. Second in line comes ILLUVIA Industries, IIRC, they have an excellent range of products too, all well catered to the respective categories of motorcycles.

If only Indian fabricators can produce high quality, perfect fit accessories for Indian customers consistently, one definitely wouldn't need to shell 10k for a foreign brand that sells a radiator guard that's worth 3k for the same fit and finish. Zana and ILLUVIA and there are lots of other no-name vendors that do a good job of custom fabricating accessories that my memory struggles to refresh.

I am all for Make in India as long as quality, workmanship and materials justify the cost, and these guys are right there.

Good luck.

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