The stalling would worry me alot. Coolant overheat can be a mapping issue too, too much heat from lean condition, seizures too. Hmmmmmm. Are these drive by wire by chance? I see shades of 690s in these problems.
One of the KTM service centre owners I know was telling me that the 125/200 Duke's actually are having much lesser warranty claims/issues reported post roll out from the factory on an average is much lower than the global KTM average figure. Which does seem to indicate that the India KTM's are actually better in quality, but its an unfair comparison, since the 125/200 are much simpler and smaller bike plus its just two bikes as opposed to the much larger variety of models that other KTM factories are producing. The stalling usually happens when one is decelerating and almost pulling to a stop. But then for folks who are shifting gears harder and wringing the throttle open don't usually face this issue, its almost as if KTM is tell people to ride the bike hard else stay at home Nope, they aren't drive by wire. One of the seizures happened to a close friend's 200, it was a partial seizure he could ride back home. But KTM blamed fuel quality for the seizure, something which I feel is just a cover up. But, in the larger picture the Duke 200 is mostly trouble free, for our roads we need higher profile tires. Quite a few folks have bent rims from going over a pot hole too fast. I'm waiting to see how the Duke390 holds up, more so with those tires it would be quite scary to ride Once I get my hands on one first thing I'd want to do is put some higher profile rear dual sport tire. The stock size is 150/60-17, any options available in 150/70-17 or 160/60-17 ? Shipping costs to India are crazy though !
I want a Duke 390 to ride "all roads" in the US, including asphalt with cracks and potholes, gravel, smooth dirt, and with the right tires, some fire roads. What I'd prefer is longer suspension travel, but that aside, how does the Duke 200 handle these roads?
Folks here have done Ladakh on the Duke 200 without any major problems as such with alternating between... Like this... And... Only thing to look out for is hitting deeper potholes at a high speed, the sidewall profile is just too little to cushion those impacts. Ideally would like swap those pure tarmac tires for some dual sport tires with a higher sidewall profile to absorb the impact. Would have loved to have slightly better suspension setup too, but I'd personally stick to just changing the tyres! Wish KTM had given a slightly larger tank too, the range is way too limited with a 11Ltr tank. Can't wait for this thing to get launched here in India.. will be mad mad mad bike especially for our roads here
Thank you very much. That is exactly the kind of anecdotal information that helps me get a "feel" for the bike's capabilities. I'm sure that if the WP suspension is built with common EU components, I can tune it. Wheels and tires should also not be a problem. A larger tank may be problematic. Hopefully, if KTM really does bring the bike to the US, they will realize that we often demand more range for our riding and offer a larger Hardparts tank. If not, perhaps Acerbis will. Do you happen to know if there are locations on the frame to anchor racks for soft panniers to carry some gear on and below the pillion seat? TIA.
There aren't any anchor points as such, will have to fabricate a custom rack for hard panniers. But soft saddle bags are easy to carry on, here a picture from one of the travelogues on an Indian biking forum.. Picture Courtesy - Anirban Banerjee EDIT: Even I'm on the look out extending the range of the Duke, I don't mind the increase weight as long as the bike does atleast some 300+ Kms without needing a re-fill. Something around 400 kms mark would be ideal though, which means something like a 18+ Ltr tank is needed!
I for one wouldn't be surprised. People here seem to worship the KTM for some qualities that it doesn't posses (reliability) from what I've seen, and living in EU, you see a lot of them, and I'm working in the motorcycle business too and speak to a lot of dealerships weekly about a lot of stuff. I've met 4 people on 690s (2x duke, 1x SM, 1x SMC). 3 of the 4 had to rebuild the engine before 30.000 miles mark. The SMC guy is a lunatic, so no surprise there, but the others I follow around on a 300cc scooter. There's no doubt there's a lot of performance in them and some great quality parts, but that engine is high strung and I wouldn't look at one if I was concerned about reliability.
A tank with a 17-18 liter capacity is my minimum if I'm going to pay for an upgrade. Better would be 22-25 liters - fuel would be carried lower; and you don't have to keep the tank full. Just getting the bike here is the first step. If the quality is good, then I can build from there. Otherwise I'll have to start from scratch on something else (e.g. EX300R).
Yet to see a power part for the Duke 125/200 for an extended range tank. The only way out is to go custom, would have been easier had it been a metal tank, but with a plastic tank not sure how go about increasing the range.
That's what I was afraid of. It is why I asked about mounting points for pannier racks, which could mount roto-pax fuel containers. Your response indicates that welding on frame attachment points is necessary - which can be done, but it's a hassle for a non-ideal (roto-pax) solution. Still, the small Duke product line is still evolving. If KTM gets enough requests, perhaps they will step up.
Did my bit, sent a request for a extended tank power part :) http://company.ktm.com/gb/service/contact.html Hopefully someone at product development gets the hint and does something about it.
If they can dumb the 350 down enough here maybe they can build another DS version to meet the WR250r price and they should destroy it. Keep the EXC350R as the R2R bike and offer a lower tier offering, though it might canniablize their own EXC sales too. I'm still thinking these will command top dollar, which is fine as long as the usual KTM premium features are there. I see the new "Husky" 650 at my dealership. A great KLR fighter but not what I expect to see with that name on the tank. I doubt the mini Duke will be as bad but what is under the skin is what counts. If it has alot of scooter company DNA I'd be turned off. I'm already in a love/hate relationship with a Ninja 300 for the same reasons. Budget bike outfitting but great performance, but I can always find some comfort-rational in its low price.
I've been thinking along the same lines, but being made by Bajaj in India, it doesn't need to be "dumbed-down". As long as the Duke 390 is a true KTM, I'm happy. They don't really need an SM version for the US. SM's aren't selling here in any significant numbers, and with a true WP suspension, you can always change fork tubes and shock to get more suspension travel. Rake and trail are already relaxed from true street bike standards (25.0-degrees, 3.90") but with a very short wheel-base (53.8"). Close enough for street (rather than true SM Racing) standards. The TR650 Terra/Strada puzzle me as KLR-650 competitors. They also take on BMW's own GS650GS / Sertao, and while BigDog loves his, the bike leaves me cold. What Touratech has done with the Nuda 900, at only 15 lbs. more wet weight than the TR650 is really inspiring (see the Nuda thread for a photo and link to off-road competition video in Germany). For the US market, the Nuda 900 - or a true competitor to the (again leaves me cold) F800GS - would be of much more interest to me. What the Italians at Husqvarna really need to get through their thick skulls, however, is that 17-liters is the minimum required fuel capacity. This 10-11 liter nonsense has got to stop!
There is the rub. What'll it cost and what did they do to get it there? If they built a EXC 350-"L" at $5999 it would have alot of cuts to it from the R spec 350 at near $10,000. Would I buy the Duke 390 at $10,000? No cause I have a EXC530 with sumoto stuff already. That cost me about ten grand to build it too so I guess I would have if the timing was right. It better be a "real" KTM at that coin though, I agree. Whatever the price, it'll be interesting to see how it rides and how it works out in the market.
Been riding a friends Duke 200 for about 2-3 days, mostly through the crowded city traffic. Since my bike's cylinder head is busted (it spat out one of the plugs after shearing the threads off ) Man its way too much fun, the eagerness to rev and dash into a corner is just amazing. Never fails to put a stupid grin after a ride. Found the front-end to be a little too light for my taste, will be difficult to hold line in heavy cross winds. Don't expect the 390 to be any different, except it would be a whole load more fun. In fact, considering the mad traffic on our roads here, it would actually be a little too much fun. I'm really curious to see how the frame holds this motor. I wanted to see what all different between the 200 and 390 so pulled out the details from the website and made side-by-side comparison. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AiFPHheLI5nzdDEyLXNGUTFoQnlVa2ZkSmdVOXVUN1E&gid=1 The slight different material frame and increased weight should keep the dynamics similar to the 200 I guess. Looks like I can plonk the 200's smaller sprocket, should help with highway riding without taming the eagerness too much. We would mostly be getting the bike here around late-Feb/early-March. I'd pick one up after the first few lots have been sold, a bit paranoid about first generation bikes and issues!:eek1
Somehow I don't think that Duke 390 will be expensive. My thoughts are based on current price of Duke 200 here in Australia. It is cool AUD 6,000 on the road. Which is a very, very keen pricing. To put it in perspective: Suzuki TU250X - $6,500; Honda CRF250L - $6,000; Yamaha WR250R - $9,000; Kawasaki KLX250S - $7,000, KTM 350 Freeride - $11,000 :huh; KTM 690 Duke - $12,500; KTM 500 EXC (2013) - $14,500 :huh; Husquarna 650 Strada - $10,000. I talked to KTM dealer, he was familiar with both 200 and 390 Dukes and he reckons the 390 would be priced around $7,000 - $7,500. Just an educated guess, as he's got no idea if or when 390 will appear Downunder.
Funny when you quote those prices Sharan just how exorbitantly priced some things are. I think the WR250R is more expensive than that too! If the Duke 390 comes in around that price point 7000-7500 AUS and it's nice to ride I think it would be hard for many people to resist buying one.
The Duke 390 is priced just about 7% more than the Duke 200 in the UK. I think that would be the trend world over, with the 390 getting priced a shade higher than the 200. So if its 6000 AUS in your part of the world, I think the 390 would be around 6500 AUS mark at max! Here in India, the 200 retails at about 150,000 INR and the 390 is expected around the 180,000 territory!
