2013 KTM Duke 390

[gore-tx]

More info here:
http://hellforleathermagazine.com/20...90-duke-leaks/
That should be one fun ride.

[THE_SHRUB]

http://www.ktm.com/naked-bike/390-du...ighlights.html

Simply Awesome! Kept the awesome looks, weighs only 7kg more than the duke 200 but has almost TWICE the displacement! YUMMMM!!!!

[Gryphon12]

Terrific! Wheel base is a trivial 7mm longer than the Duke 200; tank 0.5 liter larger (too bad, needs more than 11 liters or 2.9 gal US); 324 lbs. wet with full tank of fuel. Ground clearance below the exhaust at 6.7", and 5.9" suspension travel front an rear. Seems adequate. Suspension is WP USD and mono-shock, but probably non-adjustable. Anyone know details about WP products? How difficult will it be to upgrade?

Now, confirm the promise and bring it to the US!

[Mk5mike]

is it coming to the usa?

[Navin]

Looks good but do I see a chrome steering stem nut??? There may be more scooter parts than Austrian ones.

WP stuff is pretty easily upgraded or parts shared, unless it is a new breed of stuff that isn't really WP. I guess it is a 43mm fork, which KTM used in all their bikes from around 2000-02/03. Again, might not share a single part with those.

I hope it is a quality bike, up to the standards of all the other KTMs. The Ninja 300 I bought has its warts, mostly cost cutting hardware and plastics. If they went that route it will hurt their image alot.

[Gryphon12]

+1

[Gryphon12]

Studying the photo, the other change is the primary frame tube. It now appears to be oval or semi-rectangular, while the 125 and 200cc frames were round? Or maybe not. Maybe upgraded to handle the hp/torque? Hard to tell. Most of the rest of it seems the same - will keep costs down. Quality is the only outstanding issue now.

[LoneWolfRides]

Looks like its getting launched here in India around Feb 2013

I was really hoping for this to have a larger tank, coz with the kind of power this is putting out and just a 11Ltr tank the range might barely be around 200-220 Kms.

The Duke 200 is a fun bike on our roads and this would be pushing "fun" factor to another level. I hope they have sorted out the minor quality issue which were found on the Duke 200.

Would really like to slap on a bigger tank, dual sport tyres and take this to the Himalayas.

Originally Posted by Gryphon12

Studying the photo, the other change is the primary frame tube. It now appears to be oval or semi-rectangular, while the 125 and 200cc frames were round? Or maybe not. Maybe upgraded to handle the hp/torque? Hard to tell. Most of the rest of it seems the same - will keep costs down. Quality is the only outstanding issue now.

When the first pictures came out even I felt the same, but I think its just the color scheme which make it look like that. I think the 125/200/390 share the same frame and maybe the KTM engineers had already over engineered the frame when KTM first came out with the Duke 125!

[Navin]

LWR,

What were the common quality issues with the 200cc Dukes? We didn't get them in the USA so the info hasn't been easy to come by. Thanks.

[LoneWolfRides]

Originally Posted by Navin

LWR,

What were the common quality issues with the 200cc Dukes? We didn't get them in the USA so the info hasn't been easy to come by. Thanks.

Nothing major, all small quality niggles which were later resolved. But here's a small list of what I recollect :-

- Coolant over flowing after heating up
- Shutting down issue, at a particular RPM+gear+throttle position the bike would die, seems to be an ECU mapping issue
- Fork oil seals breaking too soon (reported in small numbers)
- The plastic tank panels develop cracks because the nuts are over torqued from factory
- Engine seizure (About 5-6 cases were reported across the country)
- Quite a few folks complaining that the bike is literally eating the sprockets
- Well not a quality issue, but the tyres just don't hold when you need em the most!!

[Cortez]

I've heard some of that stuff (and then some) even from local Duke 690
owners. It's a KTM thing, not an India thing, obviously.

[Navin]

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.

[LoneWolfRides]

Originally Posted by Cortez

I've heard some of that stuff (and then some) even from local Duke 690
owners. It's a KTM thing, not an India thing, obviously.

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.

Originally Posted by Navin

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.

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 !

[Gryphon12]

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?

[LoneWolfRides]

Originally Posted by Gryphon12

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