KTM DUKE 390 REVIEW. Review on KTM Duke 390

• Great Power to weight ratio – 43bhps on a very light bike, makes it lightning fast* Upright riding position makes it comfortable to ride in the city.* ABS and Metzeler tyres inspire confidence.* And the best part, it fits exactly in my budget at the price of 2.05 lacs.

With the Dike390 Bajaj created a completely new segment at a very affordable price point.

This was a bike which satisfied my heart and my mind both. All the features at a great price. A perfect logical choice.

I bought my Duke390 in Jan of 2014. It was the best birthday gift I have ever got( Thanks Wifey!).

First Impression

I was very excited to get my hands on the bike, and a 10 days waiting period was painful. Finally I took the delivery of the bike from KTM Bundgarden showroom in Pune. As soon as I got on the bike, I had this great feeling of achievement. I finally own a performance bike! This bike had thrice the power as compared to my old bike, and I had to consciously control my right wrist for the first couple of days. I was expecting that it would take me quite some time to tame this beast. But I was pleasantly surprised by how easy to use and comfortable this bike was. For the first month, I would find every excuse to ride the bike. I think I didn’t touch my car for almost a month. My first ride was to Lavasa, the weekend after I got the bike. I was slower than usual since the bike was in running-in phase. As I got used to the bike, I was waiting for the first service, so they can upgrade the rpm limit to 7500 rpm from the current 5000 rpm.

I had always been interested in casual biking. But it was after getting this bike that I got seriously interested in biking. Now I started thinking about things like correct riding postures, cornering, good riding gear, DIY maintenance and so on. After all I had a machine that exceeded the rider’s ability by a big margin. The rider needed a skills upgrade.

After the second service the rpm limit was set to 10K rpm. I started looking out for more like minded riders, I want to ride more, and learn more. I joined a couple of biking groups in Pune, and started going on day long rides on the weekends. Now this is a regular affair. It is great to hear stories from fellow riders, right from exciting top speed stories to horrid breakdowns.

A year and half later, my bike has done 10, 000 km. Read on to find out more.

Performance

The bike has loads of power and great acceleration. The most fun range to ride this bike is somewhere between 4500 and 7000 rpm. This is where the thrill comes in. At lower revs below 4000 rpm, the acceleration is still great, but sometimes I do feel the lack of torque. Beyond 7000 rpm, the engine makes noise and vibrates, almost like its angry at you. I doesn’t sound happy. I don’t normally ride in this range except in the top gear. The engine redlines at 10000 rpm.

This bike has consistently given me a mileage of around 25 kmpl, which gives it a range of around 250 kms between refills.

The brakes on the Duke390 are great and the ABS has saved my life a few times. They feel sharp, but not abrupt. Its does feel that the ABS kick-in too early sometimes.

The clutch is not as light as most city bikes and I wish the clutch was lighter. Gear shifts are effortless. The gearing ratio could have been better. Frequent gear shifts are required while driving in the city. The bike is not forgiving in this respect. Being in a higher gear at a lower speed( specially 2nd and 3rd), will easily lead to an engine stall.

Duke390 in the city

The bike feels at home in the city. After all it is designed to be a “Street Fighter”.

Upright riding posture ensures that the endless traffic jams in the city don’t kill your back. Specially for someone like me who has back problems. The slightly swept back foot pegs still give it a slightly sporty seating position.

The bike is light and very flickable, and it can be easily maneuvered through city traffic.

The hard seat and the stiff suspension setup make sure you feel every ditch and speed breaker. This was annoying at first, but most riders get used to this in a while. I softened the rear shock which made things better. And I got used to the hard seat. You will be lucky if anyone agrees to be a pillion the second time. The back seat is very small and uncomfortable. The pillion has to stick tight to the rider to safely drive around.

The Duke390 attracts considerable attention on the road. The handle guards and the exhaust note make it look like an off road bike. On a red light, I often get questions like, “Did the handle guards come standard, or you fitted them?”, “Is this a racing bike?”, “How do you fix the exhaust to get that kind of firing?”, “What is the top speed?”, etc.

The orange trellis frame and the orange rims give it a very sporty look.

The bike rides really well in the rain, thanks again to the tyres. The only problem is that the rear wheel throws a lot of water and mud on the rider.

Duke390 on the Highway

Highway performance is satisfactory. The bike feels comfortable upto 120 – 130 Kmph. Push it upto 150 kmph and the wind blast starts taking its toll due to upright riding posture and lack of a windshield. At these speeds you need to bend down to avoid the wind, but that uncomfortable to do for longer time. Its best ridden around the 120 kmph on the highways. I wish it had better headlamp for night riding on the highways. But overall the bike does not tire me out on longer rides. The fuel efficiency is slightly better on the highways, it returns around 27-28 kmpl. Brakes perform well at high speeds, and the bike can come to a halt very fast. You engage both rear and front ABSs with confidence in an emergency situation.

Duke390 on the corners

Although the duke is not a track machine, it does surprisingly well on the corners. The sticky Metzelers provide good grip and inspire confidence. Hanging off the bike on the corners doesn’t feel natural at first, because of the riding position and the small tank. It is not easy to lock the knee into the tank. But it can be done really well with some practice. Although I have never done a knee down, I have seen other riders do it. The long sweeping corner on the highways are also handled well, and here is where the suspension setup shines.