KTM 390 Duke 2017 : Ownership Experience (Update 12500 kms)

There are numerous reviews out there both in the domestic as well as international markets. All the reviews that the 390 received were positive, with most of the reviewers giving it an almost perfect 10/10 score. My experience with her has been mixed at best.

Before i begin, this is entirely my personal opinion and whatever I mention here is what I have faced owning the 390 till now. There is no bias or hate towards the brand in any way. I love my ride to the core. This is just my personal blog for my own personal history keeping.

Well if you have read my previous blog, THE DILEMMA: FIRST POST, MY RIDES & THE INTRO , you would know my vehicle history and how I ended up buying the 390.

Well that's done, lets dive into the heart of the matter.

The Purchase:

I got her on May 22, 2017 and apart from the RTO approval taking time, the entire purchase process was smooth. I made the entire payment by 11 in the morning and I got a call from them that my bike was ready by 4 pm. I took delivery of the bike along with my friends at around 6.30 pm. The only gripe I had with the showroom was that they had only put a measly one litre petrol in the tank which could only take me to the nearby petrol bunk. The irony is that the sales guy was telling me to have at least 3 litres of fuel minimum all the time as it was bad for the fuel pump if the bike is run with fuel below 3 litres.

But the overall experience with the dealer, service sales staff is positive and they are very much courteous in dealing with customers.

Pre-delivery checkups done.

Debriefing done: Do's & Dont's.

1. First service at 1000. Rpm to be maintained below 7K.
2. Subsequent services at every 8K kms.
3. Chain clean, lube and tightening at every 500 kms.
4. Always maintain above 3 litre of fuel to avoid fuel pump malfunction. Thank God it has 13.4 litre tank as opposed to 11 litre capacity of the previous model.

Initial impressions

1. Mature in power output compared to previous models raw power.
2. Torque. Loads of it. 
3. Exhaust is now a lot throatier. Though little bit more bass would have been nice.
4. Better ground clearance increased from I believe 170 mm to 185 mm. 
5. Better suited belly guard according to me. Though a little extension to the sides would be even more protective to the engine. Aluminium guard would have been even nicer. This one is plastic though. Mods in the pipeline.
6. The suspension is a little too soft to my liking. 

First Service:

All said and done, I had insisted that I wanted the first service to be done earlier preferably before 500 kms which they agreed. This is not because of being impatient to unleash it but I believe that the lesser amount of time the initial oil with metal shavings are in the engine the better. Also you can follow any break in procedure you prefer but I prefer smooth/soft break-in with varying rpm levels and occasionally going above the 7K mark. Since I travel a lot and this is my only motor bike, the first service @550 kms was done in a week. The total bill was 1550/- Rs.

Tasks Done:

1. Engine oil and oil filter changed.

2. Chain cleaned, lubed and tightened.

3. Washed and cleaned.

The bike felt smoother, but there were vibrations especially from the left tank panel which I had reported even before the service. These were not taken care of. I thought may be being a big single cylinder there would be vibrations and I would have to live with that. I left it at that.

Unplanned Visit : 800 Kms

The vibrations increased and it was unbearable at around 3K-5K rpm and I took it to the service station. They took the left tank panel and to our surprise the tubing for the EVAP system had come out of its route and was touching the tank panel which caused the vibration. 

The worrying fact was that the tube had managed to scrape out a portion of the paint from the panel suggesting the harshness of the vibrations. They immediately taped it back to its original position and the vibrations were out.

The Monsoon Effect

The monsoons had started and as we all know the chains need extra maintenance during this time. Since the service center was far, I had bought a paddock stand and Motul chain lube to do the process on my own. This would save a lot of time and also the Motul lube is far better than the brand (OKS) that they use in the service center. It sticks to the chain longer and provides an overall better protection.

Also I started noticing that there were water seepage inside the TFT dash. I initially neglected it thinking it was some condensation happening due to the climate and the rains but it was not to be. I took her to the service center to report this.

Also there were numerous reports of the following issues with TFT:

1.  TFT date getting reset. A software update was necessary though I never faced it.
2.  TFT black out. Update : My TFT Blacked out at 3600Kms (Details below)

LED Head light issues reported: I havent faced such yet. Fingers crossed

1. LEDs momentarily shuts off and comes back on every 10 seconds.(MCN)
2. Complete shutdown.

In international markets there were recalls being made but however in India, where no mandatory recall laws are there, there were silent software updates and replacements being made at the service center. I came to know from the service center that a number of TFT display issues and LED head light issues were reported and fixed.

Well I was told that I should mail them at any instance of issues so that there is track-ability. I was also told that one such issue was reported at a different service station. KTM pune is currently diagnosing the same issue and depending on their recommendation my unit will be replaced or fixed. But for this I will have to wait a month or so to get a proper download from them. Also came to know that there are seven layers to the TFT screen and the water seepage comes till the second layer only.

Update 1600kms : Engine Oil leak

At this time at the service center, I noticed a dark spot at the engine belly pan area which I suspected to be dirt in the rains. However on double checking the service it was diagnosed to be an engine oil leak 😱. 

There was no drop in engine oil level and also the leakage was a very fine one. No visible signs of oil coming out. They cleaned the spot, tightened the crankcase nut and asked me to comeback if it showed any such oil spots in the future.

500 kms later, it did show up and again went back to the service center. This time they atributed it to the crank case nut which was loose and replaced it, applied a sealant and they checked it for a week. Even a KTM AGM visited to inspect my bike. A week later I was told this had fixed the issue and I was on my way with the motorcycle. All this was taken care free of cost.

Update 2600 Kms : Leak again

This was growing again.

The leak/oil spot started at the same spot but this time it was very much a faint one and covered a very small area. I was furious at this defect from KTM and was convinced that this was a manufacturing defect. Mailed KTM India and ccd the service center. The response was prompt and my bike was taken with much importance. 

They cleaned the spot, ran the bike for an hour and checked the spot, there was no oil spot/leak to be found. The service guys had a  video conference session with KTM heads to determine the issue but since the issue was not showing after a short ride, they asked me to once again take it with me. They applied a thick layer of sealant over the entire spot. Since this was happening only after a long ride(after around 400 kms or so), they asked me to report if this happens again and if it does they will replace the crank case and other related inards under warranty no questions asked. They also promised they have taken note of this very seriously and will make sure I would not have to worry about this anymore. There will no hassles if this pops up again, they will replace the said things no questions asked.

I left them having wasted a lot of time because of this issue, but with the satisfaction that they took notice of it in the seriousness that it needed.

Update : My TFT Blacked out at 3600Kms:

TFT dash blacked out suddenly while I was returning home. The engine was running and the Neutral light along with other tell tale lights were showing. But nothing on the screen. Switched off the ignition and waited for a while and turned on the ignition, it came back to life. SVC didn't have a clue on this. It did not occur again.

Update 3000-4000 Kms: Chain/Sprocket making noises:

Thought most probably a loose and dirty chain was the cause. This only happens on uneven roads when you are off the throttle or just when you get on it and you go onto a bumpy section. No noise whatsoever on good roads. Cleaned it and lubed, chain tension was alright, so there was no need to tighten it. The noise occurrence reduced drastically but is still there at certain intervals.
Update 4300 kms : The noise is back at its full swing.Will update after the visit to the SVC.

Update 4300 kms: ECU FAILURE Message.

Looks like I need to visit the SVC again to check all the error codes my machine is throwing. Recently took her to urumbi hills through a medium to extreme off roading patch  and while returning home, when I turned on the ignition, ECU FAILURE messaged popped up on the TFT for around 5 seconds and vanished. Before I could take a pic, this was gone. This was reported by other users and an update fixed this for them. Will update the results.

Update : 4500 kms :Engine Oil Leak

Visited the service centre for the above mentioned issues, chain noise, ecu failure and the existing engile oil leak which resurfaced.

On diagnosis, the service head confirmed the leak, and recommended to open the engine, and do the required things to fix the leak. Will take 3 days. Lets see what pans out.

The engine is getting opened for a brand new bike within 5000 kms.

Update: Liquid gasket Reapplied

The crank case was opened and the liquid gasket, basically the sealant was reapplied and they are testing the bike.

As it turns out they had opened the complete engine and had changed all the sealants at every joint.

The bike was too soft for my liking, so asked them to harden it by two clicks. Lets see what that does.

Update : 8500 kms 2nd Service

Nothing to complain about. Everything going well so far.

Update : 10000 kms Tyre Change

Stock rear tyre gave up the ghost. Threads were visible and decided to change it.

Downgraded to Michellin Pilot street radial. This tyre suited my riding style for touring without compromising on grip. Cost 6K.

Update : 13500 kms - Sprocket + Front brake pad

Front brake pad was at the wear limit. Though it would have lasted another 1000 or so kms, the lack of availability of spares forced me to change it as soon as it arrived. Also Ktm did not allow me to purchase spares of the shelf did not increase my confidence either.

Same with the sprocket. There were lot of people waiting to get sprockets for the 2017 duke, I had to wait almost a month to get it even when i was the first one to order obe. It took forever to arrive. Luckily my sprocket was not that loose so it lasted the time without issues.

I tookback the old break pad as well as the chain and sprocket so that it future they can used in case of an emergency or lack of spares.

Update : 18500 : Need New Front Tyre

The fourth service is due in a bit and I need to source a new front tyre. Zeroed in on the trustworthy Michellin Pilot Street Radial. Will be installing soon.

Despite these niggles I love her to the core.

Human beings are special because we are flawed in some way, that gives them character. Bikes are the same, things like this adds character.

Each passing day she finds ways for making me happy. That weighs more in my books.

Watch this space for future updates.