I love it, but hate it even more.

[Texas250]

I love you guys. I was in love with the RC390 too when I first saw it at the IMS. But I researched the Duke 390 forum first, you can see my join date here I'm one of the first, and saw all the issues with the Indian built bikes. I had a 2012 CBR250RA as my first ride and it gave me 7400 miles and 2.5 years of reliable bliss. You can see what I chose as my next machine from the sig at the bottom. On the Thai built machine I've done oil changes and that's it in 5200 miles, no loose bolts, nothing failed. I'm much faster than the Duke and RC390 guys at my track days too. Oh totally stock with Q3 tires. Indian food? Pretty good. Indian girls? I like them very much. Indian motorcyle? No way. When I need a good laugh I come here. Thanks y'all.

 

[simpletty]

I love you guys. I was in love with the RC390 too when I first saw it at the IMS. But I researched the Duke 390 forum first, you can see my join date here I'm one of the first, and saw all the issues with the Indian built bikes. I had a 2012 CBR250RA as my first ride and it gave me 7400 miles and 2.5 years of reliable bliss. You can see what I chose as my next machine from the sig at the bottom. On the Thai built machine I've done oil changes and that's it in 5200 miles, no loose bolts, nothing failed. I'm much faster than the Duke and RC390 guys at my track days too. Oh totally stock with Q3 tires. Indian food? Pretty good. Indian girls? I like them very much. Indian motorcyle? No way. When I need a good laugh I come here. Thanks y'all.

You failed to mention the guys you race only have one arm and are partially blind in one eye,

 

[cornerslider]

For me it's 100/100, I paid 100%, but got 100% of the bike I've wanted. So far, fingers crossed it's not put a foot wrong. So to everyone reading this, it's not all bad.

What this guy said 100%........ I've owned plenty of "Japanese" bikes. This is my first KTM. I see myself riding orange for many years to come! Is this a perfect bike with no issues- HELL NO!!!! But, I got the by far, the most bang for my buck. Unfortunately, with the smaller displacement sport bikes, it's turned into what I call a "race-to-the-bottom"..... The "best" bike, for the lowest bottom dollar. I think (just my humble opinion) that KTM probably didn't think people that have many years if riding experience, would gravitate towards it as they have? With more experienced riders, riding a pretty aggressive sport bike, human nature/people (myself included), are probably going to push this bike beyond what it was probably designed to handle? I've put a ton of money into upgrading my bike. From what I've read, I've been one of the lucky ones..... Not one problem so far. I run my bike pretty hard on the track. I'm pretty gentle on the street. When I'm not riding, I give my bike the same attention that most race teams give their bikes... LOTS of attention, lots of oil changes, lots of lubrication, lots of agonizing detail..... I come from a supermoto background, so the wrenching this bike requires seems like a vacation, compared to what I'm use to....... in my humble opinion, if you don't know how to, or unwilling to to your own maintenance, do yourself a favor and buy a small displacement sport bike from one of the Japanese competitors. I think you will be happier in the long run..... Just my humble opinion-


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[ratlab]

wrenching on a R3 is a vacation-wrenching on a Rc390 is a nightmare lol,but i really like this bike.i have been pretty lucky with it also,fairings are cracking around the bolts from vibes,maybe dealer will handle that.did suspension and some engine tuning and really is a fun bike at the track.i have 2 R3's and a n-250 superbike so i can compare the small bikes.if this bike holds together it's my favorite of the bunch.

 

[simpletty]

Since I got mine back from the dealer the vibrating and resonating throughout the fairings has gone. It used to rattle and vibe horribly at around 3000 rpm. It's totally gone and even less vibey with higher rpm throughout. Kinda pleased with that. Not sure why but not complaining

 

[MotoKam]

Since I got mine back from the dealer the vibrating and resonating throughout the fairings has gone.

I tracked my rattling plastic to a small rubber pad between the plastic layers under the head light housing. Putting a little two sided padded tape in there fixed that.

My RC has 22,000 miles after 13 months of ownership. It's been a little rocky along the way (hole in the piston, cooling fan / overheating woes, persistent leak from the counter-shaft seal, crap chain, rear tire blow out, etc.). But, I'm very pleased with the bike. After installing the 320 mm Galfer brake with sintered pads, adjustable hand controls, and the KTM Ergo seat, my wife and I agree; it's the perfect bike.

 

[Bagwell]

Since I got mine back from the dealer the vibrating and resonating throughout the fairings has gone. It used to rattle and vibe horribly at around 3000 rpm. It's totally gone and even less vibey with higher rpm throughout. Kinda pleased with that. Not sure why but not complaining

Would be great to know what was causing the vibrations at RPMs so that folks can watch out for whatever caused it. If you can find out from the dealer.

 

[KwicK To Master KTM]

Would be great to know what was causing the vibrations at RPMs so that folks can watch out for whatever caused it. If you can find out from the dealer.

Way back when this forum first started there were allot of complaints regarding the vibration noise in the low rev range- regarding the plastic rattles - everyone that was having this problem tracked it down to the battery cover and I think Hard Racing (forum vendor) posted a video showing how to tighten the locating spring on the battery cover and worked a treat- My bike to this day still occasionally has this vib (plastic rattle) and as soon as I put pressure on the battery cover while riding - presto the noise stops - not saying this is the only thing that rattles but give it a try next time it happens cheers

 

[SneakyOwl]

So does that mean KTM uses a 50/90ratio?

 

[stevieboy]

On mine it seems to be the joint of the upper cowl under the windscreen that generates the rattle. I am going to pull the two cheap expanding rivets and go with a riv-nut set up. I pulled the rivets off the side fairing/radiator cowl junction and used dzus fasteners.

 

[ratlab]

i was checking my bike for more cracks in the fairing(ktm north america is involved now) and missing bolts and i noticed my brake lever is bare metal and the casting looks like crap.somehow the black disappeared.lol. not a big deal,but wow.

 

[Fasteddy]

But on the bright side it appears those are the forged version and not the cast aluminum, Is that what came on the bike from the factory?

 

[ratlab]

yeah- those are factory-close up they look pretty raw.

 

[Fasteddy]

Despite the poor finish those are actually an up grade from the earlier "SNAP - O - MATIC" version that came on the 2015, but not as nice as the power parts version.

 

[stevieboy]

Spray paint it black. I re-worked a stock top triple to use with some real clip-ons and it painted up nicely.

 

[ratlab]

ktm warrantied both upper fairings and the brake lever-i'm kinda surprised,but nice outcome.

 

[D3signer]

I don't know if you guys ever got a call from KTM customer service out of the blue, but I just did today, boy, I let them have it. They asked a few questions about the dealer, which I gave good reviews, but when it came to questions about KTM and the RC390 I gave bad reviews for each one. Like the thread said "I love it, but hate it even more". After the call I had conflicting thoughts just like the thread stated, than I was thinking since a good amount of us are having problems, are we doing enough to protect our investment. Not in the way of changing things mechanically to prevent it from exploding but more alongs the line of inundating KTM with all the issues. If we do it enough, KTM will than start to listen and possibly provide some type of compensation (extended warranties, vouchers...etc). I don't know, it was just a thought.

Recent issues:

* neutral switch changed,
* kickstand issues
* coolant reservoir hose connection broke
* Overheating recently (changes fan and coolant).