B7ACKTHORN
Member
The Duke when launched had such an immense success, it almost took the Indian motorcycling arena by storm. Everyone who was looking for a performance motorcycle at an affordable price, were so eager to get their hands on an Indian made machine, mainly with service availability backed by Bajaj it seemed a viable option.
But just after a few thousand units were sold, almost immediately Indian forums were flooded with too many problems reported by users, though they weren't substantial considering a ground up work bike, repetition of the issue is where it almost stinged and painfully for customers.
Waiting for almost a year to get the issues resolved I was eager to book myself a 390 (still skeptical) because it still is a Bajaj, at the end of the day.
Apart from forums flooded with issues like weeping head gasket, leaking coolant O ring, busted fork oil seals, speedo console going kaput, ABS sensor getting screwed up, rear suspension bottoming out due to a piston issue inside the shock, too many to digest, though all these issues were either present in 3 out of 10 bikes sold. Though most were covered by warranty it still stings to have issues like this in a KTM. Mind you all these issues were less than 5k kms on the odo.
Though I haven't ridden the Husky, I've had quite a few opportunities to ride bikes like the SXF 250 and experience the RC1190, the build quality, fit and finish of what KTM offers here in India to Austrian made stuff is literally light years away.
I will reiterate my personal opinions here.
On a scale of 1 to 10
Forks 7.5/10 (Crap quality stinky fork oil used, and poor quality fork oil seals)
Chassis 8.5/10 ( Paint quality not upto the mark, you can see some touch up and flat spots, buffering? I don't know, but I don't like it)
Tyres 10/10
Switchgear 4/10 (too cheap to begin with, again Bajaj parts bin)
Grips 2/10 (Bajaj crap here)
9.5/10 Headlamps (Gernan stuff, and beam throw is excellent)
5.5/10 (Plastic components used on the bike throughout, don;t seem they're well built)
3/10 (quality of rubber components used on the bike right from license plate holder to overall rubber damper and bushings worse on the Duke)
3/10 (Totally cheap levers, could of have used forged ones)
8/10 ABS
5/10 Brakes (Though Brembo collaboration, brake calipers look cheap and hand casted both front and rear, if you look at Brembo, Nissin and Tokico calipers you'll see how the finish is. Too cheap calipers, coupled with even cheaper squeaky brake pads) Bajaj parts bin, cheap crap again. Just that it has four pot, looks good in papers.
Alloys 7/10 (Bling factor included, earlier batches were notoriously prone to cracking or at least that was the case with quite a few owners, KTM said they have improved the alloy quality, on 2014 and above, that's yet to be seen. They ain't Marchesini, some cheap quality alloy manufactured in China.
Engine 9/10 ( Lord almightly knows hows the quality of the components used in the engine, but apart from leaky head gasket and leaky coolant O ring it was a blast. Would I trust this engine for quality? Hell, no.
5/10 Footpegs and rearsets and holders. Improperly finished cheap cast materials, won't even last a single fall with a hefty rider. (KTM has mentioned they are using forged on the RC series rather than cast on the D390. Why KTM why?
I've owned the bike for less than 9 months, my bike had its rear shocker changed (leaky rear suspension), leaky coolant O ring (sealed with paste, since they didn't have the O ring) speedometer console changed (water seeping in) left hand side switch gear changed (faulty hi/low switch)
Coupled with vibrations near the tank area, I've stripped the bike to bare bones myself to find out where, still that buzzing annoying noise (Oh please don't say it's a single and it's in its genes)
Front brake squeaked, squealed, removed the caliper, sand papered all the edges, de greased, voila it happens again (Poor quality stuff again, all over)
All these were less than 1500 KMS on the odo, I am the type who has a keen eye for how things are put together, how they work and how they work in tandem with one another. I had my hopes set high for this motorcycle, but it proved too bad for my taste.
I loved the handling, the tyres (amazing stuff) the engine pull, the attraction, the bling factor, turning heads, I can go on and on, but all these won't matter, if you know she isn't gonna last as you'd want her to.
These are my humble opinions of my KTM Duke 390 not the RC, having been owned for six months, riding less than 1500 kays on the odo.
Bottomline:
Would I suggest you to buy this bike? If you're a long termer like me, NO. If you're looking for fun, disposable bikes, then this is the one for you.
How long would it last in general, or what kays I can ride before I dunk it? Well, it depends, I for one would suggest a 30k max, that is if you're a real good care taker of the bike. Don't even -- ever consider that'd you'd get the kays you get out of a Jap. Well, if someone does, good for you.
Will it turn heads? No questions, she sure would.
Regards,
VJ
But just after a few thousand units were sold, almost immediately Indian forums were flooded with too many problems reported by users, though they weren't substantial considering a ground up work bike, repetition of the issue is where it almost stinged and painfully for customers.
Waiting for almost a year to get the issues resolved I was eager to book myself a 390 (still skeptical) because it still is a Bajaj, at the end of the day.
Apart from forums flooded with issues like weeping head gasket, leaking coolant O ring, busted fork oil seals, speedo console going kaput, ABS sensor getting screwed up, rear suspension bottoming out due to a piston issue inside the shock, too many to digest, though all these issues were either present in 3 out of 10 bikes sold. Though most were covered by warranty it still stings to have issues like this in a KTM. Mind you all these issues were less than 5k kms on the odo.
Though I haven't ridden the Husky, I've had quite a few opportunities to ride bikes like the SXF 250 and experience the RC1190, the build quality, fit and finish of what KTM offers here in India to Austrian made stuff is literally light years away.
I will reiterate my personal opinions here.
On a scale of 1 to 10
Forks 7.5/10 (Crap quality stinky fork oil used, and poor quality fork oil seals)
Chassis 8.5/10 ( Paint quality not upto the mark, you can see some touch up and flat spots, buffering? I don't know, but I don't like it)
Tyres 10/10
Switchgear 4/10 (too cheap to begin with, again Bajaj parts bin)
Grips 2/10 (Bajaj crap here)
9.5/10 Headlamps (Gernan stuff, and beam throw is excellent)
5.5/10 (Plastic components used on the bike throughout, don;t seem they're well built)
3/10 (quality of rubber components used on the bike right from license plate holder to overall rubber damper and bushings worse on the Duke)
3/10 (Totally cheap levers, could of have used forged ones)
8/10 ABS
5/10 Brakes (Though Brembo collaboration, brake calipers look cheap and hand casted both front and rear, if you look at Brembo, Nissin and Tokico calipers you'll see how the finish is. Too cheap calipers, coupled with even cheaper squeaky brake pads) Bajaj parts bin, cheap crap again. Just that it has four pot, looks good in papers.
Alloys 7/10 (Bling factor included, earlier batches were notoriously prone to cracking or at least that was the case with quite a few owners, KTM said they have improved the alloy quality, on 2014 and above, that's yet to be seen. They ain't Marchesini, some cheap quality alloy manufactured in China.
Engine 9/10 ( Lord almightly knows hows the quality of the components used in the engine, but apart from leaky head gasket and leaky coolant O ring it was a blast. Would I trust this engine for quality? Hell, no.
5/10 Footpegs and rearsets and holders. Improperly finished cheap cast materials, won't even last a single fall with a hefty rider. (KTM has mentioned they are using forged on the RC series rather than cast on the D390. Why KTM why?
I've owned the bike for less than 9 months, my bike had its rear shocker changed (leaky rear suspension), leaky coolant O ring (sealed with paste, since they didn't have the O ring) speedometer console changed (water seeping in) left hand side switch gear changed (faulty hi/low switch)
Coupled with vibrations near the tank area, I've stripped the bike to bare bones myself to find out where, still that buzzing annoying noise (Oh please don't say it's a single and it's in its genes)
Front brake squeaked, squealed, removed the caliper, sand papered all the edges, de greased, voila it happens again (Poor quality stuff again, all over)
All these were less than 1500 KMS on the odo, I am the type who has a keen eye for how things are put together, how they work and how they work in tandem with one another. I had my hopes set high for this motorcycle, but it proved too bad for my taste.
I loved the handling, the tyres (amazing stuff) the engine pull, the attraction, the bling factor, turning heads, I can go on and on, but all these won't matter, if you know she isn't gonna last as you'd want her to.
These are my humble opinions of my KTM Duke 390 not the RC, having been owned for six months, riding less than 1500 kays on the odo.
Bottomline:
Would I suggest you to buy this bike? If you're a long termer like me, NO. If you're looking for fun, disposable bikes, then this is the one for you.
How long would it last in general, or what kays I can ride before I dunk it? Well, it depends, I for one would suggest a 30k max, that is if you're a real good care taker of the bike. Don't even -- ever consider that'd you'd get the kays you get out of a Jap. Well, if someone does, good for you.
Will it turn heads? No questions, she sure would.
Regards,
VJ