Who is happy with their RC390 and had no issues apart from normal wear and tear?

Chuditch

Member
Just wondered, would this be a worthwhile topic? I am interested in getting some feedback from owners who are;

A. Happy with their RC390

B. Ok with it's reliability, given the usual caveats of operator error (which apparently is NEVER a thing), being used as a race bike or street bike, or both

I see a few people who post after either just buying an RC or are thinking of buying one who get freaked about the maintenance and reliability issues reported, this is not meant to minimise the experience of those people who got a bad one or had a bad experience with service providers. More to see if there are the reported many happy RC owners out there.

So me first,

RC390 2017

Ran it through the run in period as directed, serviced it at KTM dealership then modded it approx 1100 kms (yeah I know it's not much, I am busy being a parent and doing other stuff apart from riding, I wish I could ride more than I DO)

Mods: cat delete before the teapot, open airbox, PCV and a Ixil slip on. Ohlins rear and bitubo fork cart kit.

Zero issues to date, was a good runner before mods, even more so after mods. Only thing I have experienced was a slight tendency for the gear display to not read what gear it is in but that was more down to my 'le mans' racer changing 'skils' than anything else. Seems to have gone away now I ride it better.

I live in a fairly broad range of climate without much altitude, not really cold or wet, mainly urban riding with an odd squirt in the hills. Hot in summer, but not really cold or wet in winter, compared to some places anyway.



Happy Happy no complaints.
 

antarius

New Member
No issues on my brand new 2017. I broke mine in per the manual, changed all the fluids, and have done the remainder of the nearly 1000 miles on the track. Yeah, not much, but I'm beating the crap out of it and it doesn't seem to care. I run a real temperature gauge instead of the bars and it runs completely fine -- around 185F on track and about 205F before the fan turns on and drops it back down to around 195F. Totally normal, no problems there.

I have a Competition Werkes exhaust, PCV and Quick Shifter. I run Motul 300V oil, regular Prestone coolant and change the oil every trackday, and filter every 3.
 

Old3

Member
Country flag
https://www.rc390-forum.com/forum/k...ion-forum/2396-racers-reliability-report.htmlSince this thread was inspired by my search for a SS oil filter.... Just skimming notes here by engine builders tossing away a good percentage of brand new OEM head studs for failure to meet standards... Heads warped from new... Eh. Ive seen them online getting rebuilds at 25,000 miles which doesnt bother me at all. Its the ones popping with under 5,000 that concern me. R3 has inverted forks for 2019. The N400 is as light as the RC. The CBR250/300RR is invound maybe too? Unless they made big reliability changes for 19, and met the Duke suspension revisions, Im not seeing another RC in my near future.
 

antarius

New Member
So because of a bunch of hyptheticals in the future you decided to tell an Rc390 forum that you won't buy one?

Haha okay buddy. Have fun.
 

Old3

Member
Country flag
So because of a bunch of hyptheticals in the future you decided to tell an Rc390 forum that you won't buy one?

Haha okay buddy. Have fun.


I was researching the 17 as they are stacked to the ceilings as new leftovers, hoping things got better regarding reliability. Hypotheticals no, actual issues yes. No shortage of the latter it seems regardles of the generation.
 

mattv

Member
Country flag
Love it. There's not another bike like it. The character of the high compression single combined with the handling makes it unique among my other riding experiences. It's also stupid light and looks dangerous. A+++++ would buy again.

I ignored the break-in period and rode it hard from day one. No issues other than a low oil pressure warning due to a K&N oil filter. Don't use those.
 

Drstimpy

Member
Elite Member
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Love mine. No problems at all except for exhaust valve was out of spec at 600 miles. But these motors hold adjustment better after first service.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

Chuditch

Member
https://www.rc390-forum.com/forum/k...ion-forum/2396-racers-reliability-report.htmlSince this thread was inspired by my search for a SS oil filter.... Just skimming notes here by engine builders tossing away a good percentage of brand new OEM head studs for failure to meet standards... Heads warped from new... Eh. Ive seen them online getting rebuilds at 25,000 miles which doesnt bother me at all. Its the ones popping with under 5,000 that concern me. R3 has inverted forks for 2019. The N400 is as light as the RC. The CBR250/300RR is invound maybe too? Unless they made big reliability changes for 19, and met the Duke suspension revisions, Im not seeing another RC in my near future.

Well, this thread is really about discussing reporting GOOD owner experiences, but you are welcome to your thoughts... Just make sure you conduct the same 'research' on the other bikes you are looking at. All makes/models will have their share of duds, you don't have to believe me, but you will find others confirming this. Speaking of confirmation;

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-confirmation-bias-2795024

At the end of the day, you will choose the bike that is the one that you want, hopefully it will be the one you are satisfied with. When I chose the RC390 I actually surprised myself. I had been looking at 990 superdukes and triumph street triples. I even rode a few. Was the RC a better bike than those two well favoured mounts? Probably not, but, Maybe it was in my eyes... Didn't really matter, it spoke to me, the price was right for a new bike at the time. I ended up appreciating it far more than I thought I would, the end :rolleyes:.
 

OldVet

New Member
2015 purchased new and now has 18,812 miles on the clock. Based on the advice of the mechanic (who I trust) from my local shop he said don't waste my money on the first service so I did not have the valves checked until 10,000 miles. They were still in spec... The stock rear shock is nothing but a pogo stick so it was replaced with a JRi and I love it... Everything else is stock... It is a really fun ride for the tight twisty stuff and the only place I ride it. My go to ride is my KTM 1290 Super Duke R which is insane everywhere and purchased nine moths after the 390, it has 40,014 miles on it...
 

Andy

Member
Country flag
Bought mine new in 2015, love it still. OK there are issues and I've still got some ongoing issues which hopefully will be resolved soon. If you didn't have to do anything with it it'd be boring and that's not what motorbikes are about.

I think the issues from what I see on the forums are brought on by racing them, riding them hard, the weather conditions on where you may live in the world and then availability of dealerships and services provided by dealers. Most of these things affect any brand and model of bike in some way.

I've looked at the competition and there are far better bikes in this category but they are a bit boring in my eye, I'm interested by a so-called 310RR BMW and potentially a Ducati introduction but I don't think I'd want to swap my RC. I might upgrade to a newer KTM but I do know my big bike days are done and from here on it's single or small capacity twins!
 

kbowling01

New Member
No issues with my 2015,replaced the shock with a nitron,I have only 3500 street miles

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m3hl

Member
Country flag
I had the headgasket blow on mine... miraculously within warranty. pretty much perfect since.
 

Falkon45

Member
Country flag
Bought mine in August. My first bike. I liked it more than the Ninja 400, because it was "racier". Lol. But I liked the fact that it is do race oriented, because that what I intend to do later. Race the thing. Since it's basically a starter bike, I feel more in control of it, and within a month of riding, I've already improved my riding considerably.

I'm worried about reliability issues, but if it's within warranty, I'm happy. If outside warranty, I'm experimenting with power adders, because POWWAAAA! Lol.
 

Razor1

New Member
Country flag
I have a 2016, Werkes pipe, PCV, Ohlins shock, cleaned up fork internals with stiffer springs. 6500 miles, several track days, no issues. Not the greatest build quality, but being careful with cheesy fasteners goes a long way. I have enjoyed the ride!
 

Chuditch

Member
Bought mine new in 2015, love it still. OK there are issues and I've still got some ongoing issues which hopefully will be resolved soon. If you didn't have to do anything with it it'd be boring and that's not what motorbikes are about.

I think the issues from what I see on the forums are brought on by racing them, riding them hard, the weather conditions on where you may live in the world and then availability of dealerships and services provided by dealers. Most of these things affect any brand and model of bike in some way.

I've looked at the competition and there are far better bikes in this category but they are a bit boring in my eye, I'm interested by a so-called 310RR BMW and potentially a Ducati introduction but I don't think I'd want to swap my RC. I might upgrade to a newer KTM but I do know my big bike days are done and from here on it's single or small capacity twins!

There are a few of those 310R Bimmers driving around over here, kind of a interesting niche bike, I have seen them set up for 'adventure' riding (bit of gravel track work) and most people have positive things to say about them. Here in Australia, everybody can't wait to get on to bigger bikes, so small capacity bikes or learner approved bikes are at a premium for resale value. I too am quite happy with the small capacity twins or singles....
 

Botts

Member
Country flag
For $4,500 out the door brand new with a 2 year warranty, this bike just can't be beat, IMO.
Agreed. I paid more than that for my CBR250 years ago.

Although, I think safety wire holes is likely an instant warranty voider.
 

antarius

New Member
Agreed. I paid more than that for my CBR250 years ago.
Although, I think safety wire holes is likely an instant warranty voider.

Naw, not here anyway. There's nothing in the documentation that says even racing is grounds to void the warranty, plus the dash even says "ready to race" when you turn it on. Modifying things like the fuel system and then complaining that you ate a valve may cause you problems, but the Magnussen Warranty act is pretty clear - they have to show your modification caused the failure. It can't be simply "presumed," it must be proven before they can deny your warranty.

Me personally... my bike is trackdays only (no racing) and has stock fueling and airbox and all that. I will ride it like it was supposed to be ridden per their brochures and advertisements (on the track!) and if it goes poof, I'll take it in. If it's out of warranty, I'll fix it. I own an italian motorcycle and a german one along side this austrindian one.... maintainence isn't something I'm a virgin to. Hahahaha.
 

John390

New Member
mine has been great so far. 2100km(not quite), first service taken care of on time.

Mods in sig.

had a very occasional ABS light come on and off again while riding. Dealer couldn't trace it down at first service.

had the stalling issue almost everyone reports. After some tuning and clutch adjustment, its gone. Been about 1000km since it happened last.

Things I'd like to see improved:

A 399cc twin with more revs. This would smooth things out, give more power and (probably my biggest issue) sound way better. No matter what you do to the high compression single, it sounds like a dirt bike.

Swap the battery and airbox. This would give thru-the-fork cold air intake like a Triumph etc, and put the weight of the battery much lower and more centralized.

Everything else can be fixed up easily in the aftermarket.

If KTM did those two things(hell probably just the first one TBH). I'd never think of another bike.
 
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