The KTM Duke 390 Review after clocking hundreds of kilometres on this machine.
Text & Photos: Gourab Das/ MG
It was back in 2007 when I bought my last bike, a Pulsar 220 Fi. 6 years have passed hence and still I haven’t found a single bike to which I can upgrade to which is affordable, provides ample amount of fun and yet will not burn a hole in my pocket in terms of owning or running it. And I’m not the only one who share the same emotion
CBR250 came but it was never really a proper upgrade for the guys who owned a Pulsar 220 or Karizma People are missing a middle superweight bike which will produce 40-50bhp power and yet will be super value for money from a really long time now. A 390cc which delivers 43.5 ps of power, does 0-100 in almost 6sec was finally something which was fulfilling our dreams on paper and which we all are looking forward to. This is that one bike which all the enthusiasts are dying to get their hands on.
With 43.5ps power and 139kg of dry weight my expectations were sky high the day I was supposed to get the bike. Quite understandably you don’t get to ride such bikes everyday. After watching the initial videos where in one video a guy just effortlessly pulls a wheelie and went inside the tunnel rose my expectation level even further up and was expecting the bike to do power wheelies and was waiting like a 16 year old kid at the candy shop. Don’t remember the last time when I was so much excited about anything. Maybe I have grown old or maybe I have become so busy with my job that I don’t find time to do something interesting.
This review will be divided into various parts. Made it a point to even include my initial ride impression when I rode the bike for the first time. The first experience will rhyme the sentiments of everyone who will get a chance to ride the bike for a short period of time but they might miss the larger picture so by reading the other sections one will get a clear picture as to how the bike behaves in various riding condition. If I miss anything then do let me know will add that later
“Higher octane fuel is not easily available in India so I made it a point to ride the bike with regular fuel all the time to see whether there is any difference. Didn’t face any problem with the normal petrol till date. Bike runs very smooth with no loss in performance”
Starting with the style there is hardly to choose between the two given the fact that both looks identically same but the orange colour chassis and wheels do leave an impression and make it more funky looking and younger in appearance. And even with the Duke being around for 1.5years during the test period I found that at almost every signal you will find people staring at your bike. That being said personally I would have loved to have some more changes to make it look little distinct from its younger sibling
Initial Ride Impression
My first ride was towards Lonavla. For the initial few kms I was holding back myself at 70-80% of the throttle and was not red lining the bike just to understand the characteristic of the bike and also to check how much power the rear wheel is generating and whether there are possibilities of unintentional wheelie or possible wheel spins. Once I got a proper feel of the bike I started opening up the bike upwards of 120. Soon I started hitting 140’s and on my way to Lonavla I did 150+ thrice.
The vehicle was quick but I was expecting the acceleration to scare me atleast for the initial few times but it didn’t happen, the acceleration and power is quite manageable and it didn’t do anything extravagant. Since the vehicle was new so stopped after doing 80odd kms to check whether the bike was overheating or everything is running fine. Was happy to see everything doing just perfect. Did a moving average speed of 86kmph in 60mins which also included riding through the city for 10 odd kms. Not bad I would say.
6th gear felt very tall and most of the time I found myself to be riding in 4th and 5th gear on the highway. 130 comes in no time from standstill but anything above 150 is too difficult to hold because of the wind blast, saw a max speed of 158kmph in this ride. Even after 130 the acceleration in this bike is quite evident. Got the initial feel of tyres in a small ghat section where I could sense how composed and great the tyres are. The vehicle holds its line so well that you feel that you are glued to the road, the chassis which is same as the one used in 200 seemed to be doing a great job even on the 390. By the time I did 120km odd I was dead tired, it was pretty hot at around 35degress but honestly I was not expecting to get so much tired within 2 hours. Exhaust note, wind blast, stiff suspension, hard acceleration were the probable reasons, made a mental note to check these things the next time I ride the bike
Vibrations are there specially felt at the footpegs at around 7k rpm but its not something which will annoy you and is pretty much under control. There is also slight vibration at the handle bars but if you riding with the gloves then you will probably not feel it
Same day I had the company of Ninja 300 and we had a longish ride of 300kms during the second half of the day. That ride made me realize how quick the Duke is in comparison to the Ninja 300. Maybe I was expecting a bit too much from a 390cc motor, more so since I had ridden a 690 Duke in the past and know how mad that bike is.
Ride through the city
Being a street bike it shows its true colours when ridden on city roads. Amazing how a new bike completely changes your perception about another bike(Duke 200 in this case). I remember calling the Duke 200 a hooligan but today there is no bigger hooligan on the road than Duke 390
The bike is so much fun to ride on a decently moving traffic. Keep the bike on the boil, the moment you see a gap, just shoot. The amount of power that you have makes you go about any maneuver with aplomb. And sadly for others before they could realize you have vanished from the scene. The lightweight chassis coupled with the brilliant tyre and awesome power delivery makes it the best maneuvering machine. And even with so much power at hand you find yourself to be in complete control of the situation all the time.
Just a km of empty stretch is enough to see 130kmph on speedo and one would see that speed more often than not even on a day to day ride
But things are not so rosy on a bumper to bumper traffic. Since the vehicle is tuned for higher revs, the real power starts kicking in post 6.5krpm and there is good amount of snatching at higher gear low speeds. At crawling speed you will mostly find yourself riding in 1st gear. And that’s when engine temperature starts rising very quickly, most of time you will see temperature at one bar or two bar less than maximum. On a very hot day it can be little uncomforting for many. If the vehicle is moving then you won’t feel much, but if you are stuck in the traffic for almost 20min with the engine on then you will slowly start to feel the heat.For Pune weather it is never unbearable but can’t comment on the likes where temp goes upwards of 45, even for those places if you are on the move you won’t feel much.
If you see the engine temperature going into the high zone and the cluster showing ‘High Coolant temperature’ the vehicle will not cross the 4k mark for 5-6 mins till the bike is back to normal riding temperatures. There is no need to panic as this is a safety feature which has been implemented so that the engine is not damaged
Disclaimer: The above will happen very rarely and might not happen at all for everyone
The suspension is stiff but that is what gives it a true sporty character and the immense handling prowess
The vehicle will return a mileage of 20-23 when ridden in city traffic. Go gentle on the throttle and you will get better mileage
But honestly if you are getting better mileage than this then you are not using the full potential of the bike
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