Re: MY16 Duke 390 Finally Arrived! (The Unboxing)
Great to hear the KTM lives up to your expectation.
Does your bike have a trip counter if so then use that more than your fuel gauge , work out a safe KM with about 2 litters left in the tank then use this measurement as a safe travel range for fuel.
The problems with gear changing is just down to getting used to the gear set up on your bike but sometimes just moving the gear level up or down a bit on the spine could help IMO it needs to go down one so your foot sits down a bit so when you kick up a gear you travel passed the natural position.
Re: MY16 Duke 390 Finally Arrived! (The Unboxing)
One thing, the dashboard changes the settings to show only kilometers left in the tank when it thinks it's low on gas. So once it thinks it is low I have no tripometer access :( very frustrating
Re: MY16 Duke 390 Finally Arrived! (The Unboxing)
FYI the one weak link on the duke or RC 390 seems to be the head gasket. It might have already been addressed and fixed by now but over at the KTM forum lots of people were blowing head gaskets around 4000-5000km's. If doing any modifications such as air filter, exhaust, or turbo etc it would definitely be worth it to upgrade to a thicker copper head gasket. Shouldn't be too hard considering it's a single cylinder. For the seat I suggest getting a corbin. They make memory foam type seats for all bikes and are the best seats money can buy. I also saw the duke's throttle has a lot of play, this also might be worth changing out. That would be my first 3 recommendations of upgrades for the duke, corbin seat, copper head gasket, new throttle.
Re: MY16 Duke 390 Finally Arrived! (The Unboxing)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
RyanDuke390
FYI the one weak link on the duke or RC 390 seems to be the head gasket. It might have already been addressed and fixed by now but over at the KTM forum lots of people were blowing head gaskets around 4000-5000km's. If doing any modifications such as air filter, exhaust, or turbo etc it would definitely be worth it to upgrade to a thicker copper head gasket. Shouldn't be too hard considering it's a single cylinder. For the seat I suggest getting a corbin. They make memory foam type seats for all bikes and are the best seats money can buy. I also saw the duke's throttle has a lot of play, this also might be worth changing out. That would be my first 3 recommendations of upgrades for the duke, corbin seat, copper head gasket, new throttle.
Yes, on the MY2015 and newer Dukes they replaced the throttle with a shorter throw throttle. Also, in MY 2015 they fixed the gasket problems, oil leak, radiator heat issue, put guards on the suspension, new seals in the front forks, new seat, slightly different slipper clutch, new emission program so it runs smoother, fixed some dash issues, thicker break disks, different stronger alloy for the wheels and slightly modified engine allowing for wider service intervals. At least this is what I have read.
I started with an accident so before i make two many modifications I still need to get it in 100% working order. I decided I would kiss a bus. Right now I have no front mud guard, my gauge is glitching from likely crossed wires or something and the entire head light assembly is taped on. Not to mention the front forks are scraped to all hell so I am sure it will tear the seals soon. Either way, it will all be replaced and be like new on the 28th.
Re: MY16 Duke 390 Finally Arrived! (The Unboxing)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Asymptomatic
...The gas gauge is horrendous. It will tell you that you are empty with only a few kilometers left but still has about 4 liters in the tank. Drives me insane especially since you have to fill your bike with a teapot and need to know exactly how much to buy.
The hard seat? Well it broke in and is quite comfy to me now. That or I just got used to it.
The ride? The thing is smooth! It has much more comfortable suspension then my Chinese bike and seems to take the crap roads and unavoidable potholes like a champ.
The gear box does not like to go all the way from 1st to second all the time. Oddly it is not about how hard or soft you kick it up either. So several times I thought I was in 2nd and was in neutral. Also, there have been two occasions where I popped it in neutral at a stop light for a moment to stretch my hands and it was not actually in neutral. So you get random false neutrals from time to time.
I'll second all of these, especially the suspension. Tons of speed bumps in my area, big ones, speed bumps that feel like driving over downed telephone pole in the car/bus. The Duke just soaks them up, completely composed, even in a slight lean. No bounce, no hop. You can continue at speed, no blink, no fuss, no need to even raise up off the seat.
However, I am switching to the comfort seat. After riding mountain trails all afternoon several days in a row I noticed some tenderness in a sensitive area. I don't want to damage any nerves or vessels down there :uhoh:
lol @ the teapot. They'll pump it straight in the tank here, so I haven't had to calculate how much fuel to buy. At one-fuel stop I watched as this petite girl, probably fresh out of highschool and cute as a button, struggling with both hands wrestle the hose and nozzle up and over the tank. Being the gentleman that I am :naughty: I reached over to hold the gas lid open for her. She didn't get the nozzle all the way in and I was promptly sprayed, fuel slopping down the bike onto the hot exhaust. After a quick birdbath in the bathroom I rode away to discover tank wasn't even full. :rolleyes1:
My experience with the fuel gauge is its very slow to react. Sometimes it takes several minutes to recognize the tank is full, a second engine restart typically resets it right away, annoying but harmless. Also after running the fuel down, 2 of the last 3 bars of fuel or so on the gauge can disappear suddenly after a restart. I assumed it was a smoothing algorithm to keep the gauge level from bouncing around and the restart resets everything with a clean sheet calculation.
However, I have found the initial "43 KM remaining" warning was spot on. The majority of these rural gas stations are only open 7-7 and I've been caught out twice coming back from a long ride to watch the sunrise or sunset up in the mountains. Both times the bike coasted to a stop 45km after the warning.
The follow-on estimates were useless as it hovers at 43 for a bit then quickly drops to "0 KM remaining"