The KTM Duke 390 is without any freaking doubt the most exciting bike launch of 2013.
It’s a bike which has finally fuelled the dreams of enthusiasts offering them exactly what they want – mind boggling performance, sharp dynamics, excellent brakes and all that without breaking the bank.
While all does appear rosy when you talk about 0-100 km/hr in 5.6 seconds, there is more to the Duke 390 than just outright acceleration. Thus a nice long term stint and daily riding has helped us understand this Austrian motorcycle better. The KTM Duke 390 has joined our long term fleet and we are quite excited to put this pocket rocket through its paces.
One area of major setback for the Duke 390 is its looks. While the styling is quite attractive, many are not impressed with the similarities of the design with its younger siblings, the Duke 200 in particular. Yes KTM has tried to visually distinguish the 200 and 390 with the use of colours but there is no denying the fact that the Duke 390 is a small bike and a tall passenger on it can look quite out of place, or so is my case. To KTM’s credit, the attention to detail is worth an applause like the deliciously painted orange frame and the LEDs on the indicators and tail lights(even the rear number plate holder has multiple LEDs which light the road up). However this isn’t a bike you are going to draw eye pops from girls, no way.
That is the reason a girl pillion did not easily grace the seat of this Duke. Neither is the pillion seat very welcoming and with the brutal acceleration under its belly, it’s best ridden solo. KTM doesn’t have good brand presence in tier-2 and tier-3 cities as was so evident when I stopped en route on my way to Goa for the India Bike Week where people asked if this was a Honda(maybe orange colour makes them believe it’s a Repsol model). However people in villages do get amused by the exhaust and keep searching for the “silencer”.The Duke 390 admires nature en route to Goa
So what is the first thing we did once the bike arrived? We went ahead and removed the saree guard and rear tyre hugger. This has transformed the appeal of the bike ten folds(I know I am exaggerating but still). The rear looks a bit odd with the long tail but tail tidy kit is a loot at Rs 9000/-. The handguards are not to our tastes either, so they had to go as well. Pin stripes were put on the wheels, costing Rs. 400/- from a sticker shop which did a fab job. A quick fill of nitrogen went in vain as the valve was faulty and we lost pressure in the rear tyre. These issues aside, there was a bigger problem I had to go through before I could truly enjoy this KTM.scenery
The run-in period!, which meant keeping the monster tamed for a full 1000 kms and seeing Pulsar 220s flash by you, at times teasing you for being so slow with such a quick machine at your disposal. The initial riding was very sober with heavy control on the right wrist(the Duke 390 is a very difficult bike to run-in as it feels quite rough at low RPMs). Not wanting to be judgemental before the first service, I thought to myself that the Duke 390 is not a city friendly ride as it does tend to heat up quite a bit in stop-gap traffic. We also did face the bike not starting issue a few times but all that got massively subdued post first service.