KTM Duke 390

[ducatilover]

Can ya give us a little more detail about how awesome it is bro? My riding gear is up the other end of the blimmin island, so I won't be able to go score test rides for about a month

[haydes55]

Funny how many people are keen on a learners bike. Even fully licensed people. Ktm are on the ball

[White trash]

Funny how many people are keen on a learners bike. Even fully licensed people. Ktm are on the ball

Yup. I'm awaiting the 390 to make a decision between it and a 690. The $4500 difference in price is a shitload of Powerparts and crash protection for the 390. But the 690 will be a bit more capable of the odd trackday. The missus will ride either but is probably more at home on the baby Duke.

What to do what to do.........

[ckai]

I thought I'd give mum's 200 a blast up to Auckland in the weekend. Farthest I've ridden it. Nearly 2hrs in the saddle. After meeting up with the wife, turned straight around and come back.

Certainly fine to ride for a decent amount of time and never once got sore (I'm 6ft). It didn't like the 91 octane that was in the tank though and felt a bit lethargic a few times when the wife, on our Daytona stretched it's legs a bit. We still had some fun around some corners having a little play.

Rising it a little enthusiastically, and having the Daytona in front, you do notice the lack of power coming out of corners. She wasn't even accelerating hard and I was on the stop a few times. The 390 will be a lot better in this regard.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

[ducatilover]

Yup. I'm awaiting the 390 to make a decision between it and a 690. The $4500 difference in price is a shitload of Powerparts and crash protection for the 390. But the 690 will be a bit more capable of the odd trackday. The missus will ride either but is probably more at home on the baby Duke.

What to do what to do.........

Put a blower on a 390, so it costs as much, costs more to run, lasts less time and has 50 times the cool factor?
Or just ram a CR500 motor up one.

[sketch]

Can ya give us a little more detail about how awesome it is bro? My riding gear is up the other end of the blimmin island, so I won't be able to go score test rides for about a month

when you first hop on the bike feels tiny and alot different from the ninja size wise, then you twist your right hand and it all comes good. Strait away you get a mischievous feeling, the confidence inspiring handling just make you want to throw the bike around, and when you do, it just loves it. The lightweight bike has great grip and with the 390 having the metzelers on it it will be even better. Coming to a stop at the lights i noticed the seat height to be a little high, but then the light gos green and you forget what you were worried about. The bike sounds terrible, and thats an understatement but with the plethora of aftermarket parts rumored for the 390 im sure this can be easily dealt with. Instrumentation is great and has all sorts of info, personally i like an analouge tacho but shift light and gear indicator make up for it. The 200 definitely needs more power and the short rev range tends to leave you wanting more but im sure an extra 190 (175) cc should sort that out.

In short apart from the horrid sound the bikes a minta, and just makes you want to run a muck

[White trash]

when you first hop on the bike feels tiny and alot different from the ninja size wise, then you twist your right hand and it all comes good. Strait away you get a mischievous feeling, the confidence inspiring handling just make you want to throw the bike around, and when you do, it just loves it. The lightweight bike has great grip and with the 390 having the metzelers on it it will be even better. Coming to a stop at the lights i noticed the seat height to be a little high, but then the light gos green and you forget what you were worried about. The bike sounds terrible, and thats an understatement but with the plethora of aftermarket parts rumored for the 390 im sure this can be easily dealt with. Instrumentation is great and has all sorts of info, personally i like an analouge tacho but shift light and gear indicator make up for it. The 200 definitely needs more power and the short rev range tends to leave you wanting more but im sure an extra 190 (175) cc should sort that out.

In short apart from the horrid sound the bikes a minta, and just makes you want to run a muck

You should be doing my job bro Get your order in quick mate, we sold another this afternoon. I'm away Monday but I'll give you a call Tuesday.

[Nat]

Anyone got any views on this KTM390 vs Suzuki DRZ400SM as a fun bike/ city commuter/ occasional backroad scratcher/ occasional gravel road hoon?

[Badgermat]

Anyone got any views on this KTM390 vs Suzuki DRZ400SM as a fun bike/ city commuter/ occasional backroad scratcher/ occasional gravel road hoon?

Funnily enough, I was considering a DRZ when I first heard about the Duke.

With the caveat that I made my decision based on riding a Duke 200 and making a massive assumption about the 390s extra power, I plumped for the KTM.

For me, the choice came down to the fact that the DRZ is a touch tall for me (at 1.73m ... a shortarse), and felt a bit unwieldy. The Duke felt very planted and perfectly proportioned.

Although the 390 and DRZ are pretty similar weight-wise (the DRZ is a couple of kg lighter), the Duke carries its weight lower so feels a lot lighter on the road.

I can't make any particular comment about any performance difference since I haven't ridden the 390 yet (it arrives next week), but power and torque are similar(isn) for both, so I imagine they would be comparable.

For commuting and scratching, the Duke probably wins. ABS will help there. For larking around and gravel roads, the DRZ probably wins.

That said, mildly adapted Duke 200s (basically just different wheels and tyres) finish 1,2 and 3 in the Raid de Himalaya last year, and that was run on some fairly rough looking gravel roads.

See here ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j57Uz4BXZjQ

Assuming my 390 does actually turn up next week, I'll be back with an update.

bm

[Grashopper]

Assuming my 390 does actually turn up next week, I'll be back with an update.

bm

Neat. I'm so looking forward to that.

[sketch]

First week of Septembers come and gone....... anyone got there 390 yet? I wana hear the ins and outs from someone other than some dodgey indian on youtube

[Badgermat]

First week of Septembers come and gone....... anyone got there 390 yet? I wana hear the ins and outs from someone other than some dodgey indian on youtube

Turns out that no 390s will be here before October. And even then it's a smaller shipment then expected, so few of the initial orders will be filled.

It seems that I'll be waiting until the end of October or even the beginning of November for mine

[mossy1200]

Turns out that no 390s will be here before October. And even then it's a smaller shipment then expected, so few of the initial orders will be filled.

It seems that I'll be waiting until the end of October or even the beginning of November for mine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=f14qqozCtBY

A little boy waits

[Badgermat]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=f14qqozCtBY

A little boy waits

You have no idea how accurate that is. Petulance isn't in it

[eikon]

"Vessel due 03/10, it'll take a couple of days to get the bikes out of the container and to us. Pipe is due Tuesday."

Hanging out big time......put ma deposit down in July...been waiting heaps long.