KTM Duke 390

[st00ji]

thats annoying! i'd be rather grumpy myself if i'd been promised one thing before laying down the cash, then told another later once the cheque had cleared.

jelly though, they look like a whole heap of fun.

[Milts]

So, does this mean the price of 2nd hand 200s is going to plummet as everyone decides they want the 390?

[george formby]

Spoke to the old fella toady, he's back in blighty & has just picked up his new 390, put a princely 150 miles on it so far.
He says, it's tiny, it's very light, he is at least 15mph to slow in the corners for the bike, darts in like an irate weasel wearing crampons, so he says. Has not noticed any vibration running at a max of 7500rpm, said it's like a 3 stroke, best of a 4t & 2t so far. He is a very happy camper apart from the bright orange wheels & frame. He asked for a black one. He's a tad bamboozled that the seat height is 20mm higher than the GS 6fiddly he traded for it but can get both feet on the ground. Being a few months away from 70 he's loving the ease with which he can maneuver it round the garage. The steering lock does not work. He was accosted by a pert teenage nymphette "is that your bike mister? Wicked!" Probably outside of Lidl.
You can set the shift light on the dash to whatever revs you want, it flashes as you get close then stays on. Handy. Sounds good, too.

It was a brief chat, I had to go back to Repco to resolve an oil filter issue.

[White trash]

Fucken "A"! Here's a pic of eikons 390. Sorry about the wait mate, I'm sure it'll be worth it.

[eikon]

Fucken "A"! Here's a pic of eikons 390. Sorry about the wait mate, I'm sure it'll be worth it.

It sure will be thanks man!

[Dogboy900]

That looks very cool!
Looks way nicer than I expected, hope to see you carving up the Rimutakas on it some day soon

If I had the dollars I would put an order in for its big brother!... Never had a new new bike

[HenryDorsetCase]

Fucken "A"! Here's a pic of eikons 390. Sorry about the wait mate, I'm sure it'll be worth it.

damn cool

They phoned me yesterday to say they had one in I could sit on. Its sold but I want an idea of ergos

[eikon]

Cheers...look forward to post break in...so hard to not blast the thing...here are some more pics. Happy if anyone wants to catch up and have looksee. PM me.

[Maha]

Those mirrors will be useful when towing the caravan.

[NZM0NK3Y]

Hiya,
New to the KB forum and biking in general. Had a Duke 200 last year, traded in back in May and picked up my shiny new 390 on last Saturday. A quick 70km blast later and I'm very pleased to report that it feels a whole different bike. Absolutely planted and rock solid at 100kmh. Taller gearing makes for much more relaxed riding (unless you give it a big twist). Actually a lot quicker then it feels when riding it. Short run on SH1 and I looked down and was doing 135kmh and I swear it felt more like 80 ..... Very happy !

[eikon]

Awesome, and agreed very pleased with the ride so far and I haven't even given it hell yet...power to weight is great and so far I'm not missing the power of larger CC bikes...

Is it just me or does that 4th gear just want keep on pulling and pulling.....

[Thaeos]

I've got a '91 zxr250C that I'm probably going to sell, just wondering what kind of deposit you have to put down on one of these things and if anyone knows a dealer in Auckland that has one?

[Badgermat]

Finally ... after five and a half very long months, my Duke has arrived. Picked it up yesterday but due to visiting rellies I have only managed to get 120km on it so far.

Pics and a proper write-up will come soon(isn), but so far it's an absolute hoot.

The good stuff...

• It’s a delight to ride. Especially the steering, which is direct, fast and precise.
• The brakes are excellent (but my points of comparison aren’t great, so make of that what you will).
• It’s fast enough to be fun. Kinda.
• It feels wonderfully light, but not insubstantial.

The not so good stuff...

• Build quality is a bit iffy in places (mostly the finishing).
• The throttle has an annoyingly slow action (lots of turn required).
• The dashboard is horrid and very cheap looking.
• The exhaust sound is a bit anaemic.

Comparison with the DRZ400 is interesting. The Duke feels a lot smaller (which it is) and a lot lighter (which it isn’t). It’s much more planted on the road and feels more stable, probably due to it’s height (or lack thereof).

For performance I’d say there’s not a lot in it, though I haven’t ridden them back-to-back. The DRZ feels like it accelerates better from low revs, but once the Duke gets to 5,000 RPM it takes off in a way the DRZ can only dream about.

Anyway, thanks to the guys at Cyclespot for putting up with my incessant hassling over the last couple of months, and for getting the bike to me for the weekend, even though they didn't see it 'til Friday afternoon themselves.

I have a feeling I'll be back for an Akrapovic exhaust in the very near future.

m

[drmikenz]

does anyone know if any KTM dealers in/around Auckland have any to demo at the moment ? seem pretty thin on the ground and i'd love to ride one before plonking down a deposit.

[Larksea]

yeah I'm quite keen to test ride one as well.

with the new license rules I should have my full in a few months but I have no real desire to go for something massive, there are a few bikes like this I really like the look of

the Duke 390
Honda CB500F
Yamaha MT-03

There is even a CF Moto 650 NK as an interesting (cheep) option, its a Chinese copy of a Kawasaki and seems to get good reviews, Dont think I'd get one myself but its interesting.

I honestly want to test ride all of them if I can . As far as looks go I know its a personal thing but I like the Honda simply because it lacks the flashy stickers and orange wheels Im not so keen on. At the same time if the Duke was just noticeably better to ride I'd still get it.

on a side note the new CB650F looks fricken cool but I dont think its coming to NZ?!