I have just bought a KTM390Duke, love the little bike, so much fun to ride wringing it's neck on the twisties. 2 weak points which I will be addressing asap. The rear shock= diabolical. brake pads, functional but I would like more powerful braking. Would appreciate any advice on upgrading the shock and pads. Any recomendations?
I think they are pretty cool but am always put off by what feel like uber plastic grips! Little thing i know! Would love to have a go on one, I'm sure there was someone on here who has one as a commuter bike Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Phil if you are ever in West Sussex you are welcome to try mine out. I'm highly impressed, only weights 135kg so the 44 odd h.p with a superb free reving engine makes it a fun bike.
I bought one a few years back, when I fancied something different from the usual porky sport tourers. You had to wring its neck to extract maximum performance, which was all part of the fun, and my biking pals thought it sounded like a lawnmower! Some of the details look cheap, and the plastics were indeed poor but one long trip around the Highlands of Scotland convinced me I needed to go back to a proper sport tourer for comfort and practicality. I found it went out of adjustment very easily, and ran rough much of the time. I was also peeved at having to pay over £300 for the first 600 mile service and feel that KTMs are expensive bikes to keep dealer maintained. It attracted attention everywhere it went and was an absolute hoot. They seem to depreciate heavily as no dealer was interested in my 5-month old bike, which was CAP valued at £1900 - a loss of over £2500! They're a great commuter/city bike. I'd consider one again if bought used at the right price. They're not dull, that's for sure!
Interesting! So would u day they are anywhere near a potential replacement for the famed 250 2-strokes and 400 race reps? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Yes, they are the spiritual successors to these bikes - they definitely bring out the hooligan in you The lightness is incredible, almost toy-like - I'm a shortie so no issues, but the small frame (identical to the 125) looks ridiculous on some! The high state of tune meant regular fettling was required, usually at expensive KTM dealers, and I found my engine had quite a few 'flat' spots. KTM are another aspirational 'right-on' brand like Ducati, and have also perfected the art of hijacking your wallet...
