KTM has always been a trailblazer. When the Austrian bike brand entered the Indian market, it was no surprise that it brought with it tantalising bikes. One of them was the KTM Duke 390. This bike is meant for thrill-seekers. It is often labelled as the ‘beast’ among KTM enthusiasts. The bike is known to be a well-balanced product. It is capable of conquering corners as if it owns them!
With that stated, here is a short checklist that outlines why one should buy the Duke 390 –
The Visuals
The current version of the Duke 390 is paired with revised colour schemes. The overall looks of the bike remain more or less the same. The new colour schemes consist of a silver metallic finish. The chassis and the wheels will be painted orange while the sub-frame will be painted black. One can also get a ceramic white colour scheme. Here the chassis and wheels will be painted black. The subframe however will be in white.
Package
The latest version of the Duke 390 is equipped with an all-LED headlamp. The centre console on the bike is a TFT unit. An LED unit would have provided better resolution but KTM chose otherwise. The centre console offers Bluetooth connectivity. The unit is the same one that one can find on a 390 Adventure. However, the turn-by-turn navigation feature is missing on the 390.
KTM Duke 390 Performance
The Duke 390 is one of the best bikes for long rides. The reason is its engine. The Duke 390 is known for its free-revving nature. It is also tuned to belt out grin-inducing performance!
One might have thought that the 390 Duke will feel tamed after the BS6 update but no. The KTM engineer just tweaked the exhaust manifold of the bike. They kept the overall specification of the bike’s engine untouched.
The bike is powered by the same rev-happy motor with 373 CC displacement. It is a single-cylinder, liquid-cooled, fuel-injected unit. The peak power produced by the motor is 42.9 BHP. This is unlocked at 9,000 RPM. On the other hand, the peak torque produced by the motor is 37 Nm. This is unlocked at 7,000rpm.
The engine is paired with a slipper clutch. A slipper clutch supports aggressive downshifts. A regular clutch has a tendency of locking up the rear wheel of a motorcycle during aggressive downshifts. To keep this from happening, KTM engineers chose a slipper clutch.
The transmission on the bike is a track-tuned six-speed gearbox with precise gear ratios. The gear ratios allow riders to make the most out of the bike’s engine across its RPM range. The transmission is also designed to work with KTM’s proprietary Quickshifter onboard technology!
Until the 4,000 RPM range, the bike feels tamed. But after that, the true hooligan-like nature of the 390 Duke comes out. It is pretty easy to race past the 100 KMPH mark on the third gear of this bike. The bike can reach the electronically limited top speed of 147 KMPH quite easily.
To keep riders and others on the road safe, the bike is equipped with a 320mm disc braking system for the front wheel. The rear braking system is a 230mm rotor. Both the front and rear brake callipers are from ByBre. Furthermore, KTM offers the bike with dual-channel ABS as a standard option!
Verdict
Back when the bike was launched, it was known for its amazing exhaust note. The latest iteration however entails a quieter exhaust note. One might think that the bike lost its hooligan-like character. That is not the case. Let the engine rev past the 4000 RPM range and one will have an ear-to-ear grin in no time! The bike is more refined which is a massive step forward compared to the first generation of the Duke 390. To sum it all up, it is still worth it to buy this bike. If one is unsure then they can take a test ride and see why people want this motorcycle badly!