KTM 390 Duke: First Impression

KTM has finally introduced the new 390 Duke. This is the new naked category bike, however, it costs more money than the other KTM models. KTM is well known for its daring designs, and they have continued this trend with their new bike, which features more pointed edges. The third-generation 390 Duke was created with inspiration from your preferred Superduke.

After four years, KTM upgraded the first generation in 2017, which was introduced in 2013 for Indians and now they have made changes to the second generation 390 Duke. It is a little unfortunate if you are shorter than 5 feet 6 inches since the seat height has been raised from 800mm to 830mm; on the plus side, it is adjustable.

The older-gen KTMs have already created a bossy environment within their segment. In the drag race, it has already beaten other competitors including the Royal Enfield Continental GT 650, Bajaj Dominar 400, Apache RTR 310, and BMW G 310 R. The only bike that can beat the 390 Duke is the Kawasaki Ninja 300, but it costs above 4L.

Design and Looks:

The bike appears more aggressive than its older model when you see it on the road. "Long tank expenses," which consist of material of a respectable calibre, have been added. Where, exactly, had you previously seen it?

In KTM 1290 Duke, indeed.

The new Duke features various alterations, such as the Split Trellis frame, which is lighter than the old frame, and the old 390 Duke does not have shrouds. The most recent machine is 4kg lighter than the previous one thanks to a full redesign of the headlight cluster, grip rails, and new alloys.

Additionally, a saturated orange seat has been added, although I have a good feeling that it will become unclean after only five or six uses. Nonetheless, the 5-inch TFT is shielded from tiny dust particles and the yellowish hue of pollution by a guard. With a few exceptions, all of the wires and switches are covered. If I talk about wheels and tyres, then KTM has made major changes here to reduce weight; the number of spokes has been reduced, and now it has a hollow axle. As a result, you can ride it in 'Zig-Zag' mode with more comfortability.

Features:

KTM lovers may feel heartbroken this time because the 390 Duke is still way behind the Apache 310 in its unique features.  I feel Duke deserves those heated seats and cruise control at this price point, but when I accelerated the bike and felt its raw power, I forgot all the other features. You just need to race the throttle, and the bike is ready to show its true colour.

It's not like that brand will let you down badly, though; for comfortable rides on the city and highway, it has traction control, new adjustable suspensions, ride modes, and very important launch control which controls torque, throttle, and gear settings to prevent vehicle damage, in addition to minimizing wheel spin (and hop).

Colour options:

• Electric Orange (Duke 3rd Gen)

• Atlantic Blue (Duke 3rd Gen)

Major Upgrade:

• The engine has been upgraded from 373cc to 399cc (it has a liquid-cooled single-cylinder engine).

• Torque has upgraded from 37nm to 39nm.

• As a result, power has upgraded from 43.5ps to 44.5ps.

• 4kg less weight than the old version.

Pricing

The 390 Duke is a flagship offering from KTM India. KTM will snatch around 2.98L from your pocket, and you have to pay a sum of Rs. 3,10,520 to use this machine on Indian roads. I feel you will get an upgraded bike with an increased price tag. The only machine that competes with the Duke 390 is the RC 390, which is a racing variant of the same model. Since the BMW 310 RR and Continental GT 650 are in separate market niches, I won't be comparing them. The Duke 250 (Rs. 2.38L) or Dominar 400 (Rs. 2.30L) are good options if you don't want to spend this much money, but bear in mind that you will also have to give up some things like electronics, low power, and less high speed with those motorcycles.

In case you want to save money and don’t care about updated features, the Second-generation Duke 250 is still a very decent option. 

On-road experience:

During our initial ride, we saw that the Duke's new engine is more refined, the seating position is comparable, and the handling and control are marginally better than those of the Duke 390's earlier model. Although we didn't have much time to evaluate the mileage because it was only the first test ride, KTM staff members said you should achieve an average mileage of about 32 km/h. In reality, I think that because of the smaller weight and the more sophisticated engine, mileage shouldn't be a problem.

Electronics, connectivity, TFT functions—everything was working very nicely.

During our off-roading, we felt that suspensions were decent enough to save your back, but if you are a hardcore off-roader, then kindly go for the adventure version of Duke 390.