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Duke 390 reliability

7K views 5 replies 6 participants last post by  tmoney 
#1 ·
Im considering buying a used 390 duke probably 2017-2019. I heard there were reliability issues mainly regarding valves I believe. Did any of you had those problems?
The problems are dinka prevalent that the ktm initials in my country are (bought,fixed,sold. works great unfortunately in my language).
More over I live in hot country and heard about heating problems (the fan works a lot). Have any comments?
Thank you all very much!
 
#2 ·
Im considering buying a used 390 duke probably 2017-2019. I heard there were reliability issues mainly regarding valves I believe. Did any of you had those problems?
The problems are dinka prevalent that the ktm initials in my country are (bought,fixed,sold. works great unfortunately in my language).
More over I live in hot country and heard about heating problems (the fan works a lot). Have any comments?
Thank you all very much!
yeah, I also bought a KTM second-hand and the only problem I had was the bike turns off on a cold start... Just found out that it was just a fuel problem so changing the filter and cleaning the injector should fix the problem... other than that I haven't had any complaints regarding the bike... The heating problem is real but not like you cannot ride the bike or it turns off randomly... it puts out a lot of heat because it's a single-piston on a high compression ratio... you cannot wear shorts when you are riding the bike :p...
 
#3 · (Edited)
I also live in a hot country (Hong Kong) and have owned the first gen and second gen Duke 390. I've noticed quite a few improvements in the 2017+ model, the fan cuts in at about 50% on the temp gauge, it's way earlier than the first gen bikes and keeps the bike cooler. The only annoyance is the noise, but it's pretty easy to live.

I ride my bike all year and even in 35°+ temperatures it works fine. The bike will get hot, that's too be expected, but the cooling system does it job and reliability doesn't seem a big issue on gen 2 bikes.

Look how many are being ridden in extreme temperatures (and poor road conditions) in India for example.
 
#4 ·
The bike a high strung single, will eventually heat up compared to the other counterparts. Sane riding, proper servicing and warming up helps increase the reliability and extend the longevity of the motor. Reliability shouldn't be a worry. Yes, it did have its fair share of problems pop up here and there, but for the most part a fun bike.

Cheers!
VJ
 
#5 ·
The 'running hot' issue has been discussed at length on here in 2016 or so.
My experience (200) is as follows:
Last trip (2 days) riding south in 37 - 38C the coolant temperature hovers around 79 - 80C
I have installed a Trail-Tech temperature gauge on this bike purely for this purpose.
As long as I move faster than say 45km/h it stays this way and the fan never comes on.
Riding below this speed the temperature climbs to over 90C and the fan kicks in and shuts off at 85C.
These figures might be somewhat different on the 390 (and perhaps even different between the 1st and 2nd Gen) but all in all our Dukes and RC's are pretty good laid out cooling-wise.
I also agree on running your bike up to operating temperatures sensibly before revving up through the gears.
Never will I understand people starting these bikes and instantly revving the throttle for no other reason than producing noise and damaging their engines in the process.
 
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