Biker Banter Newbie - KTM RC390

[lindrup119]

I moved to London about 18 months ago and about 12 months ago I then moved from Readers Cars to Biker Banter.

Started off simple with a Yamaha Vity 125 which was a bargain.





Paid £500 for it, sold it on for £900 when I came across this:





Which now looks like this:









Should never have got rid of the 125. I paid way too much for the FZR400 and it was and still is an absolute pig. I'm about to put it onto eBay as a parts bundle with no reserve and just looking forward to getting any amount of cash back from it.

Which brings me on to my current steed. I originally bought the 125 because I wanted my freedom back and I hated squeezing into commuter trains like I was on the way to the abattoir. My plan with the FZR was to level up to A2 and then commute on that, however I didn't have the money or patience to get it working and also realised I would quickly run out of summer if I waited any longer. A2 licence done, it was time to find a new bike...

I'm not usually a fan of finance in general, but 0% was hard to pass up and with the back up of a 24 month warranty to accompany my 24 month finance it seemed like a no brainer. Insurance wasn't too bad and after a few extras at the dealership (tracker/tail tidy) and the deposit paid, I was £900 lighter (£165 per month) and ready...... to stall in front of the dealership :


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMHgrCFoj9A








The gibbon operating the camera had parked around the corner where I made the wise choice to get my textile trews and boots on as it promptly started to piss it down on my very first ride

I've just about run the bike in now according to the dealership, and first impressions are mixed. I haven't even had a chance to get it out of London yet but hopefully the weather will hold and I can find some lanes this weekend. I sat on both the RC and the Duke before buying and although I know the Duke would have been comfier and perhaps better for commuting (as everyone with any bike knowledge told me as well) I couldn't not have the RC.

Looks - it's a very skinny bike, and coupled with a fairly dinky rear tyre (widest in it's class apparently but still small...) it has lead to a few people asking me if it's a 125 It also sounds a little bit farty like a 125. Personally I prefer the looks of the RC over the R3 or any of the other current crop of A2 bikes, and hopefully I don't regret not buying a 600 and just having it restricted.

Modifications - I've already pulled off the pillion pegs (really easy to whack back on), and the tail tidy will be nicely finished off by the slightly smaller plate I've got to go on. Although I love the underseat exhaust look, it really does need a can on it for a little something extra. Depending on the terms of my warranty and whether I have any leeway, I might be left with the one expensive dealer option of the Akrapovic (£600 + fitting! ).

[Wooderson]

Nice bike

Along with an MT-07, they are a tempting proposition for a cheap but fun commuter and weekend toy.

I've read that the engines are quite under stressed to make them A2 compliant. I wonder what a little bit of light tuning would produce..

Wish KTM would 'RC' the 690. That would be a hoot!

[Renn Sport]

Thats a lovely bike!

Seen a few of those about and even though I ride a blade on the road and R1 on the track I really wnat to have a go on one of these.

I have 690SM and its a brilliant bike. KTM do it right.

[scorcher]

Wooderson said:

Nice bike

Wish KTM would 'RC' the 690. That would be a hoot!

Mototech do a conversion kit. Not cheap though!

[Renn Sport]

Thats very very cool!

[.blue]

Awesome! Have been following the launch etc. of the RC 390 with interest and waiting for it to get a bit older so I can buy one!

What kind of security do you use for it? Presume you have garage/off street parking at work and home?

Keen to hear how you think it would compare with a 600 sports or something like a SV650.

[Google [bot]]

That is rather nice.

[Mastodon2]

.blue said:

Awesome! Have been following the launch etc. of the RC 390 with interest and waiting for it to get a bit older so I can buy one!

What kind of security do you use for it? Presume you have garage/off street parking at work and home?

Keen to hear how you think it would compare with a 600 sports or something like a SV650.

I had a ride of a friend's SV650S a few weeks back, it was nowhere near as quick as my GSX-R600. The RC 390 is down on power to about the same tune as the SV is against my GSX-R, so I'd expect the RC to be nowhere near as quick as an SV, which is kind of the point I suppose.

I'm sure the RC 390 is nippy enough, but surely cornering is where the fun will be had on these, not drag racing or slotting huge overtakes. There was a poster here who bought a Duke 390 because he thought he could live with a slower bike, but ended iirc on a Super Duke 990 after a few months as the Duke was too slow for him. I suppose if you'd never had a bigger bike the Duke would be fine, but as they say, once the genie is out of the bottle you can't put it back in.

[lindrup119]

Mastodon2 said:

.blue said:

Awesome! Have been following the launch etc. of the RC 390 with interest and waiting for it to get a bit older so I can buy one!

What kind of security do you use for it? Presume you have garage/off street parking at work and home?

Keen to hear how you think it would compare with a 600 sports or something like a SV650.

I had a ride of a friend's SV650S a few weeks back, it was nowhere near as quick as my GSX-R600. The RC 390 is down on power to about the same tune as the SV is against my GSX-R, so I'd expect the RC to be nowhere near as quick as an SV, which is kind of the point I suppose.

I'm sure the RC 390 is nippy enough, but surely cornering is where the fun will be had on these, not drag racing or slotting huge overtakes. There was a poster here who bought a Duke 390 because he thought he could live with a slower bike, but ended iirc on a Super Duke 990 after a few months as the Duke was too slow for him. I suppose if you'd never had a bigger bike the Duke would be fine, but as they say, once the genie is out of the bottle you can't put it back in.

I've only had it for a week but your assessment sounds about right. Had a blast on the North Circular after work yesterday and found that it isn't too powerful at all after 50/60/70. It was what I was expecting of course and for me the main priority is the light to light nippiness.

Security wise - at home it's disc locked, chained to a ground anchor, covered and has a tracker on it, likewise at work but minus the anchor.

New plate on:



Doesn't do the rear tyre any favours but finishes off the rear end nicely for now.

[gwm]

Renn Sport said:

Thats very very cool!

+1, congrats.

Like the idea of a small and light bike like this, seems a good choice for traffic if it's nippy enough.

[lindrup119]

Although it's a practice I despise, the bike has been christened 'Yusuf' by my work colleagues...

[Renn Sport]

LOL...

I can see how that happened.

Your going to have lots of fun on that this summer. Enjoy.

[Spanna]

I like these, had a look around the Duke 390 last year and given the price I was impressed.

Also, tidy your front yard

[lindrup119]

Spanna said:

I like these, had a look around the Duke 390 last year and given the price I was impressed.

Also, tidy your front yard

You can help to tidy it by buying a lightly used, full service history, ready to drive away* FZR and an old crumbly bucket seat if you fancy?









*Information may be inaccurate

[lindrup119]

Well, the remnants of the FZR have now gone. It was quite amazing seeing it all crammed into the back of what appeared to be a fairly tiny people carrier from the outside.








Two weekends ago I was due to head up north to Lancaster for a friend's birthday do (go karting, BBQ, drinking, kebab, etc) and bravely (stupidly) decided to go up on the bike.

I knew what I was doing was stupid (circa 500 mile round trip on a 390...) but felt like I had to do it just once to satisfy my curiosity...

Curiosity satisfied.

I went up the M1/A50/M6 on the way up which was mind numbingly boring as expected (although Average Speed Check zones did prove to be a bit of a laugh) and it took me about 4.5 hours.




The way back down however was way more fun, I decided to take the scenic route and then join the A1 back into London. So the first two and a half hours were fantastic, then it was another boring two on the straight and narrow.















Never. Again.

Not on a bike this size anyway. On something a bit bigger with some better protection I'd love to do some proper touring.

Points to note:

• The fuel tank is tiny - which is fine for me in London, not on long trips.
• Commuting on this thing is a dream. It's so skinny I find myself going through gaps that some of the scooter boys have trouble with.
• The screen is an overly fussy design and when you get up to c.80 leptons, air rushing through the tiny gaps creates a symphony of whistling noises akin to having a roof rack on your car. Seriously irritating.
• People still ask me what kind of 125 it is... What kind of question is that and where/when did you learn to read? It says 390 on the side!
• It can be quite lumpy/jerky at slow speeds - perhaps due to it being a single?
• I've been an absolute nob and gone over my first service interval by a fair chunk. Having rung up Croydon KTM and begged them to have mercy they explained the points of the warranty in detail and booked me in for next week! I'll let you know then how that goes and how my wallet feels afterwards.

Mods - not many tbh. Some dubious stickers have made their way onto the bike due to there not being space for them on the helmet but I don't see them lasting much longer.

I'd love to do something about the exhaust and the sound but that again is warranty busting territory. However, I haven't checked yet but apparently the factory underbody exhaust has a baffle installed which I might wrestle out after the service and see if it improves it at all.

Evotech rear pillion pegs delete grill has been added.

I bought myself a double bubble screen for the long trip up. Parcel Force lost it. It arrived two days after I got back to London.

I'll put some photos up when I fit that as well - it's a much smaller and less fussy unit than the standard item.


I'm also now on the lookout for some better kit. I'm just wrapping up a kevlar hoody and jeans to be sent back as they weren't anywhere close to fitting. I'll never understand why 34 can't mean 34 everywhere, regardless of design the size should be the same!

So if anyone has any recommendations for some good kevlar jeans that aren't baggy at the bottom then I'd love to hear from you.

Edited by lindrup119 on Wednesday 17th June 15:57

[Richyboy]

Your only on 2200, whats the service interval on these bikes?

[Renn Sport]

Good update...

I still get asked if my KTM 690 is a 125 and I get folks in 600's racing me off the lights. Mostly I let them go unless they cut me up. Then they get monster'd and the final pummelling as I wheelie off into the distence! It would be better if I could wheelie a bit better.

I have noticed other KTM riders do aknowledge each other quite a lot!

Anyway good on you for the update and I am also glad to hear the 400 went to a new home for restoration or to provide parts so others of its kind can live on. A fitting new chapter.

[lindrup119]

Richyboy said:

Your only on 2200, whats the service interval on these bikes?

I'm only on 1350 at the moment (fuzzy pic there's a decimal point in there), first service should be done at 620...

What a tosser.

Next service after that is around 4k miles and then can't remember after that.

Edit: 22:31 is the time I got home!

[pozi]

Richyboy said:

Your only on 2200, whats the service interval on these bikes?

At a guest the first service is at 600 mile

[GT3-RS]

once you've done with the 390 then you can progress to 690 Duke