How delicate are KTM'S?
Discussion
My son had a new 2016 390 Duke for 18 months and put 10k miles on it.
Reliability was not bad but the chain lasted about 6k, one of the 4 bolts holding on the the side stand disappeared and the exhaust fractured where it bolts to the frame requiring a new mid section.
It survived commuting abuse through the winter (drenched in ACF50) quite well and still looked good when it was px'd for a CRF250 Rally. The Rally feels a big step up in quality.
It was a hoot to ride but if you are looking for a sporty looking A2, I'd have a look at the CBR500 as well as the RC390.
Reliability was not bad but the chain lasted about 6k, one of the 4 bolts holding on the the side stand disappeared and the exhaust fractured where it bolts to the frame requiring a new mid section.
It survived commuting abuse through the winter (drenched in ACF50) quite well and still looked good when it was px'd for a CRF250 Rally. The Rally feels a big step up in quality.
It was a hoot to ride but if you are looking for a sporty looking A2, I'd have a look at the CBR500 as well as the RC390.
bladerrw said:
It survived commuting abuse through the winter (drenched in ACF50) quite well and still looked good when it was px'd for a CRF250 Rally. The Rally feels a big step up in quality.
Even at list prices the Honda is £800 more though, that buys a lot of quality at this end of the market.Not that your point about quality isn't valid of course, many folks say exactly that.
The problem i have is not having a lot of upper body strength, so i need something around 150kg or lower. Ive popped back to a 125 from a 700 for now whilst im only riding for fun, but id like a plan of a quicker bike if circumstances change. The honda would just be to heavy as my 700 was only 180kg but i just couldnt move the thing! I was ok when i was riding and it may be that the weight was all in the wrong place, but id sooner look for a quick enough bike with a low weight. Id love something like a panigale but the low weight ones are over my £££
Note that the quality on the RC390's are worse than you would get from the higher displacement KTM's as they are made in India IIRC.
Had an RC390 for 2 1/2 years, was a good bike, great commuter, averaged over 60mpg easily, cost about 7.50 to fill and got about 100ish miles to a tank.
Aslong as you keep on top of it should be fine. Issues I had with mine was chain and sprocket wearing quickly as mentioned, the engine would sometimes cut out when waiting at lights (once every month or so, started up straight after was just wierd), fixings and bolts coming loose, the main issue there being the ones on the kickstand that actually bolt into the swingarm, which is cast, so dont want to damage those threads!
I was told by KTM dealer that the original chain and sprocket are not of a good quality are cheap India made items and if replaced with genuine ktm they will last a lot longer.
Still, was a decent little bike, definitely light, easy to ride and quick turn in, can be a little lumpy, being a single cylinder, but decent power for what it is.
Had an RC390 for 2 1/2 years, was a good bike, great commuter, averaged over 60mpg easily, cost about 7.50 to fill and got about 100ish miles to a tank.
Aslong as you keep on top of it should be fine. Issues I had with mine was chain and sprocket wearing quickly as mentioned, the engine would sometimes cut out when waiting at lights (once every month or so, started up straight after was just wierd), fixings and bolts coming loose, the main issue there being the ones on the kickstand that actually bolt into the swingarm, which is cast, so dont want to damage those threads!
I was told by KTM dealer that the original chain and sprocket are not of a good quality are cheap India made items and if replaced with genuine ktm they will last a lot longer.
Still, was a decent little bike, definitely light, easy to ride and quick turn in, can be a little lumpy, being a single cylinder, but decent power for what it is.
The smaller Duke and RC range are definitely built down to a price point, however even the bigger bikes leave the factory with the odd "that will do" quirk which makes you think buying a KTM is all part of helping them to learn quality control.
However on the up side a KTM will usually handle better, weigh less and have more power than its opposition so when they are running well it does make up for it.
However on the up side a KTM will usually handle better, weigh less and have more power than its opposition so when they are running well it does make up for it.
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