Australian Motorcycle News — January 30, 2018

DESIGN MOB KISKAhas done a brilliant job

with the2017390Duke.Itslong,sharplineswith

KTM’s signature split LED headlight create an

optical illusion the bike is larger than it is.

Alsonewfor2017isaTFTdash,andourtest

bike hasalsobeenfittedwiththeKTMMyRide

system, which allows easy Bluetooth connection

ofasmartphone.Ittookmelessthantwo

minutestoconnectmyphoneandmasterthe

controls.NosoonerhadIheadedoffthanthe

TFTdashalertedmeofanincomingcallandI

hadthechoiceofansweringorrejectingitusing

thebuttonontheleft-handswitchblock.The

otheroptionfittedisanAkrapovicsilencer.

Theseatheightof830mmis30mmhigherthan

theprevious390.Itstapereddesignfeltplush

duringthefirstfewshortsrides,butonceIbegan

venturingintotriplefiguresthingsbecamea

little uncomfortable. Long-term owners say the

seatjustneedstobebrokeninandthatafterI’ve

logged 4000km it will be a butt-hugging wonder.

Loggingontothe390DukeOwnersFacebook

pageconnectedmewith390Dukeridersfrom

rightaroundtheworld.Thesepagesareagreat

placetopinpointanyissuesamodelmayhave

andprovesnobikeisfreefromsin,checkout the

Online Chatter breakout below.

I’veclockedup1000kmonthe373.2ccsingle.

Thegearboxissuper-slickandtheslipperclutch

provides a light lever, requiring just a single-

fingereffort.TheEFIfuellingissmooth,and

theByBrebrakesarespoton.TheABScanbe

disengaged,andthere’saSuperMotomodethat

disconnects ABS to the rear wheel only. I’m not

surehowmanyriderswillfindthesefeatures

useful,butit’sanicetouch.

Thenon-adjustable(exceptforrearpreload)

WPsuspensionisonthesoftside,asyouwould

expect,butitdoesn’twallowaround.Evenwhen

workingundermy90kgweight,thebikesettles

into corners quickly, giving the Metzeler Sportec

M5tyresasolidgripintothetarmac.

TheonlyissuetoreportsofarisaTFTdash

that blacked out mid-ride. I stopped and reset

theignition,anditcamebacktolife!There’s

been no repeat performance so far.

As well as my daily commute, I have some two-

up time planned for my next report. You can also

keep up to date with our Living With adventures

at amcn.com.au and our Facebook page.

30 amcn.com.au

livingwith

Little beast

KTM Duke 390

Distance

covered

1045km

Retail

price

$6995 (+ORC)

Options Added

(since last review)

My Ride $149.99 &

Akrapovic silencer $999.99

Fuel

Economy

3.92L/100km /

13.4 Litre tank

Servicing

First service

due at 1000km

SOME 2017 390 Duke owners

have reported an intermittent low

oil pressure warning displaying

on the TFT screen. Our test

bike has not experienced this

problem, but we decided to ask

KTM Australia about it.

“In the cases reported, nearly

all have been caused by a faulty

sensor,” KTM said.

“Customers with issues of oil

pressure warning displays should

contact an authorised dealer so

the cause of the issue can be

checked, such as the oil pressure

sensor.”

As for the issue reported above

of the dash blacking out mid-

ride, KTM said: “The TFT display

issue is generally rectified with a

software update.”

RIDER

PROFILE

Name

Chris Dobie

Age/weight

50yo/90kg

Riding experience

A few decades

Dream Bike

Bimota DB1

THE LAMS-APPROVED KTM 390 DUKE IMPRESSED YOUNGY WHEN HE ATTENDED THE WORLD LAUNCH, AND

IT LOOKS LIKE A LOT OF BIKE FOR YOUR BUCK, BUT WHAT’S IT LIKE TO LIVE WITH? EDITOR DOBIE HAS

FOLDED HIS LANKY FRAME ONTO THE AUSTRIAN SINGLE-POT FOR HIS DAILY 150KM RETURN COMMUTE TO

HORROR HQ.HERE’S HOW HE’S GETTING ON

Online Chatter

Main Design company

KISKA has used long,

sharp lines to make a

small bike appear large

• and bloody tasty
  Right KTM My Ride
  app works a charm
  Below Not just for
  beginner riders