Two-Wheel Tuesday: Test Riding the KTM 390 Duke

The KTM factory demo fleet showed up at my local dealer recently, and I took the opportunity to sneak away on my lunch hour and spend about 25 minutes riding the new KTM 390 Duke. I would have liked to ride all the bikes, especially the big Adventure and Super Duke V-twins, but I only had an hour for lunch and the India-built 390 Duke was both the biggest question mark, and the one I had the most realistic potential to own eventually, if I liked it.
…And did I like it? Yes—mostly. Hit the jump for more details and some photos of the KTM lineup.

• It’s a tiny little thing, especially immediately after getting off the Spyder. Combined with the height of the chassis, I felt a bit as though I was right over the front wheel for a bit, but quickly acclimated to it. The ergonomic triangle is comfortable for a 6-footer, but the handlebar is an odd bend that forced my elbows out, and I would have liked the ability to scoot back a little on the seat. The tank is a nice shape. It’s wide on top, but not where it contacts the rider; my legs fit into the side cut-outs nicely.
• Handling is really quite good. It steers effortlessly without being noticeably twitchy, which is a very nice trick, indeed. I had no opportunity to really heel it over in turns, but moderate cornering was predicable and confidence-inspiring.
• The engine has admirable oomph for a 373 cc single. Power is perfectly adequate for keeping up with around-town traffic, and slicing through it when you need to. The throttle response is a bit abrupt down low, but it pulls well almost from idle. There are noticeable vibes in all contact points at higher engine speeds, but between 3,500–5,000 RPM is a very smooth, powerful sweet spot. Shifting and clutch were good enough to be utterly unremarkable.
• The suspension is nothing too impressive, but it works remarkably well for the price point. It’s softly sprung enough to be pleasantly compliant over bumps, but the flip side is that there’s some noticeable hobby-horsing under acceleration and braking.
• The instrument display is only okay. The tach was hard to read, the display layout was gimmicky, the warning lights too dim, and the housing looked cheap.
• The seat is AWFUL. It’s like sitting on a wooden plank. Way too hard, with sharp edges on the side. I’m not usually one who complains about saddles, but the 25 minutes I rode this bike is as far as I’d ever want to go in one stretch. Hopefully there are better aftermarket options in the works, because the stock saddle would be a deal-breaker for me.
• Fit and Finish was uneven, but not horrible. The basic chassis seems well built, with a mix of cheap-looking components and others (switchgear, handlebar) that seemed really top shelf. The cosmetic details are not up to Japanese standards. For example, there were glaringly obvious wrinkles in the (gaudy) tank decals.

Overall, I think the 390 Duke has a lot of promise as an urban commuter bike, and its $4999 MSRP is reasonably competitive with other small naked road bikes. Unfortunately, I don’t think I could buy a bike so limited in scope and comfort for everyday riding, and it doesn’t have enough personality to be a purely recreational toy. For the money, there are plenty of used bikes that have a lot more character as a “fun run” weekend plaything.
And I do regret not riding one of the big V-twins.