KTM 390 Duke

Simply outstanding – UPDATED REVIEW I bought my 2020 390 Duke new (in July 2021) and have now ridden it 15,000kms in all circumstances from freeway running to rough and rocky fire trails. It was a step up for me from a 200 Duke that I rode for 20,000 kms and thought was a brilliant little machine. I sold that, and a 1992 Honda Dominator I used as a touring bike, and chose the 390 Duke as my one-bike-only: a cheap-to-run, agile machine that's fun for short trips, but also a bike comfortable and long-legged enough to be able to handle an interstate trip. The 390 Duke fits those roles very well indeed. And it fits me perfectly - I'm 174cm tall and 65kg. It also fits my budget - at around $7500 on the road it is astonishingly good value. The 390 Duke has a 373cc high-compression engine that has LOTS of power if ever you get up past 6500rpm or so. Mostly I'm riding at 6500 or lower at or near the speed limit on country roads where it performs admirably and returns fuel figures around 3.6 litres per 100km. Push it hard and you'll use significantly more than that, obviously - so mostly I don't. It is a fabulous bike on a winding road, stable over bumpy corners, with slick gear changing (it doesn't need the clutch up in 3,4,5,6....) and powerful brakes (with ABS). Of particular appeal to me is its light weight: it feels highly responsive to the tiniest inputs, yet secure and steady at speed. In the shed, or parking, its so easy to move around. The seat is comfortable for two hours or more when touring. My daughter doesn't take up a lot of space, and assures me that for her the pillion seat is fine for extended trips. There's no screen (but KTM offer an after-market one at a not-unreasonable price) and there's a bit of pressure on the chest at 120 on the freeway - but it's quite tolerable. Night travelling is easy, with classy all-round LED lighting - the headlight is literally brilliant. I've added rear pannier frames so I can tie stuff on when touring. And bar-end mirrors. And a KTM tankbag. Instrumentation is the sort of high-tech offering that comes with expensive bikes - a TFT display with a switch panel that lets you choose from umpteen options. Once you've been through the twenty pages or so in the instruction book you can make sense of it, and appreciate all the on-board monitoring that the tiny computer is doing for you. Clever stuff. And the looks? Orange/white/black in a scheme that's dramatic and just short of outrageous. I absolutely love it. People come up and talk to me about it when it's parked. It is such a hooligan design, the whole bike. It has a unique feel about it. You have to test-ride one to understand. Summed up, the 390 Duke is a five-star package with more than a little milky-way magic about it. Now 15000 kms and no problems. Carries camping gear on long trips, ten hours in the saddle quite comfortable, outstanding highway overtaking power when dropped to fifth gear, 300 km between refuels. Servicing at dealership is around $250. It’s light on tyres and all-round cheap to run. It might be a ‘learner bike’ but in performance and compact character it makes most bikes outside the learner class seem to me like wasteful excess. Thanks KTM – there’s no better value for money than the 390 Duke. And its woo-hoo! looks are a work of art.