Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Anyone own a KTM Duke 390

The shop over in Austin had a good number of KTM and Husky but I was not looking beyond the 390.

There are six 690's within 250 miles but double the price of the 390 so ~8K

Yep. You can also go to Procycle and get you a 790 kit for a DR650 and rip it offroad also.
https://procycle.us/model/suzuki/dr650

It's only money.

The suspension may be fine for the dirt, but it's horrible for my use on the street other than getting from point A to B.

You have had both correct?

Is the engine buzz better managed on the 390 over the 690?

Well, mine had a tuned suspension, so I'm probably a bit biased. The stock suspension sucks.

No I only have owned the 690 and ridden a 390.

The 390 seemed smoother but I don't know that I'd feel the same way if I had ridden it extensively.

The 690 truly rips. The 390 is just cool.

I can't speak to the DR but I was fully prepared to jump on a 450L.

Until I rode it in the city for an hour.

Fugk that thing.

I had a bevy of motocross bikes in the late 70s through the mid 80s, from 125s up to fire breathing 500s.
This Honda CR 250 could wheelie until I ran out of gearing.

Impressive White Claw capacity.

Every family should have one.

I've been riding since I was 7 years old. I've had a z50R, XR80R, Yamaha DT50, Kawasaki KDX 200, Honda Nighthawk 750, Yamaha R1 and the latest was a KTM 300XCW that I bought to ride with with my son. I've always enjoyed bikes but with the advent of cell phones, I don't think I'll be getting back on the street any time too soon. I had looked at a KTM 790 not too long aog but the price scared me away as well as the aforementioned. The Duke looks fun.

I had it bad for a long time; owned and rode a lot of bikes. Sold the last of them in 2008 and missed it badly. I wouldn't even go into a bike shop for years. May get back into it someday when the kids are out but we'll see.

It was in the 30's yesterday but I took a roadtrip to ride a 690, the 390 is off the list.

Too hard to pass up 73hp and 55ft-lbs of torque in chassis 3 lbs lighter, the 390 would be fun in town but I doubt on a track where I would like to ride soon, for fun and the experience. The 4-piston Brembo front caliper grabbing a 320mm disc was miles ahead of the 390. It was amazingly quick hitting 80 on a 1-2 pulls easy, I kept hitting redline around 9,500 in first and it lays down fast, I would learn to shift it correctly after a few rides.

The only annoyance was low speed turn in was way too fast for my taste with 26.5 degrees of rake vs 23 on the ZX14R, 24.5 on the Z1000SX and 25 on the N400 predecessors. It was equally annoying as the KLX400SM I rode a month ago.

As far as the appearance, the fugly breadbox has to go.

There was a 2020 SV650 in the showroom for 6,500 and 1,500 less than the KTM. And no way would I pay more for an '18 KTM 690 than I forked over for my '15 ZX14R that was a good deal for that bike...but I have a plan

Did ya trip your 690?

Picked it up Sunday, a ton more fun than the KLR and especially when only about 500 more than the average price of a 2017+ Duke 390

Veddy, veddy nice!

My only KTM was a completely different genre.
It could however wheelie a mile.

You got my attention 'Flave. I have been looking at new bikes for some time. I'm in no hurry to buy as I have 2 now. But, you never know.

kwg