KTM’s 390 Duke is aimed purely at new riders, right? I mean, it’s only got a tiny 373cc single-cylinder engine, a small chassis and brakes from a company no one has ever heard of, so it’s probably best we just give it to people who don’t know any better while we ride hulking V-twins and four-cylinder monsters, laughing our asses off and forgetting we were once green as grass like them.
It may be little, but the 390 Duke packs a heck of a punch.
Then they pass us around the outside, squeezing every last one of the 43 hp out of the little bike that could—because they can—and disappear into the distance. Suddenly the thought dawns—maybe that little orange bike might be worth trying. All of a sudden you realize what many have always known, and feel like a bit of an idiot. That little bikes are stupid, stupid amounts of fun.
I love little bikes. Some are better than others, granted, but I get a perverse pleasure from rounding up big bikes and making them look silly on back roads – not straights, I’m not that daft. Still my favorite bike I’ve ever owned was my 1998 Suzuki RGV250 two-smoker; you could get away with murder on that thing and properly embarrass those who believe the best way to going faster is to have more displacement. Maybe they were just compensating for something.
Now, the 390 Duke is no RGV, I’ll give you that, but it’s part of the new breed of small-displacement weapons now available in the U.S. This is the first time this machine has become available here, but the model has been on sale in Europe and Australasia since about mid-2013. I got to have a crack on one at the world launch in Austria in a freezing cold February ’13, and loved every second of it. That hasn’t changed. Neither has the bike, with the exception of ABS and new colors. But for the sake of this article, it is all brand new.
The engine is a gem and will surprise even experienced riders.
KTM’s been in the news of late because they believe the way forward is small to medium displacement machines. KTM CEO Stefan Pierer going as far as to say bikes like souped-up RC8s are too dangerous for public roads (check the interview with Alan Cathcart in issues six and seven of Cycle News) and are suited for track-only riding. I think Mr Pierer has forgotten about his Super Duke R, the biggest, baddest nakedbike on the face of the planet… But while I may not necessarily agree with his view point, I can see his logic in expanding his line-up by creating bikes like the 390 Duke and the RC390, because these are the bikes that will get people hooked on motorcycling in the first place.
The 390 Duke is one of those bikes that puts a smile on your face when you ride it. It’s got funky, edgy styling, a great little engine and gearbox and it’s comfy, too. It’s one of those bikes that remind me of why I love motorcycling; it reminds me a little of my old XR400 Honda. In a world gone mad with acronyms that sound like they’re from NASA – SCS, TCS, AWC, ETC. – the 390 Duke is nice and simple. Yeah it’s got ABS, so there’s an acronym there, and it’s also got EFI, another acronym, but it’s basically a 400-class single-cylinder dirtbike engine, one that will throw up more than enough punch to do second gear wheelies and pull hard enough to get a move on from low revs in third and sometimes fourth gear. I’m not saying it’s going to pull the skin off a rice pudding, because it’s far from what I would call powerful, but in there’s the rub – it’s so easy to exploit, totally unintimidating yet fun to use. Kinda like a Fiat 500, just in bike form. Yes it sounds tinny on start up and puny when you open the gas, but after about two minutes I was having so much fun that I simply didn’t care.
ABS comes as standard fitment on the 390 Duke, as the Bybre (which stands for By Brembo) brakes.
And like a little Fiat you’ll get a few vibes, especially through the handlebars and ’pegs, even though they’re rubber mounted. It’s a single-cylinder, after all, so you’re never going to get rid of all the vibrations. And as it’s a single you’re not going to get the world’s smoothest throttle action, either. It can be a little jerky in low revs when going from full closed to about half throttle, but it’s something you quickly get used to.
The little 89 x 60mm engine isn’t a one trick pony, either. It’ll give you power right up to the soft-action rev limiter, although it does tend to trail off once you get really high up the rev range. You can also short shift between third and fourth gear under acceleration, keeping the motor singing in the 5-7000rpm range. The gearbox action is pretty nice, not the smoothest I’ve ever encountered, but if you preload the ’box slightly you’ll get a better shift than if you just bang up the gearbox like you would a single-cylinder dirtbike. The cable-operated clutch is super light and has plenty of feel which is great for new riders – if you disconnect the ABS you can play around with the clutch and rear wheel by backing the Duke into corners, but that’s not recommended. Pretty fun, though.
The steel trellis chassis of the Duke is beautifully matched to the character of the engine in that it just does what you want, when you want it. The bike only weighs a claimed 306 pounds so you really can throw the thing around like a football in tight corners. The front inverted WP suspension is unadjustable, which I find a bit disappointing, because if you’re a tad on the heavy side like me you could find the front slightly under-damped. If you could wind the preload up a bit it would make a big difference, but the front suspension works well up to a point, at which stage you’re probably going a tad faster than the posted speed limit…
The same can be said of the front brakes. Made by Bybre (it’s an abbreviation for By Brembo), a subsidiary company of Brembo and manufactured in India for sub-600cc models. Initial bite is pretty good but prolonged hard use will induce some fade. ABS is a great edition and you have to squeeze the lever pretty hard for it to work, at which point you’ll get a slight pulse at the lever. It’s pretty unobtrusive. It’ll be interesting to see how the brakes stand up to the punishment the kids in MotoAmerica in the RC390 Cup will dish out, as they will be giving them more of a flog than anyone in history.
The little Duke is supremely nimble in corners and great fun to ride at speed.
The WP monoshock’s damping characteristics are slightly better than the front. You can alter the shock by way of preload, and I found the ride to be nicer on the rear compared to the front. The ride itself is comfortable and despite what I’ve heard many people say in the past, I really like the wide profile seat as it’s got quite a hard foam – I spent the best part of eight hours in the saddle in one day when we were out doing photos and I’ve been a damn sight more sore after that amount of time on many other bikes.
One of the biggest plusses I can give this bike is the tires it rolls on. A learner bike such as this coming out with Pirelli Diablo Rosso II tires as standard is pretty neat, and they do an awesome job of letting you get away with stuff inferior rubber would not. The grip the tire gives off is way beyond what the engine is capable of overcoming, save for a full front brake burnout (which it’ll do, just make sure you turn off the ABS).
The excellent rubber allows wicked fast turning, as well as dependable mid-corner traction that helps the chassis give off that stable, solid feel, even when the chassis is as small as this one.
And it is small. Tall riders (over 6’2”) will probably find this chassis just too small. I’m 6’1” and I’m right on the limit for what is acceptable for a 390 Duke, especially as my long legs have trouble fitting behind the tank shrouds. The rider size becomes more apparent when on the freeway; the tiny screen does next to nothing at speed and you’ll end up becoming a human parachute. But the little engine will keep you rolling at freeway speeds, no problem. It likes a drink—on my test I ended up getting 51 miles to the gallon, and I noticed the fuel gauge wasn’t totally accurate—the last half of the tank went a lot quicker than the first half, even though I was babying it on the freeway.
The 390 looks just like a shrunk 690 and it’s clear KTM is trying to suck new riders in and keep them in the orange fold.
But despite this annoyance, I still love the little orange bike that could. I like the fact it looks like the 690 as the 690 looks like the 1290; I like the fact you can ride the nuts off it and still be in a safe comfort zone; and I like the fact it’s a great bike to get people into motorcycling who wouldn’t normally consider it. It’s simple, does everything you could want if you’re a beginner or even if you’re more experienced, and does a good job of inspiring new KTM riders to want a 690, or even a 1290 Super Duke later down the line.
But most of all I like the KTM 390 Duke because it’s bloody good fun to ride.
Specifications
Engine: Liquid-cooled, four-stroke, single-cylinder, water-cooled
Displacement: 373.2cc
Bore x stroke: 89 x 60mm
Horsepower: 43 hp
Ignition: Key
Transmission: Six speed
Frame type: Steel trellis
Front suspension: WP inverted forks, non-adjustable
Rear suspension: WP monoshock, preload adjustable
Front wheel travel: 5.2 in.
Rear wheel travel: 5.2 in.
Front brake: Single disc, four-piston Bybre calipers, ABS
Rear brake: Single disc, single-piston caliper, ABS
Front tire: Pirelli Diablo Rosso II 110/70 R17 54H.
Rear tire: Pirelli Diablo Rosso II 150/60 R17 66H
Head angle: 65°
Trail: 4.6 in.
Seat height: 31.5 in.
Weight: 306 lbs.
Color: Orange/Black
MSRP: $4999
