2024 KTM 390 Duke Review Daily Rider
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TechTranscript
00:00Good day two-wheeled friends, Zach here with RevZilla and welcome to another episode of
00:10Daily Rider.
00:12Our guest today is the KTM 390 Duke.
00:15That is a 45 horsepower, 400cc motorcycle that sells for about $6,000.
00:20Historically, the 390 Duke has been more or less an entry-level motorcycle, especially
00:25here in the old US of A.
00:27But lately, it's been flirting with being premium, you might say.
00:31Lots of features and whiz-bangs and doodads that are only found on more expensive motorcycles.
00:36And that sounds good, right?
00:37But it did get me wondering if there are any repercussions or caveats to that.
00:43Sounds like we should ride to work and find out, huh?
00:45Alright, here we go everybody!
00:54Before we get going on this 390 Duke and daily ride, just a quick reminder that this episode
00:59of Daily Rider is brought to you by RevZilla.
01:02RevZilla is, of course, the YouTube channel that you are watching, but also an online
01:06platform that sells parts, apparel, and accessories for motorcycles and people who love them.
01:11So the next time you need something for you or your bike and you buy it at RevZilla, just
01:15know that some of that money is going toward making videos like this.
01:18In the meantime, thanks very much for watching.
01:23Alright everybody, 390 Duke.
01:26Lots to talk about as far as updates go, so I'll try to do that before I get too hot sitting
01:30in the sun.
01:32First up, we'll start with the engine.
01:33This is a 399cc single cylinder engine.
01:37It is a little bit bigger than it was in previous models.
01:40It got a little bit more stroke, so the piston travels a little bit farther.
01:42Displacement goes up to just under 400cc.
01:47And that meets with a whole bunch of other stuff that is new also, like the frame, which
01:51has been adjusted and tweaked to be less stiff in certain ways than the last frame,
01:57which I'm told was largely just overbuilt and too stiff for what the bike is.
02:02It's also two-piece, so it bolts to a separate composite, or aluminum maybe?
02:05I think it's a cast aluminum subframe.
02:07The two-piece frame is definitely a big update and new.
02:10It also lowers the subframe height just a little bit, which brings the seat height down
02:15a little bit, as we'll talk about in a minute.
02:17That also contributes to this side-mounted shock, which is probably done partially for
02:21style, but also creates a little bit more room for the airbox behind the engine and
02:26the muffler, which takes up quite a bit of space in the middle of the swingarm there.
02:30Other things that are new, the styling in general, of course, got a new headlight and
02:35bodywork and stuff.
02:36The wheels are new and lighter.
02:38The design of the front brake is a little bit different, I think.
02:42I don't think the last one had this spoke-mounted brake situation.
02:46And then, of course, do electronic stuff.
02:49This big old dash that we'll fire up in just a minute here, upgraded and updated switch
02:53gear.
02:54It's a pretty comprehensive overhaul for a small bike like this, and I'm told the engine
03:00was updated largely to do with Euro emissions regulations.
03:03It's a pretty common thing that manufacturers are doing now to make the engine a little
03:06bit bigger.
03:07It doesn't necessarily make a ton more peak horsepower, but it allows the regulations
03:12to be met with at least the same amount of horsepower being made.
03:16All in all, KTM tells me that the bike is 90% new compared to the old model, so it does
03:21have some carryover parts, but largely it is a new model.
03:24What else we got here?
03:26What else is new?
03:27The airbox is not something that's usually all that exciting, but I believe the old 390
03:31Duke, the airbox basically had an intake underneath the seat, kind of like a dirt bike.
03:35But now the airbox intake is actually up at the front, which theoretically provides fresher
03:38air and is obviously just more of a kind of a street bike, sport bike thing to do.
03:43So there's definitely a lot of evolution with the 390 Duke.
03:46No question about it.
03:47All right.
03:48Did I forget to talk about anything?
03:49Oh, yeah.
03:50Braking system, braided lines, which is kind of nice.
03:52Bibree caliper, which is a Brembo subsidiary I believe often found on budget or more affordable
03:58bikes.
03:59We'll talk more about how the brakes work as we ride.
04:02But other than that, I think we should just fire up the screen and then fire up the bike
04:06and hit the road, eh?
04:13Deka, deka, deka, deka, deka, deka, deka, deka, deka, deka, deka, deka, deka, deka, deka, deka.
04:16Playful, energetic little engine that we will play around with.
04:23This new headlight has these surrounds here with like LED runners that make it look kind
04:27of interesting.
04:29I think it's odd that the tone is so different, but obviously it's matching the other kind
04:33of Duke models in the lineup.
04:36So understanding that.
04:39And I think we're ready to go, people.
04:44Let's do it.
04:53All right, let's talk through some specs real quick, shall we?
04:55We're a little behind schedule here.
04:56It is a 32.2 inch seat height, I believe, which is down from 32.8, if memory serves,
05:04on the previous 390 Duke, so the seat is a shade lower.
05:09And the 3.9 gallon fuel tank was full on the daily rider scales.
05:12It tipped it at 355 pounds, which is pretty darn light for a, you know, full-size motorcycle
05:19in this day and age, even in this class, that is very light.
05:23And as I said, the engine makes about 45 horsepower and I don't remember the exact specs on that,
05:30but it's listed in the description of the video as usual.
05:35Another important thing is the price, which I believe is set at $6,300 for 2024.
05:45More importantly, what's it like to sit on and use?
05:49So the thing that I really noticed about the 390 Duke right off the bat is that it's very
05:53small.
05:54It feels small.
05:55It is light, as I said, it also just feels very compact.
05:59The seat to peg distance is short.
06:02The distance from the seat to the handlebars is short.
06:05It feels like it's made for people that are smaller than I am at 6 foot 2 and 200 pounds.
06:11That's not to say it's uncomfortable, but it definitely has a lot of attributes that
06:16I feel like make it just seem not only light, but very compact.
06:21A couple of things in that department stand out a little bit.
06:24One is the dash, which is mounted on top of the handlebar, back pretty close to my chest.
06:28And I feel like it sort of feels like it's under my chin, like I have to look way down
06:31to see it.
06:32And it feels like it might be better if it were mounted in front of the handlebar, just
06:36above the headlight out here somewhere.
06:39I think that might be more comfortable for the rider and we kind of tuck it down a little
06:43bit instead of it being kind of up so high.
06:46It would also double as a way to cover the headlight because as it stands, when I ride
06:49the motorcycle like this, I can see the headlight or rather the headlight shines in my eyes
06:55at night because I can see the face of the headlight, which points up slightly in addition
06:59to the front tire.
07:01So it's not every day you ride a motorcycle that you can see the front tire from the riding
07:04position or the front of the headlight from the riding position.
07:08In general, riding along the freeway here is pretty comfortable.
07:11There are definitely significant vibrations in the handlebar, a little bit in the seat
07:15and in the foot pegs, but not an unreasonable amount, I don't think, considering it's a
07:19little single cylinder engine there.
07:21And those are sort of famously vibey.
07:23I think it's pretty reasonable.
07:24It might make your hands tingle after a few hours, but in general, it's pretty smooth,
07:29I think.
07:30And it seems to handle this kind of thing just fine.
07:31It has plenty of power to keep up with traffic, and if you want to roll on the power to pass
07:35a car or something like that, it's definitely stout enough.
07:39And I know those were questions that were posed in the Daily Rider Instagram feed about
07:43whether or not it's even fast enough for American freeways, and my verdict is yes, definitely.
07:48This engine is still in its break-in period, so you'll see as we creep up on 70 miles an
07:52hour here, the dash will go all red because it's the suggested rev limit for the first
07:57600 miles of this engine's life.
07:58And unfortunately, this little fella is a media test bike, so it's just going to get
08:04used in the way that it needs to be used, and that rev limit's largely going to be ignored.
08:10But I think it is indicative of, if you do want to go 70, 75, or even 80 miles an hour,
08:15you're going to be not necessarily straining the engine, but you're going to be in an area
08:19of the revs where the bike, you know, it's revved up.
08:23It's not just loping along here on the freeway.
08:24It's pumping its little legs, and that also contributes to fuel mileage that was maybe
08:29not quite as high as I would have expected for a small engine like this in this day and
08:33age.
08:34My numbers were around 50 miles per gallon, which is none to sneeze at, especially with
08:38almost 4 gallons of gas on board, you're going to have decent range, but it will occasionally
08:43remind you that it's a small bore bike, and it has to hustle a little bit to keep up.
08:49As we sit in a little bit of traffic here on the bridge, I'll say that the seat is an
08:54interesting study for me.
08:55I think that it feels awfully narrow, but that does contribute to a narrow standover
08:59height as well, which is good in general.
09:02The material feels decent.
09:03It just feels a little bit like the cover is thick and the material is thin, and I think
09:08that your buns are going to get tired of it.
09:11It can't be a surprise within this category of motorcycle that that would happen because
09:16it's not a touring bike.
09:18I think some people are going to find this bike really comfortable.
09:21You don't necessarily have to be short to find it comfortable, but I do think that your
09:24chances will be better if you're below maybe 5'10 or 5'8 of this bike being really nice
09:30and comfortable for you.
09:32Yeah, maybe that's how I feel about the bike in general.
09:34It's more polarizing than I was expecting, which we'll get to more specific complaints
09:40later in the program.
09:42How are the mirrors, you ask?
09:44Pretty good.
09:45Standard KTM equipment as far as I can tell, or largely so anyway.
09:48I like the shape.
09:49They're covered in some kind of schmutz or fog or something like that right now.
09:52It's not really the bike's fault.
09:53A little buzzy at speed, just like the rest of the machine, but acceptable, I'd say.
10:03Right.
10:04We're way into the neighborhood section of the route, and we'll see how the round town
10:10manners are on the old 390 Duke.
10:12My hopes are high, if I'm being honest.
10:17Ooh, yeah, good one.
10:20In general, I think the round town manners are pretty good on this bike.
10:23I think the throttle response is decent.
10:24It can be a little herky-jerky, but one thing it seems like KTM really focused on was gentle
10:30pickup.
10:31So I'm in road mode here.
10:32There are three ride modes for no reason, as far as I can tell.
10:35In the basic road riding mode, the throttle pickup is very gentle, so you don't get that
10:39herky-jerky on-off throttle response that plagues lots and lots of motorcycles these
10:46days.
10:47Clutch feels good, too.
10:48I like that the levers are adjustable.
10:50I think that's a nice feature for a bike in this class especially.
10:54One thing I don't love is the fueling on the bike seems a little strange, and it's not
10:58to do with throttle response.
10:59Usually the on-off throttle, like I said, is the big sort of problem.
11:04With this bike, the pickup is nice, but when you open the throttle in whatever gear, in
11:11low RPM, you can kind of feel this weird little bobble where it's not quite sure.
11:16It could be mechanical, but it feels to me like it's how much fuel is getting to the
11:19engine is like a little bit inconsistent or something.
11:21I find that sensation strange, but I probably... do I prefer that?
11:27I don't know.
11:28I was going to say I prefer that to the herky-jerk of typical fueling problems, which this bike
11:31does not have.
11:32I'm not sure.
11:33It's a shame that there's a compromise at all, but in general, quite adaptable, easy
11:37bike to get used to, and of course very, very light, and a single-cylinder engine is always
11:41going to be pretty clear and communicative, I think, at low speed, and this one is that.
11:48Right, off we go.
11:49Let's see if I can get it to do that fueling thing right here.
11:53Yeah, it's just strange.
11:55It's almost like the chain is tightening up or something.
11:58It's an odd sensation, but it's subtle, at least.
12:03So, overall, round-town manners, quite good, I think.
12:08I mean, 355 pounds with a full tank, that's, I think, almost 10 pounds lighter than KTM
12:15claims it to be.
12:16I'm not questioning my weighing skills, but either way, it is an incredibly approachable
12:24motorcycle, especially considering how hard it's leaning into being a somewhat premium
12:33naked sport bike, you know?
12:34It does not have an especially low seat height.
12:36It does have a lot of options and electronics and stuff like that, and I appreciate that
12:41it's still just very, very light, which ultimately is always a good thing for a motorbike.
12:48Whoa, that is aggro.
12:52Time to talk about passenger accommodations on the 390 Duke, and, you know, bikes in this
12:57class are not famously comfortable for passengers because that's often not the goal of the clientele
13:03riders who purchase this bike, and I think the 390 Duke's largely the same.
13:08You know, it's a little naked sport bike, so the foot pegs for the passenger are pretty high.
13:12I will say the seat, though it's not super thickly padded and made for long-distance
13:17travel, was surprisingly wide back there.
13:19Maybe that's more like a styling thing than anything, but I was actually kind of impressed.
13:23I thought it is a more secure approach than I might have expected for a bike like this.
13:28So, I would give a tip of the cap to KTM for the passenger accommodations, though I don't
13:32think they're going to win any awards.
13:34Right, into the twisty road section, and this is where the 390 Duke's supposed to be really
13:38good, right?
13:39I think the little tagline on KTM.com says the corner rocket, or the pocket rocket, or
13:45something like that.
13:47It is good, in my opinion.
13:49It is good.
13:50This is where a bike being really light and small pays dividends, and it feels exactly
13:57like you'd maybe expect.
14:00The wheelbase is short.
14:01Because the riding position is so compact, you just feel like you're right over the front
14:04end and have lots of control.
14:06And, again, there's more premium features than you might expect.
14:08I think there's preload in the shock available and rebound damping, as well as compression
14:14and rebound damping in the fork, I believe.
14:16So, yeah, more adjustability than you usually get in this category of motorcycle.
14:21And, yeah, less weight than you usually get.
14:25So it's a really nice combination of sort of features and just being a solid platform,
14:29as far as I can tell, to start your sport motorcycle journey, to whatever extent that
14:34looks like.
14:36There's also a quickshifter, which works pretty darn well going up, especially.
14:40I think it might be also a down quickshifter, but I have questions about that.
14:45I read an article by a peer of mine in the motorcycle journalism industry that said it
14:49was supposed to quickshift down as well, but this one doesn't really seem to do it
14:54very well, if it's doing it.
14:56But, anyway, quickshifter's a cool feature to have, and especially going up through the
15:00gearbox on a little bike like this is where it's sort of most useful, and it works pretty
15:03well.
15:04So, yeah, take on a set of curvy roads, absolutely.
15:07And the 390 Duke's got decent fuel range, too.
15:10So if you have to ride a little ways to get to those twisty roads and enjoy that adjustable
15:15suspension and compact riding position and light chassis and agile feel and blah blah
15:21blah, then you'll be okay.
15:23Good marks for the 390 Duke, I think, as a small sport bike.
15:27All right, let's back onto surface streets here, and let's use that quickshifter, shall
15:31we?
15:32Wrap, wrap.
15:37Approaching a red light here, let's talk about this dash, shall we?
15:42Like I said, a pretty premium, nice full-color TFT situation.
15:46It does have a little charging port on the side as well, which, you know, if you want
15:49to clip your phone to the handlebar here for nav or whatever, jump into the menus.
15:53It looks like a lot of other bigger KTMs, just not quite as complex once you get in
15:56here.
15:57There are three different ride modes, as I said.
16:00Street track rain, I think it's completely unnecessary and kind of silly, to be honest,
16:03but it's cool that you can program them and tweak them and, I don't know.
16:08ABS and traction control, oh, it's green light already?
16:11I'm surprised.
16:12And also launch control and, let's see, what else?
16:18The usual mumbo-jumbo of trip meters and that kind of thing.
16:23Also some amount of Bluetooth connectivity, which I also think is unnecessary and a little
16:29silly on a bike like this, but there it is.
16:34There's this other red light we can talk about the rest of the dash here.
16:38What else we got?
16:39Launch control.
16:40Oh, this is where the speed control thing is, right, where you can turn it on and limit
16:45your speed if you want to.
16:47Anyway.
16:48Claiming 236 miles of range right now.
16:50That's pretty steeze for a little fella.
16:55So at this point, I feel like we got to circle back to that original question that we posed
16:59at the beginning of the episode, which is what is the 390 Duke trying to be?
17:04A premium small bike.
17:06Okay.
17:07I guess I'm struggling a little bit because I don't know that I think the entire package
17:11is perfect.
17:12I think the gearbox is a little bit vague sometimes.
17:15I think the brakes are good, but not great.
17:20And I think the sort of strange ergonomic things like the dash being in kind of a weird
17:26spot and the mirrors being kind of vibey.
17:29Those are things that I think I would trade for all of the adjustability in the dash.
17:37I'm inclined to compare this bike to the Honda SEL 500 that we reviewed recently here on
17:44Daily Rider.
17:45I know they're totally different bikes.
17:47I know this is a small sport bike and that's not.
17:49And that is slightly more expensive and it has a bigger engine and twin cylinder, blah,
17:53blah.
17:54So there's plenty of differences, but they're kind of close in price.
17:58And I think the thing that the SEL 500 does that I like so much is that it doesn't really
18:05over-promise anything.
18:06There's no complications in the dash.
18:08There's not a lot of electronics.
18:09There are not a lot of like crazy features, but the engine is so sweet and works so well.
18:15And the gearbox is excellent.
18:17And it just feels like it has so much poise and kind of class.
18:22And the 390 Duke is not, I'm not suggesting that it's a hugely low quality piece of equipment
18:28or anything like that.
18:29I just, I have to question what direction it's pointed and what it wants to be.
18:37And it feels like it's trying to advance itself before it perfects itself.
18:41I know that's nitpicky, but I have that overwhelming sense when I ride this bike.
18:46And it's fun and energetic and cool.
18:49I just, I don't know if it's ready for all the things that it has quite yet.
18:55But anyway, hopefully it's ready for a dirt road because that's what we're going to try next here.
19:00Yo, dirt road shortcut.
19:02Play around with that trash control, which is fairly simplistic.
19:05It's just on or off, I think.
19:07I don't actually think this bike needs trash control, but this will be a good test.
19:13TC is doing the thing here.
19:15Not letting me do anything too stupid.
19:17That's really, I couldn't power really severely at low speeds.
19:20Okay, so let's see if I'm, oh, ABS letting me do a big lock up there.
19:26Let's see if I'm right about this, that we don't need trash control.
19:29Trash control off, release button, no TC, here we go.
19:39I mean, could you get yourself in trouble with this bike with trash control off?
19:43Yeah, I mean, theoretically, especially if you're doing stupid stuff like this, like riding in the dirt or whatever.
19:49I just don't know if this bike needs trash control.
19:52I'm not saying it won't help anybody.
19:55I'm not saying it's a bad feature in general.
19:57I just, I don't know that it needs it.
20:01It's pretty reasonable without it, as far as I can tell.
20:06Fairly confidence inspiring motorcycle on a dirt road though.
20:11I guess, you know, KTM, they got dirt bike roots.
20:13Maybe that's part of it.
20:15Okie doke, while we wait for this traffic to clear here, I'm going to jump back into the options and go to ABS, which has kind of a nifty feature here.
20:24We can use Supermoto ABS, which is front ABS on, rear ABS off.
20:28And for those of you who know Daily Rider, you will know why I'm doing that.
20:35All right, we're on the home stretch here.
20:37Let's see if we can get a wheelie out of this little sucker.
20:40Oh yeah.
20:42Oh, look at that.
20:43Oh, hey.
20:44Oh, look at you go, little guy.
20:47Maybe it does need trash control.
20:49Unruly little brawler here.
20:53All right, we'll see if we can back it in here.
20:55Oh, we got to be careful of this big truck here.
20:57But yes, you can back it in with that Supermoto ABS.
21:02Really fun, really fun feature, in my opinion.
21:06It's sort of a cultural thing with KTM, I think.
21:08And I appreciate that they applied it to this bike because it's a hoot.
21:15It's true to the Duke name.
21:17It's a little bit rowdy.
21:19And it's supposed to be, I think.
21:23Right.
21:24No parking spaces, as usual these days.
21:26But I'm going to line up along this line here.
21:30And I'm going to go full lock left.
21:31And we're going to see what we can get for a turning radius.
21:33Oh, yeah.
21:34I mean, 1.5, 1.6.
21:36Nice tight turning radius.
21:37As you'd expect from a bike like this with short wheelbase and meant to be a sort of urban brawler.
21:44I like it.
21:47Okie doke.
21:48Survived another daily ride.
21:50The old 390 Duke.
21:55Popular little machine.
21:57Still rev happy.
21:59And feels like it's got a whiff of performance to it.
22:03Even if it's not wickedly fast.
22:05All right.
22:06Let's talk Instagram questions.
22:07I'm sure you all have some good questions to ask.
22:10Okay.
22:11First question here is from Bike Murns, which goes something like this.
22:15What a great platform to discuss rider aids on, quote unquote, beginner bikes.
22:19At what point, if ever, does technology start hindering rider aids?
22:23At what point, if ever, does technology start hindering skill development?
22:27I appreciate this very much, Mike Burns, that you brought this up.
22:31This is a weird cultural thing, right?
22:33I also have the same feeling.
22:35Like, should riders who are buying entry-level motorcycles like a KTM 390 Duke have all these doodads like a quick shifter or traction control?
22:44Should you not have to spend some time learning how to ride a motorcycle that does not have those things so that you are a better, more skilled, more complete rider?
22:54You could argue you should.
22:56Yeah.
22:57And that this is, you know, like all these trickle-down things are trickling down too much and too far.
23:03This is super subjective.
23:04I definitely take the point of old Bike Murns here as you move through your motorcycling career.
23:11Maybe you're past this point already.
23:12But if you're not, I think that this is an interesting comment.
23:15I don't know what the answer is.
23:16I'm not in charge of what features end up on bikes.
23:18But I think it's something worth thinking about.
23:20On that topic, actually, the next question is from WiseRepoMan, who says,
23:24Considering this KTM 390 Duke versus Yamaha MT-03 for my 16-year-old son's first motorcycle.
23:30He's had dirt bikes and is ready to step up.
23:32Power seems better on the Yamaha and reliability is typically great.
23:36Not sure a 390 Duke needs tech features and riding modes.
23:39So is the extra cost worth it?
23:41Which bike would you recommend?
23:42I would probably just recommend a simpler bike.
23:45I think I might even rather have a simpler bike if I was 16.
23:48I'm not sure, actually.
23:49I'm trying to put myself in that mindset.
23:50Would I have wanted the fancy business, all the coolest, latest features that do all the things?
23:56Maybe.
23:57Maybe I would have wanted the color screen and the blah, blah, blah.
23:59I don't know.
24:01I can't help but think, though, that my instinct is to just say, yeah, get the simpler bike.
24:06Get the thing that is less complex and more raw.
24:11And then, you know, eventually step up to something that has all of these features.
24:16So I think that is my recommendation.
24:18But, you know, if you go a different direction, I'm not going to be surprised or sad or anything.
24:23I get the attraction of all the things.
24:25Yeah, I just don't know if I think it's necessary.
24:28Next question is from Haldi Honey, who says,
24:30Question directly related to my actual real-life situation at the moment.
24:33I'm in a sub-400cc class for kart track races.
24:36Is this bike really, quote, unquote, ready to race?
24:39And are you picking this or the RC390 or Kawasaki Ninja 400 or perhaps the Kawasaki ZX4RR?
24:46Interesting question.
24:47I think it's probably closer to ready to race than any other bike in this category.
24:51I would probably get this for racing around a kart track instead of an RC390, which has all the bodywork and stuff,
24:57which just means more panels to scratch and screw up.
24:59I think I'd probably just get a naked bike.
25:01Why not?
25:02Same goes to the Ninja 400.
25:03The ZX4RR is not going to be any fun at a go-kart track.
25:05Don't even think about that.
25:07That bike's really only fun above 10,000 RPM.
25:09And, yeah, don't do that.
25:11You could also consider, like, hopping up a Honda CB300 or something like that.
25:15It's just going to be crazy cheap to fix if and when you tip it over.
25:18And it has a decent chassis right out of the box.
25:20Good gearbox.
25:21Slow and unsophisticated compared to a bike like this.
25:24But, yeah, I think I'd probably just go with a naked sport bike of some kind in this category, if that's what you're after.
25:29Is this bike, out of the box, the most sophisticated and closest to being ready to race?
25:33Yeah, probably.
25:34But, again, I might lean towards something that's more simplistic,
25:37just because I feel like that might be better in the long run for what you're trying to do, race around a kart track.
25:42Anyway, have fun.
25:44Next question is from Edomex Sucks, who asks,
25:48Does it feel as nice of an all-round bike as its Chinese competitor, the CFMoto 450NK?
25:55Yeah, approximately.
25:56I mean, there's some stuff about it that just sort of feels premium and high quality because it's from KTM.
26:01And it feels like it's engineered by KTM.
26:03And that is a good thing because KTM has a higher standing in the world of motorcycling, in my opinion, anyway, than CFMoto.
26:10But, in general, the quality and use is quite similar, I think.
26:14I might even prefer that CFMoto engine.
26:16I really like that little 450cc parallel twin with the 270 crank.
26:20It's a fun engine.
26:21I didn't spend a ton of time on it, but I would say that it's comparable.
26:24I might even prefer the engine.
26:25I'd probably prefer the user interface and the equipment on this bike.
26:29But are they comparable?
26:30I think they are.
26:31I think if I were to ride them back-to-back and do an actual comparison,
26:35I have a hunch that the KTM would come out on top.
26:38But I do think they're in the same category.
26:41And I think that says a lot.
26:42Last question is from CoreUg, who asks,
26:46The 390 Duke is doing laundry at 2am at the laundromat.
26:50How is it passing the time?
26:53Great question. I love this.
26:55What kind of personality is it, right?
26:57I think the 390 Duke doing laundry at 2am is scrolling TikTok and drinking an energy drink.
27:06And I don't even know how to make enough analogies for young people these days.
27:10I'm getting so flipping old.
27:12But that's the kind of energy that it has.
27:14It's texting its friends.
27:16It's doing all the things that young people do.
27:19That's the kind of slightly frenetic energy that this bike has.
27:23It's a little bit unpredictable.
27:25And it's always looking for something exciting to do.
27:29It just wants to have fun.
27:33Okay. Hope that helps.
27:34Thanks so much for hanging out.
27:35I appreciate all your questions, as usual.
27:37Stick with me.
27:38Let's put this sucker on the Daily Rider leaderboard and see where it lands.
27:43Howdy doke, everybody.
27:44Here we are inside RevZilla West.
27:46We're at the Daily Rider leaderboard.
27:48We have a KTM 390 Duke badge ready to go.
27:51As a quick reminder of the top of the leaderboard here, we got BMW R1300GS at the top,
27:56followed by two KTMs, the 890 SMT and the 1390 Super Duke.
28:00I don't think the 390 Duke is going to play in the same part of the leaderboard as its siblings here,
28:09the SMT and the Super Duke.
28:11Sorry.
28:12So where is it going to fall?
28:13What are some good comparisons?
28:14Ninja 500 SE, the 390 Duke is a naked bike.
28:17And the Ninja 500 is a sport bike with a fairing.
28:20But they're very, very comparable when it comes to usability and, you know,
28:24how practically they will feel underneath the rider on a daily basis,
28:29despite the engine differences and that kind of thing.
28:31Which one is better?
28:33That's the question.
28:34And it's the Ninja 500.
28:36Ducati Hyper 698 Mono.
28:38That's kind of an interesting bike to talk about.
28:42Because in some ways that's like a just bigger, more extreme version of a 390 Duke, right?
28:46It's like a, well, it's a single cylinder.
28:49But it's also sort of like premium, lots of electronics, lots of nifty features.
28:53But it's much more pointed.
28:55It's much taller.
28:56It's much less accommodating than the 390 Duke.
29:00I think the 390 Duke is going to land above that.
29:02The 390 Duke is going to fall in here somewhere.
29:04Does it fall above the SCL 500 or below the SCL 500?
29:07It really is tricky.
29:08Because I answered this question just now about, you know,
29:11someone wanted to go to a kart track and race around.
29:14I mean, the SCL 500, there's no way I would recommend that bike for doing something like that.
29:19You know, if you want that whiff of performance or you're kind of like,
29:22you're leaning in that sporty direction.
29:24Track days, that kind of thing.
29:25Like the KTM 390, like it just, it absolutely, it embodies that.
29:30But it's not about going to track days necessarily.
29:33On the daily rider leaderboard, it's much more sort of global or holistic or whatever.
29:39Larger view, I suppose, of motorcycling is what we try to take here.
29:43So the KTM 390 Duke has launch control.
29:47I don't know why.
29:49Do we want to teach the younger generation, the new generation, new motorcyclists,
29:54however old or young they are, how to use launch control?
29:57Is that what we're trying to do here?
29:58We're trying to like let people understand how it works?
30:02Or is it literally just a gimmick?
30:06And I think that's the big problem that I have with the 390 Duke is that
30:1330% of the time I started it, it stalled immediately.
30:16And it just kind of has this like weird energy where it's all very like
30:22high-strung and excited about everything.
30:24Everything's awesome and exciting.
30:26And it seems like that's almost what the engineers that worked on the bike
30:30dumped into it a little bit is this energy of like,
30:33we got to add all the things that we can add.
30:35What can we add on there?
30:36Let's add all of the things that can be added.
30:39But I don't think at its core,
30:42it's a better motorcycle than the ultra simplistic
30:47and admittedly flawed Honda SCL 500.
30:51I don't think it's better.
30:52And I don't think I'd be sooner to recommend it.
30:54Unless you're going to a car track to race around,
30:57then you know who you are.
30:59So it does feel like a rough spot to land.
31:02Keep in mind, this is a small bore motorcycle.
31:04You know, just above it, SCL 500 and the Ninja 500,
31:07those are both bikes that I hold in quite high regard.
31:10Everything else above it is a premium, much larger, more capable motorcycle.
31:15I've had fun on the bike.
31:17I think it's a product that will speak to a lot of people.
31:19I love what it is trying to do.
31:23And I even like the sort of aura of it,
31:27but I'm not sold on the final product.
31:31And so that's why it has maybe fallen below some bikes
31:34that you would have expected it to beat out on the Daily Rider Leader.
31:37But I hope that my criticisms, if nothing else, make sense to you
31:40and they offer you some perspective
31:42so that you know or have a better idea
31:45where not only the 390 Duke falls on the Daily Rider Leader board,
31:48but also where it sits in the world of motorcycling
31:51and in your own mind's eye and in your own heart.
31:54So I think that's all I got for you.
31:56I appreciate you hanging out.
31:58As always, stay tuned for more Daily Riders coming down the line.
32:01And ride safe. See you next time, everybody.