KTM 390 Duke – 125cc on steroids! 🏍

So after waiting for what felt like an eternity for the SWM Gran Milano 440, I moved onto looking for another motorbike, and to cut a long story about getting made redundant short, I found a new job and a bike pretty much in the same time frame. 

 

My new bike is the KTM 390 Duke. This bike didn’t come up on my radar due to me thinking that it would be well outside of my budget. How wrong was I! It was not much more than the SWM and came loaded with tech that's not on most high end bikes, like a TFT screen. It seemed the right bike for what I wanted. Light and powerful but not excessive.

Moody weather on the B5013

I have now had the bike for over a week and I am really impressed with it. It has the handling of a 125cc which makes this bike really agile around town in traffic, and out in the hills it shows that it can handle corners without hesitation. This might have something to do with the 390 Duke sharing the same frame and suspension as the 125 Duke. I took the 390 out to the B5013 the first day I had it to test how good it would be on one of my favourite roads, and I was very impressed. The light handling mixed with the power of 44hp makes the 390 Duke a wild ride.

I can see why the 390 Duke is marketed as “The Corner Rocket”. I also took the 390 out into the Peak District to see how well it would handle the ups, downs and bends of the Derbyshire Dales. When I returned from my journey I couldn't believe how far over on the tyres I had got. I’m surprising myself with how well I’m getting on with this bike and how comfortable I feel when I ride it. I think once the 600mile service has been done I’ll be able to really test the bike in the corners without having to keep one eye on the rev counter, due to the bike being in its "running in" stage, and the rev counter flashing at 6,500rpm to remind you to change up or slow down. Once the 600mile service is done, I'll give more detail on how the bike is with a full rev range.

A funny side to this bike is the under seat storage. There isn't much but it does come with a toolkit. And you'll manage to fit a small wedge of cheese in amongst the wires. Dovedale Blue is the cheese if anyone is wondering. 🧀

Cheese smuggling in action.

If you want an in depth review there are plenty on the internet but my small conclusion is; if you're after a bike thats practical around town and fun at the weekend, consider the KTM 390 Duke. Its not as expensive as you think and its got a lot more tech on it than its closest rivals. And at 44hp its got the legs to keep up with people on bigger bikes, you'll get them in the corners! Oh and the seat isnt too bad either.

Dont forget i'm on Twitter and Instagram. I hope to be posting more on these channels soon.

Ride safe & eat cake

Lardy 🧈