KTM 390 Duke R

When the KTM 390 Duke was first launched in India back in 2013, it really changed the game for Indian motorcycle enthusiasts. For the first time in the country, we got a 40+ horsepower bike for a reasonable price. Not just outright performance, but the lightweight 390 Duke was an extremely capable handler too. In 2017, the second generation 390 Duke was launched, which kept the same engine, almost the same chassis, but came equipped with a lot of new features - electronic riding aids like cornering traction control, cornering ABS, a ride-by-wire throttle and a 5-inch colour TFT screen with smartphone connectivity.

In 2023, KTM introduced the third generation of the 390 Duke in India - an all-new bike in almost all aspects - a new chassis, a larger 399cc engine and some new features too. Now I’ve owned the first gen 390 Duke since 2013 and have also extensively ridden the second generation bike. So naturally, I was looking forward to testing this latest 390 Duke and finding out just how much of an improvement it is over its predecessors.

Right at first glance, it’s clear that KTM has completely redesigned the 390 Duke for 2023. Yet, the design is unmistakably “Duke” for all angles. The trapezoidal LED headlight is somewhat similar to the one from the Gen 2 bike, but it’s now flanked on either side by LED DRLs (Daytime Running Lights), and the plastic tank shrouds are even larger and extend further forward, making this new Duke look even more muscular and aggressive than before. The only other bike that looks somewhat as aggressive in this segment is the TVS Apache RTR 310. The exhaust, which was side mounted on the Gen 2 390 Duke, is now a clean underbelly unit, which makes the mid portion of the bike look really sleek. What’s most striking about the design is the extruded aluminium rear subframe which looks particularly impressive on the Atlantic Blue and Gunmetal Grey paint schemes.

KTM 390 Duke colours

Speaking of paint schemes, the 390 Duke is available in three colours - the aforementioned Atlantic Blue, Gunmetal Grey and Electronic Orange. Of these colours, the Atlantic Blue looks the best according to me as dark blue tank shrouds really complement the matte grey fuel tank and orange frame and wheels. For the first time in all my years of riding KTMs, I can say that the Orange colour scheme is my least favourite, as there's just too much orange everywhere. In fact, it has three different shades of orange all over - gloss orange on the plastic panels, metallic orange on the tank and yet another slightly different shade of orange on the rider’s seat. And even the subframe is painted black, which really hides how good that looks.

390 Duke wheels

KTM has also changed the wheel design for the 2023 390 Duke. Now the 17-inch alloy wheels have a slim 5-spoke design with the front brake mounted on the spokes rather than the wheel hub. This not only looks more sporty, but has helped KTM shave off unsprung mass, but we’ll get to how that helps later.

KTM 390 Duke quality

The overall build quality of the 2023 KTM 390 Duke feels quite solid, but I did find some uneven panel gaps where the plastic shrouds sit over the metallic fuel tank. So while fit-and-finish isn’t the best in class, I don’t believe this Duke leaves you wanting in terms of quality.

The KTM 390 Duke gets IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) based rider aids like cornering traction control and cornering ABS. These adjust their parameters based on the bike’s lean angle, speed, etc. Honestly, I wasn’t really able to “test” these features out. A couple of times on slippery concrete roads, when I opened the throttle hard, I did see the traction control light blink for a second or two. But the traction control system never cut power abruptly, instead finely reducing power output to minimise loss of grip. These systems work in the background to keep the rider safe, and I’m glad they were there to catch me if I slipped up.

The 390 Duke also has 3 riding modes - Rain, Street and Track. Rain mode has been designed to reduce engine power and throttle response to keep you safe on wet roads. I never got to test the bike in the rain, but I could immediately feel the reduction in performance when switching to Rain mode. Street mode lets you use the full power of the bike with a sharp throttle response. But it’s so well calibrated that for most riders, Street mode will be the sweet spot for their daily rides.

All the KTMs that are built by Bajaj get really compact and well designed crash guards. Now I didn’t crash the bike to find out just how well they perform. But just looking at their design, it’s pretty clear that most bits of your bike will be quite safe in case of a minor crash.

390 Duke Convenience features

The Gen 3 KTM 390 Duke gets an updated 5-inch colour TFT instrument console. The information on this screen is very well laid out and easy to read, even under harsh sunlight. The screen also has a “Track Mode”, which also enables Launch Control, and displays a lap timer too. Honestly, I found this a bit gimmicky, but Launch Control is great for getting those lightning quick starts in a drag race. But using this launch control often is also an easy way to eat up your clutch plates. So I would recommend against using it constantly.

The screen also supports smartphone connectivity with Bluetooth using the KTM Connect App for things like Call and Music control, as well as turn-by-turn navigation. Call and music control work when you have both your smartphone and Bluetooth helmet headset paired with the console. But I didn’t end up using these functions much as this doesn’t let you pull up your phone’s voice assistant using your helmet headset. As for navigation, it only works through the KTM Connect app and uses Sygic Maps which need to be downloaded for your region. These maps are nowhere as good as Google Maps, and I would recommend mounting a phone on the handlebar for navigation instead.

The 390 Duke also gets Cruise Control - a segment first feature. And while it might seem a bit outlandish to use cruise control on our crazy highways, I actually found the feature to be quite useful. When riding along on the highway, I would occasionally engage cruise control when the road ahead was empty enough, mainly so that I could relax my throttle hand for a little while. And these small moments of using cruise control really added up in reducing fatigue in my right hand over a long ride.

Rider comfort

I’m 5’9” in height and weigh about 82kg. I’ve always found the Gen 1 Duke a bit cramped in terms of my seating position, while the Gen 2 390 Duke felt a bit stretched out. I feel that the Gen 3 however, strikes the perfect middle ground. And I’m certain a lot of riders will feel the same way. The 800mm seat height was low enough for me to comfortably get both my feet on the ground every time I came to a stop. And I believe, even shorter riders - those who are 5’5” or 5’6”, won’t really struggle to find their footing on this bike. What I appreciated most about the 390 Duke’s seat was the sheer length it offered. I could easily slide back and forth on the seat to find the most comfortable position for myself. Even larger riders should appreciate this.

The seat foam though, is a bit on the firmer side. Lighter riders might find it a bit too hard, but heavier riders will certainly be more comfortable on this seat. The footpeg position though is a bit sporty and rear set. So if you’re on the taller side or if you’re not used to sporty riding positions, your legs might feel a bit cramped after a long ride.

The pillion seat on the Gen 3 KTM 390 Duke has been lowered compared to the Gen 2 bike. So climbing on to the rear seat is quite easy, if you’re short. Plus the seat itself is much wider. I did spend a bit of time on the rear seat as one of my colleagues took me around town, and I found the rear seat experience really comfortable. Even the pillion footpegs are not set too high, so it doesn’t push your knees too high up, unlike what you experience on the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650.

KTM 390 Duke Engine

The 2023 KTM 390 Duke is powered by a 399cc single-cylinder liquid-cooled engine that’s not only 26cc larger than the previous gen 373cc engine, but it also has a peak power output of 46PS @ 8500rpm and its peak torque is 39Nm @ 6500rpm (2.5PS and 2Nm more than before). This makes the Duke the most powerful bike in its class. The only other naked bikes that come close in performance numbers are the Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450 (40PS & 40Nm) and the Triumph Speed 400 (40PS & 37.5Nm). But thanks to KTM’s aggressive nature, in my actual performance test, the 390 Duke ended up being much quicker than the Guerrilla or the Speed 400.

390 Duke City performance

The Gen 1 and Gen 2 KTM 390 Dukes used to struggle a bit at slow speed riding in the city, requiring the ride to stay in lower gears. However, this Gen 3 Duke’s engine gets a larger air box allowing it to make 80 percent of its peak torque from 5000rpm onwards. But when riding in the city, you certainly don’t need to keep the engine rpm so high. You can easily shift to fourth or even fifth gear at speeds as low as 35kmph, and the engine pulls easily without any juddering. 

Because the torque comes at lower rpm compared to the earlier 390 Dukes, overtaking in the city just requires a quick twist of the throttle, and this Duke just leaps forward, passing traffic in a blink of an eye. Riding in stop and go traffic has become much easier as well. You can ride along in first or second gear and thanks to the improved throttle response, the bike doesn’t feel jumpy every time you open the throttle at these low speeds. But what makes the 390 Duke a breeze in the city is its crawl mode which slightly increases idle rpm in lower gears, so when you’re in stop-and-go traffic, you don’t need as much throttle and clutch input.

390 Duke Highway performance

This new 399cc engine is a lot smoother than before, so cruising on the highway has become a lot easier. At 100kmph in 6th gear, the engine is at a little under 6000rpm, and at these speeds, I could hardly feel any vibrations. It’s not completely butter-smooth of course, and once I started going faster, I could feel a slight buzz on the handlebar and the footpegs. But it never got to the point where it was irritating. Funnily enough, at around 7000rpm, the vibrations almost disappear. So technically, you can cruise much faster than 100kmph quite comfortably.

390 Duke Gearbox

The 6-speed gearbox on the new 390 Duke has also become much smoother than before. Whether I was shifting up or down, at low or high rpm, the shifter would always precisely slot into the gear I wanted - no misshifts at all. This new Duke also gets an updated quickshifter, which works much better than before. At certain rpm, it might still feel a bit clunky, but once I got used to shifting at the correct rpm, I got seamless, clutchless shifts all the time. It’s not the best quickshifter in the market, but it works so well most of the time that you can easily forgive the couple of times when it doesn’t shift smoothly.

KTM 390 Duke mileage

During the time I spent riding the 390 Duke in the city, I got a mileage of 25.26kmpl, which honestly isn’t too bad for this class of bike. And once I got it out on the highway, that mileage increased to 29.64kmpl. This mileage, combined with the larger 15 litre tank, meant that while touring, I could easily ride 350-400km before refuelling.

KTM Duke 390 Engine heat

Now I rode the 390 Duke on some warm days in and around Pune, and even when I was stopped in traffic with the engine idling, I couldn’t feel much heat around my legs. The larger, curved radiator with two radiator fans really helps in diverting engine heat around your legs, rather than towards them

KTM 390 Duke underpinnings

The main trellis frame of the 2023 390 Duke hasn’t changed much compared to the last gen Dukes. But the steering geometry has been made sharper. The suspension has been updated too, with the fork being adjustable for compression and rebound (5 settings for each) and a new side mounted monoshock that’s adjustable for rebound (5 settings) and preload (10 settings). But with a kerb weight of 168kg, this 2023 390 Duke is 4kg lighter than the last gen bike. And most of this weight loss has come from the lighter wheels and brakes. This translates to much more nimble handling.

KTM Duke 390 City handling

When riding in the city, I found the 390 Duke really easy to manage. Cutting through tight traffic was really easy thanks to the reduced turning circle, and the wide handlebar makes steering the bike feel really light and responsive.

KTM 390 Duke Highway handling

Even out on the highway, the Duke 390 feels right at home. It feels really stable at high speeds and the wide handlebar gives you plenty of leverage for quickly maneuvering even when you’re at triple digit speeds.

390 Duke Cornering

The 390 Duke has always been a really fun bike to ride around the corners of a winding mountain road or even a race track, and this 2023 version is no different. I could lean it into turns with very little effort, and once leaned over, the bike felt really stable too. I spent a little time thrashing the Duke around Bajaj’s test track, and it felt just as at home on the track, as it did on the streets. I have no doubt in my mind that the 390 Duke is one of the best handling naked bikes in India.

KTM 390 Duke Brakes

Thanks to a 320mm front disc brake with a radial caliper at the front and a 240mm disc at the rear, the 2023 KTM 390 Duke has a lot of stopping power. I found the brakes really precise and just with just two fingers on the front brake lever, I could very easily slow the bike down exactly as much as I needed. The ABS also doesn’t feel too intrusive, and only really started working if I braked really hard on a gravel road. And the SuperMoto ABS mode, which let me turn off ABS at the rear wheel allowed me to have a lot of fun on gravel roads, by locking and sliding the rear wheel. I even did a braking test using a VBOX, and here are the results

KTM 390 Duke Tyres

The 390 Duke is running on H-rated Metzeler Sportec M5 tyres with a 110/70 R17 at the front and a 150/60 R17 at the rear. I found these tyres to be just about okay. They work fine for most kinds of riding, but when I started pushing hard into corners, these tyres felt a bit vague at high lean angles.

The KTM 390 Duke was a riders’ delight when it was first introduced over a decade ago, and it still remains so to this day. It offers plenty of performance, great handling as well as a great set of features. If I’m being really honest, there are only a handful of bikes that have made me fall in love with them during my entire 17 year career testing bikes. One of the first was the original 2013 KTM 390 Duke, and one of the recent ones is the 2023 KTM 390 Duke. If you, like me, love aggressive naked bikes, the 390 Duke remains your best option. It’s fun to ride everyday in the city, it’s a blast on the highway and if you take it to a race track, it’s simply sublime.

That said, I don’t think it’s a bike for everyone. While its aggressive nature feels less raw than it was originally, and while it does offer a host of electronic safety aids, the 390 Duke is a bike that generally aggressive riders would enjoy. If you’re more into chilled out riding or easy touring, I suggest you look elsewhere.

Price Analysis

Competition Check

One of the top competitors to the KTM 390 Duke comes from another of Bajaj’s partners - Triumph. The Triumph Speed 400 is the antithesis of the 390 Duke. It is powerful and quick, but nowhere as manic as the Duke. If you like your 400cc bike to be more elegant and perform great in the city, the Speed 400 should be the better choice for you. Plus, it’s a lot more affordable too.

The Guerrilla 450 is a bike that feels like Royal Enfield’s take on the 390 Duke. While the Duke will appeal to younger riders, more mature riders, or even larger riders, will enjoy the Guerrilla