2018 K TM 390 DUKE
FIRST IMPRESSION
P88
to the bike, listen to music, make
and receive phone calls, etc, all
through the dash's built-in KTM
MY RIDE system.
For 2018, the 390 Duke gets
a new LED headlight with a day-
time running light, the same as
the big bikes from KTM, and, at
a glance, you could be forgiven
for thinking this was a 1290, as
it has the same graphics, white
subframe and orange wheels.
There's a direct lineage between
this 390 and the 1290, a link-
ing of the family, if you will. This
is clearly a deliberate approach
from KTM to keep the rider who
starts motorcycling on a 390 in
the KTM fold in the hope they
will graduate to a more powerful,
orange painted bike in the future.
The 390 Duke is an excellent
entry-level motorcycle. Scratch
that, it's just a good motorcycle,
full stop. It's small, svelte and
light, plus it's graced with some
excellent hardware in the WP
suspension, Metzeler rubber,
the Bybre/Bosch combination
and the TFT dash. And it's priced
at $5299, which is right in the
ballpark against the Yamaha
YZF-R3 ($4999) and Kawasaki
Ninja 400 ($4999-$5499). Yes,
those bikes are full-faired sport
bikes, but they are closer to
direct challengers to the 390
than any other bike out there.
And the KTM has more attitude
to boot. CN
2018 KTM 390 DUKE ($5299)
ENGINE: ............Single-cylinder, 4-stroke
DISPLACEMENT: .............................375cc
BORE X STROKE: ..................89 x 60mm
FUEL INJECTION: ..............Electronic fuel
injection system.
TRANSMISSION: ..........................6-speed
CLUTCH: ...... PASC anti-hopping clutch,
mechanically operated
CHASSIS: ....................Steel trellis frame,
powder-coated
FRONT SUSPENSION: ..... 43mm inverted
WP fork
REAR SUSPENSION: ......WP monoshock
FRONT BRAKE: ....... Single 320mm disc,
radially mounted Bybre 4-piston caliper
with Bosch 9MP two-channel ABS
REAR BRAKE: ......................230mm disc,
single-piston caliper with Bosch 9MP
two-channel ABS
FRONT TIRE: .Metzeler 110/70 ZR17 54W
REAR TIRE: ..Metzeler 150/60 ZR17 66W
WHEELBASE: ................................ 53.4 in.
SEAT HEIGHT: ...............................32.7 in.
FUEL CAPACITY: ............................3.5 gal
CLAIMED DRY WEIGHT: ........... 328.5 lbs.
S P E C I F I C A T I O N S
Tuck down, fat boy! Here you can
really see how small the 390 is.
