KTM working on customer feedback, improves quality on the Duke and adopts the improved quality on their latest launches, the RC 200 and RC 390.
If the RC 390 pricing was not jaw dropping, hand shivering news, KTM has also made changes after listening to customer complaints from the country. Bajaj always said that KTM bikes will be sold in India exactly in the same spec without any changes but after looking at the tremendous response they have changed their minds. But their dedication level is a step ahead then what we think. Europe gets the same type of wheels as before while India gets different engineered set of wheels to suit our conditions.
Bajaj says that they have strengthened the alloy material and the elasticity of the wheel has been increased too so it can handle bumps without it cracking almost instantly. Obviously king size potholes remain a threat to your wheels whether you ride a Splendor or a Fireblade. Since KTM wheels are still not as tough as we see on other bikes, you need to treat your KTM a bit more carefully then how you did with your ex Karizma, Pulsar or Apache. The best part is that it isn’t as fragile and won’t break as early as it did before. If you want to hear a similar case with another company then it was our beloved Yamaha that also had the same problem in the initial few years with the FZ and soon it was sorted out.
Bajaj also says that since the last two to three months these Indian spec wheels are added to the Duke as well. A Bajaj peculiarity of making things better in a silent manner. So the next time your alloy wheel breaks and if you get a new one, it is most likely the new improved version which will last longer than the bikes which were made in 2013 (in the case of the Duke 390). Which means the Duke 390 is getting new wheels since July 2014. Other changes to the bike include better palm grips, better gripping brake and clutch levers and a changed yolk on the clutch side to reduce the distance between the start of the palm and the clutch lever.
There was also a problem with gear and foot operated brake levers which are prone to crack the moment they kiss the ground. Improvements are made on the RC and they are replaced with forged levers as KTM clearly stated at the time of launch which as we know can be applied to the Dukes as well. Forged ones are better because they will bend rather than crack like cast units.
It is good to see that Bajaj is making all the efforts to keep Indian KTM customers happy despite the numbers are minute when compared to Europe. Bajaj has always made efforts to take care but the way they do it is what the public does not like which isn’t a concern for most of the enthusiasts. So the moment RC spares hit the service centre, be prepared to queue in the line first to get your parts and always be ‘Ready To Race’!
