Yes, I totalled my 4 months old Duke 390 on my 2nd big roadtrip in Rajasthan, Jaipur. Was riding in 2nd lane at 130kmph when an underage boy riding a bike cut the lane. To avoid crashing I braked harder while the boy when saw me accelerated like an idiot and banged my ABS wobbling duke 390 out of control making a flip throwing me like a crash dummy. He ran away. Fortunately. And I'm glad, that he must've reached his home safely. For me my safety gears saved me from major injuries. LS2 jacket with shoulder elbow and spine guard. Cramster hand gloves and knee guard. Only got ankle sprains due to the leather shoes that got torn off. And bike totally wrecked. Thankfully I have zero depreciation insurance so I'll be covered with majority expenses.
Had a 1982 Royal Enfield before and a Yamaha Fazer. Did many tours on both old motorcycles. Decided to get modern tourer so got the KTM duke. Did 8000kms in 4 months. Had an amazing time over those 8000kms. Fell in love with the bike. And now after this accident I am questioning the build quality and sturdiness of KTMs. I understand KTMs are lighter bikes with powerful engines. And I love that, and really make for an ideal cruisers too with some mods here and there. The chassis aren't that tough for a cruiser though. My Duke bent from centre, rims broken, all most all plastic broken into pieces, disks bent, and lots of other little stuff broken.
i am on mission to travel every state of India on a bike photographing and documenting my experience. Hence I shortlisted duke 390 over Harley or Kawasaki, as I can get service stations easily.
im yet to do Ladakh, Sikkim, southern India and Off-roading around Sahyadris, Bhutan and Nepal. And a lot more places. i was going to install the aftermarket engine guard on my Duke and Dirtsack Llama Metal storage. Raised handles and a nice windshield. I'm yet to hear from the insurance company if they declare the bike total loss. It is about 75% wrecked. On a total loss I'll get a 1.7L value from insurance of my wrecked duke.
Now the big question. what should I get next?
Himalayan. Kawasaki Versys. Duke 390 with mods. Triumph Tiger might cross my budget.
Since I'm going travel a lot, I'm considering not to spend lots of money on motorcycle and then crib over not having enough money to travel back to back.. Lol.
Himalayan- I love what RE is doing here. Read a lot of articles. 10000km service interval is just great. Power is good enough too. Bigger fuel tank and better mileage. Yeah I will consider mileage as I am doing 1000s of kms. Price I'm guessing could be 2L. And the best part is the touring accessories for Himalayan are just fantastic.
kawasaki versys- I like handling and height. Extremely comfortable. 27L tank is just amazing. it's a 650 so no need to discuss about power. Mileage is said to same as Duke 390. 18-20kmpl. And it's almost in my budget. But when I buy all the touring accessories, I'm sure the whole bike as a package will costs me closer to 8.5L . So in this case it's closer to fall out of budget.
Duke 390- I already love the bike. I mean if it wasn't for this accident I'd be in Rajasthan sleeping at a desert by campfire.
guys let me know what you think. Is there any other bike that I am not considering? I am open all possibilities.
Had a 1982 Royal Enfield before and a Yamaha Fazer. Did many tours on both old motorcycles. Decided to get modern tourer so got the KTM duke. Did 8000kms in 4 months. Had an amazing time over those 8000kms. Fell in love with the bike. And now after this accident I am questioning the build quality and sturdiness of KTMs. I understand KTMs are lighter bikes with powerful engines. And I love that, and really make for an ideal cruisers too with some mods here and there. The chassis aren't that tough for a cruiser though. My Duke bent from centre, rims broken, all most all plastic broken into pieces, disks bent, and lots of other little stuff broken.
i am on mission to travel every state of India on a bike photographing and documenting my experience. Hence I shortlisted duke 390 over Harley or Kawasaki, as I can get service stations easily.
im yet to do Ladakh, Sikkim, southern India and Off-roading around Sahyadris, Bhutan and Nepal. And a lot more places. i was going to install the aftermarket engine guard on my Duke and Dirtsack Llama Metal storage. Raised handles and a nice windshield. I'm yet to hear from the insurance company if they declare the bike total loss. It is about 75% wrecked. On a total loss I'll get a 1.7L value from insurance of my wrecked duke.
Now the big question. what should I get next?
Himalayan. Kawasaki Versys. Duke 390 with mods. Triumph Tiger might cross my budget.
Since I'm going travel a lot, I'm considering not to spend lots of money on motorcycle and then crib over not having enough money to travel back to back.. Lol.
Himalayan- I love what RE is doing here. Read a lot of articles. 10000km service interval is just great. Power is good enough too. Bigger fuel tank and better mileage. Yeah I will consider mileage as I am doing 1000s of kms. Price I'm guessing could be 2L. And the best part is the touring accessories for Himalayan are just fantastic.
kawasaki versys- I like handling and height. Extremely comfortable. 27L tank is just amazing. it's a 650 so no need to discuss about power. Mileage is said to same as Duke 390. 18-20kmpl. And it's almost in my budget. But when I buy all the touring accessories, I'm sure the whole bike as a package will costs me closer to 8.5L . So in this case it's closer to fall out of budget.
Duke 390- I already love the bike. I mean if it wasn't for this accident I'd be in Rajasthan sleeping at a desert by campfire.
guys let me know what you think. Is there any other bike that I am not considering? I am open all possibilities.