It’s a quick-steering
machine at the front
end compared to the
21-inch wheel dirt
bikes of my past
LEARNER FRIENDLY
This bike is fitted with KTM's aftermarket
Rekluse clutch. Not heard of it? It's basically
a clutch kit that turns the bike into a semi
automatic, while still giving you a clutch lever
and the option to ride normally. You can either
pull the clutch in to put the bike into gear, or
you can just put the bike into gear – the clutch
isn't needed. From there just open the throttle
and it'll pull away. Come to a halt and you
don't need to pull the clutch in, just rev it again
to pull away (although you'll need the clutch
to take the load off the engine when selecting
neutral).
On that note it did take a little getting used
to. If the motor was at low revs and laboured,
you could feel it kicking in a little, the same as
if you wanted to pull away. It feels just like the
auto clutch on a scooter up to about 4500rpm,
but if you want to use the clutch you wouldn't
even know it was fitted. This could be a great
option for a learner who's never ridden or
driven a geared machine and needs some
help getting used to a clutch. It's also handy
in traffic where stopping and starting means
lots of clutch slipping – so useful to city traffic
108 KIWI RIDER
commuters too. The Rekluse clutch costs $999
and takes about two hours of labour to fit.
After getting my licence back I ventured
further afield to take in some local country
roads. Fairly narrow and winding with a speed
limit of 80km/h, they were perfect for getting
my eye in again and finding out more about
the 390. Wow, with its low centre of gravity
and lithe handling it just begs to be stuffed
into the corners – I was the one who was
lagging behind rather than the Duke. One
thing I noticed was the tendency for it to want
to turn-in by itself when slow speed cornering,
it felt like over steer at first but after a short
while it felt instinctive – it's a quick-steering
machine at the front end compared to the 21-
inch wheel dirt bikes of my past.
On the motorway there was a certain amount
of wind hitting me in the chest and my peaked
adventure helmet was catching some as you
would expect but cruising at 100km/h was
effortless otherwise. This bike has a 2.4 litre
larger tank than before, so there’s a decent
range from the 13-odd litre capacity.