Ride safe and don’t try to imitate what’s being shown in this video. The most substantial update on this motorcycle has to do with the engine. The 2020 KTM 390 Duke is powered by the same 373.2cc, liquid-cooled, single-cylinder unit as its predecessor, but it is now in BS6-compliant form. Despite the update to comply with the stricter emission norms, peak output figures remain unchanged at 43.5hp at 9,000rpm and 37Nm at 7,000rpm. An updated exhaust system with a catalytic convertyer is part of the update and it’s been re-routed under the engine instead of the side. This has brought with it a 4kg increase in kerb weight, resulting in the bike now weighing 167kg. The 390 Duke’s exhaust has been rerouted and features a catalytic converter.
With its last update in 2017, the 390 Duke received a ride-by-wire throttle that smoothened out the throttle response and made the engine sound far smoother and more refined. The BS6 engine feels just as smooth and quiet, if not a little bit more so. The older 390 really got going after 4,500rpm and felt relatively dull under that mark. This is even more noticeable on this BS6 390 Duke as you can whack the throttle fully open under 4,000rpm and the bike won’t have you surging forward as you’d expect.
Having said that, the engine still gains revs quickly and getting into that mid-range sweet spot doesn’t take very long. Once you’re there, the 390 will have you smiling and looking forward to the next corner. What’s really stepped up the experience on the racetrack is the addition of a bi-directional quickshifter. It makes riding fast a whole lot easier and should make riding in the city easier as well. However, this unit could do with some refinement because the one on my test bike worked quite smoothly while accelerating hard, but gear changes lower in the rev band were quite clunky. Interestingly, the quickshifter doesn’t use a conventional pressure sensor on the shift rod. KTM tells us it’s an electronic unit that senses the mechanical movement of the lever.
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