Remember, the KTM is about half the price of the Ninja in India, apparently. So that would throw a spanner in the works for a lot of buyers there, I suppose.
The 390 Duke got the engine and suspension upgrade/tweaking in 2017 but for some odd reason the RC didnt. The Duke was my second choice to the N400. Unfortunately a Demo model was not available in my province so, like yourself, have not ridden one. I sat on one and it feels like it would be a hoot to ride with that aggressive riding position.The KTM RC 390 would have been a great bike, if it was built in Austraia. The specs look good, and reviewers are raving it. Regretfully, I hear plenty of disatisfied owners complaining about reliability. Those imported into Thailand are now built in Malaysia. I hope the built quality and QC are improved. Admittedly, I've not yet ridden one.
+1This is typical Indian website BS. Someone sits down and makes up a story from looking at spec sheets.
I'm not defending the N400 just slamming crappy internet articles packed full of advertising.
Personally I wouldn't bother posting this rubbish but it's a free world.
An informed consumer is always the best, its like when you have a friend that owned products from the same brand for many years, odds are what they have to say is representative of what you will experience.+1
Now a days, before reading you have to check who is writing it. Tons of fake news, people trying to make things look better or worse according to their interests, or just people who don't know what they're talking about.
this^ those spec sheets are why people are still buying the cbr 500 thinking it would smoke the 400 ect :/ plus Im over heavy bikes, getting rid of my sv1000 as soon as I replace the chain.I looked pretty closely at the 390 (both RC and Duke), and honestly had I made a purchase last year I very likely would have gone that route.
A local buddy had an RC and got a lot out of it at the track. I do still like the narrow feel of those bikes, reminded me a lot of the Ducati superbike feel being so narrow between the legs (still miss my 749).
Then the N400 came out and just ticked more of the right boxes for me. Performance, reliability (hopefully), good balance of street ride-ability and will still be plenty of fun on track days, slipper clutch, etc..
I'm very satisfied with the choice and am glad this bike was released before I pulled the trigger.
Couldn't agree more on those BS spec comparison articles. YouTube videos as well, labeled as reviews / comparisons that show nothing more than spec sheets and stock or dealership photos. Ugh... Nothing more than revenue generators.
Yeah, those handlebars look so high....though I do admit the 400 actually would feel much better with some lower clip ons, its a very awkward position imo, ...
Just curious, did your buddy have any reliability issues? I was trying to get to the bottom of this when I was in the deciding phase but I really only had the internet as a resource guide, which as we know is not always accurate! But there was enough there to scare me off the KTM.... A local buddy had an RC and got a lot out of it at the track.
Couldn't agree more on those BS spec comparison articles. YouTube videos as well, labeled as reviews / comparisons that show nothing more than spec sheets and stock or dealership photos. Ugh... Nothing more than revenue generators.
Just curious, did your buddy have any reliability issues? I was trying to get to the bottom of this when I was in the deciding phase but I really only had the internet as a resource guide, which as we know is not always accurate! But there was enough there to scare me off the KTM.
When I was trying to find early reviews of the N400 before they hit the US and Australasia etc those BS comparisons written by a spotty 19 yr old in Asia drove me nuts, hence my previous rant.
I've still got my councillors number in my contacts if it gets too much tho![]()
Thanks mate, we already have both these clips posted in other threads.here is a review of Ninja 400 by renown motorcycle journalist Ari. Please click on Youtube, and read my conversation with Ari. I posted as Sportmuaythai. Ari races the RC 390.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqM1_p9Q6nM&t=63s
Another showdown.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycEE5JX95UI&t=10s