I didn’t have any crypto coins but I did have something else that was in high demand by the crypto miners.
BHPian SunnyBoi recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
So the whole saga with this bike began a couple of years ago. Or sooner?
I’ve always wanted a Duke 390. I had an RD350 back in 2013 and sold it in anticipation of purchasing a Duke 390. Went to the KTM dealer and was ready to put down a deposit, not knowing that the bike would launch only by October 2013. However, a sour experience at the KTM dealer meant this wouldn’t bear fruit.
Come August 2021, this Duke 390 came up for sale through an old friend of mine who owned it since new in 2013. He was asking a very reasonable price for it which tempted me a LOT. However, my good friend was on the lookout for a nice bike and I let him get first dibs. As expected, he snapped up the bike. Of course, I was happy for him and I started looking out for known and unabused examples of older Duke 390 for myself.
A week later, he dropped off the bike with me for some TLC. The bike did not come with handguards and was missing stickers on the tank. My friend wanted them both on.
The bike after its first wash
Right off the bat, I spotted a few problems.
Leaky valve cover gasket
Leaky rear shock absorber
Bike came with Michelin Pilot Street tyres but they were very old, nearing 5 years and some light cracks were forming. There was stupid legislation passed recently in our neck of the woods that banned imports of motorcycle tyres, leaving only horrible local tyres as options.
The brakes were very mediocre. This was a known issue with the 2013 dukes with the front master cylinder being the culprit. Having worked on another 2013 Duke 390 belonging to another friend, I knew the master cylinder had to be replaced with the unit from the latest batch of Dukes. I thought of deferring that purchase and seeing what I could manage with just a flush and bleed of brakes.
The old brake fluid. It was bad.
Brake feel improved a lot post flush and bleed. I decided to leave them as is and postpone replacing the front master cylinder.
New handguards are in!
So are the stickers. Glossy black and white parts got a polish and looked much better than before.
Earlier that year, I went to Tyre Professionals to get a slow leak on my car’s tyre fixed. I strolled inside their warehouse and spotted these.
I immediately called my friend, he came in the next day and got these tyres for the Duke.
Let’s talk about the title of this thread, why a crypto bike?
Come November 2021, the crypto boom was in full swing. I came to know of another very well-kept and low miles 2013 Duke 390 coming up for sale. I didn’t have any crypto coins, but I did have a couple of Radeon graphics cards that were in high demand by the crypto miners. I did realise my gaming life had come to an end and they were better off funding my next hobby, rather than rekindling a lost one.
So I got in touch with a miner, and sold both these cards for literally multiple times of what they cost me a few years prior. I’m all set to get my crypto bike! Alas, that deal wasn’t meant to be. The asking price, which I felt was very high considering how cheap my friend’s Duke was. Plus it needed new tyres for sure and a few other bits and bobs, I knew it would soon become an expensive affair.
Back in 2013, I sold my RD350 to fund a Duke 390. However, life came along and the money was soon used for other things. Not this time though, I kept all the funds parked safely away.
Come August 1st week, another good friend with a 2013 Duke was hinting at selling his bike, but did not spell it out properly. I was thinking of calling him soon and asking for it. I kept putting off the phone call. Few days later, I finally decided to call him at 8pm to talk about the bike. By 7pm, I got a call from my other friend. He told me he’s barely using the bike and wants me to have it so it can be utilized well. It turns out the pillion seat is uncomfortable for his wife and he will get something else that is more comfy for her.
I did not need convincing – I took the train and visited my friend’s place the following week. He did tell me the bike wouldn’t start and he had recently replaced the battery with a new unit in May. This got me thinking as to what the culprit could be. I pushed him more, he checked again and told me the dash lit up fine but all he heard was a click when he tried to start the bike. Good news, it might just be the battery. I made sure to take my Ctek charger with me.
I visited his place and the first thing I did was swap the battery with one from my Apache. I was relieved when the duke started up! Phew!
So we went upstairs, connected the Duke’s battery to the Ctek. 6 hours later, the battery was fully charged.
The Duke is home, next to my big bore Apache.
First impressions – the brakes simply don’t work. This is when I made the call to change the front brake master cylinder, something that I had put off last time. Unfortunately, though, two KTM dealers around me did not have it in stock. The next best thing would be to give the brake fluid a good flush and bleed. As luck would have it, I only had ~100ml of brake fluid with me. I did manage to bleed and flush the front using just 50ml and the result was instantaneous with a better brake feel than a lever that did not feel like using drum brakes. However, the remaining 50ml was not enough to flush out the rear brakes and the fluid in the rear was HORRIBLE – it resembled black coffee and I am not exaggerating.
Next, the chain was bone dry with all links being rusted. Picked up a can of Motul chain lube and gave the chain a good spray. Gave the chain another soaking the following day to make sure it was lubed well.
With the brakes working somewhat, I rode out back to my home town. Stopped at a lake for some pictures
I saw another problem once I reached home. Water in the meter. Sigh.
Fast forward to Dec 2023. This is how the bike looks as of today.
This will be a long thread where I dismantle nearly all of the bike and build it back up replacing a TON of parts from a bike I assumed was perfect, with me learning a lot about KTMs as I go. I’ve come to love this Duke in this journey, so much that I recently bought a Duke 200 to keep the 390 company!
Stay tuned!
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