Installing an RC390 tyre hugger & chain cover on my Duke 390

December 29, 2023

I had a look at the RC and was pretty confident this will fit in perfectly onto our dukes.

BHPian SunnyBoi recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Next up was restoring the footrests

Taking off the left side foot rest was fairly easy. Taking the right footrest however was honestly, a bit scary. This involves removing the swing arm bolt and it will for sure separate out the swing arm from the chassis. I first took out the thinner M10 long bolt, then used it to drive out the swingarm, replacing it and stop the swingarm from falling out. This worked and I was able to take ouit the swingarm bolt and the right footrest while the whole thing was still intact.

The left footrest was HORRIBLE on the inside, as expected because of all the chain lube gunk.. It took me a while but I managed to get it reasonably clean

Soon I cleaned all the parts to prep them for paint

I’ve had a sloppy side stand for a while, after inspecting the parts it looked like the bracket on which the side stand pivots had worn down. While replacing the bracket, I might as well replace the pivot bolt as well as the lock nut holding it. The spring was cheap enough so why not change that too for better looks? I got new swing arm nut and one for the long M10 bolt just because new shiny nuts.

One of my rubber foot rest had the grinding nut? missing on them. Getting new one of these would be next to impossible. I rummaged around the nuts and bolts with me and found couple of things that might work.

I first put in an M6 grub screw into the foot rest

I then screwed in a M6 SS acorn nut. This looked so good, I took off the nut from the other foot rest and replace with the same

The side stand was painted. I added a thick M6 washer under the magnet for the side stand – I read about the side stand sensor being a factor with the bike dying when I press the clutch with the bike moving. This issue was driving me crazy and I was willing to try anything to fix it. With the washer added, my problem has gone off completely! My assumption is with the magnet closer to the sensor thanks to the washer, there would be less error. It still might be placebo but I am confident with the results on my bike that this indeed solved my problem.

While I was at the KTM service center, I picked out the rear hugger and chain cover from the RC390 too. I had a look at the RC and was pretty confident this will fit in perfectly onto our dukes.

Frames were also painted

RC390 parts got a lick of ceramic coat inside out. New unused plastic parts need very little prep so I was super thankful. I’ve put in M6 captive nuts that I had with me since a while instead of buying new units from KTM themselves. Same goes with the bolts needed to secure the new covers. I had to reuse one self tapping screw from the old chain cover, rest of the hardware was new.

While the chain cover was out, I replaced the SS bolt with a new OEM KTM rear suspension bolt with the right grade.

With this, I can confidently say the cosmetic restoration is now complete. Barring few things such as rotor bolts and ABS wheels which will be swapped when I get to the wheels, eventually.

While I was in Bangalore, I visited Khivraj and picked up these parts

New tank decals, so I can apply these properly without wrinkles

New handle bar riser rubbers

Couple of missing collars

New brake/gear lever rubber. I wanted two to replace both but there was only one in stock

New speedo connector rubber strap

Next up is wiring for my new Hella Black Pearl horns. Ive added a wire from the battery through a fuse box with a 10A fuse to the location of the old horn and put in a relay at that spot.

Relay was ziptied to secure it in place. Reused the stock horn connectors on to the relay

I took couple of angled metal brackets that are used to put up shelves on the walls – enlargened the holes, cut them to use and painted them black to hold the new horns in place

They’re mounted and working! I’m proud of the wiring and routing, they pretty much disappear into the chassis with no trace, no matter what angle you look at them

You can use clear silicone sealant to keep the moisture out of the console. That is what I did. The stock O ring is inadequate. This is a very common KTM issue

The condensation in the instrument cluster is normal, happens to me also.

So this time, I changed over the gasket from a 2mm oring to a 2.5mm orings. the 2.5mm oring is a very tight fit but rest assured, there is no way any moisture can get past it. Old 2mm on left v/s new 2.5mm on the right. I’ve ordered a new meter shell so will be taking apart this meter again next week.

New rubber strap to secure the speedometer connector

Missing collars where the headlight bolts onto the triple tree. Took out the lower handle support and painted them. Swapped out the old rubbers for a new set as the handle was actually moving forward on heavy braking. Turns out one of the bolts was loose and a simple tighten could fix it. I anyways had new rubbers so swapped them out anyway.

Disassembled the fuel cap and painted it too. I did not do a good job and it turned out lumpy. I’ll redo it again in the near future. The dummy plastic allen bolt thingies are 10mm long, I’ll replace them with M5x12 units with a nut underneath.