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Rc 390!

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"Blueprinting" doesn't necessarily mean "increase power", it means (in effect) "ensure that all specifications are as per blueprint i.e. original specifications" ... They're more interested in making sure they are all the same.

Hopefully, they're not all the same in their potential for going kaboom.
 
eel said:
Under power, the wear and strain on the motor is less, sure...
But throw in some exuberant downshifts.....
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The rider in question has been on Honda machinery for the last couple of years, and had no history of blowing those up.
 
Bumping old thread ... "because".

Jordan Renshaw seems to have the RC cup bike sorted out now. This past weekend at Grand Bend, Lightweight Superbike ended up myself versus Jordan Renshaw, FZR400 versus RC390, slicks versus whatever the DOT race tires that they are supposed to use. I'm more than three times Jordan's age (ugh ... and I can feel it, too) and probably 100 lbs heavier. It ended up being a close match ... I beat Jordan in the qualifier on Saturday but I could hear him behind me the whole time. On Sunday, he got a better start but I had a run at him exiting the carousel and passed on the back straight and stayed out front - but hearing him behind me! - until past half distance. He used a tried and true racing technique ... Wait for the old guy to get tired. Which I did. And he slipped past on braking at the end of the back straight with about 3 or 4 laps to go. By that time, I didn't have an answer for that. He rode very well.

Then after winning that, he went right out in another class, while I collapsed in a chair, and watched him give riders of much bigger bikes a hard time.
 
Saw one in the lineup at Pro6 over the weekend (street or cup version, I don't know). It's downright tiny. I guess those test riders in the pics/videos are equally small. The plastics looked pretty thin and cheap in comparison to the other bikes.
 
Brian P said:
Bumping old thread ... "because".

Jordan Renshaw seems to have the RC cup bike sorted out now. This past weekend at Grand Bend, Lightweight Superbike ended up myself versus Jordan Renshaw, FZR400 versus RC390, slicks versus whatever the DOT race tires that they are supposed to use. I'm more than three times Jordan's age (ugh ... and I can feel it, too) and probably 100 lbs heavier. It ended up being a close match ... I beat Jordan in the qualifier on Saturday but I could hear him behind me the whole time. On Sunday, he got a better start but I had a run at him exiting the carousel and passed on the back straight and stayed out front - but hearing him behind me! - until past half distance. He used a tried and true racing technique ... Wait for the old guy to get tired. Which I did. And he slipped past on braking at the end of the back straight with about 3 or 4 laps to go. By that time, I didn't have an answer for that. He rode very well.

Then after winning that, he went right out in another class, while I collapsed in a chair, and watched him give riders of much bigger bikes a hard time.
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Nice and descriptive compare .... old guy and old bike, versus young bike on a young modern bike ..... LOL .... Don't dread it, there's more of us like you .... You have done well.

What configuration was that? In another words how long was the straight away sections?
 
Since this thread is revived I'll mention a few things as an owner.. this is a very nice bike.. its a little jerky at low RPM's but supposedly if you get it tuned/power commander it smooths that out.

I got a new exhaust, air filter and power commander just recently, havn't installed it yet as I was waiting on the exhaust which just came in yesterday, the map on the power commander is already loaded with custom map for exhaust/filter/lid mod... I think there is some dyno charts around... I forget the numbers but I"m hoping for like 4-5bhp... stock is 43 so... 47-48hp... pretty darn close to what a ninja 500 has.

If I could go back I would have bought the duke instead, only because this is my only bike and the RC's position is great for the twisties and the track, but tiring on the longer trek's.

I enjoy this bike more and more each day. I'v never ridden a much bigger bike but I'v heard of a bunch of other RC owner's who downgraded from a bigger bike because they like being able to open the bike up in all the gears instead of hitting the speed limit in first all day long.

Just an FYI for anyone thinking about buying one, I was just by my dealer today asking about a part and I seen two of them in their showroom, I think one is sold but the other one might be for sale not sure. If your looking for one could call and ask. Mission Cycle in Angus. No affiliation.

One last thing, the aftermarket parts market was pretty empty not that long ago but its starting to fill out with some nice parts, KTM has some interesting stuff themselves. Although KTM stuff is pretty pricey for some things.
 
We were discussing the bike at the track on the weekend.

An Ontario based mechanic commented that he has 3 of them (street) in the shop with engine issues.
 
Is that all RC390 or Dukes as well?

Not what I would like to hear anyway ... I guess KTM needs to go back and revisit either the design or manufacturing.

But it makes me wonder ... 3 out of, I'd guess, 30 units sold in ON are in the shop, so what about the thousands of bikes sold in Europe and elsewhere ... not sure how to take this high occurrence fail on ON.
 
One dealer shop. Ones that they sold. And that's 3 at present. Not 3 throughout the summer. Sitting with the owner not able to ride.

And RC390 only. Not the Duke. I didn't ask about the Duke since we were discussing the RC.


mxs said:
Is that all RC390 or Dukes as well?

Not what I would like to hear anyway ... I guess KTM needs to go back and revisit either the design or manufacturing.

But it makes me wonder ... 3 out of, I'd guess, 30 units sold in ON are in the shop, so what about the thousands of bikes sold in Europe and elsewhere ... not sure how to take this high occurrence fail on ON.
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Subscribed. I'm very interested in this bike and would love to hear from owners w. their reviews. One dealer mentioned a disproportionate amount had prbs that needed a shop visit..almost 1/2 which sounds incredible. Also concerned about (over)heating issues. Besides the Ninja 300 I'm also x-shopping w the CBR300R.
 
bakaboy said:
One dealer shop. Ones that they sold. And that's 3 at present. Not 3 throughout the summer. Sitting with the owner not able to ride.

And RC390 only. Not the Duke. I didn't ask about the Duke since we were discussing the RC.
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That's really odd. The engines between the two are not the same though I have heard. But the difference should have been just the clutch ... perhaps there's more parts being different. Or simply the line had a bad batch and all of the bikes affected were RC390. It's too bad .... an attractive bike comes out and is plagued with issues.
 
tranquility said:
Subscribed. I'm very interested in this bike and would love to hear from owners w. their reviews. One dealer mentioned a disproportionate amount had prbs that needed a shop visit..almost 1/2 which sounds incredible. Also concerned about (over)heating issues. Besides the Ninja 300 I'm also x-shopping w the CBR300R.
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Don't skip the little Yamaha, because in a test I have seen, it just left the other two in the dust. Unless you must have ABS ....
 
mxs said:
Don't skip the little Yamaha, because in a test I have seen, it just left the other two in the dust. Unless you must have ABS ....
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http://www.cycleworld.com/2015/05/1...view-comparison-test-photos-specifications/2/

The R3 is lighter (349 vs 359lbs) a bit quicker to 60 (5.1 vs 5.6 sec) and in the quarter mile (14.15@90MPH vs 14.61@87.6MPH) but their top speeds and braking are almost identical (no ABS notwithstanding...) It also costs less and gets better fuel economy.

I don't think the R3 leaves the 300 "in the dust" but it's a better bike in most objective tests.

The CBR300R, however, is left in the dust of both of these bikes. It shouldn't even be thought of as being in the same class as the RC390, Ninja300 and R3.
 
I don't think 1/2 a second and 3 mph in the quarter mile matters much. We are talking about beginner bikes and noob riders. Just buy whichever one "floats your boat". I'll bet the 10 pound weight difference would be gone if the r3 had abs.
 
Blackfin said:
http://www.cycleworld.com/2015/05/1...view-comparison-test-photos-specifications/2/

The R3 is lighter (349 vs 359lbs) a bit quicker to 60 (5.1 vs 5.6 sec) and in the quarter mile (14.15@90MPH vs 14.61@87.6MPH) but their top speeds and braking are almost identical (no ABS notwithstanding...) It also costs less and gets better fuel economy.

I don't think the R3 leaves the 300 "in the dust" but it's a better bike in most objective tests.

The CBR300R, however, is left in the dust of both of these bikes. It shouldn't even be thought of as being in the same class as the RC390, Ninja300 and R3.
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Oh boy..didn't mean to go OT but here goes.

R3 may be marginally better as per the stated stats but it doesn't have abs or the slipper clutch. The Honda seems good to me still because its torque curve is higher than Kawi's and seems more usable at city speeds. I'm just mag comparing since I'm a total noob so if you guys have more info that would be great.

Backing a bit on topic...I think that the KTM looks great and has all the features I want as a noob...save for the slipper. However... The quality issue(s) may be enough to scare me away...right now I'm staying away unfortunately.
 
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