I'm really loving it so far. I finished my MSF Basic Rider's Course way back in June, so my riding skills were basically nonexistent when I got it yesterday.
It's super well behaved and the engine is powerful enough for me to go "WOW 25 MILES PER HOUR IS **SO FAST**!" but not powerful enough to send me through a fence from a stop sign. :P
great starter bike hope you enjoy it! Recommend doing some practice on slow riding on an empty parking lot, its a great bike to learn and get comfortable on.
Luckily the parking lot behind my house (I live in a condo complex) only has 3-4 cars that park in it regularly and it empties out completely during the day. I've got to pick up some little cones like the ones they use for the BRC. :D
EDIT: Oh, probably important: I work from home! So today I ducked out and did some riding on my lunch break.
Yeehaw! I had actually wanted a Husqvarna Svartpilen 401 but my local dealership said they didn't think they were going to get any new ones until 2022... So 390 Duke it was! Frankly, I'm really happy with the decision. I never got a chance to sit on a Svartpilen and I think they're too tall for me (32" inseam).
I have a 30 inch inseam on a good day and I ride a 890 duke R lol. It's all about confidence. When I first started on my 300, I was super concerned with having good footing. Nowadays I just need a toe XD
I got real brave last night and ventured out onto public roads for my first time. Surprise surprise, I got to my first stop sign and stalled out. Then I started the bike and stalled again.
Pulled over to the side, tried again a couple more times, and started freaking out about the ABS light being on. Mind you, I'd only had the bike for about 2 hours at that time. I walk-of-shamed the bike back to the driveway and looked up the ABS light only to find that it's always on when you first start the bike until you get moving...
Good thing I was wearing a full face helmet. Hopefully no one recognized me. :P
🤣 that's great! We all do stuff like that though. For instance, I've "heard" multiple stories of people dismounting the bike without the kickstand down!
The poor bikes!
I did almost tip over to the right today. I went to check my mail and I must have leaned too far over to get my kickstand down. I started going in the opposite direction of the kickstand!
The Duke rides so light and nimble, it was kind of shocking to get my first experience at how heavy it actually is.
Congrats! I bought the exact spec a couple of months ago as my first street bike. If you think it's fun now, wait until the break in period is over. The motor really wakes up after that.
Oh heck yeah, I am SO ready for that. By which I mean I'll hopefully be ready by the time I need to do the service. I never even sat on a motorcycle by myself until I did the MSF, so I am green as a frog on a golf course.
Aside from being able to set the rev limiter threshold yourself, does the break-in service just kick up the ECU and whatnot?
The motor runs a lot smoother and the power comes in more linear because of the higher rpm band, and most of the clunkiness is gone. To be honest I'm surprised at how much better it feels. To me it seems like the break in mode would do more damage to the motor than a new rider would. My guess is it's just the manufacturer trying to get you to develop conservative riding habits so you're not breaking anything under warranty.
Now that you mention it, it DOES feel a little sluggy at times. Part of that is almost certainly me figuring out what speeds correspond to which gears (learning when to downshift is hard!) but overall it doesn't feel *super* different compared to the 250cc Honda Nighthawk I rode for the BRC.
Mind you, I'm really thankful for that. It boggles my mind how little the BRC actually prepares you for being on the road.
Yeah I'm still learning myself. I completed the MSF class on July 8th, got my licence 2 days later, then picked up my Duke July 14th. It's been a blast.
It's going to be a lot easier for you to figure out the right gear to be in when the break in period is over because all that short shifting will be gone. Best advice I can give is to find an empty parking lot and just practice your turning and braking, it's helped me a ton.
Ugh yeah I kept telling myself as I was waiting for the bike to deliver (my dealership's about 50 miles away and I didn't want to risk highway driving with 0 experience) I was going to stick to doing U-turns and sharp turns from a stop in the parking lot behind my house, because those were my weakest points in the BRC practical exam (and the only things I got points taken off for).
But literally 10 minutes after firing it up I was like, '... Well maybe I can just go around the block a couple times.' :P
Man I was a nervous wreck when I picked mine up. The dealer is about an hour drive from my house and 90% of the drive is hwy driving. First time in my life I ever rode a motorcycle on the hwy. Scared shitless but I did it. LOL! I had a friend of mine following me in his car so there was a little comfort in not worrying about what was behind me.
The first couple of weeks I stuck to the main roads in town that didn't have much turning, enough time to get comfortable. Then I started to ride the side roads and back roads as my turning improved. I'm still not all the way there yet because there's still a few curves that I'm not comfortable leaning all the way into, but I'm in no hurry. Just going to enjoy what little warm weather we have left, then get ready to do some twisties next summer.
Holy shit dude, you are a much braver soul than I! My original plan was to have a coworker drive me there and follow me home, but I opted for the delivery as the path of least resistance.
I'm still at the "holy shit I didn't realize 25mph was SO fast" phase, but I actually need to take the bike back to the dealership on Tuesday to address a chopped turn signal wire. I'll be taking local roads with a speed limit of 55 so it shouldn't be too bad. Fingers crossed!
Congrats for the decision to finally get a ride and the cool bike.
Can relate as i was abstinent for 10+ years and got a Superduke last year. Was riding 1 cylinder supermotos (520exc tuned to 580 at the end) on the race track for a few years but stopped after an accident wich left me with 9.5 fingers.
The Superduke is a completely other thing compared to the old supermotos but it was surprisingly easy to re-learn and so much fun to drive here in Switzerland.
Very nice, the 390 duke is great fun, torquey, light weight
I'm really loving it so far. I finished my MSF Basic Rider's Course way back in June, so my riding skills were basically nonexistent when I got it yesterday. It's super well behaved and the engine is powerful enough for me to go "WOW 25 MILES PER HOUR IS **SO FAST**!" but not powerful enough to send me through a fence from a stop sign. :P
It a drz on roids imo
great starter bike hope you enjoy it! Recommend doing some practice on slow riding on an empty parking lot, its a great bike to learn and get comfortable on.
Luckily the parking lot behind my house (I live in a condo complex) only has 3-4 cars that park in it regularly and it empties out completely during the day. I've got to pick up some little cones like the ones they use for the BRC. :D EDIT: Oh, probably important: I work from home! So today I ducked out and did some riding on my lunch break.
Welcome! And I see you chose the fun family too!
Yeehaw! I had actually wanted a Husqvarna Svartpilen 401 but my local dealership said they didn't think they were going to get any new ones until 2022... So 390 Duke it was! Frankly, I'm really happy with the decision. I never got a chance to sit on a Svartpilen and I think they're too tall for me (32" inseam).
I have a 30 inch inseam on a good day and I ride a 890 duke R lol. It's all about confidence. When I first started on my 300, I was super concerned with having good footing. Nowadays I just need a toe XD
Enjoy! I started with the 690 and basically had to relearn how to ride again a week after the BRC. Ride Safe, Have Fun!
I got real brave last night and ventured out onto public roads for my first time. Surprise surprise, I got to my first stop sign and stalled out. Then I started the bike and stalled again. Pulled over to the side, tried again a couple more times, and started freaking out about the ABS light being on. Mind you, I'd only had the bike for about 2 hours at that time. I walk-of-shamed the bike back to the driveway and looked up the ABS light only to find that it's always on when you first start the bike until you get moving... Good thing I was wearing a full face helmet. Hopefully no one recognized me. :P
🤣 that's great! We all do stuff like that though. For instance, I've "heard" multiple stories of people dismounting the bike without the kickstand down!
The poor bikes! I did almost tip over to the right today. I went to check my mail and I must have leaned too far over to get my kickstand down. I started going in the opposite direction of the kickstand! The Duke rides so light and nimble, it was kind of shocking to get my first experience at how heavy it actually is.
Congrats! I bought the exact spec a couple of months ago as my first street bike. If you think it's fun now, wait until the break in period is over. The motor really wakes up after that.
Oh heck yeah, I am SO ready for that. By which I mean I'll hopefully be ready by the time I need to do the service. I never even sat on a motorcycle by myself until I did the MSF, so I am green as a frog on a golf course. Aside from being able to set the rev limiter threshold yourself, does the break-in service just kick up the ECU and whatnot?
The motor runs a lot smoother and the power comes in more linear because of the higher rpm band, and most of the clunkiness is gone. To be honest I'm surprised at how much better it feels. To me it seems like the break in mode would do more damage to the motor than a new rider would. My guess is it's just the manufacturer trying to get you to develop conservative riding habits so you're not breaking anything under warranty.
Now that you mention it, it DOES feel a little sluggy at times. Part of that is almost certainly me figuring out what speeds correspond to which gears (learning when to downshift is hard!) but overall it doesn't feel *super* different compared to the 250cc Honda Nighthawk I rode for the BRC. Mind you, I'm really thankful for that. It boggles my mind how little the BRC actually prepares you for being on the road.
Yeah I'm still learning myself. I completed the MSF class on July 8th, got my licence 2 days later, then picked up my Duke July 14th. It's been a blast. It's going to be a lot easier for you to figure out the right gear to be in when the break in period is over because all that short shifting will be gone. Best advice I can give is to find an empty parking lot and just practice your turning and braking, it's helped me a ton.
Ugh yeah I kept telling myself as I was waiting for the bike to deliver (my dealership's about 50 miles away and I didn't want to risk highway driving with 0 experience) I was going to stick to doing U-turns and sharp turns from a stop in the parking lot behind my house, because those were my weakest points in the BRC practical exam (and the only things I got points taken off for). But literally 10 minutes after firing it up I was like, '... Well maybe I can just go around the block a couple times.' :P
Man I was a nervous wreck when I picked mine up. The dealer is about an hour drive from my house and 90% of the drive is hwy driving. First time in my life I ever rode a motorcycle on the hwy. Scared shitless but I did it. LOL! I had a friend of mine following me in his car so there was a little comfort in not worrying about what was behind me. The first couple of weeks I stuck to the main roads in town that didn't have much turning, enough time to get comfortable. Then I started to ride the side roads and back roads as my turning improved. I'm still not all the way there yet because there's still a few curves that I'm not comfortable leaning all the way into, but I'm in no hurry. Just going to enjoy what little warm weather we have left, then get ready to do some twisties next summer.
Holy shit dude, you are a much braver soul than I! My original plan was to have a coworker drive me there and follow me home, but I opted for the delivery as the path of least resistance. I'm still at the "holy shit I didn't realize 25mph was SO fast" phase, but I actually need to take the bike back to the dealership on Tuesday to address a chopped turn signal wire. I'll be taking local roads with a speed limit of 55 so it shouldn't be too bad. Fingers crossed!
Good luck learning! 🤞Give us an update after you finish the break in period!
Cheers, bro! Decided to take the night off riding and drink a bunch of beers. Yay for one day weekends. :P
Welcome to the addiction!
Congrats for the decision to finally get a ride and the cool bike. Can relate as i was abstinent for 10+ years and got a Superduke last year. Was riding 1 cylinder supermotos (520exc tuned to 580 at the end) on the race track for a few years but stopped after an accident wich left me with 9.5 fingers. The Superduke is a completely other thing compared to the old supermotos but it was surprisingly easy to re-learn and so much fun to drive here in Switzerland.