Never buy a KTM in India
An open letter to all bikers in India. Never buy a KTM in India.
It's with utmost disappointment I'm writing this.
KTM is undoubtedly one of the best European motorcycle brands and Duke 390 is truly a piece of art. But their service provided in India courtesy of Bajaj is among the worst out there. Buying a bike is only half the story, ease of maintenance is a major factor in its ownership.
Throughout my 9 month experience of owning a KTM Duke 390, I experienced how badly KTM service centers can screw things mainly because they don't even know how to work on it. I have seen horrible things in KTM service centers, how unprofessionally they work. To give a taste of it, I have seen a service center in Bangalore tilting the brake fluid reservoir to empty it and filling it with new fluid and screwing the cap back on. No pumping whatsoever! I have seen another service center claiming to adjust accelerator cable in my ride by wire bike which doesn't have a cable. Whenever they fix something, they make room for new faults. My particular bike has visited 6 KTM service centers across south India for more than 20 times in just 9 months / 15000 km of ownership! After they did some work on clutch, the whole clutch assembly got loose and got disconnected from gearbox shaft inside while running because it was not properly torqued. It happened twice and put my life in danger. Think of a powerful bike like 390 without clutch in congested Indian roads! By God's grace I was able to stop the bike in a controlled manner as I was going slow, which is not always the same case.
KTM is undoubtedly one of the best European motorcycle brands and Duke 390 is truly a piece of art. But their service provided in India courtesy of Bajaj is among the worst out there. Buying a bike is only half the story, ease of maintenance is a major factor in its ownership.
Throughout my 9 month experience of owning a KTM Duke 390, I experienced how badly KTM service centers can screw things mainly because they don't even know how to work on it. I have seen horrible things in KTM service centers, how unprofessionally they work. To give a taste of it, I have seen a service center in Bangalore tilting the brake fluid reservoir to empty it and filling it with new fluid and screwing the cap back on. No pumping whatsoever! I have seen another service center claiming to adjust accelerator cable in my ride by wire bike which doesn't have a cable. Whenever they fix something, they make room for new faults. My particular bike has visited 6 KTM service centers across south India for more than 20 times in just 9 months / 15000 km of ownership! After they did some work on clutch, the whole clutch assembly got loose and got disconnected from gearbox shaft inside while running because it was not properly torqued. It happened twice and put my life in danger. Think of a powerful bike like 390 without clutch in congested Indian roads! By God's grace I was able to stop the bike in a controlled manner as I was going slow, which is not always the same case.
I am right now in the process of shortlisting good mechanics outside KTM to take my bike next time. There are plenty in Bangalore who works on superbikes and are happy to work on KTM bikes. It's a great bike and if works are done as per KTM service manual these bikes are highly reliable. But how pathetic, I have to find a good mechanic to work as per KTM standards which I can't find in their own authorised service centers in India.
KTM India needs to learn a lesson or two from Honda 2 Wheelers India . Honda has a separately qualified technician to work on CBR 250R in every main Honda service center! And no one will touch a CBR 250 except this guy.
KTM India support doesn't even reply to the emails if they figure out the mistake is on their side. Moreover, they try to finish off the matter in service center level and there is no such thing as an escalation.
After countless calls and mails, the ASM(Area Service Manager) contacted me and was saying, "Sir, ride our bike and see for any issues and bring back if anything persists"!
After countless calls and mails, the ASM(Area Service Manager) contacted me and was saying, "Sir, ride our bike and see for any issues and bring back if anything persists"!
With experience from my life as well as with my close friends, I suggest anyone who is planning to buy a KTM in India to drop the plan, spend more, get a Japanese bike and have peace of mind! Even the new Apache is a better choice as they claim to have technicians specifically trained to work on it. But still it's better to wait to get long term reports.
Or if you're someone who likes to work on your own bike or if you know a good mechanic who can work on KTM, just go for it. It's the best! Just don't rely on KTM authorised service centers. They spoil perfectly running bikes.
KTM authorised service centers I've been to,
- KTM Banashankiri, Bangalore
- KTM Bennarghetta, Bangalore
- KTM BTM Layout, Bangalore
- KTM HRBR, Bangalore
- KTM Mangalore
- KTM Kollam, Kerala
Update 1:
Owing to the wide protests from Duke 390 owners across the country, all 2017 Duke 390 owners were given an extended year of warranty. Hope all issues are fixed in this period.
Owing to the wide protests from Duke 390 owners across the country, all 2017 Duke 390 owners were given an extended year of warranty. Hope all issues are fixed in this period.
Update 2, Dec2019:
Found out that the petrol tank was full of rust and the service center even though at first tried to make it look like normal, ended up agreeing to replace it under warranty.
Lo and behold, there is rust in their unopened new petrol tanks in stock.
Made me regret my decision on this bike.
How can someone use a material which rusts for a part like petrol tank even without a coating of any sort! My 7 years old Yamaha has no rust in its tank.
My experiences are from 6different service centers
ReplyDeleteThey are Not able to Handle My bike As Not A mechanic or specific They Do What is the prblm a splendor bike repair like doe to this My Duke Shame to see that and shame to buy that😏
ReplyDelete