690 Duke?

[whynot]

For some reason, I've been thinking about a 690 Duke and have some questions.

1) Is the 690 Duke a good bike?
2) What to look for/avoid?
3) Are some years better than others?
4) What is maintenance like?
5) What is wrong with me?

TIA ...

[Paul_E_D]

Great bike. The motor improved a few times, but at one point they went to non-adjustable suspension. I would say the last years with the adjustable fork is the ticket. I wish I knew what year that was...

[nhbubba]

Loudbeard knows. I think he knows which droid you are looking for. Wait for him to post and do what he says. Or search for his posts on the subject.

And N+1 is always the way. Those that aren’t wired that way are the weirdos. Embrace it.

[loudbeard]

For the FOURTH damn time:

2008-2011
Fully adjustable WP suspension
Brembo monobloc’s
Forged Marchesini’s
350 lbs dry

[MattR302]

I’ve also been sorta keeping an eye out for a Duke 690.
I think the 2008-2011 models look super goofy. I much prefer the looks of the 2012+ generations.
I sat on a 2017 at a dealer a couple years ago and it felt perfect ergonomically and super lightweight.
Starting in 2016 KTM upgraded the engine to give it a few more hp, 1000 rpm higher redline, and some counterbalancer for less vibrations.
I feel like it would feel pretty similar to your HM796 in terms of ergos, size, and power (Duke is a little lighter but a little less power)
This one looks pretty decent and is local. The luggage is pretty rare. https://advrider.com/f/threads/2013-...rn-ma.1516118/

[loudbeard]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/KTM_690_Duke

You’ll find the spec sheet towards the bottom. Factor cost of bike, upgrading to cartridges and a new shock if you want fully adjustable suspenders. For me the 08-11 model gives you best bang for the buck. Looks don’t bother me much on any of them, they’re Dukes, they all look a bit goofy. Don’t really give too many shits about a few more horsepower or less vibration of the newer motors, not riding to Kansas on it. It’s a hooligan bike intended to tickle your nuts on your commute and go rip some laps at a track day.

[sdog30]

I liked mine. My only gripe, it has so much torque until you get to about 90 mph. Then your counting the mph like 93.....94......95....

[sdog30]

Also, Duncan is right. The older ones are way better. When ktm got partially bought out by an Indian motorcycle manufacturer, they started making some of the smaller models in India. The Duke 690 is one of those and they made a ton of cuts to lower the price.

[whynot]

Goofy is fine with me, that shoe fits.

[whynot]

Anyway, I decided to curb my enthusiasm for a 690 Duke, for now at least, seems there are plenty of them for sale, some at $5K more or less. Besides, a bike just came up that I have been after, a Suzuki DR350, my neighbor bought it this summer from the original owner, all original, good condition, 3K miles, and now he wants to sell it to me so he can get a small sailboat. This one is easy since he parks it in my driveway, so "getting it" involves rolling it 20' into my garage [thumbsup]

[MattR302]

I had one for a few years, barely ended up riding it off pavement though.

There were several flavors of DR350’s in the 90’s: dirt only, street legal kickstart, street legal E-start, and some changes along the way. I found that finding parts, either new or used on eBay, can be tricky due to all the variations and sellers just listing parts as general “Fits 1990-1999”. The big thing I remember was wheel bearings and brake rotors changed through the years/models. Some years had a cush drive, some didn’t. Dirt models had a pumper carb. Etc. They stopped making these in 1999, so parts aren’t that common.

A little after I sold the DR350, I got a DR650, which had been the exact same from 1996-2021, so it’s a LOT easier dealing with finding parts.

[Point37]

For the FOURTH damn time:

2008-2011
Fully adjustable WP suspension
Brembo monobloc’s
Forged Marchesini’s
350 lbs dry

^^^this...these were the best looking and best setup...still want...probably end up with a 390 at some point

[loudbeard]

Anyway, I decided to curb my enthusiasm for a 690 Duke, for now at least, seems there are plenty of them for sale, some at $5K more or less. Besides, a bike just came up that I have been after, a Suzuki DR350, my neighbor bought it this summer from the original owner, all original, good condition, 3K miles, and now he wants to sell it to me so he can get a small sailboat. This one is easy since he parks it in my driveway, so "getting it" involves rolling it 20' into my garage [thumbsup]

Ew.

[Crconnor18]

Anyway, I decided to curb my enthusiasm for a 690 Duke, for now at least, seems there are plenty of them for sale, some at $5K more or less. Besides, a bike just came up that I have been after, a Suzuki DR350, my neighbor bought it this summer from the original owner, all original, good condition, 3K miles, and now he wants to sell it to me so he can get a small sailboat. This one is easy since he parks it in my driveway, so "getting it" involves rolling it 20' into my garage [thumbsup]

Ninja 250 wasn’t slow enough?

[whynot]

I had one for a few years, barely ended up riding it off pavement though.

There were several flavors of DR350’s in the 90’s: dirt only, street legal kickstart, street legal E-start, and some changes along the way. I found that finding parts, either new or used on eBay, can be tricky due to all the variations and sellers just listing parts as general “Fits 1990-1999”. The big thing I remember was wheel bearings and brake rotors changed through the years/models. Some years had a cush drive, some didn’t. Dirt models had a pumper carb. Etc. They stopped making these in 1999, so parts aren’t that common.

A little after I sold the DR350, I got a DR650, which had been the exact same from 1996-2021, so it’s a LOT easier dealing with finding parts.

Thanks, Matt, good info, good to know, I will keep it in mind. I had DR650 for a while, decided that I needed something smaller, but still wanted to stay air-cooled, and bikes like the XT250 and various 200, 220, and 230 air-cooled dual sports are too small, so I focused on getting a DR350.

Here's another bike that has come up that looks like it would round out my riding needs -- low enough for me, plenty of power for getting out to western MA, and no lack of torque, for sure.



Opinions?

[FriskyDingo]

Really diggin the ultra-light weight front brake set-up, put one of those knarly knobbies on the back your good to go....


plus it'll get ya out to the rope swing...


Make sure you get the helmet included in the deal....and that SWEET satchel

[Kurlon]

Needs a turbo.

[whynot]

I’ve also been sorta keeping an eye out for a Duke 690. ...
This one looks pretty decent and is local. The luggage is pretty rare. https://advrider.com/f/threads/2013-...rn-ma.1516118/

I heard today from this seller -- open to offers, like $4500 -- but I have moved on --

FYI Matt, et al.

[FriskyDingo]

Interesting, very interesting....... looks like i may need to dig up my ADV name & PW

[whynot]

Interesting, very interesting....... looks like i may need to dig up my ADV name & PW

I think maybe even lower on the price might be possible, what with the cosmetic scrapes on one side of the tank. And he said he needs the garage space.

Otherwise, I like it. (As mentioned before, I recently found the dual sport of my dreams for $2K )

[FriskyDingo]

Thanks for the info, really don't need another bike, but this seems like a deal and i've wanted to replace my 690SM since the day i sold it.

I was thinking of seeing how much lower if I let him keep/sell the side bags, I have no use and there was a guy on ADV who wanted them.

I notice no pic of the exhaust side, do you happen to know if the muffler was crunched in the low side?

[whynot]

Thanks for the info, really don't need another bike, but this seems like a deal and i've wanted to replace my 690SM since the day i sold it.

I was thinking of seeing how much lower if I let him keep/sell the side bags, I have no use and there was a guy on ADV who wanted them.

I notice no pic of the exhaust side, do you happen to know if the muffler was crunched in the low side?

You can see the leading edge of the can in one pic. He does say "minor cosmetic damage" -- I did not ask him if there was more than the scrapes you can see on the tank which should be easy to fix up and cover up with new graphics. But, yeah, notable lack of full pic of the left side. Sure, go lower without the luggage. GLWP

[MattR302]

So in 2018/2019ish, I had some time to kill on a business trip and stopped at a multi-brand MC dealership.
Sat on a Duke 690 and it felt absolutely perfect ergonomically, lightweight like a bicycle.
Kinda had a hankering for one ever since, perused the classifieds non-seriously from time to time.

Last fall, I came across a very well setup one on Reno Nevada Craigslist.
Chatted with the guy a bit, got a couple shipping bids to see what it would hypothetically cost, ended up letting it go.
Checked the Reno CL over the winter every few weeks to see if it was still listed.
Few months ago I saw it listed again for $1000 cheaper.

Long story short, it’s in my garage now.
If it wasn’t a high-strung thumper, and/or it wasn’t entirely cross-country, I would’ve entertained a fly-n-ride.
The Uship delivery guy picked it up on May 10 and dropped it off today, May 23.

2017, 12k miles, Andreani forks, Nitron shock, Brembo front brakes from the European R-spec model, unobtainium Remus underbelly exhaust, NLA track pack / ride modes, and more.
Have a super busy summer but hoping to get it to a track day or two before the end of this year.

[whynot]

^^ Fab [thumbsup]

How did you arrange payment for this distance purchase?

(I used escrow dot com a couple of times, once for selling, once for buying.)

[loudbeard]

https://www.facebook.com/share/1C8ha...ibextid=wwXIfr

But if a project, but a 2010 down in NJ for $3,500ish. I bookmarked it in case it’s still around next time I drive to Virginia.