How to fix: KTM Duke 390 Engine stalling Problem (Common problem) 

I went through all kinds of service work to repair the stalling problem with my 2016 RC 390. It has a power commander and yoshimura pipes. The dealer refused to touch it. I took it to a speed tuning shop and they tried all sorts of repairs including disconnecting the power commander, reflashing the ECU.....among other attempts. They gave it back to me with a big bill and gave up. I saw a RU-vid showing a coil problem. So I changed the coil. Bike runs beautifully now.

It's not a carbon deposit, it's varnish that builds up in the throttle body, from the junk fuel itself. Carbon buildup , or soot, is the result of oil and fuel constituents after being burned, or the combustion process in the combustion chamber, and sticks to the cylinder head and valves as deposits of carbon. BTW yes gas will help wash the varnish away, but carb cleaner does a much better job. I would not say the bike is fixed just because it did not stall right after being cleaned, it took time and a fair amount of fuel to produce the varnish in the first place, so it will again. If I was you, and wanted it to stay cleaner, I would buy some carb & injector cleaner, and add it to the fuel every time you fill it up, it only takes a little each time, and add a good filter as well. If that is the only reason for the stalling problem..Thats my 2 cents. yl

Hey Rahul, great vid! just started to encounter this problem. I'll go to my mechanics and ask them to look at your vid, if they're not already aware of the problem. Greetings from Belgium

thankyou rahul. I had the same problem but now sorted with the help of this vdo.

Thanks bro even I had encountered same problem when I down shift and engaged clutch it will stop or no response at all some times power comes half half by taking few seconds of delay even though I'm engaged with throttle

Throttle body cleaning is done generally after 20k+ kms. And instead of cleaning with petrol its better to use 3M or WURTH'S carb cleaners.

I live in Delhi and like it BUT i love Calcutta. It may have issues but i love the city. The is something serene about the city.

that phone took forever to open camera

I think you should do a tuneup right after cleaning the throttle body to make sure that engine is getting enough air to compensate the change in rate of flow of the fuel. I'm not a mastermind of motors but that is how it usually works as far as i know. Do correct me if I'm wrong.

thank you for making the effort to make this video, man. very grateful! the cricket scene was hilarious! ;-)

The stalling issue is caused by poor spark when the warm engine is running very lean at idle. The OEM bosch plug is garbage, my plug gap was 1.4mm after 9k miles (spec is 0.9). Swap it out for an iridium one and problem is gone.

Flash with my IPHONE!!! 😂😂😂

you could also install an "inline fuel filter" to stop the crap getting to your throttle body.

Good video, i'm going to strip down my carb tomorrow and give it a good clean...also i think super unleaded will help also.

dude ..my Rc 200 is not running smoothly while shifting gears ,its feels like some zerks effects while riding, what to do to solve this problem??

I m not getting smooth ness while riding my ktm rc 390 n its giving white smoke whats the problem

Have you faced this problem again after this fix and after how many kms?

Hello I have a duke 250 , I'm from israel thank you very much I have been having this problem for a while now and I was scared it was something more serious like broken gear box or something , I have a question , in my case he only starts stalling after I ride it aggressively, but if I drive really relaxed he doesn't stall , was that also the case in your situation ? Thank you

It's also worth to look at the injector jet / tip it might be rusted up if the petrol is poor quality or contains some water

it is a very simple matter not a critical problem

does the throttle body cleaning process takes place in every state/city?

I have the same problem. Thanks from Canada :)

Bro what is the cost of cleaning the throttle body?

try WURTH'S carburetor and injector cleaner.... using petrol and diesels to clean with any kind of brush is not advised.

I have same problem with my duke as well. Just left the baby at the service center today. Need to tell them this tomorrow and ask them to clean throttle body thoroughly. Thanks for the video brother. Happy driving. BTW, what was the service cost to clean that throttle body?

Hi Rahul, I've been facing an issue with my 2018 Duke 390 where the engine stalled and restated on its own several times during a ride while I was cruising at 115kmph. The bike also stalls sometimes while downshifting. Also at times the bike feels rough and underpowered around its power and (4000-7500rpm). Did you face any of these issues when you made this video? And also around how many KM's did this problem arise for you?

my 2015duke390 doesn't stall it runs hot like most especially here in the Philippines I ordered a thermostat bypass hose curious if bike will run a little cooler

thanks, ktm guys are replacing the throttle body at the moment. thanks for sharing!

i have a problem while grabbing clutch it suddenly stops and the exhaust note is different it slowly accelerates and lacks pick up what's the problem please reply

I have a problem with my duke200 2014 model the problem is when i start the engine the idle is not normal,when i add the gas failure it also,😥i think the gas cant burn all when i add gas in accelarator,please help me boss,i clean already the trottle body.

wow great video simple and upto the point,well explained.Good effort,7stars******* from me..keep them coming..

Im having this issue on my 690. Hope the process is similar to ur bike

Hi! I own a KTM Duke 125 since 2018. There are a few issues which I would like to clarify. 1. Sometimes the engine stalls randomly when I am riding. (Mostly happens during downshifts). 2. When the bike isn't turned for 3 days or more, it starts and then cuts off after which it will not start unless I give a bit of throttle. 3. There is a kind of jerk as well as a hestitation from the engine. (like the engine is a bit lazy to go.) Does anybody have theses issues? Will be really grateful if somebody clarifies this.!

the problem of stalling is in all the 390 models.even the 2015 duke 390 stalls.all over the world they have the stallling problem check other videos of us and uk. bajaj R and D is very poor.

Brilliant. Thanks for this. I'll show it to my SVC!

I'm wondering if they showed the throttle body and the flap and "carbon deposit" why didn't you show the flap open and close like when after it was cleaned? It wasn't clear that there was a "carbon deposit" I'm just wondering if this actually fixed the stalling issues ? I have the issue now at 5570km with myDuke 390. Could it also be a pinched hose? battery wire pinched? I'm New to mechanics. learning. Thank you for the video and response. I had to drive home in 1st gear, rolling down the hill as it stalled many times trying to get it home.

I suggest u to go for Extra Premium petrol or 'Speed' instead is u luking for more pure petroleum .

Hey buddy You should be hired by the KTM now :D Have same problem here with duke 390 hard to start without adding abit of throttle I did that already nd its all good :)

Hy Bro i Have same Problem with my RC 390 but it has just run 5000 km at service they have changed fuel filter, air filter nd all at 2nd service what should i do should i go with the same procedure that uh have gone hrough ???

Even i am facing similar issue while doing downshifting on new 2017 duke 390 kindly help me out rahul brother

dude that bong accent tho!! :D

I thought there will be coverage of the actual removal process. I need to remove the throttle body from my 200 to clean it since its butterfly valve is sticking.

My KTM duke 250 is getting same problem Can u pls tell me what was the total cost u paid

Hello, can someone help me with my problem on Ktm Duke 390 2015?

I've cleaned the throttle body but still the issue persists in my rs 200...

Great information ! Thank you for your efforts to capture everything and sharing. This will sure help lot of 390 owners. Just curious from which petrol were you using.

I have a problem with my ktm rc 125 holding back anyone know what It can be

Hey did you face the issue again ???

Hey Rahul, The stepper motor will only let the air to pass in to the engine. All the fuelling will be done by the fuel injector. The KTM has a BOSCH fuel injection system, though they are good in the four wheeler market they don't have much experience in the two wheeler market. KEIHIN, which mainly supplies to Honda and MIKUNI, which mainly supply to Yamaha have much better systems. The stepper motor for the KTM 390 is quite big and I believe it is from their four wheeler parts bin. The idle controller of Yamaha R15 is much more compact as I believe it is designed specific for two wheeler. I am not saying BOSCH won't get there and they will address these issues in the future systems. I believe they can tweak the software(calibrate) to solve this issue. Another problem is the fuel injection systems for lower cc bikes are still in a nascent stage at least in India. There are no regulation in India for the bike manufactures to be OBD(On Board Diagnostics) complaint. If they where OBD complaint, you could at least see there are any fault codes. And the mechanics, majority of them, has also not worked extensively with these systems. BTW, the carbon deposits that I saw there in the video is quite normal, unless they are blocking the hole from the stepper motor. Have this actually solved your problem? Since this video is almost an year old, have you encountered this issue again? Have your service center offered any software updates for the ECU? Cheers, Valsan.

Bro my Duke 200 had a issue that ,it races while lowering accelator for just 1-2 sec Thotte body piston was so tight and I have removed and cleaned and that piston is 100%free now ..i just repaird now .but the racing issue was still there a little this time...does it gradually reduces or is that something other

Plz reply how to adjust idle rpm in Duke 200

My rc390 was doing this from day 1 brand new, so this is not the cause of my stalling. Apparently it's clutch not fully disengaging when clutch in.

If carbon deposits from low quality fuel is causing this, then why is mine doing this right from the dealership brand new in the USA? I have about 300 mi on it now, and it's done this since the third day I had it. Maybe seven times already, and it hasn't even been three weeks. Almost killed me today

bai mairay ns 200 mai bhi aaisa hoaa rahaa haii...off hotay wakat lakta hai kahin sai pressure leak horahaa hoaa......kayaa mairay carburrator ka fault hai

@Ride with Rahul : is this problem persist on 2015 Slipper clutch model as i was going to buy it soon am worried over this issue.

Hello brother how much did it cost you for cleaning the throttle body?

Guys i have the exact same problem, bike turns off especially at signals/turning when clutch is engaged. I went to the KTM service station but now they're saying they have to replace the 'Fuel Pump'... i told them i had changed it recently and they changed their story and said they're still checking. At this point i really don't know what to do, i just checked out this video and i'm thinking of giving them a call and asking them to clean the Throttle body. But is there a possibility of this being my fuel pump? in spite that i have recently gotten a new one? Any advice or help is appreciated.

Hy bro my duke was locked my cousins drived without engine oil , the engine was locked. Bike was not start from 3months i kept aside it. Is there possible to fix it

hi bro,on your video from 3:26-3:28,I don't really catch what you said. Can you explain what lets the fuel pass?

Eta kothakar showroom..? I hv prblm with my duke250bs6.....completed 20000kms.....after 3rd srvc milage reduced to 26kmpl in highways @85 to 90kmph cruise. .....bike acceleration and pull is not as before.......during morning start engine stop suddenly. .....idle rpm fluctuations occurs .....jerking occurs....can any one tell me wheather to clean throttle body or to clean map sensor also..? Pls...

Flush your engine with an Engine Flush liquid before oil change. just add the engine flush liquid in the old oil at running temperature. keep the bike in idle running condition for 10-15 mins. drain the old oil. put new oil. and you're good to go. do this before every oil change.

What is "Foo El" ??

Can anyone tell me how can I check my DUKE 390's year from the engine number? I want to know the full meaning of the engine number.

dude like some kinda burst happens in your throttle body is it? i have the problem with my rc390

Dada rpm ta uthte chaito na tai to?? Stalling problem mane ota e to amar o same problem hocche rpm atke atke uthche

It could be a problem with the throttle body, but i am experiencing it since the day i bought it. If the Fuel quality has a problem i always go with 93 or 97 octane. Lets See what KTM has to say on this.

Hey bro I am looking for remapping my rc 390... Any idea where to buy the powertronic kit?

Bro how much they cost

awesome dude thanks for the tip

nice, but i will not down shift like u do...i always rev match...

May i know how much does it cost to repair it.

I have a few concerns about this video....Please try and answer them if possible :) 1) I have heard about this problem from a lot of KTM riders. As per your video, the problem lies with impurity deposits accumulating in the throttle body, which affect the flow of fuel to the engine....So, this problem shouldn't start for the first few hundred/thousand kms. But I have heard this issue coming up with very new bikes as well? 2)If this actually resolved the issue..then has this issue occurred again with your bike, because I see the video is around 5 months old 3) If this issue occurred again, then how often should the throttle body be cleaned? 4)You also said that, the source of the problem was that during idling, enough fuel was not going in the engine..But doesn't this bike have an idling screw, like other bikes!!? If it does then, it could be set a little higher, so that the minimum throttle could be set. Stalling is a big problem and if this happens while shifting gears while riding in traffic or in mountains, it could have serious repercussions!! I am asking so many questions, because I am looking forward to buy the Duke 390 and I go on long rides very frequently. I was thinking about the RC, but it won't suit my touring habits. Also, moving away from the current topic..I have heard about issues with engine oil being consumed far too quickly if the Duke is driven hard and for long distances. Please comment. Thank you in advance :)

And how much it cost for doing that?

Nice video... But....What happened to your accent after you got to the showroom mate?

I am facing starter problem with my rc390 now. It is not exactly a Hot/Cold starting issue as it happens randomly. Sometimes it just starts within ~1-2 seconds of pressing starter and without accelerator while sometimes it just refuses to start even after keeping starter button pressed for 5+ sec..there is usually a blast of air from silencer along with slightly loud sound and i need to give some acceleration along with starter for starting the bike.once started if i cut off the engine and start again,it starts within a seconds and without any extra acceleration.....is this normal????????

Dude how do pronounce "FUEL" ?

Just brang my RC 125 back from mechanic he had no idea what it could be thought it might be carb... But not I'm.convinced it's this problem that is stalking my bike

tnks mate. u saved me 2 ;)

awesome video! 100th liker :D

Hello people, can someone help me with my Ktm Duke 390, i have one problem :(.

simple problem bro use the high quality fuel dont use unleaded, unleaded gasoline high in carbon but special gasoline it can clean your engine overtime

how about the leak i experience in my 390 just bought it yesterday but when i got home and i checked then it shows some oil leak...pls tell me about this problem...can i considered this as a factory defect?or ?

I'm about to buy the duke 390 2019 model, you guy's think it will have the same issues on the new model?? Greetings from Mexico. I like your videos Rahul.

This bike is FULL of problems just like any KTM!

My okd d390 21.6k km running 1st gen stalls automatically and wont start but will magically start after some while but after few minutes of riding it will show the same issue, eventually my battery dried up after multiple misfires and had to push the bike . Ktm service guy said my battery has been faulty and needs to be changed but i believe thats not the problem. Can you please let me know if my issue is related to throttle body that you just mentioned?

How much does it cost bro??

My 390 must also be having this problem. But mine died.

Bhai mera bike bahut bar limping mode mai ja raha hai ...... Please koi solution dedo 😢😢😢

Did the problem return with time?

Planning to buy a second hand duke 390. What would you suggest me to check in the bike before purchasing ?

what is engine life of rc 200

Is the stalling a problem of the absence of slipper clutch in this pre 2015 Duke?

Good video Rahul. Well I'm having a slight problem with my CBR, there is a light rattling sound when accelerating a bit high in 4th gear. Generally I ride in low speeds most of the time. Now when I try to push 50 to 80 in 4th gear it rattles a bit. Do you have any idea on the same?

How many kms have u ridden, untill the carbon deposit has stopped sufficient fuel for idling? Bcoz my friend own one, but there aint such problem for his bike at low speeds

the same thing happened to Yamaha mt09 as well.

Bro facing the same problem in pulsar RS200. Pls help me out

Bro plz tell me is this happens for slipper clutch models...???

Hi Rahul; my girl's 2015 390 is exhibiting all the stalling symptoms you mention. Did your fix last? Fuel quality is not an issue here, (Canada) and though it runs hot, the climate is a cooler. She bought the bike at around 5,000 kilometers, so it seems unlikely deposits have had time to build up.

Can a fuel injector cleaner with petrol/ engine oil help remove the carbon?

check the battery cover....!! becoz I had the same...!!