KTM Sportmotorcycle — duke 390 bike defect since purchase

Address:

560075

Dear sir,
I write this mail with utmost disappointment and regret as there are certain matters that need to be brought to your immediate attention.
I had purchased a brand new ktm duke 390 from khivraj motors, indiranagar branch, bangalore on the 29th of july 2017.

Reg number : ka 03 jm 3758
Chassis no : md2jpjyc8hc227039
Engine no :[protected]

Since it was a saturday and the rto would not be able to register the vehicle that day, i was told it would go for registration on the following monday (31st july 2017).
As soon as i was handed over the bike on 29th july 2017, i went straight to the fuel station to fill up the tank. The petrol pump was less than 3kms from the showroom where i picked up the bike.in the little distance i rode, i realized that there was definitely something wrong with the handling of the bike. I immediately went back to the showroom and notified this issue to mr naveen and mr. Edwin in the showroom who were the managers of the above mention showroom branch. I had clearly stated that there is a strong pull on one side. Mr naveen took my bike for a ride and realized that this was true. I stated that since the bike had not even been registered, please give me another bike rather than fixing this one, because i didn’t want to get a bike that i have owned for half an hour to go for repairs,
Nor mr. Naveen nor did anyone else at the showroom heed my advice and refused to do so. They went ahead and registered the vehicle on monday anyway. They told me that the pull i was feeling on the bike is a small issue and will be fixed within no time. They gave me excuses that since the old duke had an under-belly exhaust and the new one had an exhaust on the side, hece there is definitely a weight imbalance issue (Indirectly they were telling me that ktm had probably not done their r&d).
Since mr. Naveen refused to be even slightly co-operative i decide to call and speak to mr. Edwin, who inturn assured me that the issue will be sorted out during my 1st service. I kept telling them that the 1st service would happen 1000kms later and it would do further damage if i continued till then. So they told me to bring the bike to the kasturba road service centre on that coming saturday. I was told it is a very small issue that just need a little adjustment. I was extremely unhappy with the idea of taking a brand new bike to the service centre for repairs but sice no one cooperated with me i had no other option but to take it to the service centre.
When i took the vehicle to the kasturba road service center, i was assured that they will not be opening up the entire bike but just align and rectify the weight imbalance. They gave me irrational excuses that ‘my tyre pressure was imbalanced’ and hence i was facing this issue.in spite of that, they opened up the front fork assembly and temporarily sorted it out. During this temporary fixing they did a vey crude job with putting it back together. They forgot to tighten basic nuts and bolts. I took the bike from the service centre and realized my mirror was loose, the rubber paddings on the handle weren’t fixed properly and my front guards on the handlebar was freely rotating. Nevertheless to say the same imbalance issue started acting up again in a day or two.
Back to square one, i had to go through the same begging and pleading to fix my new bike. The next week i was asked to come to the service center again for this issue. This time they said ‘my handlebar was bent’ and they decided to replace that. I was very sure it wasn’t a handlebar issue but i didn’t want to argue with them as i thought they knew what they were doing. By the end of it they fixed a new handlebar but the issue was still persistent and the handlebar change made absolutely no difference.
By this time the bike had done about 500kms and i realized that the issue was getting worse. To this they said please finish the initial riding-in period and give it for first service. They will check through everything and sort this issue completely.
At this point i contacted mr. Sambhav, who was working in the kasturba road service center. Mr. Sambhav is an immediate relative of the owners of khivraj bajaj. Atleast then i thought it would be fixed. Mr. Sambhav said asked me to bring back the bike to the service centre and very confidently said it will be fixed immediately and he assured me that i will not have any more issues. When i did bring it in to the service center they opened up the entire front fork assembly and everything else they wanted to. Sad to say the issue wasn’t sorted but my bike was left with more crude scrapes and scratches due to their extremely crude workmanship. By this time the bike had done its running in, till now the bike had never gone above 70kmph as i was very careful with maintaining my vehicle. I had to do 100kms on a new bike with utmost unhappiness that it was getting stressful to even ride the bike constantly sitting at an angle and with the bike pulling to one side. The tyres also started wearing out unevenly and the chain sprocket started wearing out due to the imbalance.
Once the running in was complete and i could ride it over 7500rpm, i decided to take it out on the highway. This is when matters got even worse. I realized that the pull was getting stronger and stronger and was impossible to stabilize the bike in most situations. Also the engine started heating up excessively, the ecu started displaying errors and the front console started misbehaving as and when it felt apt. I would get errors on the console saying “ecu failure” and the bike would randomly stop and not start for a while, the lights would randomly switch off whenever it felt like, i started getting errors saying “abs failure”.
At this point i was very stern with mr sambhav, mr. Rakesh and mr. Anand at the kasturba road service centre. I had made it very clear to them that this issue is getting worse, the bike is having all sorts of errors and the entire suspension as sinking on one side. I also told them that this is a risk to my life and it could cause accidents in future if not rectified immediately. This was a risk to my life and also to other commuters on the road. They did not bother, nor were they concerned that they were putting my life in danger along with the other passengers if something goes wrong. They did not even acknowledge my concern.
They would take my bike and mess it up more in the name of “fixing it”. I was also caused a lot of inconvenience as i had no transport and had to use public transport (Such as ola or uber) this was also an expensive affair that i had to face just because they kept my bike and i had to pay a lot for my transportation. I wouldn’t have minded it if the issue was sorted. But no, the issue was not sorted, instead it became worse, i also started having issue with the slipper clutch, it wasn’t working as a slipper clutch but instead was locking up my rear wheel during downshifting. Also, the rmp would rise in a jiffy but took a long time to come back down when i left the throttle. This was a clear issue of the clutch. On highways on an open road the bike refused to go over 135kmph. This was a major letdown. Not that i wanted to go over those speeds, but just to know that the bike wasn’t performing the way it normally should. The engine started heating up excessively and i would get errors saying “engine temp high”. I complained about it, but the service centre did nothing about it, as usual.
After reaching this state i was unable to use my bike and had to be left in my parking lot because the service center refused to do anything about it. It was completely unusable.
When i mentioned this to the kasturba road service center they again asked me to come and give it for service (I had lost count of the number of times this bike has gone to the service center in a span of 2 months).
Very disappointing to say that they did not fix it properly even then.

As a result of this negligence of ktm and khivraj bajaj, on the 23rd of novenver, i was riding and the bike suspension sank on one side and the bike lost control and i was forced to meet with an accident. I was left with a lot of injuries as a result.
This is where i draw the line as there is no limit to the lack of quality service form ktm and khivraj bajaj. Neglegance was all i was provide with after complining so much. I had shown them enough proof of all the above mentioned issues. They accepted the issues were true but still did nothing about it even then. They are extremely lethargic and uninterested in their work, the heed no advice and concerns from customers, they don’t care if people’s lives are at risk even. They lack basic humanity.

Hence i have filed a complaint with the national consumer redressal forum.
Complaint number 517393.
I would like this matter to be sorted at the earliest.
The following is what i require compensated:
· i would like my bike to be replaced with a new one. I do not want it fixed. I want it replaced.
· i would like to be compensated for the inconvenience caused due to my medical injuries.
· i would like to be compensated for the inconvenience caused due to lack of transport when the service center had taken my vehicle for days and i had no transport.
· i would like to be compensated for the inconvenience caused due to my current transportation situation as i have no transport and have to pay for auto/cabs on a daily basis.
· i would like to be compensated for all the other damages caused to me during the accident.
· i would also like to be compensated for the inconvenience and the cost of filing this case in the national consumer redressal forum.

All the proof of my conversations with the above mentioned people and photographs of the bike issues have been attached along with this mail. I have also attached images of my injuries caused due to the accident.

I request you to take this matter with utmost priority and resolve it. I would be highly obliged if this could be sorted out at the earliest as i can not afford to spend more money taking cabs for transportation.

Looking forward to a positive response from your end.

Thanks and regards,

Jahan bandrawalla.
+[protected].