KTM 390 Duke Owners Facing Major Issues with KTM My Ride Application

KTM 390 Duke was the first bike of its segment to feature the TFT console with smartphone connectivity option. Sai Santosh Mudaliar (Owner) has reported a number of problems regarding the console from August 2018 and after checking the application review, it can be safely said that many other owners are facing similar problems. KTM My Ride app costs INR 600, that too when a buyer has already paid INR 2.44 lakh as the ex-showroom price. On the other hand, the app drains the battery from the user’s device and cannot be connected to the latest Android versions. Here is what he has to say about the ongoing struggle with his console.

Dear KTM Customer Care / Motorcycling Enthusiasts,

Please note I am hereby writing this to highlight all the major issues with 2017 /2018 KTM Duke 390 bikes instrument cluster which many of us are facing from the past. KTM India has hopelessly addressed none of these issues since August 2018 very conveniently and it is high time we customers get an answer.

I would like to introduce myself :

• Name: Sai Santosh Mudaliar
• Profession: Architect
• Location: Mumbai
• Bike owned: 2017 KTM Duke 390
• Bike purchased: May 2017 (KTM Andheri)

Firstly I would like you to briefly read through the conversation I have had with KTM customer care since 19th December 2018 and the replies that I have gotten after reminders from my end to which I had shared a formal email which still awaits a reply.

Secondly to bring to your notice the horrible issues we face with the instrument cluster, kindly go through the images of KTM apps and their ratings and reviews over Google Play Store. The same can be compared very fairly against TVS motors NTORQ bike app. You will notice KTM has scored heavy negative ratings and reviews with so many complaints where KTM is willingly not responding to customer and their issues with the instrument cluster and the bike app. Whereas on the other side TVS is striving so hard to listen to their customer feedbacks and continuously update their app and keep the customers so happy. If you notice TVS bike app has scored a record 4/5 star rating for customer satisfaction and overall app performance and user interface.

Thirdly let’s begin with the issues that I will list down for all of us to easily understand as on to what they are since KTM customer care seems to either avoid it or not realise it at all:

1. KTM My Ride / KTM My Ride navigation app is causing a battery drain in many Android phones and this results in heating issues. This issue was partially addressed in the August 2018 update.

2. KTM My Ride does not connect with the latest version of Android floating in the market for smartphones i.e Android Pie / Android 9.0 version.

3. KTM My Ride boasts control and connectivity of music with the instrument cluster and it’s handling but unfortunately only supports one app i.e Google Play music for listening and toggling through music, other music players and apps like Saavn / Gaana / SoundCloud are not recognised as music players even after setting them as default music players in the mobile phone main settings. We have reached 2019 and will touch 2020 in a year, nobody listens to music by saving it in their mobile phones, majority of us all stream it through online music players, the fact that these players except Google Play music app are not recognised and supported with the instrument cluster despite setting them as default music players makes the whole panel and its buttons useless on long touring rides as we cannot control music through the provided handlebar buttons.

4. KTM My Ride does not offer turn by turn navigation to Indian consumers and 390cc bikes whereas competition is offering all of that while selling two wheeler scooters for 1/3rd the price we paid. Do we not deserve the same facility? In fact, customers abroad who have paid for the app (KTM my ride navigation) for higher cc motorbikes of KTM are unhappy as well because of its glitchy and horrible user interface and behaviour that ruins the whole connectivity experience on touring rides offering no music no calls no Navigation assist. Please note these features were advertised as USP’s of the bike and they miserably fail to deliver the same on Indian and global KTM bikes of varying engine capacity and model successfully by promising falsely.

5. KTM My Ride is such a poor app that even the app has one dead screen (refer image) as the whole app which shows either connected/not connected with the bike. This is the only screen you get to see in the app, there is nothing else to it. There is not a single feature that can be accessed in the app which is useful to check for eg bike odo, fuel level, service reminder, manual, abs settings, music player selection, inbuilt map navigation feature. I urge KTM management to invest in their app developers and give us something fruitful which will resolve all these petty connectivity issues. This will affect a lot of customers who specially use the bike for touring purposes where all these features come in handy and are used often. We have paid close to 3 lakh rupees a bike and the sales number shows close to average 500 units a month that is roughly 11000 bikes on street in the past 22 months in India alone. Turnover of close to 290 crores but customer service of zero rupees in return.

I hope KTM brand responds and resolves our issues one by one and makes the app rating go higher and release a useful app which is 2019 friendly and not a useless decade old update.

I urge other bike enthusiasts in this mail to kindly let the word spread so that KTM motorcycle and KTM India replies to it and addresses these issues or the matter will be taken up ahead on a different perspective.

Regards,
Sai Santosh Mudaliar

KTM My Ride Issues

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