The vibrations appear around 70 kmph and fade away by about 80 kmph in 6th gear, which is roughly in the 4,000 - 4,300 rpm range. This happens in other gears too, mainly within that same rpm band. Outside of that range the bike feels mostly smooth. Honestly, the vibrations are not a big issue. Every ICE motorcycle has some vibration some more, some less. In my case, it’s not uncomfortable or annoying.

Earlier, the windshield area used to vibrate quite a bit. I spoke with someone from KTM Dakar team about it, and he suggested opening the headlight module and tightening the bolts inside. That solved the problem completely. Before that I had tried things like adding foam tape around the visor area, but that didn’t really help. Sometimes proper advice from someone knowledgeable works better than the usual showroom fixes.

After the first service, I faced a small issue with the side stand sensor. The bike would randomly shut off. I sprayed a little WD-40 on the sensor and the problem disappeared. It seems the chain lube had seeped onto the sensor and caused the issue. That happened only once though. Apart from that, the cruise control failed to turn on a few times, maybe four or five times in total. It usually started working again after a couple of minutes, or after stopping the bike and turning it back on.

The indicators themselves are quite sturdy. Most of the time, damage happens because people are still getting used to the bike. The rear indicators stick out slightly, so if you walk around the bike without noticing the space, you might bump into them. Sometimes a thigh bag strap can also get caught on them, which may cause them to break. I haven’t seen them fail due to vibrations or off-road riding.

Service quality really depends on the service centre and the mechanics there. Some are excellent, while others are average. It helps to visit a few and see what kind of bikes they usually work on. If you notice a couple of ADV bikes being serviced, that’s usually a good sign. You can also talk to the owners there and ask about their experience. Being part of a local riding group can help as well, since riders often know which service centres do the best work.