SITREP on my 2017 KTM 390 Duke, PONY

SITREP on my 2017 KTM 390 Duke, PONY:

Today, Sunday, 11 November, I replaced the spark plug on my 2017 KTM 390 Duke, PONY, with a KTM-box OEM NGK spark plug that I bought from local KTM dealer yesterday.

Today I bought & put 1 gallon of Shell 93 octane fuel in and tried the ignition. PONY started. He emitted white-grey smoke and a bad smell. Neither had happened prior to last Sunday. I shut him off immediately.

When I described this to a mechanic buddy he said it sounds like piston, cylinder andor ring damage.

To get my head around this I wrote up these facts & questions:

Facts:

I bought PONY in February this year, 2018

$4444 remains payable on PONYs KTM financing

Bike ran all of his 822 miles on-track during trackdays in Novice or Intermediate Rider groups

PONY has never been raced

Bike is completely stock, OEM, no modifications, tuning or accessories; fluids are all original or Motorex as required by KTM and purchased at KTM dealer

PONYs engine got its First-Service & oil change at 444 miles, September 2018; after First-Service, dealer did not indicate any concerns or problems

Prior to today, Sunday, 11 November, Veteran’s Day, PONY hadn’t started since losing power during Session #3 & shutoff in the paddock, last Sunday, 4 November, at NCBike, Garysburg, North Carolina

The original stock spark plug porcelain shows melting. 3 people I showed it to in person noted that the electrode appears melted off, not snapped in any way, and wondered where the missing metal went

Dealer Service Lead reports he has 6 inop KTM engines in his shop; said if he brings in another,

“Chris’s head will explode”;

also said that if it were 6 Yamaha engines, they’d all have the same cause; that each of

“6 different broken KTM engines will have a different reason”;

that KTM sends a guy out from Ohio to inspect broken engines, asks “has this bike been on the track.” Any indicators of track use —like safety-wire-drilled nuts & bolts, cold-tear or fir-ing on tire edges andor tire rubber clag buildup— have been cited by KTM NA to deny warranty coverage.

Dealer Parts Lead says there are tests that they can do —pressure test, compression test, leak-down test— to assess root cause & damage; that sometimes KTM will meet you halfway and pay for parts but not service

Questions:

1. What was the root cause that caused the engine to get hot enough to melt spark plug & it’s porcelain?

2. Does trackday use, not racing, void warranty?

3. Where is the KTM warranty?

4. Should I take this up with ECMS who did the First-Service or Easton Bob the dealer, below, from whom I bought PONY in February of this year 2018?

5. What’s the extent of damage right now?

6. Should I ask & pay dealer to tear down engine to determine root cause, and warranty implications?

7. Should I do diagnostic tear-down of engine myself to save money?