+1. It couldn't have been more better put up.

Droool features!! Excellent!!

Some of the points mentioned there might have got missed out here..

Dunno whats the fuss about nos. when you get on a bike all you can tell is bike is scary, fast, slow, lethargic. honestly when riding any 150 cc bike, cannot tell difference in power unless ridden side by side. hell even when i jump from my r15 on my friends fazer cannot tell much difference unless ridden side by side and its which is kinda pointless to boost over small power advantage you have. overall experience on highway and street remains more or less same.

The biggest difference for me is made by chassiss and how good bike is in corner carving (am a R15 owner, what else you expected, its really great at that), how easy it is to lean in and transfer weight, and how stable, confidence inspiring it remains there. r15 simply draws you into ride.

and am sure duke will give you same pleasure.

as for power figure its good for the price you will pay for, if need more power get KTM 690 when launched.

Going by specs very much looks like a perfect city bike with an unruly character and potent occasional touring/ offroading tool....

So who's up for D200 ? I'm in (though not decided fully yet)

So, you finally find time to visit the thread huh ..

Are 125 and 200 Ktm duke the same in looks??

With 165 mm ground clearance, 150 mm suspension travel and a punchy low and mid range, I have already started to dream of fitting a pair of dual purpose tyres and taking the 200 Duke to leh..!!

Firstly: 4-Strokes dont smoke; If yours does get it checked ASAP.
Secondly: if you are so confident about a cbr smoking a duke on the highway then please wait for the bike to launch and conduct road tests for the same.


P.S. I am a Honda fanboy myself (and somewhat a bajaj disliker too) But when they do something good you have to appreciate it and stop cribbing

When I went through the site,saw numerous powerparts available for the bike.Hope that many of the enhancements are available for India too and also with an affordable pricing..

Cool.. and wat abt the other enhancements(power parts)?

I am very conservative when it comes to customization... according to me the factory condition is best for long term ownership.

absolutely right, but the Alarm system is over priced
so, we have to make a list of xBhpians who's going to purchase the bike just like we did for the CBR 250R

I waited for this review for a long time. Though this was the most in depth review (as expected) and the photos were fantastic, but I personally feel at the end it was allot of unnecessary bashing of other bikes like the CBR and R15. CBR i could still digest. WHY R15! (are they hinting d200 will be nearer to R15 in pricing as it is to CBR in performance). i know most of it is fed by Bajaj. Bajaj also had or has a commercial competing pulsar against the japs. We all know for fact why it sells more than the japs. No offence to any Pulsar owners i respect the fact that p150 started it all for India, but take a glance at any second hand market and you will know the difference in price for a similarly specd Jap under similar chronology. From the above i just hope Bajaj delivers this time on both sides of the coin. the coin being pulsars and its parts very cheap but not so much built to last and on the other hand ninja 250 superb quality, but my god its expensive to own(i am a college student who rides hard, so we frequently lick the tarmac may take the plunge to own a ninja cant maintain one).

One more thing why so many of us have such a grudge on the top speed of a bike. ITS A STREET FIGHTER PEOPLE and who here does more than 130 in the streets. i live in Chandigarh and i maintain the fact that it has one of the best city roads in India. i have never had the need to go beyond 80kmph(only to find a red light or a suv about to flip on a round about....chd suv drivers are craZZY). If you are so touring focused get yourself a CBR (wind protectin will come in handy). CBR owners please dont beat your self up, you guys didnt know this one coming. CBR has its strengths and duke has its. What is further down the line Yamaha comes up with a fz250 better than duke in some aspects and some not. It happens. Summing up i would like to say no bike is perfect if that would have been the case there would have been just one manufacturer and a single bike, this isnt so because of the same reason we have d200 and the CBR.

A nice review and my take

KTM200.......

Develops the power and torque like that of a high revving engine.........and is a naked bike.......it is exactly what it is, a screamer bike.

But now the questions,


1.Low top end - Hmm, here the 250s shows their CCs.

2.Refinement ?- A word associated with Honda and Kawasaki for their 250R and ZZR1400, how is it doing there ?

3.Late Torque development- hmm, we have bad roads(sometimes-rockbed roads) in India and some steep hills with roads of bad engineering.A good torque at low revs makes the planted feel in these cases.Suzuki's Inazuma 250 pushes the meaty torque rod with its SOHC Inline twin and Hyosung GT250 boasts of a wide mid-range........and they would be in the mart soon.
So how does KTM hold up in this diesel like big-headedness department ?

4.Night riding ?- 55/60W stock ? or does it require one ? and Pilot lamps-how sweet do they look ?

5.Costly spare parts- I assume this from a small price list/possibly would be dear on pockets if used on a daily basis.

6.Mileage- ahem.....no matter what but for daily use purposes it would be considered.


There are many other things, but it is not just the speed and thrill............there are these check boxes above which needs to be ticked for a true all-rounder.

With the 250cc(Kawasaki,Hyosung,Honda,Suzuki) segment getting filled with inputs from almost every manufacturer-the KTM 200 has to become that all-rounder to be in that price range(there would be others-Bajaj,Yamaha and Mahindra) and draw an unbiased biker towards itself.

Answers in bold

The Orange lil Beast !!!!

Excellent Review !!!!
I'm sure this hooligan is gonna tear up the roads in India !!!!
Way to go KTM .......