Story (first big post...pls don mind eh..)

After succumbing to the tyranny of parents from last 7yrs, I finally could rip apart & stay undeterred on my decision to buy the first bike of my life..a 25bhp "Raging Bull"

I got my Baby Duke at around 5.10 PM today, The very look of it made me relax for few second, After some initial knowledge transfer by a polite service guy, Me and Shiva(fellow duker) set out to reach our destination (i din no the route from indiranagr to Malswaram so had to follow Shiva)..

It took just 3mins for me to get accostomed to the Bike(or it ws the either way), very light and powerful and almost precise handling, Shiva is a professional biker(had a R1 earlier) and he just kept pushing his Duke swiftly and I, who dint even have a test ride was able to match his pace with so much ease and comfort....

Negotiating the curve at Domlur Flyover was a feeling in itself, I personally love curves and since it ws my first bending opportunity I was excited, Shiva took the turn like a GP racer & behind him, I prayed to God, slid my ass a lil bit, opened right leg and executed the curve at around 45kmph, ws expecting the bike to stretch out of my expected line but NOPE....it ws just firmly fixed to the road....I had a pleasant grin on my face...

Then the usual Rush hour traffic, Both of us flicked thru it as if there was no traffic, In this Duke as soon as u see a Gap in the traffic snarl, all you have to do is ask ur Duke "Shall we?" and the next moment you are thru tat gap...

Potholes and humps are not a problem for Baby Duke, its just absorbs them up leaving u with Surprise and a Wider Grin...I kept telling it "I love u" all the time when it jumped over a hump..

And many questions regarding the bike Make and Power by many commuters(celebrity feeling)

At MG road Traffic signal (Cauvery) me and Shiva lined up in front for a Drag, A big smile on both of our faces, At the lit of the green light, we rode and I still don no how...I surpassed him and as we left the traffic behind to the clear open MG road and as I pushed it further, tears rolled down my eyes and i screamed in high pitch(ppl should have felt i ws psych)..a sense of Bliss and achievement..

By the time we reached Cantonment we got separated, I some how came to no the route and carried on in a rather less aggressive pace..(lasted for a short time)

Honda CBR250 and FZ16 owners were the most dissatisfied at the look of my Duke, the very expression on their faces made me feel there is some insecurity feelin in them..or regret or watever...overtook some of them with amazing agility (who provoked me) ..I cant call it "Risk" becs my Duke was perfectly balanced while doing so..

I was so much pleased by the handling of this bike, the Brakes are Immaculate, super stopping power and not jerky, its progressively quick..

Near home ws chased by a group of school students till my house, they were awe struck..and so ws my Mom, Its a beautiful bike she said..(she cursed it before telling its a skeleton)...44kmpl it was showing after Rash driving...

PROBLEMS : I din have any chain problem, but I felt somethin like a Miss-fire, I m not sure how to explain it, as if throttle goin numb for a moment then suddenly opening up...felt it two times, but dint bother while riding..
Radiator heat is like too much, I cant digest the fact tat my baby is dissipating so much heat, ...
Last of all its NOT a "Raging Bull" its a "Trained Bull", its too comfortable and easy and very sweet in performance is wat i felt..(ws expecting it to b lil out of control)..
Horn is feeble and engine grunt needs to be more definate...

Final verdict : " It is Gem of a Bike, I am emotionally insync with it, I said to it
" You and I have a journey to make, that stretches longer than the road ahead "

Congrats Rajath! Finally you got the Duke!

Yes, even I have encountered the misfire/ throttle going numb a couple of time - and I attributed it "yet to get accustomed to the Duke" factor. will let you know more when I continue my affair with the Duke from Monday.

hope u said these in fun factor, there always better way to convey msg

i would like to see how duke can perform on MMRC track , everyone knows its street ability.. its time for it to hit the tracks

So you mean you were riding it rash right out of the showroom??? Wasn't there a Rev Limiter at 7500 RPM??? Could that have been the delay you were speaking about when the throttle cut off for a little while and then kicked back in???

hello fellow duke owners, anybody can throw some light please on my queries related to breaking in of the bike?

i think on an ownership thread this information would make perfectly sense.....

thanks so much for any relevant information!

In general, it's a good idea to vary the RPM of the bike in a wide range in all gears. The RPM range will vary depending on breaking-in philosophies. Here since KTM guys are apparently asking us to set the RPM to 7k, you can have that as a range. So ride the the bike upto 7k on all the gears. But always be easy on the accelerator, that is accelerate slowly and steadily.

Though not recommended by KTM, some people might follow Motoman's break-in method also. You may want to google for it.

Edit: Also, first oil change needs to be done at the right interval. This is very important for the health of the engine.
Here are a couple of links from within the forum itself.
http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/help-me/...break-run.html
http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/help-me/...procedure.html

I was under 6k RPM but the way I rode was lil rash, took some hard flicks,suddenly increased the RPM to 5K, instant braking...these kinda stuff...& its locked at 7.5k RPM,

Thanks Shubz, wil try to meet you once you are in Blore...

Can any guys check the FE by the as below.Its old but best method in which you won't go wrong:-

Put full tank petrol

Set the tripmeter to Zero

Run the bike for 100 or more Kms (A).

Again fill petrol untill tank is full .

Note the Quantity of petrol Say ... Lts (B)

(A)/(B) will give a accurate figure of the milegae.

Some one please use this method and post your mileage.

P.S. My Duke has arrived at the showroom and making the full payment today.

Announcing the arrival of Inder's (inder.cool) Duke yesterday evening. This is probably the first Duke in the Pune xBhpian clan.

As anticipated, Inder was expressionless as he could not express Joy, Excitement, Frustration (of the long wait) and Enthusiasm together.

Happy Biking Paaji!!

Hey wat was your waiting list number. The KTM guys have not called me yet.

How to get it registered off Bangalore ?

Hi All,

Though this question may seem very naive , but still i am unaware of it since this would be the first bike i am buying.

Whats the procedure to be followed if i don't want to get the bike registered in Bangalore? , though Indiranagar KTM is the only place i can buy. I would like to see my home town's number on my first bike (kind of an emotional attachment ).

Hope you guys throw some light some on this.!

Cheers

Hey. How many dukes have been delivered so far in Pune? Mine is scheduled next week! & any plans of Duke owners for meeting up @ some place? & congrats inder... wadhayian

hey shreeda, thanks for coming back bro

Not really sure about the number of Dukes delivered so far..but, Inder's bike is the first that I have heard of in common circles.

Mine is expected on Wednesday after the RTO formalities.