how to identify that neutral detect wire ?

since its a active low we can directly use a 555 timer to produce PWM and neutral detect wire tied to the reset pin of 555,

@A.n.i: Congratulations on the successful trip, and hats off to you for doing it solo, people like you have some guts. Gives a lot of confidence to the fellow dukers looking to get Lehed.

Coolant leak was due the loose coolant cap in the radiator. The sound would have mostly been due to the pressure. Rode back 40 kms no problems now. So check the both the coolant caps before you take it for a ride. Since Duke attracts people they can't keep their hand's quite. There is no possibility of it getting loose itself.

Kudos to bajaj KTM for keeping an eye on this forum, got the response from the asc once i posted here.

Does this bike has any issue?..i was thinking of buying one

brother every bike has issues.. so be specific...

its better that first you go for its test ride and then decide.. thinking wont help you much..
regarding the issues.. the bike doesn't have big issues. all issues your are seeing in this thread are minor which can be overcome.. the biggest thing is tat you will get extreme fun, power, admiration and unbelievable maneuverability on this bike.
heat on thighs, radiator spillage, leakage of forks, etc will mean you nothing in front of its riding pleasure..
Royal Enfield has lot of critical issues regarding engine problem, material quality, leakages and technological advancement, but still people lov Enfield (The Bullet)

just keep one thing in mind give respect to Duke and it will never let you down..
Superb bike at this competitive price..

brother every bike has issues.. so be specific...

its better that first you go for its test ride and then decide.. thinking wont help you much..
regarding the issues.. the bike doesn't have big issues. all issues your are seeing in this thread are minor which can be overcome.. the biggest thing is tat you will get extreme fun, power, admiration and unbelievable maneuverability on this bike.
heat on thighs, radiator spillage, leakage of forks, etc will mean you nothing in front of its riding pleasure..
Royal Enfield has lot of critical issues regarding engine problem, material quality, leakages and technological advancement, but still people lov Enfield (The Bullet) so it has nothing in comparison to the Bullet.

just keep one thing in mind give respect to Duke and it will never let you down..
Superb bike at this competitive price..

Thanks brother. I was carrying tons of spares/tools since I was alone. Starting from the levers and cables to coolant to a roll over sensor, everything I could think of. But didn't have to use any. I didn't even have a single puncture! BAL's QC has improved and how!

I started a thread here, check it out : http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/2...dakh-solo.html

How did you get the bar weights installed on the handlebar of your Duke 200 ?

Though already answered, but still it's the height of imagination Bro !!! Although, I have already communicated my thoughts earlier, but lets do this once again. This is for you and all new riders. Though I ain't no expert or best tech geek but you can think these as the golden rules.

1. Every Bike has some issues. Also it has some benefits, positives or good attributes.
2. Every new Bike introduced to the market is prone to few minor niggles/issues.
3. Issues experienced by few owners/riders doesn't mean it's there for every unit of that Bike sold.
Issues can be termed as minor if they don't pose threat to riders life, they don't seem to shorten the engine life, they don't seem to interfere with critical components/systems of the bike, has any workaround or can be fixed easily and won't increase/expand to that extent where g itself would cost a fortune.
4. Like human beings every bike shows different character. And every rider wants this uniqueness/difference. Or we would have bought the same bike or even worse we would all end up marrying the same girl
5. Always think as a package. Try to think whether the + points outweigh the - points or not.
6. Seek help from your brain but try to follow your heart. Even if sometimes you land on some wrong decisions.

Cheerio!!!

Every Bike has some area(may be hidden) where the manufacturing date is written. Though I am not sure about the place for Duke.

Completely agree with you Bro. But I have a question(May be you can only answer this with your vast experience with almost every bike sold around the globe ; I envy you ). Do any 200 cc naked bike in abroad also makes this much heat? Let me assure you that I don't have anything to complain with the heating, but just a doubt in my mind.

Though you got the answer, but few owners had already recommended to check the coolant cap, coolant level, rear brake oil reservoir cap alongwith other common things before taking it for a ride. Even Janesh had posted a simple DIY to protect the coolant cap and rear brake oil reservoir cap from over enthusiastic guys. If required you can also fix that.

Now you know that KTM is not that unreliable that few are trying to portray here.

@Ashutosh: Please, grow up Bro !!! You are not sounding like a Senior member. You should know that every new Bike introduced in the market can have few niggles(generally present in the first lot of bikes). You should also know that during the early days of the bike, people do need time to get themselves properly accustomed/familiar with the Bike. That's why in the initial few pages you would see more numbers of issues/niggles. If you follow the thread closely, you would know most of those reported issues are not common to every bike(i.e. not posted by every user). Also after first servicing atleast 80% or maybe 90% of those issues got resolved. Proof, the same owner is not posting/discussing that issue again in this thread. Issues become real issues only when experienced by every(or atleast most) owner and only if even after years the SVC can't find a way to solve it.

Also, as far as I know neither you are a Duke Owner nor an aspirant. Then what are you doing in this ownership thread? Choose the General discussion thread or help me thread instead.

One lucky Guy !!! Congrats...

Hi Anirban, Waiting to meet you and hear everything from you. Please PM me your contact details if that's not a problem.

Man!!! You got a spare roll over sensor too !!! Great Bro. BTW where did you get the Metalman? I am not getting it yet in Kolkata.

i spent a good amount of time with my friend and his duke yesterday .. he has bought it just 2months back and he has 0 problems .. i think the niggles have been sorted out from the second batch onwards .. only thing he complained about was cleaning the bike after a ride in rain .. he told me that he has hurt his hand many times while cleaning .. i was trying to find niggles with his duke but there were none of them .. the exhaust color problem is not a problem actually .. gear shifts were smooth and gave sure shifts with click feedback ..engine heat did not fade the performance ...seriously considering it for buying ..

I honestly don't know. I haven't ridden the Duke yet so I don't know precisely how much heat it's putting off (if the Duke rider I saw a month ago here in Bhubaneswar wants to stop by sometime and let me take it for a brief spin, I'll do a full review, send me a PM to set up a meeting; and I will probably be getting my own here in a couple of months), but I can estimate based on knowing it's a water-cooled 200 and recalling how much heat the various bikes I've ridden put out for their size. I have ridden other small US bikes, and some have put off a noticeable but not major amount of heat. I should point out that there are VERY few bikes this small sold in the US, so there's not much to compare to. Most manufacturers have maybe one 125cc in their lineup, and a couple have 250s, but almost without exception they are considered "beginner" bikes. The vast majority of sales for these bikes are to rider training schools. They are tuned so they're not intimidating to ride, and the manufacturers expect that most won't be ridden for more than a single riding season before they get traded in or sold to pay for a "normal" bike, which is anything 600cc or bigger (the 600s are considered the "small" bikes, with the exception of a couple of the sport bikes like the CBR600RR which are race replicas).

I have ridden a couple of other Indian-market bikes including an FZ, and noted the amount of heat they put off (very little). My "benchmarks" for what a hot bike feels like are the bikes I've owned, plus a 1200cc Buell Lightning I rode for a bit and my dad's 1981 Harley FXB Sturgis (1340cc shovelhead motor, pre-Evo). Those last two ran really hot; the Buell needs a fan to cool it down for as long as 5 minutes after it's shut off, and the big Harley gave me a literal 1st-degree burn on my leg just from being close to the motor.

Since the Duke is only a 200, and the "heat" is only noticeable in heavy stop-and-go traffic when the fan kicks on in hot weather, my estimation is that it only feels hot because no other Indian bike puts off any real heat, so the Duke feels hot by comparison. It probably doesn't help that the design of the Duke means the hot air from the radiator dumps right against the inside of the rider's thigh.

I do know that the Duke motor is very similar to some of the smaller KTM off-road bikes, and I've been around those enough to know the kind of heat they put off, so I'm guessing the Duke puts off a similar amount.

The heat from the duke 200 is nothing compared to the 954rr I had, which in any case was not known for excessive heat, a couple of times I had to get off the 954, when stuck in traffic to save my legs from roasting.
The only real issue I have faced with the duke till now is the chain hitting the swingarm, otherwise it has been trouble free.

my duke is two months old and has completed the first service..

I noticed a considerably reduced throttle response when compared to the usual one and also noticed that the bike knocked more often...

does it have to do with the petrol quality or is it some other issue.. I have never experienced these before.

+1, Nicely put.
Is the manufacturing date directly written?
Or is it encoded in Vehicle Identification Number?
Can you please find out where is it on your duke??

I think so. I felt I had a reduced throttle response in the mid range for a while. So I switched to Shell super for the next few tankfuls and have noticed a definite improvement. I was using xtrapremium before that.
Now, I know a few people might say it was all in my head. But I know my bike.
I'd suggest you try it as well. For better result you should avoid mixture of the two.