Can you be a bit clear as to what you want to say?

in germany the Duke will be @ 4600 euro...so 125.000 rupees are not tht much....

well assassin i think what Ankiville wanna say here is that theses are some of the silly reasons which people give to show KTM is not a gud bike, which not only are stupid but very hilarious too, but sometimes after reading such comments you just wanna kick some butts.

People talk about bikes....and say such things....i wonder why!!
Even educated ones.
yesterday a man at work asked why there is not a centre stand what kind of bike is this.?
It was hard to make him understand at last i thought to let it go. Such people wont understand.

Today, I went for a test ride at KTM Kochi. It reminded me the good old rx100. I liked it very much. Owners, is there any flows other than paint peeling off at the rear suspension spring and mist in the console? I can live with these 2 issues. But are there any major issues that I need to be worried about?
Btw, prospective buyers near Kochi please post the TD vehicle chasis number.The one I took TD ends with 864. Check before you take delivery. It seems that vehicle will be sold to somebody.

The 125 Aprilia is the street-legal version of the 125 Sport Production racing bike. The only difference is the RS has lights. Additionally, even the *really* little Aprilia, the 50, has a race class. They're track bikes with lights, so the USD fork makes sense. The Duke is not, and does not. Since India is one of the bigger markets for the Duke, KTM would probably have been better served to go with a conventional fork, a move which would also help keep the price down. They might even have had room in the price to include some adjustability on the suspension that way.

And yes, the Duke 200 is a toy, and the USD fork on it is almost certainly a marketing move (or at least partly so), given that it is a non-adjustable road-oriented fork on a bike that will be ridden on roads like the Leh road (all gravel). It's not meant to be derogatory, just the truth. Also, go look at my "about" before you dig that hole you're in any deeper; I can pretty much guarantee I've been riding longer than you've been alive, and on roads where the Duke would hit engine failure in a couple of hours.

And if you seriously get bored after even a single paragraph, you should probably go back to your music videos and leave the serious conversations to the grown-ups.

^an off topic question , sir, all I want to know is that why are the race bike headlamps taped?

Lend some respect, if Duke 200 is a toy then what about the 100CCs?

USD Fork is a marketing move?

NO, You very well know Duke 200 is just a Duke 125 + 75 and not a different package altogether. I am sure you well know how a bike is designed from Front axle to rear axle and how hard it is to achieve the perfect design harmony in all aspects (Engine-Chassis). Why should KTM disturb the well-proven Duke 125 package for a straight-up telescopic fork just because its India? If they use a telescopic fork then do you think its a spot on fix? (Its kinda unnecessary) and How many adjust their forks here? (If something is not required its better to remove it, just like the center stand myth on R15). About Leh, common its way out of common sense, going for a Leh trip on a bike is at your own risk and no manufacturer will ever guarantee such a trip. These bikes are designed for streets and warranty conditions apply only for streets. If you like off-roading there should be other options. Learn the purpose of a product and then use.

And moreover I am 100% sure the quality of materials used would be top notch. KTM would never afford to lose out their image on their 1st attempt at the World's largest two wheeler market.

First Impressions - 2800 km

Hello everyone,

I took delivery of my Duke, "Bad Puppy", on the 3rd of July. Booked it a week before but that wasn't necessary as the waiting period in Chandigarh turned out to be two hours. Made payment at 1600 hrs and was asked to collect the bike at 1800 hrs. They gave me the option of selecting it from the lot but I thought what the hell, I'll just check out the bike they prep. It was scratchless and had 2.4 km on the odometer. Ran fine, too. Cost ~123,000 INR plus ~5050 INR for road tax and registration.

Rode it for 111 km in the city on the 3rd and 4th of July, being careful not to rev it over 5000 RPM. Returned to Noida and left it thereafter in my brother's custody who clocked another 300 km or so on it. I don't know how he rode it but I think he took it easy for the most part. Although he did say he revved it to 8000 RPM once or twice while shifting, after crossing 450 km total. Once all the documents for registration were submitted (on the 2nd of August) and the receipt for the tax and fee collected, bearing the date 03/Oct/2012 for release of the RC, I rode it to Noida. Yes, until then I have to ride it with a temporary number. Varied RPM between 4K to 6K until the bike crossed 650 km after which it was 5K to 7K, biased towards the upper range. From then onwards upshifting was at 7000 to 7500 RPM only. This bike doesn't need to be babied like a CI Bullet 350 or P220 during running in.

Switched to Motul 7100 20W50 at 1st service despite most people (except the service centre guys) recommending against it. From here on I started raising the revs for upshifting by 1000 RPM roughly every 100 km until 10,000 RPM at 1400 km. No throttle blipping before this.

Now the bike is approaching 2800 km and is running fine save for a few issues. Max indicated speed attained was 136-137 km/h today with chinbar 4 inches above the tank. I did hit the rev limiter once at that time but didn't see the speedo at that moment. 130 km/h is mostly attained without crouching albeit at a slower rate. 100 km/h comes quite sooner than on my P220 and directional changes are much quicker, too. Braking is far better. Gear shifts are smooth and the transition from gear to gear is seamless thanks to the close ratio gearbox. Power output is very peaky and not very linear. The motor doesn't give as strong a response to sudden throttle opening at 4000 RPM in 1st gear as the P220 and doesn't pull as cleanly from 1500 - 2000 RPM (close to idle) in 1st gear without slipping the clutch. This means that while the P220 can handle crawling traffic with ease and, without pinking, putter constantly at 7 km/h and accelerate quickly from that speed in first gear, the Duke behaves in the exact opposite manner. Even if I feather the throttle at 2000 RPM in 1st, the engine knocks. Which is why I pull the clutch if revs fall below 3000 per minute. From 4000 to 6000 RPM, the Duke may not 'feel' as quick as the P220 but at 7000 RPM and above, where the latter progressively puts out power, the former simply goes ballistic! That's where the funband... er, powerband starts. Even though the vibes firm up slightly and change tune at 7000 RPM, they almost die out at 10,000 RPM. Engine braking is strong thanks to the shorter gearing and especially the high compression.

Tyres are good but I think the wet grip of the Pirelli Sport Demons I had on my P220 were better in the wet than these. Also, the 150-section rear tyre seems narrower than the 140s on the FZ-16 and CBR250R. Low beam spread covers one lane at a distance one would keep one's sight at while riding at 70 km/h as opposed to the P220's two lanes but it's adequate. High beam throw is less than that of the P220's but spread is better which I find to my liking. Once I accidentally touched the starter button when the engine was idling and the starter cranked! The starter motor also fires if the ignition is on and the kill switch off. These two situations don't occur with the P220.

I also got the front fork crashpads installed for Rs 2220+12.5% = Rs 2497/- at Dewan's near Kalkaji. The left one got loose yesterday which I fortunately detected when the bike was stationary. Could've lost it on the go. Went to service centre (Suman, Noida) to get it tightened with Loctite this time. The exhaust pipe is now shiny brown with some magenta on the top area and blue streaks all over. Was thinking of getting it chrome plated so that it only turns golden brown and no other colour but I think I like the multicolour look. It's just that I would prefer it shiny blue/brown like on the Triumph Bonneville and some Bullets (Never liked it on my Bullet, though) and not dull like you see in photos of the Ducati 1199 Panigale.

FYI..200cc is not a learner's category in india...and duke definitely not...
this bike was specifically designed for the european market...
we should be glad that it is on sale in india...the same bike sells for 3.5 lakhs in europe...
and the USD on duke is not a marketing gimmick...
the USDs along with the other NON-GIMMICKY components on the duke makes for the great dynamics of the bike...

Nice. If you were a auto manufacturer you would implement technologies according to the way they look than they work. Good. USD forks and race headlights!! u mean usd are good with race headlights as in aprillia else they are of no use as in duke...nice combination bro. Carburettor i guess is the most hideous thing ive ever seen so ill rip that off today from my rx coz it doesnt looks good with that engine. Technologies come profound w.r.t. the way they look. Quote of the day. Ill write that down. Degree is paying of eh?!
Anyways its your opinion i accept it. But you talked about grownups so i shall leave right about just now...

congrats bro....
2.4km on odo??....shouldnt be so.

Well, I once met the owner of a "Kawasaki KTM Duck" shortly after deliveries started! What do you say to that?

When the bike weighs only 136 kg, won't that small reduction mean improvement in roadholding and handling? Also, when upper part of the fork clamped to the yoke has thicker legs, doesn't that mean more rigidity? Plus, other than preload adjustment, any other form of adjustment would be a waste here as no one really adjusts their bike's suspension here and damping adjustment is relevant only on the track and requires a good understanding of its effect on handling. For that, you have expensive sports bikes. KTM's Duke range is supposed to be all about cornering. So why not have stuff like a USD front fork? I think the package is about right...

And, about the "ridiculous 150-section rear tyre" - it's really not that wide. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, it's no wider than the FZ-16's or CBR250R's 140-section tyre because of its profile. I don't think it's overkill.

Don't know about Metzelers but I've used Pirelli Sport Demons on my P220 and their wet grip is really good. It's the compound. Grips nicely and was hard enough to last 18000 km on the rear wheel. The member here who installed Sport Demons is from Delhi. I believe he described their grip as "sexy".

Thank you.

It had 2 km on the odo and 2.4 km on one of the tripmeters. Didn't consider it a problem. Should I have been more concerned?

Ohk! thanks a lot!! Doubt cleared!
And one more thing- Is anyone experiencing an RPM cut out at 9500 rpm, because the engine is not going beyond that mark!! :-(

That's where PDI was done.

You dint mention anything about the fuel,though.

The 150section, btw, is indeed a lil too wide. No matter how much you lean there's always room for more.
Just wished the riding stance was a 'little' forward biased, the gear lever(the rubber part) was 4 rings/one inch longer and the RVMs did their job better.

Why is there no centre stand?
I'm genuinely asking. Why?

Ninja250r,
R15,
CBR250r,
Duke200,
CBR150r
and the latest release, P200ns.

It certainly aint ground clearance. It definitely is not a hindrance while cornering. Then why?

The Mountain claims USD fork werent needed for such a small displacement (premium) bike for our Indian terrain in a very lengthy (yet highly interesting) post.

Harishk went on to explain (so very clearly) why.

I guess the problem is with The Mountain calling the Duke a toy. I dont understand why that is a problem? There's an old adage that's been around longer than any of us has been alive and I quote,
"Boys will be boys,
Boys love their toys".

Then there's a 'ridiculous 150section tyre' statement. Again, how many of the people who ride a Duke use it to its full potential? Even if they'd want to, where would/could they? Not everyone is blessed with trackdays yet, isn't it?

Now coming back to the "gimmick" and the "cost-cutting part, well as vjnow clearly stated Duke200 has been designed for the European market and not for India. We're juz plain lucky to get it and lucky times 2 to get it at that price. Redesigning and reproducing a bike that is so outrightly perfect abroad just for our Country that is the "world's largest 2 wheeler market" (for commuter motorcycles and barely NOT for a premium motorcycle like this) would only mean in the costs going north.
So thus it is safe to say Bajaj offered the USD forks along, not as a gimmick but to cut costs and give it to us at a better price.

@all: When there's a bold statement against your loved ones put up, wouldnt it be wise to understand it with an open mind and then reason it out? Kindly chew upon what I have said, Gentlemen.

@The Moutain: I have immense respect for the knowledge you have and acknowledge your kindness to share it with us. While I firmly believe you dont run a bakery here to sugarcoat things, I'd still want to say, Sir, sometimes we really need to choose our words right not only for the kind of audience we converse with but also for the stature we hold.

2km on odo and 2.4km on the trip are you sure ? because ideally the odo reading can never be lesser than the trip meter reading. Why? because only the trip meter can be reset and the odo keeps running, so the odo is either equal (if the trip was never reset) or greater (if the trip was reset).
anyway too late to discuss this since you are already enjoying your ride!
And the exhaust color, its happening on all dukes, nothing to worry as long as the metal isnt chipping off. Hope ktm does something to prevent this in the future lots.
After hearing the fork oil seal busted cases here online, I saw a duke this morning with a busted fork seal! looks like this is going to be common ktm do somethingggg!!

on the faired bikes it is obviously going to be a pain to design one without interfering with the fairing. and will definitely scrape and be a safety issue during cornering.

And regarding your thoughts on hindrance while cornering, are you serious ? have you ever ridden/cornered a p220 or atleast taken in over a speed breaker ? or atleast read thru the p220 ownership thread? if not i suggest you do!
And oh these bikes do not have kick starter too dont ask why