The Duke's acceleration is pretty tame. Most of my previous bikes could hit 100km/h in second gear, and a couple of them could do it all in first, and all of them in less than 4 seconds. Putting a bigger rear sprocket on might liven the Duke up a bit.

I know, But think of India available bikes only.. And my "Take off" comment was just for Fun..

BTW, won't the rear bigger socket put strain on the chain and the gears??

I got an idea.. or rather a 'dream' while i was taking a nap this morning(in office ofcourse )
If you are worried about the water droplets on the outer rim of the tank, then I think you try using a piece of 'Laptop kepboard protector' sheet to cover the tank cap area. You cut the sheet in half (vertically) at the middle and apply it on the tank/petrol filler cap area. This is totally 'unsticky' and can be reused/removed and applied without any gooey(gum/glue) stuff left behind. Maybe you can use it just during the rains.. and i am not sure if it is going to cause any 'issues'

See the attached picture of the laptop keyboard protector. It is available for around 50-100rs at most computer peripheral shops. This would be worth a try for those of you worried about the water droplets.
Give it a try and let us know the feedback.

so you were on a rampage just like some army men who return to their homes after a long duty on the border

Well on a serious note with that kind of riding style the mileage figures are great IMO.

What do all men with power want? MORE POWER !!! (quoted from The Matrix Reloaded)

yeh dil maange MORE

Ok ah ok we all know you've ridden bikes bigger than anyone over here, I've noticed you go on about it every chance you get, and quite frankly we don't care unless you're talking about the KTM 200 Duke. And for right now we're not talking about liter class bikes, We're talking about the KTM 200 Duke in case you thought you were in some Yamaha R1 forum...and it isn't tame not one bit. A Honda CBR 250R is what I'd call tame. Try and keep on track next time if you can.

The Hayabusa is available in India (for a price, but still) .

Putting a larger rear sprocket on actually reduces the strain on the chain and transmission gears, since a larger sprocket means greater leverage available on the rear wheel. Think of it this way: the rear sprocket is like a crank for the rear wheel. A larger sprocket translates to a longer crank arm, so you don't have to use as much force to turn it. The strain is only increased on the wheel assembly, so a larger sprocket might wear the cush drive out faster. It will also become easier to spin the rear wheel, since the engine's force will be able to turn the rear wheel more easily, and thus overcome the friction capabilities of the MRF rear tire more easily.

A UK review of the Duke talked a lot about how poor the MRF tires were. They lost traction easily under braking, and it was difficult to maintain traction in deep corners, even when the road was dry and the tire was properly heated. Those of you who are fortunate enough to live in areas where the roads are fairly clean and well-made may see a handling benefit from fitting the Pirelli tires (assuming your bank account can handle the cost). Those of us who are stuck in areas where roadbuilding is still primitive, or where smooth, clean pavement is otherwise unavailable, should probably stick with the MRFs.

Yes, it is tame. It just doesn't seem like that to you because you don't know any better.

A big part of being a good, responsible rider is having respect for the machine but not being intimidated by it. I've seen comments on other India-based vehicle-related message boards that are seriously distressing: One commenter mentioned that he owned a 160-hp car, and was afraid of driving it. TVS advertises one of their motorcycles as being "Scarily fast", yet the bike can barely reach highway speed. All of this speaks to being intimidated by frankly puny machines. The sooner everyone gets over the idea that this is a fast, powerful (and therefore intimidating) bike, the sooner we can get on to pushing the manufacturers here into providing bikes that *are* exciting. Part of that is becoming better riders, so we can safely handle "real" motorcycles, and part of it is having some perspective. So I contribute my own perspective as a counterbalance to the sometimes-breathless overwrought reviews I see, not to put down or denigrate the person posting it, but so others can look at the facts objectively.

The Duke is a fun little bike, yes, and no doubt handles better than the other 99% of Indian-market bikes. At the same time, this bike doesn't even make enough horsepower to turn the standard peripherals on a modern automobile engine, and would beat itself to death in a couple of hours on a modern highway (indeed, in many places trying to ride such a small bike on the highway would be dangerous). It's important to maintain perspective.

Joshzma225, once you grow out of the "wheelies and racing through traffic" phase, hopefully you'll understand that.

There is a bigger rear sprocket ( orange color ) available for duke200 through ktm power parts .. it costs upwards of 4k I guess ..waiting for somebody to get the same thing redone locally .. the roll-on acceleration is brutal now with stock config, , I want to make it savage ...

I am currently not as rich as you are .. will eventually get there and play with the biggest bikes .. I know what you feel .. 25bhp feels like a basic moped after having ridden roughly 180bhp superbikes .. the main reason why I have not ridden any superbike till now altough I get a chance to try it out ..

Good one ... very true ... I just hope petrol exists in this world after 4yrs from now..

Fine we become better riders and manufacturers get *real* bikes as well ...

... where are the roads to ride them ?

Barring a few stretches of GQ, there are plenty of dogs, cows, people coupled with trucks and tractors coming in 'your' lane for most of the roads in India. And not to forget, gravel and potholes in blind corners where one least expects it.

What about some perspective on that?

Thanks for adding immense value to the Duke ownership thread.
You cannot compare a 200cc bike with a liter class bike.

As the quality and capability of vehicles improves, so will the demand for better roads and for better discipline. There may not be much we can do about the animals, unless there's a way to contain them, but people can be taught (or so I hear). For example, in Delhi I have noticed that people do a half-way decent job of observing lane markings, not driving the wrong way in traffic, and not walking down the middle of the road like they're in the park. Eventually that attitude will spread.

If there weren't so many people acting like the Duke was a literbike, I wouldn't have cause to make the comparison.

Hey Mountain take it easy with the paragraph long replies!!!

So from what it sounds like from your post you feel that We Indians shouldn't consider the duke as a powerful offering? Because there are more powerful bikes out there? You think we don't know that? Everyone here in India is looking for value for money and the duke delivers just that. Its got precision handling, looks that can kill, and amazing road presence.
And frankly if I could afford to buy a sports bike I would but for Me and a million other people in India bikes like the Duke 200 are what give us a thrill and a fun ride. God knows when the roads in India will develop to allow 200kmph+ speeds to rip on but when that day comes hopefully I'll be able to buy my very own sports bike.

And that wheelie thing and racing through traffic was me when I was around 20yrs old I'm now 26yrs and not such a dare devil anymore :-D Although I'm not scared of My duke I am definitely mortified of the MRF tires like you said.

All I'm trying to out across to you Mountain in layman's terms is don't compare apples to oranges, and I feel that you are the one who doesn't know any better and in need of a little more common sense and a little more thinking before talking out here... you can't you just can't compare the KTM 200 Duke to a Liter class bike. You will just fail to get your point across because people will think what you're saying is ridiculous and I'm sure a lot of xbhpians agree with me on that.Compare the duke to any other Indian bike and then tell me this bike is tame. Don't compare it to an R1 and a Hayabusa or a ZX-14 and tell me its not up to the mark. Let the KTM 690 Duke and the KTM RC8 R roll out and then we can have some healthy comparisons. Till then try not to beat on one of the most radical and fun to ride bikes this country has ever witnessed. Have you Bought a KTM yet? Also it looks like you are only only one who thinks the duke is a liter class bike trying to justify it by comparing it to bikes that cost 10 tines what its worth. Seriously mountain do you have an inferiority complex when it comes to the 250cc segment? You always have to justify something good in this bike with something that is obviously gonna be better in a 1000cc bike...wrong forum Mountain.

Agreed...And do post about the sprocket when you get it....even I was thinking about it after watching some stunt videos...

nice....but it has to be removed and planted again and again. Also if i keep it there someone would rip it off. Although will quite serve the purpose though. Well its no harm trying. Thanks though.

FYI: A pdf for DUKE DYI stuff is posted here. Just in case its not already posted here. Please ignore if its already circulating here.

Here are the chassis and engine blow up diagrams for the KTM 125 Duke which should be largely similar to the KTM 200 Duke...

this is the engine manual:-


and this one is the chassis manual:-