I had planned to purchase a jacket (spartan)in the evening and I crashed on the same day in afternoon and to my luck, it was the first time I was wearing slippers and riding the bike.What I meant was that my bike is Thane registered, sorry for creating the confusion. You only have to get a new RC card with the new chassis number and change the chassis number in the insurance policy. It would be good if you do it through an agent, you will have to pay him a bit but its hassle free. I did everything myself.

Had my 1st short - long ride on the Duke today with another duke, N250R, GT650R and a Figo! Was using normal unleaded petrol and i felt the bike needed a premium fuel. i could hardly find any difference inside the city, but out of the highway it was very clear!

Found some coolant leakage from the coolant cap. Was confused initially since the level was between MAX & MIN. I later found that the cap was a bit loose and tightened it. No props for now.


@Doga

Take care!

AFAIK, replacement chasis's come without a Chasis's no. SVC folks would imprint the no from the old to the new one! If KTM is following the same procedure, then you wont have to run after the RTA guys!


How do you guys oil the chain other than using a Paddock stand?

Sorry to hear you wrecked. This brings up a couple of key safety points: First, always ride a few seconds ahead of where you are; try to anticipate potential threats so they aren't surprises, and don't let yourself develop "tunnel vision"; be aware of everything around you even after you've passed it. Second, and in connection with the first, have escape routes already planned in case things do go wrong, and be looking where you *want* to go, not at what you're trying to avoid (also known as "target fixation"). Even in motorcycle racing where crashes happen very quickly, and sometimes right in front of the rider, they are potentially avoidable due to the agility inherent in motorcycles as long as the rider is alert and looking for the "escape route" that would take him past the wreck. Many road accidents are also avoidable if you mentally prepare ahead of time. I'm not saying this particular accident was avoidable, since I don't know the full situation, but I feel I have to mention it.

And, you're right about ATGATT, and I'm truly sorry that you had to wreck to discover this. I *always* suit up if I have the choice, even for short rides, and even on the puny bikes here, because even a wreck on a small bike can still injure you badly. My habit started when I was riding a tiny little 5hp off-road bike, and once I graduated up to the huge road bikes I owned later, it became an obvious necessity. Even small bikes still weigh several hundred pounds though, with lots of pointy protrusions, and when you involve other vehicles the amount of weight flying around goes up exponentially, not to mention that the roads and kerbs are just as hard here in India as they are in other parts of the world. Car drivers don't have to think about protection because the vehicle provides it, but the driver still needs that protection. On a bike, you have to be responsible for the protection yourself, but it is still necessary.

Hi, you can ask somebody to hold your bike in a slanting position. This will help you to rotate your rear wheel by which you can lube the chain.

Yes, exactly. The new chassis comes without a number. You first have to visit the RTO to take a 'permission' for a new chassis then go again to the RTO to take the new chassis number and then visit again later for a new RC card. You have to go through all the hassles if doing it yourself or simply let an agent do it.

Guys,

quick question.. how good is duke for 6ft guys.... ???

you'd be able to ride it but I imagine you would look too big on the bike

I'm 6 feet 2. No ergonomic issues for me. How i look on the bike, i do not know/care.

Just my opinion here but if I was buying a bike (especially like the KTM 200 Duke) I'd also want to look good on it too but to each his own. All that matters is that you are happy :-)

I wish everyone a Happy New Year 2013. I want to share today's incident. I was riding with my friends, late evening, just to grab something to eat. While on my way, one of my friend with a P220 and I were speeding on a long stretch of road, its a moderately lit road. We were at 120-ish kmph and suddenly two dogs in the middle of the road decide to run. Damn, we just braked like crazy, sadly we ran over each of the dogs. I am really glad to have escaped without injuries (yes! I was wearing my basic gear but my friend wasnt).

The Duke's brakes are really good, it reduced the speed easily, the bike wobbled at bit after running over the dogs but i could stablize it. I have a question for you guys, during panic/emergency braking situations is it reccommended to hold the clutch? Because if i hadnt used the clutch, the bike would stall and probably skid. Just wanted some advice onbraking.

Hope everyone had a good day, afterall its the first day of 2013

Oh that sounds unfortunate...what a way to start the new year...What happened to the dogs? Did they survive?

Get an ABS & second thing it was good to hold a clutch in panic braking !!!

Happy new year guys and it started straight away with a fall.
Doing one of those regular fun rides i slammed sideways into an upcoming Bolero. The mountain road was too narrow and turning into a blind turn caused me an accident. I Noticed petrol dripping from the left side when the bike was down. Picked the bike up quickly so didnt saw the place where it was dripping from but im wondering why?
Also the bike wont start after that. Switched off the ignition and then started again it did. Handlebar is bent from the right side towards me. Minor bruises on tank too. But back at home i jerked the handlebar towards the opppsite side...though it doesnt looks bent now but im thinking to change it. How much would it cost? Also im Planning for higher handle bars this time any suggestions how n which one??
Also i get this weird thug thak sound when i start the bike and pull the clutch lever to shift into first from neutral. Releasing the clutch lever the sound goes off but pulling back it comes again. Oh and Its happening before since the accident.

I am having the exact same thing in my Pulsar 200NS. Need some clarity on this..

Yup, to each his own, like you said. My purchase decisions are based purely on accelaration and handling/dynamics. If it delivers on those 2 fronts, the bike can look like a luna for all i care.