A very small review after 269 kilometers of riding.

1. Crowd magnet. A Duke owner will have difficult time in keeping people from trying to mount the bike.
2. Extremely light and flick-able. Easy to ride in most situations. People riding sports bikes all this while will take some time to get used to the open bar/wide bar position.
3. Gear shifts are smooth and there are no false neutrals. Clutch is light too.
4. Radiator fan can radiate a lot of heat on your legs.
5. Chain slaps against the swingarm. This seems like a common complaint. I have heard that the Bengaluru Duke owners got some bush installed that prevented the slap.
6. Lights are bright and good for night riding.
7. Suspension is not as soft as previously thought. Just right for our roads.
8. Engine has a lot of character. Pulls well in any gear and is rev happy too.
9. Exhaust has a distinctive sound. It is subjective; some like it, some dont.
10. Engine seems happy upside of 5K RPM. Above 5K, the engine goes really smooth; exhaust becomes silent too.
11. Brakes are simply wonderful. I haven't used the rear one since the front itself is very responsive and communicative.
12. Instrument cluster gets difficult to read sometimes.
13. Some noise from the front headlamp cluster was reported on some Dukes. That was attributed to cables and was fixed. Did not notice this on my Duke.
14. Ridiculously easy to keep ahead of the traffic even with the rev limit.
15. Now for the figure that people have been waiting for, the all important Fuel Efficiency. A tankful to tankful saw her doing 252 KM in 5.5 Litres exact. That works out to 45.82 Km/Lit. Outstanding!!

Now for the updates to my Duke:

1. Got a Keiti Carbon tankpad
2. Removed the front number plate mount and the plate too
3. Removed the rear hugger and the saree guard (of course)
4. Removed the pillion footrests since I ride alone all the time. Looks brilliantly awesome.

I have been reaching out for the KTM's keys over the other vehicles in my garage and that itself speaks out of the fun to ride factor associated with this bike.


Watch this space for more!!

Nicely put up. Keiti Carbon tankpad looks good.
What about that 3M coating? Did you get it? I called up the area sales manager & he says their isn't any product for bike. But Indra told me that 3M showroom has it in Viman Nagar!
& i guess everyone is finding it difficult to keep people from mounting the duke. My friendly neighborhood guy called up his cousins to see the bike & they were happily dancing on it without my knowledge . Worst part is that i had it covered, but they cared less!

Also, I will need some guidance in buying riding gears. This would be the first time I will shop for it so you guy's experience would really help!

but while comng downhill I switched off the engine

I went to a bike store in bejjing .... this store was recommended by the chinamoto.com(similar to xbhp in china).

I was surprised to ktm jackets there ..they were looking awesome but quite expensive for me ... It was round 1560 yuan(1560 * 8 rs).

i like a different jacket ( joe rocket) ... which came in my budget , but didn't know about the brand.

Any idea how much is ktm jacket going to cost in india ??

Nicely put up. Keiti Carbon tankpad looks good.
What about that 3M coating? Did you get it? I called up the area sales manager & he says their isn't any product for bike. But Indra told me that 3M showroom has it in Viman Nagar!
& i guess everyone is finding it difficult to keep people from mounting the duke. My friendly neighborhood guy called up his cousins to see the bike & they were happily dancing on it without my knowledge . Worst part is that i had it covered, but they cared less!

Also, I will need some guidance in buying riding gears. This would be the first time I will shop for it so you guy's experience would really help!

I have booked the duke on Mar 2 at chennai PBK, eagerly waiting with the fingers crossed

One question for shubz and other owners:

What are the tyre pressure that needs to be maintained with and without pillion, while the tyres are breaking in and post break in as per manual and svc guys?

A very small review after 269 kilometers of riding.

Congratulations

NV I can hear the noise from the headlamp any idea what the fix for the issue is?
IIRC the bush installed by Shubz was to reduce noise from rear foot rest.

Took delivery from the Kanjurmarg showroom last evening. Rode back along the eastern exp highway back to Thane, and was taking care to ride sensibly, exploring the entire rev range(<=7000rpm for now) in each gear without staying at any rpm/gear for an extended period of time. The engine temperature stayed at 6 bars throughout, and I could hear the fan coming on intermittently. The preload was set at setting 5, I would have preferred 7, as I am heavier, though the looser chain for other guys was just perfect for my weight. The sprint from 0-50 and 50-85kmph just makes it all worthwhile for now.
Notes:
1. Odo reading was 28kms when I took delivery.
2. Coolant level was halfway between MIN/MAX, and stays there.
3. Gearshifts are firm and confident, I did not face trouble getting to neutral (It works better when I downshift from 2nd to neutral).
4. The front brake bites hard, but only when panic braking. With controlled deceleration and engine braking in combination with front brake application, the bike can be slowed/stopped without drama.
5. Sales guy repeats the line "keep it at 6000 rpm and 60kmph till first service". In 4th gear at 6000 rpm, I was doing ~82-84kmph.
6. Move a little behind in the seat, and 2nd gear wheelies are easily achieved, found this out to my surprise (after gsferrari pointed it out). I don't like wheelies. Unless I am watching them on the telly.
7. Seat is firm and seating position perfect (for me).
8. Haven't used the rear brake at speeds >25 kmph. Didn't need to.
9. Mirror stalks need to be adjusted, nearly unusable until I reposition them.
10. After ~30 kms of riding (5 city, 25 highway), the console shows 36kmpl.

Sales experience:
Kanjurmarg KTM did not contact me when my balance payment was due. I called them and forced the issue.
They didn't contact me when my bike was due for delivery. I visited and forced the issue.
They did not call back and inform me the regn number provided by Thane RTO, I had to call repeatedly to follow up.
They insisted on delivery post 7pm, I visited and forced it to be at 4pm.

The sales guys have very little idea of what they are selling, simply mouthing off some lines by rote. Perhaps I only communicated with their B-team. Case in point: the 6000 rpm/60kmph line. Also, apparently the rider seat must only be removed by a service technician, we shouldn't fiddle with it. The cable tension, suspension preload, coolant topup etc all routine activities usually done at home, must be done by taking an appointment with the service center. I did not bother debating any of this with them, it was clear they were simply repeating what was probably a prepared script. One redeeming point in their favour, they recommended applying a motul chain cleaner after every 20 days of riding, but stopped short of actual instructions on how to do that. (on a bike with no center stand, sold by a showroom not selling paddock stands, you'd think they would have mentioned something, even marketed a paddock stand as an aid to cleaning the bike/chain etc).

I have no cause for complaint though, as I could clearly get my way each time, with a little soft talk and some velvet glove-iron fist stuff, so I rate them 6/10 overall. At least they had 2 guys at hand to clean the bikes, remove the plastic covers, rub off the chalk markings on the seats, set up the ramp, move the bikes etc, and those two guys were diligent, careful and effecient.

Looking forward to the next few hundred kms when I'll get to know the Duke more intimately. For now though, I've injected a lot of madness into my life

It is a lie, if you book now delivery will be in 90 days.

The 3M guy has quoted some obscene amount of money for the Paint Sealant program. I am looking at something else; will share it with you once I fix it.
Thanks
Regarding your riding gear, lets fix up a date and time and we can go and get it. Me and Inder can join you for that.
Yes. Lets plan something for next saturday.
I need to get a cover for the Duke so that it attracts least minimum attention. You have mentioned a cover in your post..where did you get it from? Is it specifically for the Duke?
I use 2 covers -
1. The cover of a Ninja when its delivered to a customer. (Super Smooth, wont scratch, material is the same with which Duke is covered but Ninja's is like a proper cover) Got it from the JM Road Service Centre.
2. A local made 250 bucks on top of the 1st cover to avoid any attention to the bike. I took it from Nanapeth. Nothing specific for Duke, but a Jugad i would say.

90 days waiting is just a safety time period. I was allotted a bike in about 30-32 days or something.

Doesn't make sense to pay Rs 30,000 extra.

There are some cables and connectors beneath the console. Those cables are loosely bound by a cable binder. A proper arrangement and a tighter binder resolves the issue. Nothing serious