Re: KTM 200 Duke

Mr. Sri,
Absolute nonsense from total ignorance about even the basics of how to calculate the speed, torque and power of a bike! By the way, which D390 is reaching 30 kmh at 1500-2000 rpm in 3^rd gear?

Please don’t shoot me with the heavy, unbreakable words like primary and secondary gear ratios. I have never heard about it earlier and hence wonder what it is!
OK. If you have anything more like this in your stock to enlighten me, please PM. It is not because of your request but respecting other biker’s suggestions.

Re: KTM 200 Duke

So did a solo ride two days ago. Kaas Pathar!! I initially planned it on the weekend, but read somewhere on the net that flowers would go in a weeks time. Given the fact that it's a Puja weekend, I wisely decided not to invite the ire of the gf and promptly sent out an sms to the boss intimating him about the upset stomach bugging me Also since Thursday was the start of the festivities I could not have had the luxury of staying over at my friend's place in Pune. I had to make it back that day itself!!
The tripmetre read 613 Km when I reached home. Headed out at 5:30 am in the morning and was home at around 8:30 pm.
Some tidbits about the bike :

1) The bike was fantastic. For once I did not have to worry about "high coolant temperature" thanks to the triple digit speeds on the open highway and the cool kaas air. The temp bar stayed 3 bars below the normal limit
2)Since this was my first longish ride(I know the pros will scoff at the word long here but please cut me some slack here, my previous long ride was a Mumbai-Pune trip ), I had some interesting points to notice regarding the highway worthiness of the bike and I have this to say : The bike is adequate for highways. I was comfortable in maintaining speeds, overtaking most cars and the the occasional 125-130 kmph bursts were not overwhelming.
I used to think that unless you have a top speed of 150 something, you would not like the highways for long, but here I was overtaking most vehicles with ease. So basically you need not have a strada for doing highways in India(most of them atleast) where even most cars stay within 100-110 even when presented with wide open stretches. I can only imagine what a 390 would be like to ride.
3) The headlight is pathetic. Had to ride for around 3 hours on the return leg in dusk/dark and I was quite nervous beyond 80 kmph. It becomes really taxing riding at speeds in the dark. Throw the possibility of people jumping on/running across the road and you realize that an HID/aftermarket bulb would be a very needed investment.
4)I like the power even in the 6th gear. The supposedly cruising gear gives you enough power to overtake.
5)The tyres will ditch me any day now. 20.5 k on the odo now and given even a hint of gravel and suddenly your rear feels like floating. On the smooth tarmac I was on most of the times, they gripped well and didn't have many difficulties on turns.
6)The coneset needs greasing/replacement. The handling is a bit stiff now.
7)I missed my SOL helmet. The wind noise was a bit annoying.I was wearing a steelbird since the metalman needs a bit of repair.

About the roads and the destination:

NH4 was in wonderful condition in stretches. But there are quite a few diversions owing to the numerous flyover constructions going on. The diversions are basically pure off road circuits and you better be careful while crossing them. I had one or two scary moments with the rear protesting.
The roads in Satara town which leads to the tunnel from where you take right to kaas are pathetic. A kill joy I'd say given how quickly you find yourself there after the lovely highway tarmac. Mumbai roads are a tad better.
The road which leads to kaas from that 'tunnel diversion' is a decent winding one. Great scenery all around.
Kaas itself was beautiful but it was the fag end of the bloom season and it was not in it's prime. The best time would be last week of September. I could only spot yellows, purple and a bit of white. No other colour. I was a bit disappointed after seeing those lovely pictures on the net and on xbhp. The 'pathar' certainly didn't look as spectacular as I had imagined.

I would try a write up in the travelogue section. But since there are already some beautiful kaas pictures for members to look at I am not sure how many people would like the simple POS photos I captured there!!

Re: KTM 200 Duke

Hey,
Nice to read something different from you.first thing comes to mind after having your notification for your posts is chassis bending accident/high coolant temp.I too did kaas solo on 28th, all i could see was yellows and purples and bit whites, infact there were more flowers on both sides from vadgaon till somatne.there was kaas festival on 21-22(updated on website), thats when flowers must be at full bloom.Anyways regardimg speeds, i completely agree.You will b happy on most highways(save for mumbai gujrat) doing 100-120 and still overtaking most, if not all cars.


Sent from my LT26ii using xBhp Connect mobile app

Re: KTM 200 Duke

Please do share your detailed experience here and the pictures too... Leave the liking part for FB :P Every rider has a different perspective and there's always something to share & learn from... Let the pics flow !!!

Re: KTM 200 Duke

True that! After long [MENTION=48967]Doga[/MENTION] posted something good about his Duke. Cheers! I'm planning a trip too, right after my end semester. Heading out from Goa to Murdeshwar, Karnataka or Kolhapur(just for McDonalds :P ), Maharashtra.

Re: KTM 200 Duke

Yes true about more flowers on the way than in Kaas.

Thanks bro. I'd post the pictures sure. And yes I'd soon go for the Philips extreme vision. HID's are not my cuppa. Someone here had mentioned the ultinon series is also quite good.

Dude you study in Goa? Rather I should ask how do you manage to study in Goa?
Btw you do not have McDonalds in Goa? Or am I missing the pun here?

PS:
I have been researching(read trawling the net for info) on coolants and I now think that the Motul Inugel (used for the KTm's at svcs)is one of the best available coolants with the operating temperatures spanning a much wider range than the Engine ice(much popular here) and the castrol radicool.
The thing going for engine ice is that it's environment friendly.
All coolants are basically water mixed with an agent. The cooling property is solely(or mostly) provided by water given the large specific heat(the reason why seaside towns have a pleasant climate all year round). The agent,ethylene glycol in most cases(engine ice has propylene glycol which makes it non-poisonous), is just there to provide a wider range of operation as adding something to a solvent results in depression in freezing point and increase in boiling point.Remember the chemistry chapters from our +1/+2 days?
There may be some other stuff as anti corrosive agents etc.
Will post a detailed comparo of the three with specific parameters like specific heat and thermal conductivity(the 2 are a bit related) and operating range!!

Re: KTM 200 Duke

Yes, I'm a Goan and I study. Didnt quite understand what you meant by "how you manage to study in Goa?".
Sadly we dont have McDonalds over here, the closest one is in Kolhapur. The destination doesnt matter, the journey matters more.


One a side note, i just received my new Rolon chainset with 42T sprocket. Will update you guys about it later.

Re: KTM 200 Duke

Small update : I'm getting Metzeler tyres for my bike for the trackday this weekend. Price quoted is 11k (rear) + 6k (front). Price includes bringing tyres to a nearby showroom, fitting, wheel balancing and No exchange (i'll switch back to MRF for street use once i'm back from the track).

Re: KTM 200 Duke

I enquired at SVC pune, the rear Metzel tyre cost was quoted 8750INR. No extra delivery charges or anything. After placing the order and giving 1k in advance, they said it'll be available in 10days or less.

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Re: KTM 200 Duke


Hi Sanchit!! Thats good news. How is the svc in Pune?

Re: KTM 200 Duke

I wish that was true. I went through a similar cycle with the service centers here. They quoted 12.5k total for both tyres. When I placed my order, they came back after 4 days and said only rear tyre is available and that's 11k (no ETA for front tyre), so I cancelled with them and now, i'm buying directly from Metzeler wholeseller here, so I'm reasonably confident that i'm not being horrendously overcharged.

PS : Has anyone here changed the MRF tryes on the bike yet? I want to know how long is the tyre life... I still feel kind of awkward about keeping 2 sets of tyres (one each for track and street).

Re: KTM 200 Duke

Hey guys,

Finally finished this d-200 thread.
Must say loads of informa n fun stuff.
I'm a long overdue Duke aspirant and been jumping from D-200 to D-390 to N-300 threads lately.
Although almost made up my mind for D-390 thanks to fellow xbhpians.....got a small doubt.
As someone said here that 390 is more suitable for the highways and 200 if the commuting is restricted to the cities.
Well yeah unless i dont wanna go onto the highway then all my ride is in the city.
But isnt that the case with everyone ?
I mean the work or home or college all must be in city perimeter and only if u plan rides or tours or jus in the mood u hit the highways ?!!

Re: KTM 200 Duke

Well, not exactly. If you can live with the extra fuel expense, extra heat, more gear changes or riding in the lower gears and still be happy with the way the power is delivered inside the city then go for the duke 390.
There are far more impractical bikes(read sbk's) in the market and people still buy one and ride it in the city. I was talking sense while asking everyone to go for a 200 if its limited to city. But who cares about sense? I don't and have already upgraded to a 390. So can you!

Sent from my GT-I9100

Re: KTM 200 Duke

D390 has more torque than D200 and that too at a lower RPM. So, riding through city or heavy traffic in higher gears without frequent down shifting is easier on D390 than D200.
If you ever go on highways, D200 reaches 100 kmh and D390 reaches 135 kmh at 8000 RPM. Go for test rides on both these bikes through your usual route and decide.
D390’s is 373.2 cc engine and it naturally consumes more fuel than the 199.5 cc D200’s. Anyway, D390 will be the bike most discussed about when it becomes easily available.
If not D390, D200 itself is the next best option.

Re: KTM 200 Duke

So, by the looks of it I guess trolling is allowed here, moderators!!
The duke 390 produces it peak torque at a lesser rpm but that does not mean the torque at a lower rpm is more. There is a spike, although I haven't seen the curve but have experienced this by riding both the motorcycles extensively.
Riding through the city in higher gears would be easier on a duke 390, rofl!
This proves, you, my friend have never ridden one and all your points are based on alien calculations I believe.

See, this place is for genuine advice and I was just trying to give some to the guy. Don't post incorrect information. I for one have upgraded and would become a proud owner of a duke 390 in a couple of days but that does not mean I would blindly praise the bike.

The duke 390 has its shortcomings and I have clearly mentioned them and there is no best amongst the two of them. Both are different by a huge margin sans the looks.
Ps: I would repeat again, going by your theory the bigger bikes with bucket loads of torque should be able to pull cleanly from standstill in the top gear itself.


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