What?? All of them have a chipped swing arm? Must be something seriously wrong with the way they unload the bikes!

Check my bike after you reported the chips for the first time. My bike did not have those.
I took delivery from the same dealer.

It is probably a problem with how a particular lot was handled.

Yes of course it is corresponding to a particular lot. But that isn't the issue, the issue is that when a swing arm costs 7500/- INR at least some plastic should cover it to prevent damage while in transit.

You're right.. They could've been more careful..
If I were in your shoes, I would forgive them (since the bike's safety is not compromised) if they said sorry and replaced the damaged part.

Motul chain lube works to Rs 520 & chain cleaner about Rs 450 or so per can; both put together is Rs around Rs 950-970. Cleaner will last nearly 10 sprays or less per can if you use liberally to get the sparkling look every time (note than your wiping clothes/cycles are reduced by this method). Lube will last for about 12-14 times on spraying liberally.

Note that the word liberally means, twice the amount of what ASC does or say lubing the chain link by link with utmost care (the regular ASC does not do this type, they usually spray off in wide & I hope you understand how) & cleaning is until the dirt drops off from chain links you almost use a very small piece of cloth to get back the original color of the chain; you'll understand this more, if you're used to clean it up yourself.


For me its like 970/(say 12 times) = Rs 80, which is Rs 15 more, but, I know I use the best product in the market.

Oh!!! and again, Motul lasts better than the Wurth (Reinhold) & each lubing interval is nothing less than 1300-1500 odd Kms. So ideally a can purchase lasts for, say about 10K Kms.

That is exactly what I'm getting a full warranty replacement of the rhs duke sticker on the tank and the rhs engine case cover and lastly the swing arm. And I noticed all this the day of the delivery and pointed it out. Many people may have these defects and not even know it thinking now that it is their fault those chips appeared...

Also another important point to note is that the chain needs to be lubed and cleaned every 500kms to be in top condition

so instead of making an appointment...its really a task!

That would be your personal opinion... However, this ain't a Japanese smoothie to have all the smooth exhaust note... And I suppose it was not the engine sounding stressed but the grunt-y exhaust note that most of us like ... and of course it adds to the meaning of duke being a street fighter rather than a track machine.

i had written that exhaust note was not grunty but noisy mechanical clatter, which in engineering terms means over stressed engine , please listen to ducati monster 796 note, its grunty but has no clatter or tell tale sign of stresses engine


And as you have already mentioned you liked the grunt, I feel like your comment on duke and the cbr are highly contradicting...

they are no,t as i stated before it was not grunty, cbr was quiet but when you revv it it becomes grunty - sign of smooth comparatively less stressed engine and if i dare to say it generally translates to longer engine life

Well, even I felt the same when i actually "swung" my leg over the bike... the duke is incredibly light as one could wish for riding in the crowded chennai traffic... perfect handling ...


I am still not sure why yourself and few others mention ("Complain") that "while going for second i was unable to find neutral!", does'nt that mean that there is actually NO false neutral?... And yes, I agree to the fact that it may have been difficult to switch to neutral compared to few other bikes... but that is because it needs a gentle shift made and i highly doubt the 3-4 minutes struggle made by the probiking executive. Maybe he was just inexperienced... I could guarantee that anyone could get used to the gear shifting of duke in a couple of days of intensive riding ...

No mate i am not talking about false neutral but not being able to find neutral, even i was shocked !


AFAIK, Myself and a majority of people out here felt that the gear shifting in duke was pretty slick with a clear and audible click ;-) ... Again, it may take time to get your beast tamed to your needs... (or is that the other way around )

Jokes apart, its not a good sign at all as much as gearbox design is concerned


yes the rpm is "high" for each gear hence you feel it to be alarmingly fast :\... and to make it clear, this short geared machine is of a different breed and yes ofcourse, it needs some getting used to ... (And by smooth - do u mean that you should not hear the 'click' sound :|:|)... And ultimately its your personal opinion ... Go for what your heart says ... but i highly doubt that the shifting of gears in the duke is felt bad by many.

what i meant you need to shift gears more to reach same speed as CBR


I really don't understand what you mean here by "Stressed", but as i said earlier, it aint a japanese smoothie and it may not be the stress factor but the mighty grunty exhaust note ...

And I do agree with the uncomfortable digi console... however, i guess it serves its purpose well ... would have been better if it had the analog+digi combo ...


I do not know what you might think of the engine quality of a royal enfield then ... but IMHO and even other duker's experience, the engine is good ... till now no bad reviews... And yes the engine heats up a lot ... something that characterizes a "HOT" bike ;-) ;-) ;-)

Engine quality of Royal Enfield can not be compared with Duke or CBR, it is antiquated design 5 decades old ,so under stressed that there is hardly any work needed to be done by engine compared to duke or CBR. 500CC developing 25 BHP!
JOkes apart 200 cc, naked street bike engine, getting heated up in 30 mins 45 mins Banglore weather confirms my opinion of overstressed Engine.




Hmm may be... but the handle feels free and highly flickable compared to the pulsars , zmrs and cbrs... it could be quoted somewhere near the r15 / rtr ... but well, in its own way ...



Yep, it has the best in class acceleration and any new bike would be an eye magnet, but yes duke certainly has the masculine looks ...

Well best in class acceleration is still not certain, Cbr in real world Scenerio should have higher accelaration then duke

"Brakes" are excellent, however my advice is to learn using both the brakes together ... going in 80 and using only the front may end up locking the wheel in sudden braking.
Trip average,if you mean mileage ... according to the owners, sounds pretty good for the power it delivers.



Hope you feel comfortable after the second ride... ;-) ;-) ;-)

Thats the sad Part- Probiking guy has not yet corrected the problems in duke i am eagerly waiting for the test ride so that hopefully many of my impression can be proved wrong and i can go ahead with my booking of Duke



Honda, of course is a smoothie...


Gear shifting is excellent in CBR, but however its equally good on the duke... thats my opinion having ridden both the bikes...


Again, its your personal opinion again ... go for what you like the most ... follow your heart ;-) :P



If it was between CBR and Duke, here are my opinions:

Looks:
Duke: Mean, agressive naked street fighter looks
CBR: Sporty, but would say expensive plastics that are not too good

True, plastic quality and even weld marks no where in same league as DUKE, i do have to see 2012 honda though , i have read the quality has improved but somehow i doubt still it will be able to reach Duke standards

Performance:
Duke:
*Acceleration/pick-up - @#$% Awesome, right from the start to the end... coupled with its light weight makes it the best in class.
*Top speed- Well, this is a street "nuker", traffic slicer and yet it makes a comfortable and decent top speed at a comfortable 120-125 kmph (however it is capable of making even more upto a speculated 140), but thats way more than required for Indian roads.

I dont think so it is rev limited to 136 because of 10,500 rpm in 6 speed and if you are on a bit of incline speed will be even less as rev limiter will cut in !
Again rev limiter cutting in 10,500 rpm while bike can actually rev higher points to Bajaj strategy to improve engine life as they are aware its over stressed engine

*Techs - Advanced, packed with all the latest tech for indian roads from the DOHC shafts, monoshocks, brembo brakes, upside down forks, Al swingarm, proven good trellis frame, centrally crafted lowswung 3 chamber exhaust... with the engine churning out a massive 25.48bhp @ 10000 rpm coupled with a 19 Nm @ 8000 rpm with 6 speed short geared nature makes it a true street fighter with hi-tech on Indian roads.

CBR:
I would say it nowhere lacks in anything compared to the duke... with a higher displacement, but a lower power to weight ratio does lack the "punch" in terms of acceleration and ofcourse this mean machine is able to smoothly cruise at higher speeds as compared to duke (but is that what is required for indian roads off tracks???, if you think so, then cbr outruns duke in the speed department)

I can comfortably state that CBR has more PUNCH then duke, it has almost 4nm more torque, the actual component behind punch and linear throttle response does adds to that

Also regarding speed - on my many runs to Bombay from Pune, done on Pulsar 180 DTSi way back in 2006 i have had reaches with support of little bit of decline 140 KM/h. My bike had a dyno tested top speed of 129.3 at Bajaj Company Showroom ,Akurdi Pune . I could have easily managed 170- 180 if i had had a more powerful bike. Also this speed was achieved on old Mumbai Highway which does share initial strech with express Highway so to me there are still roads in India where you can achieve even 170-180 easily with right bike

Tech wise, the CBR has its own set of features with a higher displacement engine (with almost equal low-mid , even hi end power, thanks to the duke's lower weight), full fairing, "C-ABS" - first of its kind for a <500 cc in India.

Cbr has better low and top end power then Duke.

Well, overall they both are different breeds and however depends on what you want.

Duke -> If u want a light weight agressive, athletic naked street bike, peppy, with raw power, best for in city commuting that could be aswell be a good tourer. Ofcourse with advanced technology at a pocket friendly 1.34 Lakhs on road.


I dont believe DUke can be even a decent tourer as in tourer def, CBR is not even good tourer but a decent one.

CBR 250 -> Sporty, full faired smooth bike with an expensive price tag of 1.95 lakhs (C-ABS) / 1.65L (non ABS).

Finally, its your decision, follow what your heart says ;-) ... added to that, even i was in your position, a few months back but bought the mighty Duke... ;-) and m loving it

l.p.: Those are so not 'uncle-moves', Sir. Brilliant photography,brilliant riding skills. Anything to do with California School of Superbiking (I cant remember the right name)?

you had your swingarm chipped off at delivery (?), is it replaced now?

Santosh Just buy a can each of 3M chain cleaner and wet grease spray and clean/lube the chain at will.

Motul chain lube works to Rs 520 & chain cleaner about Rs 450 or so per can; both put together is Rs around Rs 950-970. Cleaner will last nearly 10 sprays or less per can if you use liberally to get the sparkling look every time (note than your wiping clothes/cycles are reduced by this method). Lube will last for about 12-14 times on spraying liberally.

Note that the word liberally means, twice the amount of what ASC does or say lubing the chain link by link with utmost care (the regular ASC does not do this type, they usually spray off in wide & I hope you understand how) & cleaning is until the dirt drops off from chain links you almost use a very small piece of cloth to get back the original color of the chain; you'll understand this more, if you're used to clean it up yourself.


For me its like 970/(say 12 times) = Rs 80, which is Rs 15 more, but, I know I use the best product in the market.

Oh!!! and again, Motul lasts better than the Wurth (Reinhold) & each lubing interval is nothing less than 1300-1500 odd Kms. So ideally a can purchase lasts for, say about 10K Kms.

Check my bike after you reported the chips for the first time. My bike did not have those.
I took delivery from the same dealer.

It is probably a problem with how a particular lot was handled.

First of all there is no need to put it in bold. The forum users are not hard of seeing.

Secondly, there are hundreds of "more than satisfied" Duke owners here. Your technical analysis is taken with a pinch of salt as a "personal opinion" Thank you.

Secondly, there are hundreds of "more than satisfied" Duke owners here. Your technical analysis is taken with a pinch of salt as a "personal opinion" Thank you.

The Motul Doesn't stay even for 100kms and spills off on the entire wheel

The excess always spills off at speeds no matter its lubed from ASC or done at home; so was the experience with Reinhold Wurth, Motul no exception. I thought Motul was not the best & good for engine oils until I experimented with Wurth. Yet to try OKJ though.