Re: KTM 200 Duke

Hello, my Duke 200 is leaning right side while driving. Can anyone suggest me ?

Re: KTM 200 Duke

Fork must be tight!

Re: KTM 200 Duke

Have you dropped your bike recently? Yes! Check your handle bar alignment. No? Check your T stem tightness and adjust it accordingly. A tightsteering lock nut means not freely moving steering pivot and it can pull either left or right. Thirdly check your tire pressure, make sure it's not on the higher side than the recommended.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: KTM 200 Duke

Went to the SVC today, my bike needed some much needed attention because rain water had entered my fuel tank and my fuel filter. So had to get that fixed. While doing the service I enquired about the new 390's levers and got an instant response saying that it fits on the 200. Now mine is the 2012 Duke 200 and was surprised to know that it is backward compatible. The cost of the clutch lever is only ₹338. So cheap! Got it installed immediately. The quality is decent and quite convenient to use.

Re: KTM 200 Duke

Did you ask for the price of the right brake lever? You should have, you would probably be even more surprised how much they would have costed.|

Cheers!
VJ

Re: KTM 200 Duke

Well I had to delete the previous post because I came across some strange pricing strategy by Bajaj. So the clutch lever is about ~₹300 and the brake lever costs ~₹1700. This is very strange, the brake lever is not something special and looks identical to the clutch lever, yet the price difference. The counter-salesperson was clueless about such pricing.

Re: KTM 200 Duke

The front tire has worn out unevenly, the right side is worn out more than the left side but the rear tire is evenly worn. Can anyone point out what the problem is?

Sent from my MotoG3 using xBhp.com mobile app

Re: KTM 200 Duke

Uneven tire wear can be caused by a variety of reasons, but one is the road itself, as you know all roads have a slight ^ curve to them, so the contact patch effectively is on the right side when riding on the left side of the road, which means accelerated right side tire wear. It is also caused of over inflation.

Indeed! One of the highest priced lever on any Indian made motorcycle, close to 1890 rupees and that's for the lever alone. Why? We, don't really know, but ridiculously priced and that's for sure.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: KTM 200 Duke

Hello, people! I was thinking of getting shorty aftermarket levers for my D200, but I'm really skeptical about how they would perform, some people say they can damage the clutch plates, and the front brake lever doesn't have the bite that the stock lever provides. Any suggestions would be greatly helpful!
Thanks!

Sent from my ONE A2003 using xBhp.com mobile app

Re: Duke 200

Hi everyone!

I'd like to share my experience with the D200 - from my first test ride to the eyeball-grabbing ride I have today [Mods, please move this post if it's in the wrong place. Apologies for the noobiness ]

When the Duke hit Bangalore streets, I didn't like it one bit. It violated every notion of aesthetic design that I was accustomed to - starting from its unusual engine sound to its out-and-out naked look. I had a shiny black 2011 Unicorn - a superbly silent (at least compared to the Duke's throaty sound) and refined engine, gentle suspension, highly useful little vehicle that didn't complain when I pushed it a bit over open roads. My then-girlfriend, who could barely ride a bike (her preferred vehicle was an Activa) had set her sights on getting one, and for some reason, that was what made me wonder whether the bike was actually better than I gave it credit for. Meanwhile, a close friend of a close friend had just bought a white Duke 200, and I was quite impressed by it (although I didn't so much as touch it.) This was in late 2013.

Fast forward to 2015 - I had obtained my BE, broken up with the gf, secured a job, and was awaiting the results of the MBA interviews I had attended. My cousin had convinced me to give the Duke a test ride. Now, I was pessimistic enough to believe that I wouldn't get through the interviews, so why not get a decent bike to commute to work, right?

I visited KTM Banashankari, the branch nearest to my place, and took the 390 for a spin. It left me feeling giddy. I had a Unicorn at the time, and that bike itself was more powerful than most bikes I had ridden so far. I spoke to the showroom guys and realised the 390 might actually be within my affordable range. Just the day before I was set to sell off the Unicorn, I received a message that I had been selected for an MBA program at Ahmedabad. Since there was no clarity on whether I would be allowed to keep a bike there, I decided to put off the 390 till 2017, when I would graduate.

2017 came around at last. I graduated, returned to Bangalore with a job offer in hand, and this was around the time the 2017 Duke 390 was unveiled. I drooled over it for quite some time before realising that I had a huge education loan to pay off (around 21L) and my work hadn't yet started; hence, the 390 was postponed yet again. I resigned myself to using my trusty Uni for another few years and went about life as usual. Then one fine day, I saw a post on FB - a friend was selling his used Duke 200 for a quoted price of INR 75k. Surprise - it happened to be the same person I had mentioned earlier. He had covered ~63000 km (thanks to two very long trips) and was selling it since he intended to go abroad for higher studies. I was sorely tempted; I pinged him instantly, ready to buy the bike right away. He advised me to take a test drive before committing. I did so.

This was my first time riding a 200. Being used to the power delivery of the Unicorn (more power in the lower revs, tapers off gradually) I was surprised that this bike was not as peppy at lower revs. I didn't even take it past 5k RPM. After the stiff and sturdy feel of the Uni, the Duke was extremely agile and playful. I was quite happy with how smoothly it ran, and decided to go ahead. I casually mentioned to the seller that it seemed less quick than the Unicorn. With barely concealed amusement, he remarked that I was probably not putting the engine through its paces. I went for another ride, this time twisting the throttle all the way.

The feel when the bike lurched forward after the first few seconds of lag - that had me sold. I told the guy to take down the listing, and that I was definitely buying it. (He offered to throw in a Leo Vince Cobra for an additional 7k, but I refused it since I stay with family and they are all dead against noisy vehicles, no matter how good I claim the sound is.)

Now, the bike was in very good condition. No strange noises, no physical damage (except minor cosmetic things such as a noticeable scrape on the tank) and a very smooth ride. I brought down the price to 68k, and he generously threw in a few goodies (a mobile charger, a Timsun off-roading tyre, a can of chain lube, stuff like that). Moreover, he had had it serviced regularly at Venky's Auto Service (yet to get a scheduled service done there though.)

I had planned to take delivery of the bike the night of 9 July, and so visited a helmet store near Urvashi theatre to get my hands on a good LS2 helmet. I dropped 5k INR on a black-and-orange beauty that fit my head quite snugly. (At the time, I was used to wearing helmets that look like caps, so the LS2 was almost claustrophobia-inducing)
Dad was quite pissed that I had blown up so much money on a helmet. It didn't help matters when I told him that this helmet was for my sole use, and that I had bought another one for anyone who wanted to ride pillion

I finally went to pick up the bike with the freebies. Rode it back home, trying not to forget that I was the one who needed the running-in, not the bike.

For some days, I enjoyed the experience. The bike was near-stock (he had put back the stock exhaust, and there were zero mods except for the windshield, which had been scavenged from a Yamaha SZ) and an absolute pleasure to ride. I used it for my 17-km office commute. Although the seat was uncomfortably hard at first, I got used to it. What took me longer to get used to was the immense step up in power from the Uni - I observed that only superbikes/cars and the occasional 390 would overtake me on city roads

And then began the itch to personalize. I put back the stock windshield, since the larger one made it difficult to operate the console buttons with the phone in the holder. It also gave me a better view of the road. Next, I replaced the headlamp and parking lamp bulbs with a Philips one and a blue-white LED bulb respectively. Both went off fairly well. The itch, however, would not go away. I then got in touch with a friend from college who worked as a part-time artist. He offered to paint the bike matte black with red accents, something like this, and I was sold on the idea right away. After three weeks of painful waiting, I finally picked up the bike. The result is here.

The good things:
1. The itch I spoke about earlier is gone - for now.
2. Bike looks sexy as hell. Makes heads turn when moving, and draws people when parked (especially when parked at schools - my job requires me to visit schools regularly)
3. After I got the console and accelerator cable replaced, and installed handlebar end weights, the bike feels as good as new. (The console even makes it look like the bike is actually new... huehuehue)

The bad:
1. Matte black colour is an absolute ***** to maintain. Even the slightest layer of dust becomes easily visible, and I have to keep wiping it clean as often as possible.
2. Console conked out while bike was being repainted. While replacing the console, decided to install handlebar end weights. While doing that, ended up having to get replacement handlebar grips. That led to the discovery that the accelerator cable was frayed, and on the verge of breaking. End result, what should have cost me 5.5k (just the repainting) ended up costing over 16k (paint, needless servicing by Venky's, console replacement etc) but hell. The pros make up for it.

And now that I've satisfied the urge to mess around with the bike's looks, I think it's time to give the old engine some work. I intend to go on occasional trips, and shall be actively posting on this forum with my experiences hereafter.

Cheers!

Ride on,
KB

Re: Duke 200

Welcome to the club. Do invest a wee bit more on a set of riding gears, i.e. gloves, jackets and boots, or a knee guard to say the least. You never know what's around the corner. Ride safe.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: Duke 200

Cograts.

Guys can anyone tell me what the guide price for a used duke200 2012 model with close to 40k on the odo would be, in Mumbai area? I have just sold the bike to a guy for Rs 45k already so may be too late, but is it too bad a deal I did or just about ok?
Thanks

Re: Duke 200

Looks like you sold it at a tad less than what it was worth!

Sent from my ONE A2003 using xBhp.com mobile app

Re: KTM 200 Duke

Can anyone suggest me an alternate brake pedal?

With the current brake pedal and Orazo boots on, I'm finding it difficult to lift my feet above the brake pedal.
I would prefer to have the pedal set to a lower position which is not possible with the stock pedal.

Re: KTM 200 Duke

May be the clutch lever does only one thing which is to engage/disengage the clutch.

But the Brake lever on the other side does two things,
1. put pressure on the brake piston to stop the vehicle and
2. operates the rear brake lights

so the additional labor costs in included in the manufacturing costs

Sorry, but couldn't control myself posting this.

Ram