I called up KTM Bangalore ... They are saying all these are rumors and deliveries may start next month an all ....

Some how, I never believe KTM bangalore ..

Got the call

BINGO....

Got a call from PBK Bangalore,

Bikes will be available by March 1st week, need to complete all formalities by 25th of this month...

I m dancing and i m crazzzyyyy......somebody....stoppp mmeeee.....!!!!

Congrats Rajath - Stop the dance immediately! The last thing we all would want to hear is you breaking a leg after dancing too hard!

Sure Shubz..Congrats to u too...

Went to the kanjurmarg ktm showroom for a test ride. Three points worth highlighting:

Deliveries of the bikes are starting this week onwards. I was there at about 4 pm when four new dukes rolled in. The showroom guy said that they are for delivery. This means that everyone who has booked will soon start getting deliveries. To be on the safe side he still maintained that deliveries for people who have booked in Jan will happen anywhere between 90 days from the date of booking.

Secondly, There was a fair amount of crowd even at that time of the day. Had a very short test ride. Bikes has very good low end and mid ranger even with pillion. However, I ride an r15 and found the bike a lil rough and vibey. Gear shift was not smooth. Clutch operation was different, weird different.

A point to note is I had been there on saturday and,they couldnt give me a test ride as the bike had a broken brake lever. He said it broke when it hit the staircase while rolling the bike up a ramp into the showroom. He asked me to come on monday. By today, they had the brake lever replaced. For something which doesnt have as much wear n tear on a daily basis, it was surprising to see the had a spare in place. This may indicate that they are stocking up on spares and that wont a big issue.

Lastly, the variety of crowd that has been going for the duke given its 'low' cost kind of disappointed me. There came these really roadside looking bunch of boys, wearing a scarf, chunky shoes, n pulsars modified with the poser look written all over them. One guy with really tattered chappals walked upto the showroom guy n asked for a booking form. Me n my wife just kept staring at him.

Then he asks the showroom guy Yeh KTM Ninja se bhi fast hai na. showroom guy goes Single Cylinder vs Twin, 25 bhp vs 33, nahi ninja zyada fast hai. This guy starts arguing. Nahi KTM ninja se fast hai. So the showroom guys laments, thik hai ktm fast hai. Then he gets a fone call. He goes, Ha Bhai, book karne aaya hoo bhai, in arshad warsi from munnabhai tone, n gives what I assume was 20k as a bunch of 100s.

Then he turns around to his friends and says, in the same tone, maine ninja challaya hai bhai, bakwaas gaadi hai. Ktm uski le legi.

By then my wife who's picked up on bikes thanks to my frequent rambling is rolling eyes. If this bike was supposed to attract premium buyers not the masses, I wonder what price makes it premium enough for such people to be not able to afford it. The poser class will be really happy. As for me I really want to see this bike in, what I would like to describe as, worthy hands.

premium bikes are meant for those who are ready to pay premium to enjoy exclusivity ,performance,high tech...,who need not necessarily be wearing premium brands or talking premium[read english],they need not to be enthusiast either.

how many of you guys who test-rode duke felt clutch-play was different?

Right said on your earlier post. I don't know why people have to judge people based on what footwear they wear or what language they speak. As long as they don't bother anybody personally, one should not really bother commenting either.

Talking about clutch - what would be your definition of "different"?

The TD vehicle I rode had a very sensitive clutch - One slight release - may be less than 10% of the total play - the bike would be engaged. I would say there was 0 play set on the clutch.

Most of the bike enthusiasts will have don't care attitude ...

first time i released the clutch ... bike switched off ...2nd time slightly better .. 3rd time even more better ... 4th time i didn't find any difference

so it's like getting used to the play.

That's my experience ... I cannot really say about the clutch play and all ... i don't know about them .. But iam sure its not very different ..

While I'm going seriously OT with this, I would love to see this display on this thread and getting deleted if need be.

I was describing the authenticity of the person not his ability to buy premium brands or his language of conversation. Anyone who has risen to have the financial capabilities to buy the bike should go ahead and do it.

When you talk about the Ninja 250 or the KTM duke 200, for the technology, the design and the efforts that have gone into creating them, I identify them as premium.

For someone who cant identify the two as different bikes even if they have the differences being described in the product name itself but known otherwise as a 'biker' in his circle is a funny character . He found it hard to accept that Ninja can be faster than the KTM despite the showroom exec describing the differences because he was hell bent on buying the KTM given his self belief of it being faster.

These guys are described in xbhp or motorcycling parlance as posers. They would call a litre bike modified, because it is very difficult for them to accept that there exists something else in this world which goes faster than their own 'stock' bikes.

I wasn't talking about exclusivity because thats a myth in a country with a population like ours. As much as I can't help it I would not like to be slotted in the same space as these guys just because I own the same bike.

Just my two(many) cents in the 'premium' language.

Coming back to the appropriate conversation: Yes, you've described it better. The bike would stall if i mis-timed the clutch release.

I was just too anxious to make a dig at posers

i beg to differ,we may have dense population but we are not economically developed ,so ninja is exclusive,you drive a nano or a maruti 800 to a remote village where everyone rides cycle ,nano or maruti 800 becomes exclusive.sometimes a flop product also becomes exclusive as no one owns it.
p.s.you didn't need to type such long post,we are not attacking you

now we need more inputs about the clutch play from other guys who test-rode?have anyone felt any vibes?

I was too adrenaline filled, but yes it had tad more vibes than say r15(which is too refined). These vides get more prominent when u rip it hard. but in my opinion it is nothing to be worried, it kind of suits its street fighter character. it make u thrash it even more.

on the clutch yes i distinctly remember i was at CP and i had to go over this small bump (due to construction near the showroom u can kinda test it off road too courtesy DMC) bike stalled. But i got used to it in a jiffy. If u need to avoid that rev it a little and than pop the clutch. Rev it over 4k and u will hear the pillion scream.