re: KTM Duke 390 Launched in India at Rs 1.8 Lakhs: xBhp News

Aggression+ short gearing makes it hell in outside city limits.
constant weening from the engine makes me irritating.

re: KTM Duke 390 Launched in India at Rs 1.8 Lakhs: xBhp News

Do you think the 390 with comparatively taller gearing will make riding outside city limits pleasant? Asking this as i am use to riding a C5 and will be using the 390 as well for short trips. Am planning to book tomorrow, so the concern.

re: KTM Duke 390 Launched in India at Rs 1.8 Lakhs: xBhp News

All the "minuses" you mentioned are pluses in my book. 200NS, for example, for me is just a little more powerful Unicorn and CBR250 is a great but boring cruiser (no offence to anyone!).
I love Duke 200 for its aggressive styling, short geared and aggressive ride, and that sound that goes crazy above 7k RPM... Pure bliss!
And btw, touring is great on Duke - effortless overtaking, totally stable at high speeds (unlike 200NS) and seating position is perfect, I can ride for hours and hours without back pain.
Duke 390 will be all that but just 2 times more! Including the sound!

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Duke 390 has little taller gearing but much more power so no need to shift gears so much as D200. But its biggest asset for highway rides is VERY tall 6th gear, goes 100 kmh at 5k rpm. That's like a kitten purring...
Although, even on D200 in highway rides there's no need to shift gears much, or at all, because of plenty of torque in every gear, even 6th. That's why Duke is so popular with Enfield folks, so many have switched to Duke already...

re: KTM Duke 390 Launched in India at Rs 1.8 Lakhs: xBhp News

Well ...this is the best news I heard in a long time...What makes me really happy is that as duke 390 is placed at 1.8L the 375 pulsar would be considerably cheaper !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

re: KTM Duke 390 Launched in India at Rs 1.8 Lakhs: xBhp News

kewl. And i guess 35nm of torque at 7k would also help. Anyhow even on the C5, in city traffic, very frequent shifting is unavoidable. And that gear box is unrefined, and shifting by itself is some task with false neutral between each gear. Hoping with the refinement the 390 brings in, even frequent shifting should not really be an issue.

Now where do i book? Indiranagar or BTM Layout?

re: KTM Duke 390 Launched in India at Rs 1.8 Lakhs: xBhp News

Here you Go!

Mine was apparently the 3rd booking at KTM Hyderbad - Banjara Hills Branch



30,000 + 1% for swiping card(Some ppl don't realize this is illegal!!), got him down from 2%.
Expected delivery - After 2nd Week of July. They will get the delivery in the 1st week of July but they have to get RTO approval for selling the bike in Hyderabad before they can generate an invoice.
Only 1 color - Orange wheels with black&white body.
Expected Hyderabad OTR - 2.1L

I'm the same person who on this last Sunday argued with my friend on why I will never buy the 390
My sight for quite some time now had been set on the Ninja250r and then was blown over by the Ninja300r but the unavailability of the Lime Green special edition color held me back.

What Bajaj or rather KTM has done here is flipped a switch in the mind of people like me who knew how good a machine the Duke's are and was only held back due to the assumed price closeness of the 390 with Ninja300. But pricing it at 1.8 made it simply a no brainer to pick it up. It just made sense although I always promised myself I wouldn't go for a single cylinder above 250.

Here's how I saw it, you get a high revving machine with ABS as standard and super grip tyres and an extra 70+cc over the equally or more rev happy N300. All at Half the price you would get the N300! It's a no brainer.

I had no idea today was the release date. Logged onto xBhp after a week almost, saw the launch, the switch inside me went from "no way!" to "hell yeah" and within 2hours of reading about the release, my booking was done! This is probably my most expensive "impulse" buy

Now my sights/dreams have been re-adjusted from the N300 and officially changing my dream bike to the Ninja ZX6R

re: KTM Duke 390 Launched in India at Rs 1.8 Lakhs: xBhp News

Wow... Dats some serious Impulse Buy!!! Good luck bro with your machine..

re: KTM Duke 390 Launched in India at Rs 1.8 Lakhs: xBhp News

Bajaj has done it again...killer bike at killer price...even after the introductory period, if it goes up by 20-25k, it would still be a very sweet deal...


what this means is that P375 is gonna sit at 1.4-1.5L or even less..you never know...though it will be be very close to cannabalising Duke 200...but i guess the difference in power delivery & the nature of the two bikes will find their own class of buyers...


Bajaj started a revolution in Indian market with Pulsar 150...KTM 200 & 390 are only the next phase in this evolution cycle...This is even a bigger milestone in the context of the overall performance bike industry in India as it will force other manufacturers to make their 200-400cc bikes in India if they want to get even a bit closer to these price tags...Hats off to Bajaj & good luck to all bikers ...remember this is just the beginning for better days to come


Hope Indian Govt will also support the efforts by providing good enough infrastructure where people could test their new beasts..

re: KTM Duke 390 Launched in India at Rs 1.8 Lakhs: xBhp News

While this launch excites me, it also means that the next Pulsar 375? reveal is just around the corner. Impatiently waiting for it. Hurry up Bajaj !!
At 1.8 lacs ex-showroom this is a terrific deal. You're getting so much in this package.

re: KTM Duke 390 Launched in India at Rs 1.8 Lakhs: xBhp News

great... finally after so much waiting, duke390 is launched. great killer pricing 1.8 lakhs ex-showroom pricing.this means P375 will have even better pricing....any news of any faired bikes from KTM..??

re: KTM Duke 390 Launched in India at Rs 1.8 Lakhs: xBhp News

Bring it on baby.. I am tempted to trade in my 7 month old Duke 200 and I will sooner than later.

re: KTM Duke 390 Launched in India at Rs 1.8 Lakhs: xBhp News

Oh my Gawd!! Cant wait to ride the 390, already cleared space in my garage for it. Gonna look great parked in between my GSR600 and P220F. Already bought an AGV Rossi chicken helmet and Hero3 about 3 months back just for my 390.

re: KTM Duke 390 Launched in India at Rs 1.8 Lakhs: xBhp News

This is really a great news..Din't expect such a price of 390Duke !! Kool !! surely will target many bikes... Beware Duke 390 is already here !!!

re: KTM Duke 390 Launched in India at Rs 1.8 Lakhs: xBhp News

I've been seeing the launch event closely over the net. I was seeing how Bajaj guys compared it to bikes as low as 150 and as high as 650. Even a HD was seen there.


And, I'm seeing how people are counting the number of bikes cannibalized by this "excellent machine" and its "hot cake pricing". People believe Ninja 300, Duke 200, etc. are getting attacked within the family. Outside its company, its killing the CBR250R and many such other bikes.
But guys, its a jungle out there... Cannibalization is the name of the game, and ultimately there can be only one Duke... You can't blame the topper of your class for the unemployment of the rest, can you?

And nobody has seen the future. Who knows what will happen?

It might be the "Hunto" for Japanese manufacturers, proving that 400cc segment is alive if you start giving us the real deal like Fz6, CBR600F, etc.
Or it might go down in history as another average sportsbike which sold 1-2k units per month and got somewhat noticed in big cities and that's it.



One thing's for sure though: It is fast and a well featured package. Value for money comes later, but by well-featured I mean, USD Forks, Switchable ABS, such an informative console, Metzelers, accessories, and the usuals like Fi, 4 valves head, 6 speed, etc. There's so much in this machine.


And second thing is, I'm finally getting another bike after my immensely loyal & reliable 2007 Pulsar 180 UG3... People often ride their 'faster' bikes as 'weekend' bikes, but I think I might make an exception by making Pulsar my weekend bike.
Since years on Xbhp, I've been telling Honda to get CBR 600F, Yamaha to get FZ6, or even 400cc versions of these bikes as practically as possible. That won't matter anymore.
I won't say anything again, because I really don't care anymore what Honda or Yamaha does, unless they employ me...

re: KTM Duke 390 Launched in India at Rs 1.8 Lakhs: xBhp News

Booked one for yesterday ... Although booking amount I paid is in single digit ...