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

exactly what i wonder too, cause dont seem to make it out from the pics online

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

Yes, I am afraid so! I will try and take some pics when I visit the showroom again sometimes next week.

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

anyone know whether the bike came in CP showroom or not..

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

Went to the btm showroom today in bangalore. Saw the 390 and test drove the 200 in the very short service road. Was amazed by the 200 even within the short sprint. Riding position was spot on for me and not too different from the p220. I would have liked to see slightly heftier looking foot pegs and levers on a muscle bike like this, but i ll settle for this

I was specifically looking out for the wiring stuff and the pillion seat. The wiring was visible on both sides of the bike. One bunch just under the tank on the left side stuck out like a sore thumb and a little all over the place on the right side (abs cabling apparently). It can be seen easily from a few feet away, no need to look closely. Ofcourse, i found it because i was looking for it, i doubt the average bystander will spot it My point of comparison was the 200 which was much cleaner on the right , but had a similar but slightly thinner bunch on the left.

My wife said that the pillion seat felt comfortable in the really really short ride. Long drives is still an unknown i guess.

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


My review is almost over and I have been working on it from the last 6 hours without any break. But just now I have been asked to hold the review

Really very sorry for not able to keep the promise

[MENTION=18379]splus[/MENTION] - You are right. I had to put it up today at any cost and by my progress I was to put the review by 10-10.30pm

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

Ah well.. Lets hope we get the review in the next few days

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

Don't care about a Naked Bike & don't want to.

The only thing to make me Happy

If it comes with a Metzeler Tyre, that means its going to be much easier now to get a Metzeler in India

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

Yes, the bike has come to the CP showroom.They had the launch today at 3.30PM.

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

Here are my impressions after spendine quite some time with D390

Love at first sight:-
Looks same as Duke 200 but the orange wheels, orange trellis and those hand guards give this bike a little more premium look. Quality of switchgear, paint and everything on the bike is top notch and as good as any Jap big bike. Those wires poking out of trellis frame and around radiator look a little cheap but are not a deal breaker considering the equipment on offer at the price. This bike draws second looks everywhere it goes and people do tend to get attracted by the orange wheels. I was asked may times what bike it was and how much cc. For my amazement, no-one seems to be interested about the fuel-efficiency and "kitna deti hai" question.


The ride experience:
This baby KaTooM comes to life on first touch of the starter button and idles with a very smooth roar. Exhaust note is slightly louder and bassier than D200. It sounds like D200 had a very good diet and grew from a teenager into a 25 year old. Pull in the clutch and its light enough, Slot the gear in 1st gear and bike pulls cleanly without any hiccup. It has more low-end torque than D200 and you can feel that the moment you twist the throttle. As the engine revs higher you start falling in love with this baby KTM and you only go deeper in this pit of love as the revs go higher, there is no escape. Bike is quite civilized till around 5000rpm and after that all hell breaks loose. Once you are around 8000rpm its like "WOW", You hold onto the handlebar for your dear life as this thing pulls like a rocket. In no time you will hit around 80ish and you are still in 2nd gear. You shift to 3rd and boom it keeps pulling. Then 4th and 5th and it keeps on pulling. I couldn't rip it in 6th gear as i couldn't find a road long enough to stretch it out. But i am sure it will go above 160 and with a 55kg rider like me and if you have friends with 600s and 1000s, you can go on a ride with them without feeling like you are riding a fiddy and feeling embarassed.

Gearbox and engine are smooth and do there duty of keeping that huge grin on your face quite well. Unlike the D200 you dont need to shift every now and then. Gears are tall enough and you can clearly enjoy the ride without surfing through gearbox every 10secs. Fuel efficiency according to the digital meter is around 20 - 25kmpl. Handling is same as 200 so there is nothing to write about and Metzeler tyres do there duty really well. ABS is good but i have enjoyed better ABS systems. But at 2,01,000 on-road Delhi, it is a steal.



Final comments:
With Duke 390 Bajaj has a winner in there hands. For those people like me who didn't go for D200 or CBR250r because they couldnt find it a worth enough upgrade from there R15s, 200s and 220s, will find D390 very attractive.

Duke390 vs Ninja 250r/300
Duke is just a different ball game altogether. I have spent more than 3k kms with Ninja and have ridden it right from off-road terrain to beautiful highways and i just cant compare D390 with N250r. Ninja "feels" faster though D390 is actually faster. Ninja with its parallel twin sounds orgasmic at redline whereas D390 sound as good as a single cylinder can get (you get the idea). Heart goes for Ninja whereas mind goes for D390.

Note:
1.) D390 has bigger front disk (thanks to ABS)
2.) D390 has bigger 6 hole sprocket whereas D200 has a 4 hole sprocket.
3.) It WONT POP POWER WHEELIES
4.) It heats as much as Duke 200 if not less or more
5.) Its a breeze to ride in stop and go traffic and unlike some other people said, its fun in traffic and more fun than D200 ever was (unless you love gear surfing a lot)

Now the PICSSSSSS
.

See the difference in sprocket size and number of holes





The ABS disk set-up on D390 and Standard disk set-up on D200

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

I hope this time the xBhp review gets the torque curves right!
[MENTION=15063]riot[/MENTION] - nice 1st ride summary there! Where did you get the test bike from? And what's your height?


Sent from my iPhone

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

Guys, I'm almost certain to book the Duke 390 soon. I've asked for a test ride at Jaipur Pbk, and they have agreed, but only after July 12th. That could mean, I might get a test ride on 15th or sometime around. And I'll book the bike then and there if the test ride doesn't expose some major weaknesses of the Duke (although that shouldn't happen).

Let's see what happens...

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

Was on youtube for GoPro videos and donno hwo I found this.

Maybe not posted here before or maybe already someone did.

The voice of the guy is very irritating but video is kinda good :

Exclusive! KTM Duke 390 ABS 2013 in India First Sight Review A Must See! - YouTube

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

Thanks bro, my 1st attempt on a write up. Ill post a full comparison with N250, R15, D200 and 200Ns next month .

i picked it up from KTM lajpat nagar early in the morjning and spent a lot of time with it.

I am 5'4

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

Booked the bike from CP after a short test ride yesterday. According to the KTM person I talked to, 70 odd bookings have been made till now. The deliveries are not expected before August.

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

Thanks MG.
That's really weird. Is it KTM/Bajaj or some marketing games?
Seems strange unless the production bikes that will be delivered to buyers will be different from test/demo bikes.
I can't see any other reason...

We can already see that official specifications changed in last couple of months from 44 hp to 43 hp, and we all saw videos from Austria where D390 does power wheelies easily, but now [MENTION=15063]riot[/MENTION] mentioning it can't do a power wheelie. Looks like they detuned it in the mean time?

Question to KTM - why decrease the D390's power? You already tuned down D200's power 8-9 months AFTER the release, reducing the rev limiter by 500 rpm down to 10,000 rpm, which is incidentally exactly where D200 makes its peak power. Rev limiter kicks in at peak power??? It's like the moment the engine attains its advertised peak hp the engine kills few horses.

Such moves make be doubt guys in KTM's power tuning department actually know what they're doing. The engine design department does a really good job with creating a punchy engine, and then engine tuning department tries to undo it by detuning the power delivery. With all due respect KTM - I love your bikes but this isn't a good business.


On another topic, I'm more and more sure I won't be able to resist buying D390, despite my rant above. I'm trying to resist, but those horses are calling me...
I still want to have a test ride first though. With the money in my pocket ready for booking the moment I get off the bike.