So I was going around on the Inazuma on Dehu road Pune when i stopped for chai at the stall which is right where dehu road begins. So as i'm sipping my early-ish morning tea when two camouflaged KTM's pull up right next to the Suzuki. They were as interested in the Zuma as i was on their bikes. So one was a RC 390 in exactly the same camo colours as above and the other was a Duke 390 which was also camouflaged for reasons i failed to understand then, till i saw the rear of the bike.

Anyways about the RC first, so we had a quick exchange of words, both the guys riding seemed to be local guys, definitely not bikers doing their usual rounds of riding the bike for a certain amount of km. So while the other guy was walking around the Zuma, i quickly went and plonked my excited rear on the RC. Riding position is fantastic. I have been riding the Ninja over 4 years now, and this comes bang between the comfort-ish stance of the Ninja and the very aggressive posture of the R15. I don't think long rides should be a problem at all. Even the seat felt adequately padded and quite comfy.ANd then he said the magic words. 'Take it for a spin'. He didn't have to say it twice. Fired the motor which sounded identical to the Duke and i was off. Took it a little easy till the guys were out of the picture and i gunned it. Acceleration is fantastic and it pulls just as hard as the Duke 390. What was impressive was even though this was a battered abused test mule it pulled mighty friggin hard. A quick u-turn a quick 140 km/h on the speedo which is the same as the Duke on the return empty stretch and I was smiling ear to ear. And this is from a guy who has just sold his Ninja 250R. I am totally in love and awe. Could not gauge the handling but from what i could gather, its going to be awesome. My cheque is signed and ready! I did try to take a picture once i parked but the guys freaked out statting it coud cost their jobs. I was an idiot to not stop and click one i went ahead for a spin but you can't blame me for being that excited.

About the Duke 390, while it was exactly the same as the one being sold but this Duke 390 had a larger padded pillion seat and a more bulbous tail light unit. The pillion seat being a major grouse on the Duke, i think Bajaj is already working on it.

Indicators were on the mirror stalk.