Re: KTM Duke 200 vs RC 200?

Sure. Maybe I will take my test ride by today. So I hope I can find the difference and would help me arrive at a conclusion. But after reading through the comments, I think maybe 390 is not a bad idea after all. Stretching my budget a littel bit, I hope I wouldn't regret my decision.

Re: KTM Duke 200 vs RC 200?

Suggestion : RC390 no doubt is a fantastic machine, but if you are using it for daily commutes within city limits,
1. You cannot unleash the power it has.
2. Again the average part you have to suffer.

Think wisely that how many tours you will be doing and how long you will be cursing by 100 to 110.

I don't find any issues taking RC200 till 100-110 and certainly you can maintain this speeds on RC for long stretch.

Re: KTM Duke 200 vs RC 200?

So to all of you the FE and the Power output of the bike are the only two problems?

What about the fact that the RC series has a tall ride height and reduced steering height causing it to literally be a pain in the back, or the fact that the RVM's are useless or that the pillion seat is too slippery, sloped and is designed with malice aforethought for the purpose of taking revenge on the pillion's buttocks and hands or that there are too many vibrations coming from all together too many places. The faulty projector headlamps that de-focus every few hundred Kilometers due to vibrations.
I don't get it, these are genuine problems listed by KTM mechanics and sales teams in a meeting that took place today at KTM begumpet in Hyderabad. So no one is facing these problems?

As for the potential of the bike itself, Its much easier to unleash the full power of the engine in the RC than it is in the dukes. I could easily go upto four gears in the city at 6-7.5k rpm on the RC as opposed to the 6.5-7k rpm I'm usually stuck with in third gear on my duke most of the time in traffic.

Re: KTM Duke 200 vs RC 200?

As I am going through different articles, I can see people claiming fuel efficiency of duke 200 upto 41Km. But I am not sure if this machine can turn around such an effeciency.
So can anyone quote how much is the "average" fuel efficiency of KTM 200 and 390 engines.

PS: Please dont consider your best fuel efficiency that you had managed to extract. I would just like to know the normal average numbers in day-to-day use.

----consecutive posts auto-merged-----

Thanks for the valuable information.
And for the following question, please ignore every other aspect about windblast, Fuel efficiency, riding posture, engine heat, whether its an RC or duke, etc....
Speaking only and purely on terms of engine performance, could you please tell what advantage does the KTM 390 has over the KTM 200 ?

Re: KTM Duke 200 vs RC 200?

Well.....................Let's see............
The duke and RC bikes have one major difference (other than the obvious of course) that is the ECU remap which offers higher top end while sacrificing both low end and FE (both not by much).
Now comes the difference between the 200 and 390 (same applies to both duke and RC)
The duke/RC is a machine which is designed to have massive power at very low kerb weight giving it the best in class Bhp/tonne. The difference however comes in the way this power is delivered.
The 200 is a bike in a hurry, It gets to top speed faster, it also needs to be shifted into proper gear (annoyingly) faster. The 200 has a short ratio gearbox which allows you to go through the gearbox very quickly but also causes you to be in the right gear at all times or you risk stalling the bike and damaging the gearbox.
The 390 on the other hand has not only a bigger engine (in terms of power output and size) but also in terms of gear ratios. The 390 gearbox is a more relaxed high speed, long ratio gearbox which allows you to reach the maximum potential of each gear in a very linear and smooth fashion and gives you an advantage in terms of being able to ride the bike in the city like a gear less scooter (lock it in third gear and cruise all day at speeds over 60kmph or ride as low as 30kmph in traffic without shifting gears).

So, suffice it to say that like a young kid on a sugar rush the duke 200 has a lot of energy but a lot less stamina, but the 390 is like an a marathon runner, lots of stamina and energy and the technique to use it. So if you want nothing but raw power I'll tell you a duke 200 can catch upto a duke 390 with ease during acceleration in tight packed spaces but will loose in a straightway where the 390 is given enough room to unleash all 44 horses (by an alarmingly huge margin).
The duke 390 in contrast can catch upto a ninja 650 with ease just as a 200 catches upto a 390.
The engine runs a bit cooler in the 390 in comparison to the 200 (actually runs a lot hotter but then we are comparing a 200cc engine with a much bigger 375cc engine), what I mean is that while the 200 gets hot and cools down faster, the 390 engine gets hot and cools down much slower giving the illusion that it runs hotter.
Overall the 390 when compared to a 200 feels like a mature, more relaxed, more capable but more sensible bike (like its telling you "been there, done that, what else you got?").
The fuel efficiency for the 390 (IRL) is about 26-27kmpl in the city (sane riding) and 30-34kmpl on the highway (below 140 kmph) for the duke and about 2-3 kmpl less for the RC in both cases. The FE of the 200 (IRL) is about 35-38kmpl in the city and 36-40kmpl on the highway for the duke and 2-3kmpl less for the RC in both cases.
Finally in conclusion, If you want a sedate yet highly capable highway bike with great FE for its class then buy the 390, and if you want a crazy off the rails kid who's had one too many candy bars then buy the 200 (the rush will be unbelievable with both bikes, enough to make you laugh hysterically ).
Hope this helps

Cheers

Re: KTM Duke 200 vs RC 200?

Hi Balgi,
A very good informative post. Thanks for the effort.
Superb description of engine performance of the mean siblings.

Re: KTM Duke 200 vs RC 200?


Thank you. I actually struggled with that a bit as I was unable to think of an appropriate comparison to describe the two series bikes. I have ridden both bikes and then after careful consideration I chose the 390 duke. It has a lot of advantages over the 200 for a more mature and relaxed rider who's only looking to enjoy the ride. The 200 however is great for city traffic, exactly the place I found the 390 to be lacking in terms of absolute bottom end torque. Of course the simplest solution to that is to lock the 390 in 1st gear and as I said use it as a gearless scooter. LOL:P

Re: KTM Duke 200 vs RC 200?

Hi Kriz!
I had the Duke 200 for more than 2 years and now since October I've been riding the RC390. But one of my friend owns the RC200 as well so I can very well understand your problems.
There's no doubt about the fact that the Duke200 fits your requirement criteria and otherwise also it is a fantastic motorcycle to ride.

CITY RIDING:
The Duke 200 has a very comfortable seating posture but is not very roomy, so if you're over 5'10" in height then you can consider the RC because it is very spacious for the rider. The Knee space is well made out but again these are the things you won't mind in the City traffic. The Duke is definitely very easy to manoeuvre in city than the RC. RC has a NOTICEABLE stiff suspension set up and u will definitely feel that on the broken sections of the road. Even the Duke is a bit on the stiffer side when compared to other commuters but still it handles out some off road abuse pretty well(Superb Dampening). I could usually manage an average fuel efficiency of around 30-35km/l in the city.
There's another problem with the Duke and that is the Heat dissipation from the radiator fan. The heat will directly attack your right leg which is quite irritating in Summers.

HIGHWAY RIDING:
I managed a top whack of 141km/h on my Duke 200 just 2 weeks after the service and with 97-Octane rating petrol but actually while touring you will end up doing 85-110km/h which won't cause a problem considering wind blasts and the cross winds also don't create a problem either, but on the RC the cross winds to create a problem sometimes. Fuel efficiency on the highway if accelerating gradually was around 35-42
While doing the top speed run my Duke delivered 23km/l.
If you're into serious touring or u like putting your luggage on the bike then also you should go for the Duke because the RC just won't let you do that easily and with the forward leaned seating position the backpack also starts creating a pain in your shoulders after some 2 hours on the saddle.
SADDLE! Oh the saddle!
The rider seat on the RC is definitely for the track and that is not meant for commuting/touring and it is ACTUALLY VERY VERY VERY HARD for a new rider. I'm quite used to it but unless I'm riding on the hills or some twisties my bum starts crying for help after some 2 hours
On the twisties you can go on for hours though.

BUILD QUALITY
The Duke is definitely the better built product. The RC on the other hand is built to a budget and it actually shows. The Duke's leg guard are a big saviour in the event of a crash, but my dear friend if u think of buying the RC don't forget to buy some crash guards.

Efficiency on both the bikes is more or less the same but the Duke does deliver better in the city.
The Duke also feels faster in the initial acceleration and even in the roll-ons.

-Madhav
RC390

Re: KTM Duke 200 vs RC 200?

Hi all,
I went to KTM showroom at Bund Garden road in Pune. First I would like to thank the people there who were the best sales persons I knew. And took my test rides with RC390 and duke 200.
I have observed the following points,

1. I couldn't find much difference with the comfort of seats, but the RC was definitely not built for pillion riders. Definitely not.

2. Being 5'10 I didn't had to feel much discomfort with the posture of RC. I had much room space and comfort sitting on RC and crouching doesn't seem to be much painful. Maybe I couldn't tell that at this juncture after a very short spin on the bike. But Duke had a much upright position than my Yamaha FZ. But it was not discomfort, just that it was little strange to me and I am sure that I am going to experience much of a windblast.

3. I am not sure if that is just me. But felt that 200 had a little much more power when it comes to pickup. The Duke 200 was ready to pounce just at the flick of the throttle. The RC 390 was also awesome but Duke 200 seems to pretty high on adrenaline when it comes to pick up. (*Some one please validate this point)

4. Due to my height, luckily I didn't feel uncomfortable with riding height of both the bikes.

5. RC was highly appealing for the looks, and taking the test drive back to back, RC felt like driving a car with a fully loaded console. It is indeed a beauty in itself. But at the end of the road, it is evident that RC is strictly a track bike. And its going to take its toll in maneuvering it in tight traffic. I felt my FZ scores better than the RC when it comes to jam packed traffic. I could easily squeeze past the vehicles when stranded in a jam. (*Please some one share experience with duke when it comes to jam tight traffic driving. Kindly include your points on engine heat at this juncture.)

6. Since it was day time I couldn't test the power of headlights. (*So it would be a great favor if I can get some information on headlight performance between RC and the duke. How come the projector lamps of RC come onto the game.)

Thanks Balgi, and Abeer.014 for your length post. I was way too helpful to observe some points while taking the test drive.

Re: KTM Duke 200 vs RC 200?

I hope everyone would have already got these materials. I got these service manuals for Duke bikes.
Hope it helps.
Kindly share it on other threads.

11_3206110_en_RM - Download - 4shared -
12_3206127_en_RM - Download - 4shared -
13_3206162_en_RM - Download - 4shared -
13_3206167_en_RM - Download - 4shared -

Re: KTM Duke 200 vs RC 200?

Completed 3k kms on my RC 390 without a single issue and its way better than what my Duke 390 used to be.

The problems listed by you were more of a problem on the Duke and are sorted out in the RC.

Like the headlights are way better, brakes are improved over the d390, less vibey engine and better heat dissipation. Pillion seat is way more bigger and comfortable than the dukes(reviews from actual pillions) and afterthought? The entire automobile media is praising the design and the functionality.

Pain in the back because ktm had made it clear that its a track focused tool but I have been riding it only in the city with only a couple highway rides and matter of fact after the first 50 kms, you get used to it without any issues whatsoever.

And all this is coming from somone who has owned a Duke 390 and now an RC 390.

Re: KTM Duke 200 vs RC 200?

Of course I acknowledge what you're saying is true. But the problems I listed were quality issues (which means its not the bike's fault). I myself own a duke and apart from the fuel pump issue so far I have not had any issues at all, so what I'm saying is that the problems I listed are not niggles but are QC oversights which are present in quite a few dukes and RCs even today. I was told this by the KTM guys themselves.

And really you are one of the lucky ones for not having any QC issues just like me.

Re: KTM Duke 200 vs RC 200?

As a biker, please could you tell me

1.What is the maximum speed you have reached and how long can you sustain in that speed with the road conditions in India?

2.If you are touring, what would be your average riding speed?

Re: KTM Duke 200 vs RC 200?

Guys, I got a 2014 end day shocker call from KTM Showroom, Marathahalli, Bangalore. "The prices are getting hike from January 01, 2015", so please make a full payment today to avoid price hikes. Earlier the same day morning I read in Motorbeam that our Government had withdrawn the Excise Duty discount, so all the automobiles will be getting costlier in 2015. Bikes will be getting back to 12% from 8% Excise Duty. I had very less time to make arrangements for the funds, somehow managed and paid it. I am just curious how true is the news I got from the showroom or is this just to pressure the prospective buyer to make an immediate purchase. If anyone know about this, can you please update how much would be the price of KTM RC 200 after the hike?

KTM RC 200 is overpriced compared to KTM RC 390 with VFM propositions. So a price hike would have definitely put my purchase decision on hold.

Re: KTM Duke 200 vs RC 200?

The roll back of Excise duty benefit is official & correct news. Hence, even price of two-wheelers will go up. I am not sure how correct it is to ask you to make full payment just because of that. What was the agreement with the showroom in terms of payment?

Sent from my GT-N7100 using xBhp Connect mobile app