First Ride KTM

Hi Guys,

Below is my review of KTM Duke 200.

Bike – KTM Duke 200

Vehicle – Test Vehicle

Kms Done – 243.5Km

Colour – Orange KTM

Highlights –

1.    Ready to race (Note once bike is on ignition)
2.    Nice Pickup (Single + with rear passenger).
3.    Nice looks.
4.    Good seating at rear.
5.    Nice Keys (with Key Guard).
6.    Good shocks.
7.    Very Light.
8.    Handle is too close to body (typical of fearing less bikes but this one feels very close).
9.    Great positioning of silencer.

Downsides –

1.    Weak throttle sound (Engine note not to my liking).
2.    Vague gear lever position (its positioned slightly backwards from seating position).
3.    Small horn (very weak horn).
4.    Lights bit weak.
5.    Vibrations when speed is increased.
6.    Avg. consumption falls drastically once revved.
7.    No road presence.
8.    Very wide handle.
9.    Tank size is very low (11litres).
10.  Indicators will stop only when you position it in centre.

Review – The review is done post riding Pulsar 220 DTSFI for approx. 4.3yrs and over ~130,000kms.

Personally the bike looks amazing when standing still. Great body graphics on the bike and great colour suits smooth Indian roads. Headlight assembly looks menacing but the lights are weak for KTM. The bike will not start unless you pull up the side stand J. Once started the first thing you will notice is the engine note… For a bike like KTM the sound is not soothing to ears. It feels as if you are starting an old Chetak scooter J. Post the start the pickup is great. 25BHP comes into action easily on the throttle movement even slightly. The Bike just responds pretty good to Throttle response and the 25BHP works too good even with the rear rider. The handle is very wide for KTM kind of a vehicle. The rear tyres (MRF) are 150mm so the grip on the road is very good. Monoshock absorbers are good. But when you hit a pothole (which you often will in Mumbai) the vibrations just travel up your body. The bike gives great cockpit view. The best view in the cockpit is of average and instantaneous consumption of the fuel it does as the revs keep going up. This is when the pinching in the pocket seems to happen as the average drops drastically as the speed is revved up post 100km/hr. I personally rode smoothly and  exponentially kept increasing the speed in all the gears and the average consumption kept increasing upto 26km/litre. As soon as I increased the revs the average dropped to 15km / litre. The distance was short only 2.5kms one way. For a bike which has done 243.5kms already the fuel consumption should be effective if the company claims to be effective. I feel that the “Low Fuel Consumption” on the website of KTM stands correct only when you are ease on revs. Last thing I observed and was pretty disappointed was the vibrations that the bike gave once the speed increased post 100km/hr. The vibrations could be felt truly while riding.

“The bike is new and is a test vehicle. You know how the test vehicles are riden by individuals. The average consumption will vary on rider to rider. Once you get your own bike the consumption will be managed by the rider himself / herself. “

So it depends on the rider and not the ride J it seems. So basically tighten your purses if you are purchasing this baby Duke. I would personally suggest wait for bigger machines as they will give constant fuel consumption of ~20km / litre in any condition.

Please do share your thoughts as well. J

Cheers!!!