Here’s an interview that we did with Asif, a owner of KTM Duke 200, about his ownership experience.
Out of so many bikes in the Indian market, what motivated you to choose KTM Duke 200? What other bikes did you consider buying?
Last year in Feb 2011 I planned to get myself a new bike, at that time I was a fan of Pulsar 220 and started saving each penny to buy it on my birthday (30th August). But as the date came near I came to know that Bajaj will be relaunching all new Pulsar series later in that year, so I postponed my plan to Jan 2012.
Then in September R15 was launched which impressed me but since I was using a Bajaj bikes for past 4 years and the type of service that Bajaj provides no other company provides in my town(Meerut). I wanted to choose a bike only from Bajaj and then I came to know about Duke.
I got mad about it and started collecting info about it, the specs were jaw dropping. Now the main concern was its on road price – 1.30lakhs. Earlier my budget was only 1 lakh – but KTM made me work hard to save more money and I was the first person standing outside the showroom on 24th Jan – ready to book it without even seeing it.
What bikes have you owned in the past? Tell us a little about each of them?
I owned a Bajaj XCD 125 in 2007 as a beginner bike. It was a good bike for a boy who weighs 45 kgs and who was 4’5”ft tall. I choose it because it was newly launched and was the only bike to offer a digital console in that segment and of course it gave good mileage. I used dat bike for 4 years and I treated it like my baby; it looked always new. I got a deal of 22 k in November 2011 and I sold it.
How has been your ownership experience so far? I am sure you would be the center of attraction among your friends and on the roads, right?
Its been 1 week now of my ownership and I’m treated as a attraction on roads, every eye notices my orange baby, some get amazed by its huge looks. The bike looks huge specially from its front white power suspension and its wide tyre. Its head turning looks are accident prone! My friends are very eager to get a ride on her but I have read in 1 of your articles to avoid pillion for a few thousand kms on a new bike. So my friends are still in a queue to get a ride.
How much did you pay for the bike in total? Did you get financial help for your bike purchase?
I booked my Bike on 24th jan with a down payment of 50,000. Booking amount was never a cause of worry for me because after all in the end you have to pay the amount in full. The manager at that time was not exactly clear about the on road price, later wen I went on 1st feb to complete the formalities – he told me the exact on road price which was Rs.1,31,480 on road in Meerut and the rest of the amount I paid in cash on 4 March after waiting for about 40 days.
Tell us about the comfort and handling of KTM Duke 200
The seat is comfortable. A rider will find himself adjusting his seating position only after a 100 odd kms, but that may be the butt needing a break. Riding posture is upright and not strenous. I did have a slight pain on my left foot with all the tight gear shifts but that’s not a major concern. All in all it was pretty comfortable on the bike over the week.
How does the bike perform? Also let us know about the mileage you get right now.
The performance of the bike is mind blowing it will never let you down anywhere you take it, whether its off road, bumpy roads, loose tarmac, uphills, everywhere the performance is just amazing with good power deleivery and mileage. I rode it only for 69kms yet as I did’nt get much time to take it on a long rides. the best average I got on console was 41kmpl, it was good for me when I didn’t even cross the 5k rpm limit. I shuld only advice all Duke riders to look after their coolant cap it gets loose after sometime of hard riding and start splashing out green nuclear liquid on the orange tank. Other potential buyers of duke are also getting good average one of my friend in Mumbai is getting 54kmpl.
Can you tell us more about the digital console of KTM Duke 200? It seems to display a lot of info.
The console of KTM Duke 200 is very complicated, its easy to check all info by pressing ‘set’ button repeatedly but if u want to check trips, set RPM’s, clock, check trips, then it will give you a head ache. Overall a beautiful console complimenting the bike’s aggressive and futuristic styling. Notable features of the digital console…
- Digital Speedo/Odo/Gear indicator
- Two Trip meters with additional F mode.
- Dot matrix messages
- Ready to race.
- Side Stand on.
- Low fuel level.
- Distance to service.
- Distance to empty.
- Average speed during trip.
- Average fuel consumption.
- Shift RPM alarm for driver.
- Light dependent console display.
- Digital watch.
- Indicator display
- Eng Temp.
- Fuel Level.
- Tachometer.
- Turn signal.
- MIL
- Neutral & High Beam.
Who should buy this bike and who shouldn’t? Please advice potential buyers…
The 2nd person who got the bike with me is an 45 yrs old govt. excise officer who daily goes to Delhi on his bike, age is not a barier in selecting a bike I beleive. One only needs a young passionate heart for biking. Also it will a great bike for stunting because of its balance and center of gravity. Its a good commuter also, does well in city traffic but heats up a lot. I cannot say a single negative points about it. It is the best naked bike in India. It also gives good mileage, the console showed me 41 kmpl.
<End of Interview>
I hope you got some valuable insights about this bike. If you have purchased a CBU or a newly launched bike; and if you like to be interviewed, contact me at bikeadvice.in at gmail.com.
Thanks to Asif for participating in the review.
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