Thursday, March 1, 2012

KTM 200 Duke Launched in Bangalore


KTM is now Ready to Race in the Silicon Valley of India which is Bangalore. The KTM store in Bangalore has started the delivery of KTM Duke 200 to the first set of 20 customers. Known for their legendary racing achievements, KTM is Europe’s second largest motorcycle manufacturer and dominates the off-road segment across the world. KTM debuts in India with its premium streetbike brand, the DUKE. The first offering from the KTM stable in India, the Duke 200 would be retailed through a dedicated KTM store (erstwhile Bajaj Probiking Store) at 100 ft road in Indiranagar, Bangalore along with KTM’s famous range of Accessories and Merchandise called KTM PowerWear and KTM PowerParts.
Mr. Amit Nandi, Vice President, Bajaj Auto, said, “KTM is the second largest player in the Europe only next to BMW. The company has emerged as the champion in off – road racing events and posses a market share of above 50 per cent when it comes to the off – road bike segment.”
In a segment crowded with full-faired Japanese motorcycles, the KTM 200 Duke will be the only one sporting the naked streefighter styling that all KTM Dukes, like the Super Duke 990 and the Duke 690, are renowned for. The 200 Duke will be powered by a single cylinder, 200cc, liquid cooled, DOHC, four valve engine which will pump out a peak power of 25bhp and a maximum torque of 19 Nm. Like all KTM’s the 200 Duke has the best–in-class power to weight ratio of 184 Ps/ton thanks to high strength- low weight components of the highest quality.  It features first in class features such as a Trellis Frame, Upside Down forks by European specialists WP, an aluminium swing arm, a multifunction cockpit and many more.
Talking about the Powerwear and the Powerparts which are the company’s official merchandise and accessories range he said, “Apart from bikes, the brand believes in going beyond the bikes which is why KTM concentrates gives due importance on Powerwear and the Powerparts.” He was asked from the media side about these products, he said that a few  of them are available in Pune and all the timer they need is the time they take to bring them here and that’s it. But, he then added that the pother few of them will take a month or more to be stocked in the outlets.
KTM will also organize a few ride trips for its customers which will be at the basic level which involves not much complexity. But at the same time, it is also showing hints of bringing in few of the greatest trips into the sub – continent.
He said, “What India need is a practical bike which is both sporty and fast. The KTM 200 Duke is one such bike. In a segment like this, which is dominated pre – dominantly by Japanese players, KTM becomes the first European brand to get in.”
The KTM 200 Duke will take on the Yamaha YZF – R15V2.0 and the Honda CBR250R as its competitors at this point of time. The competition will of course become intense over a period of time as there’re more companies on the pipeline which will come up with products in this segment.
KTM has emerged as a winner in the Paris – Dhakar rally for 11 consecutive years. This is ‘THE’ most toughest rally on the Planet Earth covering an off – road hostile terrain of 9000 kms. In the recently concluded 2012 rally, 7 out of top 10 riders were in KTM bikes and similarly 15 out of top 20 riders were on their KTMs.
Mr. Amit Nandi said, “We’d started bookings for the KTM 200 Duke in Bangalore by the 1st of Febraury and the response has been amazing. Practically on the first 5 days, the company managed to sell its 2 – 3 months of its production. ”
Packed with technology and features befitting motorcycles of far higher segments, the KTM 200 Duke has been launched in Bangalore with a price tag of INR 1,19,000 (Ex – Showroom) and INR 1,38,000 (On – Road).
The bike will be made available only in its signature colour which is orange. When made a point that the Duke 690 is available in another colour scheme of green and black, he said that the company has no plans of coming up with another colour atleast for the next 6 – 8 months.
There was also a question posed to him if this bike will sport ABS in the near future and the answer for this question went negatively.
Mr. Pushpchand Chordia, the CEO of Khivraj Motors said “We are delighted to bring the Duke 200 in Bangalore and are very positive about the prospects of KTM in the city. For the world class product we are geared up with the world class sales and service facilities. The state of art showroom is situated at the 100 ft road Indiranagar and the service center is also located at 100ft road Indiranagar near Domlur flyover.”
Mr. Amit Nandi said, “KTM is the only European brand in its segment in India. It has impeccable racing achievements for over 40 Years and will be available in its unique trademark orange colour. The KTM 200 Duke is meant for people who are young at heart and like to be different.”

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