KTM Duke 200. Review on KTM Duke 390

After having used a KTM Duke 200 for a good 15months and 21K Kms I think now is a good time to write this review.Very quickly, I must say this review is my 3rd on bikes on MS(Duke 200 is my 7th bike).

NOT HAPPY!

Pros:

1. Extremely agile, sharp on corners, excellent tyres(soft compound used, MRF REVZ)

   
   




2. Very Decent fuel efficiency(34-35KMPL in city riding), although this is not going to matter to those who are enthusiasts.

   
   




3. Very Informative instrument panel with a display that tells you distance to empty, side stand down, real time mileage, clock, engine temperature, oil levels(if low) and a lot more

   
   




4. Good top speed of 137-138kmph in very quick time

   
   

Cons:

1. Very expensive and unreliable spares(Mainly because of the fact that these parts come out from the Chaka plant Pune, under strict guidelines from KTM Austria, god knows how strict)

I got my meter console replaced due to display issues within 3k kms of riding, alloy wheel bent on a small pothole(around 9k spent from pocket), chain sprocket replaced at 15k even after timely lubing(every 500kms as advised)

Front fork oil seal breaks on city ride with above average Bangalore roads. Spent 2.5k. Side stand sensor malfunction and a lot more that I cannot recollect at this point in time.

1. Very uncomfortable for the pillion(Yes I did not care about this initially, but you cannot always ride alone, can you?) Hard rubber seats add to the misery

   
   




2. Very stiff suspension is a boon on corners but not so comfortable on potholes, feels like you are riding without shocks.

   
   




3. Switch panel seems very substandard with poor quality plastics used on handlebar(a comparison with Yamaha R15 and you will know what I mean)

   
   




4. This may sound silly but the pillion almost sticks to the rider due the extremely small rear seat(not so good if you plan to oblige your male colleagues for a lift back home)

   
   




5. Resale is one aspect I always look at(you dont ride a bike for life do you?) . Bad resale value on KTMs when compared to the CBRs and R15s

   
   

My good old Karizma was almost a bullet proof bike(read my review on MS on my Karizma if you like) and upgrading(if I may use that word) was not a good idea at all.

I am not the one who does bike abuse and later cribs and complains, so if you thought this is a case of user negligence please rethink.

I have been a part of some aggressive biking forums(Xbhp ID: manu4j1) and have been closely following KTMs for quite some time, the response is not great.

Finally if you have a lot of money and don’t care about the cons then it is a great entertainer.