The design and styling of KTM was something unseen in India before. Previously FZ-S of Yamaha was considered to be the best of the naked class bikes. But soon Duke became the iconic display of naked styling. The headlamp is slim and sleek. The trellis frame makes Duke to look as if it looks as good as the Ducaties. People even chased me asking whether it is a Ducati. Bikini fairing adds up its style but it is quite hard to rush at the speeds greater than 100 km/hr. It has sharp and edgy looks with very good dimensions so that many people desire to own such kind of stylish bikes. It has good graphics and a monoshock painted white at the rear side. It has the exhaust(visible) running below the engine. Dukes are really the best eye catchers of the pedestrians so that people hardly miss its sight. I used to see surprisingly big crowds gathered where ever I parked my Duke. Also I have heard people saying “See this bike, I think it is a modified FZ-S’.
The Duke engine is a fuel-injection type liquid-cooled engine of single-cylinder and single spark plug. It has a displacement of 200cc. It delivers its maximum power of 25 BHP at 10, 000 RPM and maximum torque of 19.2 Nm at 8000 RPM. Though it has 200cc, it delivers power more than normal 200cc bikes. Once a guy riding Pulsar 150 crossed me as if he led me. It seemed to be a contest and he raced his bike so that he crossed me by a few distance. Annoyed by his actions towards me, I wanted to show him what Duke is capable of. I suddenly maxed the throttle so that I went passed him like a sizzling wind. That’s how I first ever experienced a brute hidden in my Duke.
Common thing is the engine heating(especially in naked bikes) could be felt at the stopping and slightly while riding. But it is comfortably warm in cold nights. I have enjoyed it very much personally. It has 6-speed transmission with wet multi-disc clutch. I bet it is the only bike in the Indian market which could be driven at 30 km/hr even in 6th gear. The fact is the gears are too short and make the rider to rush harder and faster.
It is a bike having loads of power within it. The tagline “READY TO RACE” shows that Duke is made of racing DNA. It accelerates to 60 km/hr in 3-4 seconds(my bike) and 100 km/hr within 10 seconds. My top speed is 140 km/hr. I didn’t feel any power lags till it reached 130 km/hr. Since it has high torque to weight ratio and light weight it is used for stunting(I didn’t try stunting till now). Gear shifts are smooth but I get false neutrals once in a fortnight usually while down gearing from the 6th gear to the 1st gear. The Duke 200 is a 4-stroke engine but it roars like a 2-stroke motor. Even its engine sound makes it easily notarized. Thus Duke engines are power factories making sure that all the power lovers are satisfied.
Street bikes are meant for their braking. Duke has excellent braking mechanism(BYBRE) having dual disc brakes. Front disc – 280 mm wide and rear brake – 230 mm wide. It is safe to brake even at high speeds. Thanks to the braking, I was just saved once riding behind a minidor which suddenly dropped its speed from around 70 km/hr. I got escaped with a little skid. No damages to me as well as my love.
The Duke 200 has soft compound tubeless tyres manufactured by MRF. The tyres of the Duke 200 are the largest of the Indian bikes. The tyres are large enough for me to be absolutely stable even at high speeds.
Duke has a good instrumental cluster. It has indicator button, horn switch, dim and dip switch and a pass light switch on the left handle while on the right handle carries light switch, engine kill switch and self-start button.
Handling the Duke 200 is quite awesome. It is very light and hard as steel. The handle is a little spiky and pains slightly. Changing handle rubbers with smoother ones makes comfortable and the paws can be relaxed. They are perfect for the streets. The turning radius is a little low which makes the bike a little hard to turn at narrow places. Cornering is absolutely fantastic. My friends had a feel that it was too light to corner so that it may fall onto the ground, but practically what I experienced was that it is highly stable through corners.
Coming to the comfort, the stock seat is really stiff. Even though a pain ease tip is provided to make our back to relax, it is really hard to travel continuously for hours together. The seats can be changed to comfortable ones so that riding becomes smoother and painless. Riding position is straight and upright so the rider is comfortable without pain in shoulders and on the back.
The rear pillion seat is very small and it is not advisable for fat guys and people who sit aside(really dangerous). I once took my cousin who was a little fat for about 100 kms, seriously it was hard to travel long. Also the pillion rider can feel the hardness of the seat even sooner than the rider. A journey of an hour is okay. Traveling for more than 2 hours is simply a painful job.
Coming to the fuel efficiency, the Duke’s mileage is mind blowing. The tank capacity is 10.5 litres. Though it is a 200cc engine and delivers power more than a normal 200cc bike, its mileage is something remarkable.
Since I ride on the highways I get a mileage of well above 42 km/l(average) and got the highest as 50 km/l. People get varied mileages. The fact is unlike the carbureted engines, the fuel injection gives variable mileage based on the acceleration of the bike. It is really hard to believe that even FZ, Fazer and other 150cc bikes give less mileage than the Duke 200.
Special Features – People are surprised to see the radiator in the KTM Duke 200. They move around the bike to search for silencer yelling “Look at this bike, it has a radiator but no silencer guys!” where ever I stop. The radiators are activated when the temperature rises to the maximum in the temperature bar. Also the underbelly exhaust makes the bike solid even the water level is as high as the waist of the rider. The bike can be stopped(even at waist high water levels) and switched off and then started again to move even at high water levels. Thus it makes the Duke’s engine a special one.
Duke 200 Pros
200cc powerful engine
Good mileage
Presence of radiator
Underbelly exhaust
Aggressive style and notoriety
Roaring sounds
Smooth and short gear shifts
Excellent graphics
Powerful LED headlamp as bright as car lights(12V 60/55W H4) and LED tail lamp and indicators
Monstrous acceleration
Mono-suspension
Light in weight
Duke 200 Cons