KTM Duke 390

[haoKR]

whats the machine price of the duke 200

almost the same right..

[Senna4Ever]

http://www.ktm.com.sg/index.php

 

 

  haoKR said:

whats the machine price of the duke 200

almost the same right..

[haoKR]

ya la,diff by 1k+ nia

[thirtyoughtsix]

KTM replied my email, quoting a June 2013 launch date. Looking forward to this man!

[nongsao]

Understand this Duke390 will be manufacture for KTM by Bajaj from India. Suggest all interested bikers wait a while for Pulsar 390. Could be the same bike with a few modifications but at lower price then the Duke390. Real life example:- Pulsar200NS and Duke200. $5K against $10K + machine price.

[wan_xtc]

  nongsao said:

Understand this Duke390 will be manufacture for KTM by Bajaj from India. Suggest all interested bikers wait a while for Pulsar 390. Could be the same bike with a few modifications but at lower price then the Duke390. Real life example:- Pulsar200NS and Duke200. $5K against $10K + machine price.

 

but the bajaj isn't designed by kiska and doesn't come with better brakes, chassis and suspension.

[nongsao]

Bro, just looking at the economic point of view. Lots of Duke200 bikers regret after knowing the P200 cost less then half the price but still pack with almost similar or better features. So its no harm to wait and compare. Hope these infos will be helpful for fellows bikers.

[mechwira]

i'm also considering this. and i dun care about bajaj pulsar.

 

its true both "made by bajaj" using the same core design.

 

but i look at it this way: a master chef creates a great recipe for a world-class dish. he opens a restaurant in india, supervise the cooking of the dish personally (but made by local workers) and puts his name on it and personally guarantees its quality using his name as a master chef.

 

then he gives the exact same recipe to the restaurant next door and tells them "go ahead use my recipe to make the same dish, but cannot use my name and whatever happens with your dish is not my problem".

 

and thats the difference between a KTM Duke390 and Bajaj Pulsar390. if you believe and insist that you get "two identical dishes", more power to you, go ahead buy the cheaper pulsar. i dun believe i get "two identical dishes of the same quality and taste" just because both 'restaurants' use the same recipe; especially when one of them is the world-renowned master chef who originally invented the recipe and guarantees the quality with his own name.

 

but thats just me.

[nongsao]

KTM and Bajaj cooperate to produce the dish. KTM did not go to another company and tell them they can buy and use the same recipe. Both dishes are made in the same factory and by the same people.

 

Only one is more costly then the other. Because its a European brand and overprice like majority of European goods???

 

As a matter of opinion, if the products are about the same, better to save money and buy the cheaper alternative. And here we are talking of saving about $6 to $7K ( i estimate). Bikes only last for 10 years in SG unless you renew the COE, so buy wisely.

[mechwira]

first off, let me say i have no intention whatsoever to "show that i am right". i have no probs with people who deliberately choose the pulsar over the duke by believing they are buying the same bike with a cheaper price tag. i just dun share that opinion.

 

having read a few reviews, it appears that testers generally feel that despite the pulsar200 and duke200 having the same core, they have been packaged sufficiently differently (including engine differences) that they do not feel like the same bike. the common sentiment is that the pulsar200 feels like a very fast commuter whereas the duke200 feels like an outright streetfighter hooligan.

 

and, that the increase in price tag indeed comes with premium bits on the duke. choice excerpts from a review from http://bsmotoring.com/news/bajaj-pulsar-200ns-vs-ktm-duke-200-grilled/5668/2

 

WHICH ONE’S BETTER BUILT?

 

The Duke is. A lot of the hardware, so to speak, on the Duke’s interface exudes finish levels that are familiar territory to some of the world’s finest motorcycles. If you walk over to a 690 Duke and take a look at the handlebar controls, levers and meter console, you will be surprised to see how similarly built the Duke 200 is. This is something the Pulsar lacks, but that’s a given owing to its much lower price tag. Even across the rest of the motorcycle, the Duke feels a lot more ‘premium’ to the touch. After spending a good few hundred kilometres in the Pulsar’s saddle, the best I can come up with is ‘the Duke feels like a scaled down 690, the Pulsar, a handsomely matured Indian motorcycle'.

 

and their concluding paragraph:

 

WHICH ONE TO BUY?

 

If you’re reading this paragraph before you’ve read the rest of the story, don’t feel guilty – I’ve been as excited as you are to get to this bit. At Rs 87,514 (ex-showroom, Mumbai), the Bajaj Pulsar 200NS is fantastic value. It’s everything the street-racer in you could ever ask for and overall, is a truly outstanding example of honest, enthusiastic packaging. The KTM Duke 200, at Rs 1.17 lakh (ex-showroom, Mumbai) is substantially more expensive and only just as fast as the Pulsar, but for the premium you pay, you get stuff like USD forks, a very communicative trellis frame, a comprehensive meter console, fuel-injection, smashing looks, and quality and feel that is unmatched by even some more expensive motorcycles.

 

i therefore do not believe that the duke and the pulsar are the same bikes. i also believe that it is worth the extra cash for the extra premium bits that ktm offers on their version.

 

but at the end of the day, the only opinion that matters is yours. especially because its your cash. i'm also the guy who bought a hyundai avante over a japanese equivalent because i did not believe the japanese models offered S$10k worth of reliability/performance over an already reliable hyundai. thats just my opinion.

[d3an_cain]

anyone bought this bike yeT?

 

dirtwheel already post the price ont heir website

http://www.ktm.com.sg/index.php

[Jehuty]

  nongsao said:

Bro, just looking at the economic point of view. Lots of Duke200 bikers regret after knowing the P200 cost less then half the price but still pack with almost similar or better features. So its no harm to wait and compare. Hope these infos will be helpful for fellows bikers.

 

Unless we knew of the materials, methods and tolerances used, we'll never know. Anyway if Bajaj is simply manufacturing what KTM designed, I believe the Duke will be better, its not all about power...then again 200cc 4 stroke single cylinders aren't exactly powerful.

 

If the 390 is 12.5k, that's very good value compared to the overpriced DRZ....what to do, alot of over eager youngsters.

[swissbake]

On the Pulsar 200NS vs Duke 200 debate, a friend from India who test rode both bikes there and eventually bought Duke said that handling and feel on the Pulsar is far poorer than the Duke. Brand name aside, the reason Duke is more expensive than Pulsar is due to both quality of parts used and knowledge of KTM designers/engineers.

 

Just because a bike is built at the same plant by the same operators doesn't guarantee same quality and handling. Parts, material used and geometry are all different. While specs are similar, they are essentially very different bikes.

Many times, specs are just numbers that doesn't translate fully the experience of riding the real thing.

 

That there are far more positive, excited and supportive reviews of the Duke than the Pulsar speaks alot about the Duke.

 

I believe the Duke 390 vs the Pulsar 390 will be no different. You simply get what you pay for.

[mechwira]

distributor just informed me that the eta for the 390 has been pushed to july. i wonder if its coz they insisted on repainting the rims. apparently during the global launch a month back, when pics came out of the bike with the original black rims, ktm decided that colour was not nice and decided to recall all the 390s to repaint the rims orange.

 

now i'm tempted to just go ahead buy ninja300 rather than wait another two months, but then again i dont want to buy ninja now then see the duke later and regret, especially after practically all the reviews i read about the duke is very positive.

[Az_itsme]

for a single cylinder bike, i think u would find the duke with a more natural upright and relax riding posture plus the fun factor of short bursting supermoto.

 

unless u rather go on the top end of a sportsbike but i dun think id will be much since they are both single cylinders.

 

go for the DUKE!

[mechwira]

  Az_itsme said:

unless u rather go on the top end of a sportsbike but i dun think id will be much since they are both single cylinders.

 

1)the ninja300 is a parallel twin, not single

2)at 300cc, i highly doubt the ninja300 offers a 'sportsbike top end' vs 'hooligan nature' of the naked duke390 like you'd see in 'real' class 2 bikes sports vs naked. comparing paper specs, the ninja makes 38bhp, less than the duke's 44bhp.

 

but when you consider that 2a bike choices (minus scooters and scramblers) is essentially cbr250, cb400SF, ninja300 and duke390, i reject the cbr250 because it offers nothing, not looks nor power nor handling, against the other 3, and i reject the cb400SF because its common. this is the only reason the ninja300 is one of my consideration beside the duke390.

 

if the duke390 never existed, i'd be on the ninja by now. but i'm forcing myself to wait and see the duke390 up close before finally deciding whether i want duke or ninja because i dont want to regret.

[jyew777]

if u want to know what the 390 is like, just take a look at the duke200. same frame. Only bigger engine and different decals.

I have ruled out the 390 as the seat height is way too low for me. I went for a test ride on the 200 and a 5 mins ride in the car park did not feel comfortable at all with my knees bent to the max. DRZ400 might be overpriced but it is a lot more comfortable.

 

I also asked Boon Siew about the Honda CRF250L which looks like a very good bike with excellent reviews since it came out last year. They said they are still negotiating with the supplier to bring it in.

[CSV]

@mechwira,

 

duke 390 review videos up on youtube already. pickup looks pretty potent. same as drz400 i guess.

 

I would be considering the duke (perfect size and power for me) if not for the fact i spent alot of time, money and effort restoring my current bike.

[jyew777]

Something to share with everyone since some of the discussion here has been around our outdated licensing system.

I recently wrote a mail to Traffic Police (see mail below) to suggest that our classification of motorcycles for licensing purposes be revised to be based on horsepower instead of engine displacement, as is now the case in the European Union since beginning of this year. My main argument was that there are bikes in the 2A category which generate more hp than class 2 bikes. As an example: CB400 (52hp) and BMW GS 650 (48hp).

This would allow more choices in the 2A category and it just makes sense for the intended purpose of the licensing system. I also made comments about the unnecessary road rules testing during the tests. By the way the new Euro system might be a 3 tier system, but after being awarded the second class (limited to 48hp bikes), you are promoted to the last class automatically by the time you are 24 and if you have 2 years experience on the 48hp class. So you really do only 2 tests. Also, the power to weight ratio is also another criteria used. This means bikes such as the KTM Duke 690 are classified in the lower class although they make more than 48hp.

This is a much better classification that serves the intended purpose of tiered licensing much better than our system. But the reply I received from TP was just another one of their automated responses which goes something like this: our licensing system was introduced to reduce fatalities ..blah blah blah ...

Very disappointing but may be some of the brothers (and sisters) would also want to write to the TP to put some more pressure specially when LTA has recently announced that the COE for cars will be revised to use engine hp instead of displacement.

 

Apologies for the long post but just wanted to get this off my chest and I'm quite frustrated by the narrow minded attitude of the TP. Why do our licensing system have to be arguably the most restrictive in the world is beyond me.

 

My email to TP:

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I am currently doing some research about class 2A motorcycles in view

 

of buying one and I have noticed a few things which I believe requires the LTA

 

to rethink its license categorization criteria.

 

Class 2A: one of the most common motorbikes on our roads is the ubiquitous

 

Honda CB400 which has an engine developing about 54 Hp. Its weight is about 165

 

kg.

 

Class 2: the BMW G650 GS has a 650 cc engine which develops 48 Hp. Its weight

 

is about 170 kg.

 

I believe it is time for the LTA to review the motorcycle license system here

 

as it is now outdated due to technological developments in the area of

 

motorcycle engines. The European union has recently adopted a new drivers

 

license system that categorizes motorcycles based on the horsepower of the

 

engine rather than engine displacement. This is a more sensible classification

 

system.

 

Also, I do not understand why someone going for a class 2 evaluation needs to

 

go through all the same road rules test that were already done during the class

 

2B and 2A evaluation. Doing a class 2 evaluation should involve only the skills

 

required to handle the additional power and weight of the bike. If the trainer

 

thinks this has been fulfilled, then the license should be awarded. Having the

 

student memorize the whole course and ride it on the day of the test while

 

observing traffic rules as on the class 2b and 2a evaluation does not add

 

anything to the skills of the student.

 

Finally, I also do not understand the logic in having 3 motorcycle license

 

classes like we do here. As an example: testing a student on a 600cc bike for

 

the class 2 license is meant to equip the student with the skills required for

 

such a bike. However, note that the weight and power difference between such a

 

bike and the 400 cc bike used for class 2 license is not as significant as the

 

difference between the 600 c bike and the much larger bikes available on the

 

market such as the Honda Goldwing which has an 1800 cc engine. My point is it

 

is not possible to properly categorize the whole range of motorcycles available

 

on the market by 200 cc increments or we would have 7-8 categories. I believe a

 

better system would be to keep the class 2b and 2a categories and allow riders

 

to progress to bigger bikes if they have been riding a class 2a bike for a

 

certain number of years.

 

 

 

I truly believe our motorycle license system is outdated and needs to be

 

reviewed.

[deathism]

To put it in simple terms, it's all the about $$$, period.

[CSV]

yeap. 3 license tiers, 3 times to take test. more moeny to be earned.

[mechwira]

if we want to argue, then lets get the concept right. the 'making money' excuse for 3-tier is convenient but not correct.

 

we can use the money accusation when it comes to COE and tobacco taxes, coz at least those two really generate tonnes of money.

 

but how does this licence system make money for the govt? driving center, yes, bike dealers, maybe, but i doubt this is a serious money-making opportunity for the govt.

 

no, the 3-tier licence is an issue of PARANOIA. the govt and all non-biking motorists are paranoid and biased in their beliefs that bikes and bikers are dangerous. so if we want to argue, we better use that as our starting point.

 

which is why i wish you wouldn ask for 'less' of bike tests. thats going to get your arguments dismissed pretty quickly because by their paranoia, no way are they going to entertain any notion of making bike tests easier or reducing the necessary skills set for a biker to get his license.

 

(personally i'm happy with tough bike tests. i've never used my skills of bumpy course or pylon slalom in my ten years plus of riding, but i believe that with a skills set bigger than what i need for the road, i am a more skillful and safer rider. never mind that i never need to sit on my tank to go over any bumpy road in singapore; at least i know and can control my bike much better precisely because i had to do it in driving school.)

 

we shd argue why the 3-tier is flawed despite their paranoia. when i submitted a feedback some years ago, i argued that there were simply no more class2a bikes being produced, except for the super4 and couple of scramblers and scooters. when bikers dun have a real choice of 2a bikes, they will just skip it altogether and the 2a licence becomes a white elephant. as much as the authorities want to restrict our bike progress, the method doesn work if it doesn give us a real choice.

 

the issue of bike power is also a good one. bikes are getting LESS powerful. jyew777 rightly pointed out that that the BMW is actually makes roughly the same power as a Super4. thats not all, the CBR500R and NC700 are all no more powerful tahn a super4 either. and same goes for the new 2a bikes. a CBR250 makes no more power than older 2-stroke 125/150 like RS125 and NSR150. why that kind of power good enough for 2b but cbr250 making same power needs to up the licence? if want to restrict our access to powerful bikes, then it makes sense to restrict based on power or power/weight combo rather than outright capacity.

 

so recognize the issue for wat it is: its not money, its paranoia from the authorities and our society.

[jyew777]

  deathism said:

To put it in simple terms, it's all the about $$$, period.

 

No its not. we tend to jump to this conclusion too easily.

The 3 tiered system was implemented to reduce the risks of new riders so they do not get on a 100 hp bike without the necessary skills and experience.

The intent was right but the execution has some flaws, specially with the technology evolving which means we have 2A bikes which are more powerful than 2 bikes. The test routines also need to be reviewed as there is too much redundancy. The Euro model makes a lot more sense and would be an improvement.

The reason TP is reluctant to follow has more to do with a narrow mindset which is very resistant to change even if its for the better.

Their mentality is basically: we've been doing this for a long time, why do we need to change.

[hnizam]

high mileage bike on a ktm duke just like bajaj pulsar?it doesnt seem ktm.

 

same so called "bybre" brake calipers on bajaj pulsar and ktm duke 125 200 390?

 

the ktm 690 duke uses brembo calipers.

[mechwira]

since every review says the 390 identical in looks and size to the 200, in fact i believe it uses the exact same body to house the bigger engine, i decided to get a close look at the 200 to decide once and for all whether i wanted the duke or just go ahead with the ninja.

 

the minute i sat on the 200, everything just felt wrong. its probably just me and not the bike itself, especially since i was on a cbr600 for the past 8 years.

 

an upright sitting posture i was already expecting, but the strangeness for me was more than that. the bike felt too tiny in front of my crotch, too skinny between my legs, and add that to the scrambler-like posture... dont say 2b bike, it felt like i was on a bmx bicycle about to do stunts on a ramp in some bike park. i didn have the confidence to ride this bike, its just not for me. i have to say though, i am not big-sized (1.68m tall) and even sitting on a cb400 or hornet250 did not make me feel as strange as i did on the duke.

 

but like i said, its probably just me. anyone upgrading from a 2b roadster like CBF or YBR or wateva, i think you'll instantly feel like you haven changed bike (until you throttle it on the road obviously).

 

but once i sat on the ninja300, everything felt instantly familiar and natural. sitting on them one after another, i knew that the ninja will give me the same confidence to ride the way i know, but the duke is going to take quite a bit of adjustment. but even if i get used to riding the duke, i dont think i'll be happy being on a bike with such tiny proportions.

 

as such, i placed a deposit for the ninja. yes i'm feeling kinda crappy to skip a bike that will surely outperform the ninja, but ultimately i cant place good money on a bike that i'm not sure will make me happy, and i know that performance is not the only thing that makes me a happy rider.

 

potential buyers should really, really sit on that bike first and think about it.