The much-awaited bike from the Austrian motorcycle manufacturer KTM, 390 Duke, has received over 1500 bookings since its launch in Pune in the month of June. Bajaj Auto, which holds around 48 per cent stake in KTM, announced that the domestic delivery of the Duke 390 will commence by the end of September. Priced at Rs. 1.80 lakh, the KTM Duke 390 has been designed and developed at Bajaj Auto's Chakan plant in Maharashtra.
According to sources, Bajaj and KTM have plans to manufacture 2 lakh units by the year 2017, out of which 1 lakh would be conceived from the Chakan plant and the rest would come from Austria. KTM Duke 390 has created the same level of enthusiasm among the super bike lovers just the way its sibling KTM Duke 200 did. It works on a water cooled single cylinder four stroke engine. As per the latest European regulations, it comes with the latest generation of Bosch Anti-locking Brake System (ABS), helping safeguard the driver from damage to bones. There's a facility of switching off this system, which is suitable for stunt riders. The tyres of this bike are better than those designed for Duke 200, one of the reasons why the Duke 390 will render an improved performance. It comes with Metzeler Sportec M5 tyres, which run well in all conditions, as per company claims.
The KTM is a compact, modern day bike with a dry weight of 139 kg and power-to-weight ratio of 316.5 PS/tonne. There's a lot of usage of aluminium and alloys in this bike in order to keep it light in weight and provide maximum riding pleasure. Interestingly, it happens to be 20 kg lighter than Honda CBR250R and 30 kg lighter than Kawasaki Ninja 300. The chassis of Duke 390 is pretty much similar to Duke 200 except that it adorns a white colour scheme on the tank. The front and rear suspensions are 150 mm, which are backed by disc brakes. With a 375 cc engine, it gives a power output of 44 bhp at 9500 rpm.
The good thing about the display counter of this naked bike is that it is easily readable as this feature comes improvised in KTM 390 with its bold orange LCD coloured display. It can accelerate from initial to 100 kmph in a matter of just 7 seconds and also returns a good fuel efficiency of around 22-25 kmpl at the same time. The suspension system and broad tyres of this bike are especially designed for racing, resulting in better speed stability. It has a wheelbase of 1367 mm and a ground clearance of 170 mm, which further add to its balancing and off road potentials. The handle bar of KTM 390 is compact and facilitates the rider with its impressive grip.
KTM 390 Duke does not has any storage space but is equipped with certain safety features like radial mounted four piston front brake callipers and one brake calliper at the back. It has a powerful headlight that guides rider in a more profound manner. Along with, it also sports a small LED tail light on the top, which adds to the sporty character of the bike. With so many features to go for, KTM 390 Duke surely looks stunning.
