Renowned Austrian bike manufacturer, KTM has decided not to launch the Duke 690 in India. This was also declared that the brand plans to discontinue the bike in the future and is planning to replace it with a dual-cylinder bike. This information was released by the CEO of KTM, Stefan Pierer during the launch event of RC 200 and RC 390. The replacement might be named as Duke 790 and will be developed by Bajaj Auto. KTM had said earlier in this year that they are working their best on developing a two-cylinder engine, which will be having a capacity of 500 and 800 cc. The 800 cc motor will be installed in the replacement bike for Duke 690.
The KTM 690 is undoubtedly, one of the most popular bikes of the Austrian manufacturer. However, it has been in the eye of a lot of criticism because of the fact that it was not as refined as its contemporaries. When its closest rivals are going for a four cylinder arrangement, Duke 690 was powered by a single cylinder. It can be expected that KTM Duke 690 replacement will be manufactured in India because Bajaj Auto is into production. As a result, it is expected that the bike will have a favourable price for Indian customers. However, fans will have to wait till 2016 as the development procedure is still pretty much in the middle stage.
The same course of action will be followed for the KTM Duke 690 replacement as was taken with the RC 200 and 390 bikes. The street fighter and fully faired versions will be designed simultaneously. However, some modifications will be included in the two different versions. As the Adventure bike in case of RC 390 was based on a different platform, the same thing will be applicable for the bike in the pipeline, as well. It is expected that KTM will definitely try to redeem the mistakes that were committed in the 690 by making a 790 a unique machine.
