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KTM Duke Series: The Ultimate Naked Bike In India
Motorcycles are born out of passion, desire, thrill and the need for excitement. Now, if you go back in time, naked bikes have always been something that makes enthusiasts weak in the knees. And the craze for these gorgeous machines has not faded but has increased over the years. In conjunction with that, the popularity of naked bikes in India has soared, especially with the KTM Duke series leading the charge.
The Appeal
With their clean, minimalist and aggressive appeal, naked bikes offer a very unique proposition that could resonate with any kind of enthusiast, no matter what their aesthetic sense may be. Adding to that, the fact naked bikes are associated with performance and agility sweetens the deal for these streetfighters as these qualities are something that every rider might appreciate.
Naked Bikes In India
The Indian audience has a very deep appreciation for naked bikes due to their practicality, functionality and most of all their sharp aesthetics. The combination of aggressive design languages, exposed mechanicals along with exciting performance and handling, make naked bikes a great value for money proposition in the Indian market. Whether it is an easy to use daily commuter, the best bike for long drives, or something flashy for weekend breakfast rides, the streetfighters can do it all.
Entry Of The Duke In India
It was the year 2012, and India was on the verge of transitioning to performance oriented motorcycles. Enter the KTM 200 Duke, which really accelerated the process and changed up the market. How you might ask? Well, the KTM Duke 200 was the first liquid cooled 200cc bike in India, which set a new benchmark in the segment, and in the Indian motorcycling context. Even now, after 12 years of its initial launch, the KTM 200 Duke is the best bike under 2 lakh in India.
Just one year after the shake up, in 2013, KTM launched the 390 Duke in India, which further elevated the popularity and craze for naked bikes in India. At the time, the 390 Duke was the most powerful motorcycle, creating a new bike segment in the country. It not only garnered a lot of attention in the market but also influenced non riders to start riding.
Ultimate Naked Bikes In India — KTM Duke
After influencing the Indian market for 12 years with its enthralling design, exhilarating performance, and tech and feature-loaded bikes, KTM is still leading the charge with its naked bikes.
Currently, Team Orange offers the Duke in four different and attractive flavours: 125 Duke, 200 Duke, 250 Duke and 390 Duke. With a Duke in every segment, KTM caters to a very wide set of audience in different price brackets.
KTM recently launched the 250 Duke in India, a third iteration of the 250cc streetfighter. In this version, the 250 Duke proves to be the perfect balance of performance and practicality. It features a really sharp design language with signature KTM styling including the exposed trellis frame, aggressive tank extensions and loud orange treatment overall. The high strung 250cc liquid cooled engine offers not only exciting performance but keeps in mind everyday city riding as well.
At higher RPMs, the 250 Duke is an extremely fun and exciting motorcycle, worthy of riding on the highway and on the gorgeous ghats of our country. It has the pull no less than a racing bike, which aids in not only overtaking other bikes at higher speeds but also maintaining it for longer durations.
On the flip side, the KTM Duke 250 also offers a smooth performance delivery in the lower revv range to ensure hassle free riding in the city. And if you want to talk about convenience, then, the six speed gearbox comes with a quickshifter that makes gear shifting an absolute delight with its smoothness. Another thing, it is the only 250cc bike in India that gets a quickshifter as standard.
Moving on to the elder sibling, and the one that a lot of riders swear by — The KTM 390 Duke. Even in its third generation, the 390 Duke still leads the naked bike segment in India with its gorgeous design and high performance engine.
With the third generation, the 390 Duke has only gotten better in every single way. The design is sharper, more attractive and aerodynamic, and inspired by the MotoGP race bike. It now looks even closer to the bigger Dukes, for example, the 790 Duke. It has also come closer to the performance with a bigger engine and higher power and torque figures. It now gets a 399cc single cylinder liquid cooled engine, which is more aggressive and exciting.
Add to that a whole lot of electronics that make the bike easier to ride, and more usable. It comes packed with ride modes, launch control, traction control, quickshifter and so much more that makes it more friendly.
The Answer Is A Naked Bike
In conclusion, the appeal, performance and practicality offered by naked bikes is unchallenged and does not seem to be fading any time soon. The Duke series has revamped the segment time and again with incredible aesthetics, performance and technology that seem to only increase saw the years go by.
