KTM 390 Duke India review, test ride

KTM’s 390 Duke performed like a dream during our first ride in Austria. Let’s find out how the 390 manages in demanding Indian conditions.

Published on Aug 13, 2013 08:25:00 PM

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Make : KTM

Model : Duke

We recently sampled the 390 Duke streetbike in picture perfect Austrian conditions, on KTM home turf. Since when, the India specific bike has received some minor tweaks to ensure it takes to our roads and weather without a problem. Deliveries are just commencing around the country, and we’ve just hopped on for a quick test ride.

The edgy, aggressive 390 Duke is similarly styled to its sibling, the 200 Duke, bright orange rims marking the easiest way to tell the new 390 apart. The muscular, flamboyant 390 is a compact, modern day motorcycle with a weight tipped forward stance.

A wee little visor protects the dinky, digital instruments bay. Reading the tiny display counter isn’t as simple as it should be, more so when riding fast, as riders will find is often the case on the 390 Duke. Although the speedometer is always clearly seen, the cascading type rev counter is hard to follow. The 390’s bold, red shift warning beacon proves very helpful when pushing the 390 Duke, as this is such a quick revving motorcycle, more so in first and second gears, that it’s easy to run into the spoilsport rev limiter when riding the bike hard.