KTM 200 Duke review, test ride

Indian bike enthusiasts have long clamored for a sporty, thrilling streetbike. Does KTM’s latest, the 200 Duke fit the bill?

Published on May 04, 2012 04:17:00 PM

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The 200 Duke has a sporty riding position, with the rider footrests located far behind. The new KTM uses impressive chassis parts; a steel fabricated trellis frame, with fat upside-down front forks. Behind, you sit on a linkage free monoshock and there’s even an alloy swingarm. The treats don’t end here, with ByBre disc brakes at both ends fed by steel braided hydraulic lines.

Wide handlebars with superior leverage makes maneuvering the Duke through crowded city traffic simple. The 200 Duke comes with firm ride quality that helps keep the bike planted when slicing up corners. It flicks quickly from upright and safe to well beyond dicey lean angles, at which point you start to appreciate its low-profile, MRF radial front and rear tyres. Although the aggressively rounded rear with its limited contact patch did sometimes slip a wee bit when pushing over the limit, overall grip levels felt good.

The 200 Duke loves to corner, while its brilliant chassis encourages you to ride hard. The bike always steers exactly as you want it to. The brakes are supremely powerful front and rear, with the front feeling perfect, but rear often misbehaving with over enthusiasm. You’d do well to take your time getting used to the razor sharp rear brake on the 200 Duke, for it takes no more than a light tap to generate enough brake force to lose grip at the rear. Another complaint we have is the height adjustable brake pedal feeling uncomfortably long, making it tricky and unnatural to operate even for people with feet as big as size 12.

All told, the 200 Duke still gets our vote for honestly trying so hard and being amongst the better handling motorcycles to pick up in India today.