Yeah.. baby yeah..!! Europe will get the KTM 125 Duke, but India might get a bigger KTM 200 Duke..!!
Just a casual search on the internet will land you on many sites and blogs which have already declared with authority that the KTM 125 Duke will be launched in India. Its actually sad that even a couple of the mainstream media actually have joined the party in spreading this piece of unconfirmed news.
I say unconfirmed, because there was never any official statement from either Bajaj or KTM about the engine size of the KTM bike meant for India. Just like its difficult to stop dominoes from falling after the first one, similarly after one site/blog makes a breaking "unconfirmed" news it’s almost impossible to stem the flow.
I myself never made the same "125 Duke for India" proclaimation on my blog because I knew that Europe was getting the 125 cc/15 Ps bike because of the European licensing laws for beginners (and for someone with a car’s license, which allows them to ride a bike upto 125 cc with a max 15 Ps power).
Since this law is not applicable in India, so why restrict at 125 cc engine capacity for India? Especially when it’s almost known that there would be very few who would be ready to shell out 1 lakh plus Rupees for a 125 cc bike, no matter how it performs or looks.
While the rest of the crowd might swoon over the full faired Honda CBR250R..
I’ll prefer an Orange KTM 200 Duke in my parking lot. Thank you.
By the way Honda manufactures the 125 cc, CBR125R in Thailand and exports it to Europe, but at the same time it also sells an identical looking CBR150R but with a 150 cc engine in the Thailand market. I am actually surprised that no one has guessed that there could be something similar for India from KTM.
Official word of a 200 Duke for Asia and South American markets
KTM has recently released a FAQ’s sheet for the KTM 125 Duke on its Official Facebook Fanpage [Click here for the FAQs..]. Here is one particular question and the answer to it:
Will there be a version (of the KTM Duke 125) with more displacement?
"At some point in the future the 125 Duke will be introduced to selected Asian and South American markets with a displacement of 200 ccm,. There are also other motor variants planned for Europe – up to a maximum of 350 ccm. But there’s no definite timetable for this."
Engine: 200 cc, Single Cylinder, Liquid Cooled, DOHC 4-Valve, Fuel injected.
Chassis: Trellis frame, meaty 43 mm dia. Upside Down Forks, chunky rear swingarm and monoshock, 150 section rear tyre – with just around 130 odd kgs of kerb weight..!!
All the above in a bike which has the unmistakable Krazy KTM character..!! While the rest of the crowd might swoon over the Honda CBR250R, I’ll prefer an Orange KTM 200 Duke in my parking lot. Thank you.
[P.S: I won’t speculate over the max. power and the price of the KTM 200 Duke right now.. but definitely a price tag of 1 lakh plus Rupees doesn't sound too bad for a KTM 200 Duke.]
Read the First Ride Review of the KTM 125 Duke by Motorcyclist Magazine
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- Dummies Guide to International Motorcycle Categories
- Why 125 cc bikes are Popular in Europe?
Disclaimer:
This is to remind that the Views or Opinions in the blog are entirely mine unless explicitly stated. The Views and Opinions published in this blog should in no way be related to any other person or organization associated -- directly or indirectly -- with me.
11 Comments:
That should really be an awesome machine!! Easily the best in the class. After seeing the specs of the KTM Duke 125, I'm really very interested to see the specs of the KTM Duke 200!!
@Payeng - Good one bro...something special is coming out of Bajaj via KTM combo...definitely very interesting...till it is confirmed by Bajaj/KTM...lets wait n watch..
But KTM 125 cc is 4000 euro's (as mentioned above) means around 2 lac indian rupee...so i doubt 200cc will be way above that...so sound little expensive when compared to Honda CBR 250 cc....hope KTM can match with CBR 250 cc, less than 1.5 lacs...fingers crossed...wht say payeng??
- SK >> "Dead" or "Agile" <<
@Sharath, even the Indian built CBR250R will be sold at $3,999 in the USA (as per the latest news).
Since both the CBR250R and the Duke will be manufacturer in India, we Indians will enjoy not having to pay for the "duties"..!!
Fingers crossed for the announcement of the final pricing.
@Payeng - Thanks bro for update, Looks like Honda has got influenced by BATA in pricing...$3999 ($1 less then $4000)...hahaha
Hope it workout for Bajaj/KTM...finally for buyers too...in final pricing!!!
But definitely KTM 200 cc will give run for their money,Honda 250 cc will have tough competition...if pricing is done reasonable...
Good headache for us...while selecting better bike with couple of options...hope some bike from Yamaha or Suzuki stable...waiting till mid of next year...
- SK
thanks payeng dude for getting atleast right information for us without any false news, ktm duke 200cc @ 2 lac if bajaj can sell more than 1000 plus ninja's with price tag of 3 lacs.... plus then it might also works with ktm duke 200cc.
@Payeng
hate to change the topic but seems the R15 production has gone down drastically (info from 2 dealers here in Trivandrum, MUTHOOT and HILTON)any chance that YAMAHA's planning to bring out a 200cc R15 soon before the KTM hits the market? i just booked one but they adviced me to wait for 3 months
@Raja,
I highly doubt that a 200cc R15 (well then it won't be R15 anymore.. won't it be R20..?? :-) ) is on the cards.. because that will need a totally new engine. The present 150 cc engine is based on a 135 cc engine found on one of Yamaha's South Asian step thru models.
In that case, Yamaha can better bring out an entirely new bike rather with totally new looks rather than working on the R15. Moreover developing an entirely new engine also takes a lot of development/testing time.
BAJAJ has around 33-37 % shares of KTM in it’s Kitty and and day by say the shares are increasing..that means BAJAJ would be owning KTM brands under BAJAJ’s name in near future..!!! Further their plans to rule with PULSAR n KTM brands over INDIAN market by defeating other outer tachies..
I’m sure they-BAJAJ have been doing it under Pulsar 150/180/220 segment and further would crossed the market share with Duke 125 as well Duke 200 entry in Indian market..!!! on BAJAJ’s
1) KTM duke 200 : with same design- with some powerful accesories Lauch Date n delivery should be : before MARCH 2011 Now I would love to see and have KTM duke 200 under my kitty with 20-25 PS power …but price tag should be MAX to 1.2 lakhs ONLY..then n then it would be BIG hit to Indian market ever n create a long history….!!! So can beat current/upcomimng hondanyamha rivals in 150-250seg
2) KTM duke 125 : with same clone of current duke125 with less price tag..!! Lauch Date n delivery should be : before MARCH 2011 [if duke 200 comes on this date then it should launch on Dec 2011–so can come by JAN 2012..!! but price tag should be MAX upto 90-95 lakhs ONLY..then n then it would be BIG hit to Indian market ever n create a long history….!!! So can beat current/upcomimng hondanyamha rivals in 150seg Also they can intorduce new PULSAR range here in 150 segment in 2011 as planned(4 valve with new design) there is no need now to touch either if P180 or P 220F/S atleat 1 year from this date..even after entry of KTM duke brand..since price tag is less and later on they can replace n launch this new PLUSER segment series once the sales reach to below par..and KTM booms/rides on high…about 2 years..!!
I hope, Rajiv Bajaj is eying on these people demanding n dream market theories..!! KTM duke will even put 1 step ahead …so as PULSAR did to BAJAJ…and will grab no. 1spot..!!! HAMARA BAJAJ segment would come back within next 6-12 months and slowly start to re-grab the place..which Rahul Bajaj would love to see and proud of…!!!!
payeng sir some time back i saw news of yamaha yzf-250 r4. what about that? was that a real one if yes that was far better then the cbr and ninja.
@Hemant, a 250 cc from Yamaha does sound logical but I doubt that the photo of the "supposed to be" YZF-250 that was floating around is a real model.
There are a lot of bakwass sites which has spread this rumor
I can tell you confidently that the 125cc KTM Duke model will be manufactured in India next year. There are no plans for a 200cc KTM bike next year :-)
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