[Rahulkool]

Originally Posted by black12rr

I am little skeptical about the tyres , although on paper the rear is 150 wide , the actual part that touches the tarmac is very little as I saw yesterday .I hardly see any groves ,it looks like slicks .Need to see how this behaves in wet and how it disperses the water.

@BAJAJ/KTM - one more list of items they need to give as optional are touring tires.

@ebonho ,did you get a chance to move in wet patches ?

On tarmac, i think its one of the best rear brakes i have used in bikes in terms of rear wheel grip and disk performance(only problem is the small brake lever). have to test it tho on wet roads. front brakes are also excellent.

PS: ebonho, if you don't mind we can change this thread as universal thread for Duke 200 :-)

[black12rr]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Loads of smaller sbk guys eyeing them as a cheap Indian alternative as well

They should be warned or at least should have common sense about tyre ratings .Last thing we want to hear is blown up tires and eventually ....

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by black12rr

They should be warned or at least should have common sense about tyre ratings .Last thing we want to hear is blown up tires and eventually ....

Good point, though the ones I'm referring to are pretty experienced. Any idea what the MRF Revz-C are rated up to in terms of max speed?

[Oreen]

Hi,

I went to the Pbk showroom in Indiranagar, Blr today and sat on the TD bike. I am 5'7" and I just loved the way I could plant my feet on the ground. The handlebars are at the right height and everything seemed to be perfect. What FREAKED me out was the brake pedal! It is SO short that I had to reach inward for it with the left edge of my boot. Do you think that is good design? What do the riders have to say about it? We may get used to it, like we got used to a Bolero's steering not being aligned to the driver's seat (it is slightly to the left), but this is a brake, and in an emergency the foot can slip and miss the short lever.

Doc, did you find any issues with the braking? You too mentioned during your first review that it is difficult to reach. Are you used to it by now?

[Rash]

Originally Posted by Oreen

Hi,

I went to the Pbk showroom in Indiranagar, Blr today and sat on the TD bike. I am 5'7" and I just loved the way I could plant my feet on the ground. The handlebars are at the right height and everything seemed to be perfect. What FREAKED me out was the brake pedal! It is SO short that I had to reach inward for it with the left edge of my boot. Do you think that is good design? What do the riders have to say about it? We may get used to it, like we got used to a Bolero's steering not being aligned to the driver's seat (it is slightly to the left), but this is a brake, and in an emergency the foot can slip and miss the short lever.

Doc, did you find any issues with the braking? You too mentioned during your first review that it is difficult to reach. Are you used to it by now?

I think the whole brake setup on the KTM singles has to do a lot with the Motorcross DNA!

If you look at any MX motorcycle, you will realize that they all have really tiny brake levers close to the clutch,crankcase cover!

And it is like this because you don't want inadvertent braking coming down from mid air !

Honestly I think this is a good design in a street bike too, avoids skidding the rear wheel unless you positively want to use it to brake! Like when you deliberately want to trail brake!

In most motorcycles, under braking, there is very little traction at the rear wheel and getting it to lock up is quite easy!

This is just my perspective!

[Shubz]

Originally Posted by Oreen

Hi,

I went to the Pbk showroom in Indiranagar, Blr today and sat on the TD bike. I am 5'7" and I just loved the way I could plant my feet on the ground. The handlebars are at the right height and everything seemed to be perfect. What FREAKED me out was the brake pedal! It is SO short that I had to reach inward for it with the left edge of my boot. Do you think that is good design? What do the riders have to say about it? We may get used to it, like we got used to a Bolero's steering not being aligned to the driver's seat (it is slightly to the left), but this is a brake, and in an emergency the foot can slip and miss the short lever.

Doc, did you find any issues with the braking? You too mentioned during your first review that it is difficult to reach. Are you used to it by now?

I have not ridden even half as much as doc has. Initially I was finding it a bit weird (say was very conscious) about my foot turning inward a wee bit. I also used to make sure that I could feel the break pedal. I have had only a couple of instances when I had to brake hard (when morons on two wheels/3 wheels cut across). But now I am less conscious and you could say kinda gotten used to it.

[ebonho]

Finding and reaching and operating the rear brake is a pain. It is not natural or instinctive. The simplest fix would be to extend the rod covered by the rubber slightly outward (maybe double the current length for a start). Either cut threads over the current rod and screw on a longer slip-on cylinder - or simply weld one (ugly).

The gear lever is also not instinctive or falls naturally to foot for the quick downshifts. One does have to shift the heel slightly off and behind the peg to do so. Upshifting in comparison is perfect. But the gear is way better than the brake - no two ways about that.

[ebonho]

But all of the above pales into insignificance when you find even a little breathing space in the traffic, some empty road, and let her rip. Man this baby moves! Love the riding position. Love the clutch. Love the gearbox. Love her growl with each blip and downshift. Love power-shifting her from one green light to the next red. Street hooligan ..... yesssar, three bags full saar!

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by Rahulkool

On tarmac, i think its one of the best rear brakes i have used in bikes in terms of rear wheel grip and disk performance(only problem is the small brake lever).

Rear brake has many usage, stopping the Motorcycle isn't one of them.

Originally Posted by Rash

Honestly I think this is a good design in a street bike too, avoids skidding the rear wheel unless you positively want to use it to brake! Like when you deliberately want to trail brake!

In most motorcycles, under braking, there is very little traction at the rear wheel and getting it to lock up is quite easy!

This is just my perspective!

And Sir, you are right about it.

[black12rr]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Rear brake has many usage, stopping the Motorcycle isn't one of them.

What are the other usages sheel ?

[Motormania]

@ebonho

Thanks for the brilliant review. This is the first bike that has tugged at my heart so strongly after the glorious RX days. Same mad, bad, brash street hooligan nature. And above all its naked!!! Insane fun to ride in the city and unlike some, I quite like the way the bike sounds. Its like a cross between a 2stroker and a 4joke

[Oreen]

Thanks Rash and Ebonho... it seems both of you got used to the tiny brake lever and are enjoying the ride. I also read here (and in the xbhp review) that the bike stalls, something Doc managed to overcome by shortening some breather pipe? I will collate all the info from this thread and take a printout when I go talk to the rep at the showroom. The killer price is attracting me a lot and I want to use it only for solo touring (the machismo being quirky and the thunderbird being no joy at all). Also heard the CBR 250 is coming out with a naked street bike with bigger handlebars and no fairing? Man, at 40, how long will I wait for the right bike to fit my pocket and also give me enough fun!

[Ragtop]

Got mine on Friday and have covered about 200 kms since. Earlier reviews have covered the good and bad of the bike quite eloquently and in detail. One issue that has not been stressed enough in my opinion is the fact that the bike stalls somewhat regularly. While decelerating, when the bike gets to the lower RPM,s, she regularly stalls and/or skips a beat resulting in a sudden jerk before the engine fires again and continues on. I have never been in a situation where the bike stalls completely and comes to a standstill but that seems quite possible under the right conditions. I would definitely like to address this issue so if it has indeed been solved, please share the solution in details for all owners.

Besides this i am thoroughly enjoying the bike and truly believe that this is the most fun-to-ride motorcycle currently available for our urban conditions. I cant wait to get done with the engine break in period so as to really enjoy all that this engine has to offer.

[sriku]

Originally Posted by Ragtop

Got mine on Friday and have covered about 200 kms since. Earlier reviews have covered the good and bad of the bike quite eloquently and in detail. One issue that has not been stressed enough in my opinion is the fact that the bike stalls somewhat regularly. While decelerating, when the bike gets to the lower RPM,s, she regularly stalls and/or skips a beat resulting in a sudden jerk before the engine fires again and continues on. I have never been in a situation where the bike stalls completely and comes to a standstill but that seems quite possible under the right conditions. I would definitely like to address this issue so if it has indeed been solved, please share the solution in details for all owners.

I took delivery yesterday, and have covered 35kms myself. Didn't stall it from the showroom to my place in Thane, or this morning on a small run into the city. I close the throttle completely when I'm not accelerating, and haven't noticed what you are facing. But I am pulling to about 5500-6000 rpm in each gear, every time, and downshifting while decelerating as well.

[Ragtop]

Actually I am relieved to hear that since it indicates that this may not be a general Duke-200 issue. Hopefully I will be able to have this resolved at the first service.