[VWikram]

**Long post alert**

The following experiences posted here are my personal take on things and being the noob that I am, none of it, maybe/canbe considered technically apt or straight out of a text-book.

So here I was looking for my next ride after selling off my CBR250R with a heavy heart. My first bike was a Pulsar 150 (fondly called 'Dhanno'), still remember the day I took the delivery of the bike, without even a test ride. It was the happiest 'automotive moment' of my life, till date! I don't remember feeling that happy even while taking delivery of my Polo, like they say - first time is always special. It served me very well for six years, and when I got the itch to upgrade, I decided to sell it to somebody who worked in my office. I still run into it sometimes in my office parking-lot, and when nobody is watching I quietly get onto it for a couple of minutes and then starts the flashback of those olden golden days when the bike was the "in thing" and how everybody envied me, the days of my first job, that excitement, those little flirtings, those long rides, races, etc...



It's probably too late or might not even matter now, but would still list down the Pros and cons as per me, for my Dhanno.

Pros:

1. Sporty riding posture - as opposed to other bikes of its time (read 2006) with commuterish postures.
2. Excellent pickup - loved the way it revved.
3. Excellent mileage - not sure if it was just my bike or the way I rode, I always managed to get 60 kmpl, within the city. That's right, a P150 giving 60 kmpl was unheard of.
4. Looks - was fan of the alloy wheels, which was again a first in its segment, the other Apaches and xtremes followed later.
5. Easy on the pocket - never had any issues with service costs and zero-niggles ownership always was the icing on the cake.

Cons:
NONE
If I really sit down and try to think hard of the negative aspects of my P150, I'd say, maybe the rear brakes, they were almost non-existant.

Circa 2011 and my shiny blackey new CBR250R was in my hands, or between legs, or watever, you get the drift.. I was happy with the Honda, though I hadn't had much of a choice, other than the Pulsar 220, which was way too old in the tooth, and the Apache RTR 180. Before the Honda, I had almost decided to go for the P220, considering it was the only "fastest Indian" (after Milkha Singh ofcourse) and fit my budget. Buying a CBR250R was stuff made of dreams for me, and in the following days came across this ad for the ceeber in an auto magazine. Dad was in the same room and I thought, let me give a faint try and see what he thinks. At my place family acceptance was most important for anything new which would take up space in our house, as important as bringing a new bride home . Showed my dad the pics of the new CBR in a magazine and he surprised me when he said "go for it! get my new daughter-in-law home..". My joy knew no bounds, luckily had the dough available and the baby ceeber (named Kaali) was finally home. The excitement was such that I was even too scared to leave my bike in the parking lot, alone with a hundred other bikes and go all the way to the 4th floor where I stayed :( couldn't sleep much the first night the baby ceeber was home, thoughts like "what if someone sits on it"...or "I feel someone is gonna fiddle with the clutch, the brakes, the tyres.." oh my..I truly wished I could bring it inside and lay it down on my bed, while I sleep beside putting a leg over it :-P something like this pic below..



The next day I went ahead and purchsed an Aaron Modular helmet and a body cover, which was tough to source given the size of the baby ceeber, call it a baby but it still is huge almost had an argument with the shopkeeper who insisted on "yeh cover Enfield ko bhi aayega.."



Had also ordered a leather riding jacket from a friend in US who was returning home, fake Alpinestars gloves over ebay all for those long rides I'd be going on now that the tourer cum sports bike was home. But, as all Balaji soaps have a but, my 'but' in the story was Time. As in, having recently moved to Hyderabad for a new role, I never ever had the time to go on a longer ride, the only long ride I was doing was 50 kms every day to and fro between office and home. The other villian in my story entered in the form of back-ache. Having purchased a Polo TDI, which was more comfortable than the CBR for going to office and back, through those 'heavily traffic'ed' roads and the properly dust'ified streets, the CBR was being neglected and thus back-ache became a go-to reason for not taking out the CBR. I did enjoy my time on the baby ceeber but the back ache issues were getting too much to handle. Like one BHPian rightly said "It's not your wife with whom you'll have to keep adjusting yourself" I decided to finally divorce, I mean, sell of my CBR.



Let me also list down the pros and cons of my Kaali:

Pros:
1. Looks - Personally I always loved its VFRish looks. I always admired its looks and still do.
2. Low cost of ownership - compared to other bigger cc bikes, the maintenance costs of a CBR250R is still quite low.
3. Zero-niggles ownership, supreme quality - In my 3 years of owning this bike, it never ever gave up on me, always started with a single push of the button, inspite of trying to starting it after weeks together some times. Not a single bulb was changed, nor the fairing was ever removed nor any bolt tightened nor loosened, nor faced any vibrations whatsoever.

Cons:
1. The riding posture - Though it wasn't too agressive nor laid back, it still didn't cut it for me.
2. Maneuverability in dense traffic - Most of my riding is through dense traffic areas and CBR being an excellent tourer, was not upto the mark for me when it came to slow moving traffic. I was aware of this fact when I bought the bike but sadly was never able to go out touring on it.
3. Weighty issues - though it wasn't really a heavy bike, the fact that there are lighter smaller and more powerful bikes puttering around, made me think about the weight more and more.
4. Tyres/Brakes - These issues could've been sorted out with a tyre swap, but in standard version (non-abs), the brakes have been a bit poor in performance, and the lack of ABS, coupled with those horrible contigos made it look scary at high speeds.

Now left without a bike, the only option I could look at were the Duke brothers (200, 390), which ticked all the boxes - nimble, flickable, light weight, upright riding posture, good looks, great power, city driveability, etc. Had already decided on the 390, since an "upgrade" is supposed to look like an upgrade, so from a 249cc to a 375cc was "the way to go" until, my BHPian friends put some sense into me and since the bike would be a in-city use primarily, I decided to go for the Duke 200, well, not an upgrade, but atleast a good change in scene is what I thought.



The Duke too kept me waiting for more than 10 days, even though it was readily available when I went to book it. That day my entire family was waiting for me to take them out to a wedding, already late by an hour, and here I was in the KTM showroom, admiring the Duke. Next 3 days were "not good for purchase", an out-of-town trip ate up another 3 days and lo behold, the most dreaded line I ever heard "saar, no stock, will call once stock comes" played for another week. Anywho, the day finally arrived and I took the delivery of my shiny Black Duke 200 (named Awaari). My first ever ride on a Duke somehow reminded me of Luna, due to its light weight, Luna was the most fun-to-ride bike I ever rode, and it actually reminded me of the Luna days it was more like a Luna on steroids. No offense to other Duke owners, its personally my take, on the 'fun-to-ride' factor and nothing else about the Duke is even remotely Lunaish.



Pros:
1. Looks - I personally love the way it looks, though the rear fender could've been shortened a bit. Not sure what difference it'd make technically in-case the rear swing-arm is shortened so that the entire rear fender can be eliminated
2. Light weight - I just love the way it is built, the fiber petrol tank and stuff has really made the bike extremely light and flickable. Agreed that the 199 cc mill is great, but personally, I feel the entire good stuff about the bike - flickability, handling, excellent pickup in every gear, etc., all could be due to just this low weight factor.
3. Fun to ride - Might sound redundant but again I'd like to emphasize on what a great fun to ride this thing is.
4. Mileage - have managed to get 40+ kmpl on an average, with my style of riding. I wouldn't say I'm a sedate rider, if I was I wouldn't be getting a Duke, since its not for sedate riding, heck it never lets you ride sedately. I'd say if I still managed to get 40+ kmpl, its a great bike.

Cons:
1. Rear brakes - I might be wrong here, would love to be corrected, but I felt the rear brakes were not upto the mark when compared to the front. I tried doing some hard braking at low speeds of 30 and the rear wheel locked up. Since the bike is relatively new and maybe the brakes need to "set in", I hope it'll improve.
2. Harsh ride - coming from a CBR background, I found the ride quality a bit - jaw-rattling, coupled with those hard seats and a stiff suspension, the ride is a bit on the harsh side. Not sure how much that'll improve if the rear suspension is set to its softest, considering I would rarely be riding with a pillion.

The engine firing also reminds me of a Yezdi or other two strokes, with the 'doob-doob' sound while letting the bike coast before shifting gears.

Undecided:
1. Service quality/costs - though I have an idea on the service costs, I'm still not sure about the quality of service I'd be treated with.
2. Reliability - Haven't heard or read much about too many issues with the Duke 200 atleast, hoping the newer lot has been improved much (I did notice an extra protective fender-like thingy behind the rear mono-shock, protecting it from dirt and muck thrown at it by the rear wheel. Refer : http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...hread-184.html)

Apart from these, I do have a couple of questions related to the RPM limits and stuff:
1. The showroom guy has set an RPM limit (he called it 'speed-lock') at 5500 for RPM1 and 6000 for RPM2, not sure what differentiates RPM1 from RPM2. So now, in the first 5 gears the ambulance light starts blinking as soon as it crosses 5k but when I shift to 6th, it lets me go all the way till 7k or more, though haven't tried going beyond 7k. I did accelerate and hit a ton more than a couple of times in the 6th gear, where the bike is still at >300 kms, very much in its running-in period, not sure if that would cause any damage. I can assure however that at around 6500 RPM and in 6th gear I was at 100kmph or so for about 5 seconds max.
2. After the first service, which is at 1000 kms or a month, he said the RPM limits would be removed completely. I remember reading somewhere the limits are still there even after the first service, so when the lock is completely done with, can I use the entire rev range of the bike without damaging it? right after the 1000 kms.

Life has been good so far, with my Awari, hasn't been even a week since she's home, so the early honeymoon days are still on, lets see for how long this honeymood period lasts...

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Motorbikes Section. Thanks for sharing!

[Urban_Nomad]

Originally Posted by VWikram

1. Looks - I personally love the way it looks, though the rear fender could've been shortened a bit. Not sure what difference it'd make technically in-case the rear swing-arm is shortened so that the entire rear fender can be eliminated

Please do not make any modifications to that beautiful swing arm. It is going to impact your handling quite adversely I assure you.

Or did you mean the tail section, not swing arm? Coz I am not sure how shortening a swing arm will eliminate the fender

The tail section does jut out a lot and you have the EU norms to thank for this. Per European guidelines, the number plate must be placed behind the rear tyre of the motorcycle. Hence the long and extended rear panel

You have tails tidys available off the shelf from R&G. Do a quick internet search. I beleive a BHP-ian here has gotten it done on his 390 and I must say, it makes the bike look absolutely delicious. Very supermoto like

[VWikram]

Originally Posted by Urban_Nomad

Please do not make any modifications to that beautiful swing arm. It is going to impact your handling quite adversely I assure you.

No way I'm going to touch that beautiful swing arm, I know it'll kill the handling if tampered with. I was just thinking out loud when I said if it could be shortened so that the rear section is pulled in a bit, just to eliminate the longish tail.
Have also seen the 'tail-tidy kits' but with the present design, having them would make sure your back is sprayed with enough slush covering the entire back upto the head. Infact even with the presence of the tail, along with the tyre hugger, I've noticed muck on the rear seat too, along with the complete rear end.

[Ricci]

Vikram,

congrats on the Duke purchase!
Has the Duke been kinder on your back, than the CBR ? Asking since you mentioned that as the reason for selling the CBR, and Hondas generally are said to be more rider-friendly than European ones, usually.

[batterylow]

Originally Posted by VWikram

1. The showroom guy has set an RPM limit (he called it 'speed-lock') at 5500 for RPM1 and 6000 for RPM2, not sure what differentiates RPM1 from RPM2.

AFAIK RPM1 is the limit for the first 5 gears and RPM2 is the limit for the 6th gear.

[VWikram]

Originally Posted by Ricci

Vikram,

congrats on the Duke purchase!
Has the Duke been kinder on your back, than the CBR ? Asking since you mentioned that as the reason for selling the CBR, and Hondas generally are said to be more rider-friendly than European ones, usually.

Thanks Ricci. And to answer your question, well, I wouldn't say its been super comfy on the Duke, however, the upright posture does help a lot to your back, but it definitely doesn't mean the Duke is comfier than the CBR. CBR is known for its good tourer-friendly ergonomics, just that it didn't cut it for me. For me to call the Duke comfy would still require the suspension to be softened a bit and the seat modded to make it more comfortable.

[Joxster]

Originally Posted by VWikram

Apart from these, I do have a couple of questions related to the RPM limits and stuff:
1. The showroom guy has set an RPM limit (he called it 'speed-lock') at 5500 for RPM1 and 6000 for RPM2, not sure what differentiates RPM1 from RPM2. So now, in the first 5 gears the ambulance light starts blinking as soon as it crosses 5k but when I shift to 6th, it lets me go all the way till 7k or more, though haven't tried going beyond 7k. I did accelerate and hit a ton more than a couple of times in the 6th gear, where the bike is still at >300 kms, very much in its running-in period, not sure if that would cause any damage. I can assure however that at around 6500 RPM and in 6th gear I was at 100kmph or so for about 5 seconds max.
2. After the first service, which is at 1000 kms or a month, he said the RPM limits would be removed completely. I remember reading somewhere the limits are still there even after the first service, so when the lock is completely done with, can I use the entire rev range of the bike without damaging it? right after the 1000 kms.

Life has been good so far, with my Awari, hasn't been even a week since she's home, so the early honeymoon days are still on, lets see for how long this honeymood period lasts...

Congratulations on the Duke 200! It is a fantastic bike, and I'm sure it will serve you well .

To answer the questions you have posted:

1. It is not a speed lock of any kind. It is merely a shift speed indicator as KTM calls it, and all new bikes are programmed to flash the light at 5000 RPM within the first 1000 kms, so that you don't forget to shift up. Please make no mistake though, you can very well rev it beyond 5000 RPM if you wish, although I would advise you not to do this too often during the run in period.

2. Once the servicing for 1000 kms or one month is completed, they will change it to 10000 RPM, which is the stock limit of the bike, and you would be most advised to use the entire rev range of the bike, otherwise you are not doing justice to it .

Like you rightly mentioned, this bike doesn't like being ridden sedately, and it will remind you of this fact every single time you ride it.

P.S: You will come to appreciate the suspension setup, as it is brilliant for handling. No bike is more flickable than the Dukes in that range.

Ride safe, and enjoy her to the fullest!

Cheers

[abhinav.s]

Congrats on the Duke mate! Same pinch! as i too have the Duke in same color. Wishing you many happy miles on the bike.

With regards to comfort, my earlier bikes were the RTR series which have a similar riding posture if not the same as the CBR. Compared to that, I am much relaxed even when riding in dense traffic for a long time. This is more due to the upright posture of the Duke where as on the RTR, a ride in traffic for over 40 minutes would induce back and neck pains. No pains on the duke though. And before you touch the suspension settings, check the tyre pressure and ensure you keep the front at 25-26psi and the rear at 29-30psi on cold tyre. This will ensure a plush ride. Factory setting of the suspension will be at default 2 or 3 which is soft or medium. Only if you feel that even after altering the tyre pressure there is no respite can you play around with the suspension setting.

[VWikram]

Originally Posted by Joxster

Congratulations on the Duke 200! It is a fantastic bike, and I'm sure it will serve you well .
Cheers

Thanks for the detailed reply Joxster, appreciate that
I was aware that its not a 'speed lock' was just reiterating what the showroom guy was saying . Its just that I end up making the light blink in every gear, all the time, coz apart from the first 2 gears, I end up crossing 5k rpm unknowingly from 3rd gear to 6th, it looks too tough to keep it below 5k, but will make sure I keep it well below the limits going forward.

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

Congrats on the Duke mate! Same pinch! as i too have the Duke in same color. Wishing you many happy miles on the bike.

Thanks a lot Abhinav, and thanks again for bringing in the tyre-pressure point, I was actually gonna ask about the same. I will definitely check and reduce the tyre pressure to what you've mentioned, coz I too feel the pressure is set to a higher psi when I took the delivery. Hopefully that should soften the ride a bit.

OT - Any ideas on making the seat a bit more soft? Has anybody tried?

[sam_sant2005]

Honestly I feel a 390 would have been the right fit for you based on your write up and love for bikes. Moreover you did have a concern on brakes on P150 and CBR250. So 390 ABS would have been an obvious choice. Anyways happy riding

OT: Anyone knows if there is any possibility of a sub 1.5 lac bike getting an abs anytime soon

[VWikram]

Originally Posted by sam_sant2005

Honestly I feel a 390 would have been the right fit for you based on your write up and love for bikes.

I thought so too and had almost decided on the 390 but after taking advice from fellow Bhpians, some of them who also own a D390, i went ahead with the 200 instead. Primary reason being, this bike would 95% be used for city riding and the 200 fit the bill perfectly.
Btw, Apache RTR 180 comes with an ABS option.

[VWikram]

So had been on a longish ride for the first time on my Duke 200 yesterday, 200 kms to n fro, ride was great and exciting except for the seats, they are "oh so hard" man! Really looking forward to soften them asap, pointers appreciated!

[abhinav.s]

Originally Posted by VWikram

So had been on a longish ride for the first time on my Duke 200 yesterday, 200 kms to n fro, ride was great and exciting except for the seats, they are "oh so hard" man! Really looking forward to soften them asap, pointers appreciated!

Not sure about softening the seat but you can look at cycling gel shorts as an alternative which will ensure you dont have a sore butt. Personally I have never felt any issue with the seats. The longest trip i have done is a 500kms round trip on a single day with a few breaks thrown in and a 4 hour work i had to finish at the destination. Never felt any soreness etc. I was wearing dri fit inners with a riding pant. If you do want to work on the seats, check out the link posted by fellow bhpian in one of the D390 threads which is like a bible on seat modifications and has a hell a lot of info!

Edit: Found the link for you - http://www.diymotorcycleseat.com/index.php

[VWikram]

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

Not sure about softening the seat but you can look at cycling gel shorts as an alternative which will ensure you dont have a sore butt. Personally I have never felt any issue with the seats. The longest trip i have done is a 500kms round trip on a single day with a few breaks thrown in and a 4 hour work i had to finish at the destination. Never felt any soreness etc. I was wearing dri fit inners with a riding pant. If you do want to work on the seats, check out the link posted by fellow bhpian in one of the D390 threads which is like a bible on seat modifications and has a hell a lot of info!

Edit: Found the link for you - http://www.diymotorcycleseat.com/index.php

Terrific! Thanks so much Abhinav. But yeah, I wasn't wearing any riding pants, was wearing a regular Levi's, had to keep shifting a lot and it did get a bit sore in the end inspite of a not so long ride.