[Kameshwar]

^^ painter's comment had me scurry thru the interwebs. Thanks for sharing Redliner!

[Red Liner]

KTMs 800 twin is coming...

http://www.visordown.com/motorcycle-...llel+twin+bike

[Urban_Nomad]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

KTMs 800 twin is coming...

http://www.visordown.com/motorcycle-...llel+twin+bike

True, but the real question is - Will it make it to India???

I really hope so, but I am not sure if this is going to happen ..... unless this one too gets manufactured at Chakan. There is absolutely 0 testing news from anywhere in our country. Everything has been happening in Firang land at least until now

I really really hope I am wrong though. Please lordy, let this be my next bike

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by Urban_Nomad

True, but the real question is - Will it make it to India???

I really hope so, but I am not sure if this is going to happen ..... unless this one too gets manufactured at Chakan. There is absolutely 0 testing news from anywhere in our country. Everything has been happening in Firang land at least until now

I really really hope I am wrong though. Please lordy, let this be my next bike

No, sadly this bike will not be manufactured here. Apparently this was confirmed with visor down in an earlier report. Even with the 390 there are just way too many problems being ascribed to the inferior parts from India... The most recent one being the 1.4 bar Radiator cap failing in a bunch of dukes. Weirdly I haven't read it this issue cropping up in India.

And if it isn't manufactured here, there's some hope it might land up as ckd at least...

I would love this as a natural step up from the 390. If this doesn't come out then it's most likely a tiger.

[Urban_Nomad]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

No, sadly this bike will not be manufactured here. Apparently this was confirmed with visor down in an earlier report. Even with the 390 there are just way too many problems being ascribed to the inferior parts from India... The most recent one being the 1.4 bar Radiator cap failing in a bunch of dukes. Weirdly I haven't read it this issue cropping up in India.

Really???? Do you have a source / linky for such reports / issues? The 390 has been praised all over as far as I know. In fact, people were particularly happy with some parts on the bike like the swingarm and even the Trellis

And Bajaj is the majority stakeholder at KTM. Doubt if they would not be able to swing the decision to make it in India with all those votes at their disposal. The one and only one reason I can see behind not making this in India is - it wont sell as much as Bajaj would like. As great as the 390 is, is still does not do even 1000 units in sales. For comparison, thats significantly less than how much a 30 odd lakh rupee Fortuner manages on a monthly basis

How well would a pricier option do ..... performance etc aside

Originally Posted by Red Liner

And if it isn't manufactured here, there's some hope it might land up as ckd at least...

Its still going to be astronomically priced ..... like a true KTM (price wise). Only in India are these bikes considered "cheap". For the rest of the world, these are very very expensive exotics

Anyhow, here's hoping against hope that it be built in India

[VW2010]

No, sadly this bike will not be manufactured here. Apparently this was confirmed with visor down in an earlier report. Even with the 390 there are just way too many problems being ascribed to the inferior parts from India... The most recent one being the 1.4 bar Radiator cap failing in a bunch of dukes. Weirdly I haven't read it this issue cropping up in India

I have to say KTM has an image as a builder and manufacturer. If they are satisfied with the QC they have set for these machines i wouldnt go to an extend to say parts are inferior in India.

And these bikes are sold world over and it would have already meant disaster if KTM didnt care about QC.

The reason they are able to sell it at less than 5K is because of the manufacturing cost and though there are talks about quality i am not sure its because they are manufactured in India. Its KTM and Bajaj and KTM has signed off on the parts and QC.

Point is, i dont think its right to say parts are inferior because its from India.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by Urban_Nomad

Really???? Do you have a source / linky for such reports / issues? The 390 has been praised all over as far as I know. In fact, people were particularly happy with some parts on the bike like the swingarm and even the Trellis

Ofcourse the bike is brilliant as a whole, but there are still a lot of individual part failures in India, like the speedo console, stator coil, etc. Thankfully since each and every bike is checked in Austria before assembly a lot of these things are probably caught out, or the inferior parts just don't go there. Still, I have come across issues about the coolant temperature rising and puking out of the radiator, the bad boy being the 1.4 bar cap and what have you there's a 1.6 aftermarket cap already on sale. But this seems less of an inferior part issue and more of a design /engineering call failure. http://www.ktmduke390forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23482

Still, it's easier for a customer to blame India (and believe me they do in posts here and there). That said, I *think* bikes in general out of Thailand seem to be of much better fit and finish when compared to those from India. What do you think?

Originally Posted by Urban_Nomad

And Bajaj is the majority stakeholder at KTM. Doubt if they would not be able to swing the decision to make it in India with all those votes at their disposal. The one and only one reason I can see behind not making this in India is - it wont sell as much as Bajaj would like. As great as the 390 is, is still does not do even 1000 units in sales. For comparison, thats significantly less than how much a 30 odd lakh rupee Fortuner manages on a monthly basis

I think you meant to say Bajaj is not a majority owner (48%). Plus ktm is being delisted from the Austrian exchange and pierer is buying whatever minuscule shares are being traded in the market. He is definitely consolidating to make his own decisions.

Originally Posted by Urban_Nomad

How well would a pricier option do ..... performance etc aside

You know, an 800 twin, I *think* will run circles around a tiger, from every angle. I mean it's ktm right? They really do take ready to race to heart me than anyone else in the market.

Originally Posted by Urban_Nomad

Its still going to be astronomically priced ..... like a true KTM (price wise). Only in India are these bikes considered "cheap". For the rest of the world, these are very very expensive exotics

Anyhow, here's hoping against hope that it be built in India

Actually the ktm 390 is not an exotic internationally if that's what you meant to contest. The ceeber 300 which makes close to half the power is 100 usd short of the 390 with abs thrown in the states.

Ofcourse, now we will most likely be at the receiving end. You know even if they price the 800 near the versys 650, it will fly off the shelves. Might that be possible if they do ckd?

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by VW2010

I have to say KTM has an image as a builder and manufacturer. If they are satisfied with the QC they have set for these machines i wouldnt go to an extend to say parts are inferior in India.

And these bikes are sold world over and it would have already meant disaster if KTM didnt care about QC.

The reason they are able to sell it at less than 5K is because of the manufacturing cost and though there are talks about quality i am not sure its because they are manufactured in India. Its KTM and Bajaj and KTM has signed off on the parts and QC.

Point is, i dont think its right to say parts are inferior because its from India.

I agree with you and here's a different line of thinking. Any bike that is exported goes through a full on qc in Austria before being shipped to dealers and trust me that is a huge reason why people are buying the dukes as opposed to them being shipped straight from india as an India manufactured bike. You have no idea his much of a trust builder this is for customers in the West. You are in the states, you should just ask around... Already this is what I have gotten off from international forums... They aren't discussions mind you, but little snippets of confidence that the dukes are being strip searched in Austria before going further downstream.

Here's another thought. I don't think the fit and finish can be different between Indian and international dukes since it's only assembly there. So why are the problems being reported in India aren't reported anywhere else? Are there different parts suppliers for the same thing with different sign off norms? I haven't seen a single report of the stator coil going bust. The only issue consistent with India I have seen is the fan assembly which is more a design failure and that's being replaced by a spal unit.

[VW2010]

@Redliner,

You concluded something based on forums. The number of incidents reported based on online or actual facts from KTM itself across different countries.

I dont want to argue but the conclusion based on evidence is very weak to me. You already concluded that parts from India are Bad where the same bike is sent around the world for sales? Unless the bikes are assembled again in Austria with replacement parts or we have clear evidence that there are two different sets of parts I wont be convinced.

On the other hand to be fair they are also priced 30% higher than what they are sold for in India. May be they do have better replacement parts. But i dont think those parts would be stater coil or forks. It could be the plastics and probably something internal (Which i doubt).

I am disagreeing with lack of data. I had a duke and i actually liked it because of the cheap parts available. It was easier to simply replace when things when kaput. I didnt care because say for a Ninja which is priced almost a Lakh more is not even cheap to maintain when things broke and things broke anyway.

[Red Liner]

Unless ktm comes out with a recall, no everything is ofcourse heresay. But if there were so many stator coil failures abroad like in India (where it seems like a done deal) wouldn't a recall already have been issued?

One last one. If ktm are so confident about their qc sign off agreement in India with Bajaj, why spend time and energy on doing another qc in Austria? Why not save more time and money and ship straight from India like many other manufacturers?

I agree, let's not diss over this. Who cares when you can go as fast as an aston Martin. I can't wait to get my hands on the Duke myself. My farkle list is all done on paper!

[VW2010]

I think their intention of QC in Austria is just to sell in other markets. The world has the same image on the KTM 390 as how we Indians have on Benelli now

To give that image a make over, they are creating that extra over head cost to provide more assurance for foreign buyers. By the way they sell at a higher premium which will help with offset this additional cost.

Fact is that most of the bikes are manufactures in Thailand or Indonesia in many cases. Yet there is a taboo for bikes coming out of India or China. And as an Indian, i am just taking sides with my Country to say, hey its all fine

[Red Liner]

I agree with you so bad on the parts being hell cheap here. Do you know what someone was quoted for the first service in the states for the 390?

640 usd.

Bharat mata ki jai!

[ringoism]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Ofcourse the bike is brilliant as a whole, but there are still a lot of individual part failures in India, like the speedo console, stator coil, etc. Thankfully since each and every bike is checked in Austria before assembly a lot of these things are probably caught out, or the inferior parts just don't go there. Still, I have come across issues about the coolant temperature rising and puking out of the radiator, the bad boy being the 1.4 bar cap and what have you there's a 1.6 aftermarket cap already on sale. But this seems less of an inferior part issue and more of a design /engineering call failure. http://www.ktmduke390forum.com/forum...ad.php?t=23482

Still, it's easier for a customer to blame India (and believe me they do in posts here and there). That said, I *think* bikes in general out of Thailand seem to be of much better fit and finish when compared to those from India. What do you think?

Anecdotal, but a local guy here in Manali had the frame break on his Duke200, and he says he never did any stunting with it, either. KTM ordered a new chassis for him, but not sure they covered the entire cost. Also not sure how prevalent that issue is, but needless to say frames are pretty important...

One impression re: Thai manufacturers is that they've been building this sort of machinery a lot longer - meaning liquid-cooled, high-powered sporting singles with exotic chassis and all the goodies. They were there sixteen years ago when I first visited, and they were old models even then. As with most things, you tend to get better at it as time goes on, and they've had a significant head-start. When you're trying to produce a lightweight, strong and powerful bike, materials/ tolerances /workmanship are a lot more critical than when you're building a commuter.

-Eric