[The_Mad_Hatter]

Thanks for all the replies!

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

That said, have you tried the RC series? The RC bikes feel a LOT more roomy. .

While I like the RC series, I do go out on quite a few long rides and tours, so I don't think that would work for me. I was actually considering a Himalayan, but once the new 390 was announced, with its larger fuel tank, more cushioned seats and colour TFT display, going for the Duke seems like a no-brainer.

I'll just look forward for the test-ride then! Hope my local dealership gets a bike soon.

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

PS: congratulations on the booking when do you expect to take delivery of your bike and which colour scheme have you gone for? AFAIK you have two choices with the 250 no?

Thank you IshaanIan and I have been informed that the deliveries of the D250 can commence only by the end of March or early April !!

The review by Powerdrift, Overdrive, Motorbeam, etc above has left me thinking if this Duke is really worth the wait and the 2 Lakhs premium.

My need for a 2 wheeler is extremely critical now and the factors don't seem to be tilting in the D250's favour I am afraid!!

[abhinav.s]

Congrats on booking the D250 Vikram!! That was an impulsive decision.

BTW, could not understand the below quoted part

Originally Posted by Vik0728

The review by Powerdrift, Overdrive, Motorbeam, etc above has left me thinking if this Duke is really worth the wait and the 2 Lakhs premium.

Do you mean the 2lakhs asking price of the Duke 250? Well it comes with a lot of kit which is missing in the D200 like the slipper clutch, side mounted exhaust, the D390 updated design, bigger tank, better seats etc. So it definitely makes sense compared to the D200 at least and also compared to the 1.5L asking price of the FZ25 in Bangalore. For the premium you pay over the FZ, you are getting almost 10BHP more, an extra gear, slipper clutch & the awesome KTM handling and dynamics.

PS: Is the review by Powerdrift up on youtube? Tried looking for it but could not find it.

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

Do you mean the 2lakhs asking price of the Duke 250?

Yes Abhinav, I was referring to the 2,07,000 OTR Bangalore.

I cannot agree more on the fact that it is bringing in a lot to the table, but then as reported by some of the first reviewers, it is not seem to be offering anything substantial over the Duke 200 in terms of outright performance.

Ofcourse, only a proper TR can confirm this though, which by the way also seems a long time away!!

PS: Is the review by Powerdrift up on Youtube? Tried looking for it but could not find it

Not a real review of sorts, but here is the post:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...ml#post4155006

[PatienceWins]

Originally Posted by Vik0728

I have posted this elsewhere and doing the same here. the bike was too good to resist and I booked one for myself

Congrats Vikram.

I am 6'2" tall and hope the new Duke is comfortable for tall riders. My leg was not properly fitting into the fuel tank when I took test ride of the old Duke 390.

[abhinav.s]

Originally Posted by Vik0728

It is not seem to be offering anything substantial over the Duke 200 in terms of outright performance.

Not sure about outright performance but in the city the D200 is a charm and it is super fun. It is nimble, sure footed and makes just the right amount of power to give you that wide grin each time you wring the throttle at the same time not being uncontrollable. The only grouse I have is that it gets uncomfortably hot in B2B traffic and waiting at signals. Barring this the 200 is a super agile city run about which can also double up for the odd highway rides. But the seats are pre-facelift which means it is hard and the pillion is not comfortable and will keep nudging the rider to stop for breaks on moderately long rides itself. That is one area where the D250 ought to be better. Also if when you say outright performance, if you want cruising on highways, the D200 can do it comfortably without feeling stressed at around 110kmph with short bursts upto 125-126kmph. D250 definitely should be better at both cruising and top speed since it has the CC advantage though the peak power might only be a few bhp more than the D200.

In the end if it is a 90% city and 10% solo highway runabout that you need, then the D200 is still a pretty strong contender even with the slew of new launches. If you need more highway cruising and pillion comfort, you would have to probably look at the other options apart from KTM as they are at the end of the day very compact motorcycles which are fun solo rides but almost a torture for both pillion and rider for 2 up riding.

PS: Kawasaki not of interest to you?? Maybe if not the Ninja 300, the Z250 or even the Yamaha R3 since they have fixed the niggling issues with the recent recall?

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by PatienceWins

Congrats Vikram.

I am 6'2" tall and hope the new Duke is comfortable for tall riders. My leg was not properly fitting into the fuel tank when I took test ride of the old Duke 390.

In the review by OD, Shumi mentions that the new bike is tall people friendly, thanks to seat height, seat length and tank design.

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by PatienceWins

Congrats Vikram.

I am 6'2" tall and hope the new Duke is comfortable for tall riders. My leg was not properly fitting into the fuel tank when I took test ride of the old Duke 390.

Thank you PatienceWins and I think you must feel right at home on the D250

I am 6"ft and when I swung my legs over the D250, I felt that it had one of the tallest saddles of the modern bikes.

Though the posture felt a little better than the old Dukes, it still did not feel very comfortable albeit Dominor 400 comfortable.
But of course Dukes are designed for a completely different purpose and I think it delivers that in oodles !!

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

In the end if it is a 90% city and 10% solo highway runabout that you need, then the D200 is still a pretty strong contender even with the slew of new launches.

PS: Kawasaki not of interest to you?? Maybe if not the Ninja 300, the Z250 or even the Yamaha R3 since they have fixed the niggling issues with the recent recall?

Exactly Abhinav and this is what my pattern is going to be.

I have my GT TDI which is my highway burner and seldom would the bike see such runs with me. However, I do love that rare but addictive bursts of speed during my city commute and I would need a bike that can deliver this.

I am seriously re-considering my D250 booking now and since the delivery is anyways by the end of March or early April, I have the excuse of this waiting period that is adding up!!

Honestly bro, I am not a real biker boy and I just cannot convince myself to by a premium bike, and most definitely not the insanely (probably ridiculously) expensive Z250.

THE NEED FOR A BIKE IS NOW and the D250s waiting period compiled with the NOT A REVELATION over the D200 has left me thinking again.

[AtheK]

Originally Posted by Vik0728

Yes Abhinav, I was referring to the 2,07,000 OTR Bangalore.

I cannot agree more on the fact that it is bringing in a lot to the table, but then as reported by some of the first reviewers, it is not seem to be offering anything substantial over the Duke 200 in terms of outright performance.

Ofcourse, only a proper TR can confirm this though, which by the way also seems a long time away!!




Not a real review of sorts, but here is the post:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...ml#post4155006

I think Slipper clutch will also help on sudden speed burst urges, the 200 will feel a bit dated now. If you liked the seating of dominar more, why don't you look at CBR as well, yes agreed it is pretty old but its still a great bike.

Also a bit OT, but were you able to get the OTR price of duke 390, and anyting dealer said about availability.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

PS: Is the review by Powerdrift up on Youtube? Tried looking for it but could not find it.

Originally Posted by Vik0728

Not a real review of sorts, but here is the post:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...ml#post4155006

The real review is out -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DFsOqp4cDY

She's an absolute stunner while on the move!

[Amey Kulkarni]

Originally Posted by Vik0728

Thank you PatienceWins
THE NEED FOR A BIKE IS NOW and the D250s waiting period compiled with the NOT A REVELATION over the D200 has left me thinking again.

I agree with you. Waiting so long for a Bike is not at all worth it and one more point is what is KTM doing? Following Bajaj baby footsteps of launching new bikes with 20CC - 50CC differences.

I understand that the 250 is a Global launch however, does it make sense to have a 200 which is doing superbly well in the market and create a confusion for probable buyers of 200s to think of a 250 and would there be any major change to look forward to?

Also, I have heard that the Duke 790 is not coming to India and think is a serious affair on what KTM strategies ultimately are regarding Indian market.

Is Bajaj holding back KTM expansion in India?

Cheers,
Amey

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by AtheK

If you liked the seating of dominar more, why don't you look at CBR as well, yes agreed it is pretty old but its still a great bike.

Also a bit OT, but were you able to get the OTR price of duke 390, and anyting dealer said about availability.

Couldn't agree more with you AtheK and CBR 250R was where I wanted to put my money. In fact, I first went into the Honda showroom for the same reason, before I visited the KTM, but the following reasons sent me running away:

- No TR vehicles available with anybody. If a rare one does happen, the bike is pathetically abused and could not really give an iota of the true CBR sense.

- The available bikes seem like some sort of "Stock Clearance", as almost all of them are either a December or earlier manufactured.
Only the Repsol edition seems new, but somehow it just seems too loud for my taste.

- The service bills were predicted to be ~3-4K excluding labour!!
I already have a white elephant in my garage (GT TDI) and not really keen to own a White Stallion as well.

- OTR price of the Non ABS in Bangalore is 1.94 Lakhs, which seems to bit too steep considering it is over a half a decade old design and no real visibility of its future in India.


Have no clue bro on the OTR price for the 2017 D390, but looking at the trend, I think it must be ~2.6-2.7 Lakhs in Namma Bengaluru.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

The real review is out -

Awesome CrAzY dRiVeR and thank you for sharing it here

I agree to the fact that D250 looks like a 600cc bike when viewed from the side. I have never liked the looks of the D200 and this iteration by KTM is just brilliant.

From the review, the D250's advantage is probably more apparent on a closed circuit/race track. In fact, when I was around for the D250 display, just the startup and revving lead to some considerable heating on the tank and around.

So for someone like me, whose primary requirement is B2B commute, D200 probably makes more sense, which unfortunately I don't like.

Originally Posted by Amey Kulkarni

I agree with you. Waiting so long for a Bike is not at all worth it and one more point is what is KTM doing?

Exactly Amey, and the NEED for a 2 wheeler is more than the WANT for me.

Many of my daily chores warrant a 2 wheeler, and I don't think I am able to convince myself that I can be a 'Biker' on the weekends. So I may well just look for something that serves my purpose, rather than the fantasies.

For all the Weekend Rush/Adrenaline, I still got my German Road Runner.


P.S - I have now spoken to the KTM folks to initiate the Cancellation of the D250 booking.

[//M]

Originally Posted by Vik0728

- The service bills were predicted to be ~3-4K excluding labour!!
I already have a white elephant in my garage (GT TDI) and not really keen to own a White Stallion as well.

This quoted figure for service charges is too steep, even the CBR650F servicing is cheaper. No way the CBR250 servicing would cost so much on a regular basis. Maybe owners can comment exact figures.

EDIT : Honestly if your are not much into riding and want a easy-to-run powerful commuter, you should look at the Yamaha FZ25 again. The motorcycle has a great torque curve and pulls effortlessly. The sudden power burst of the KTMs won't be there but for the price, the FZ25 is definitely a great buy. Wish it had ABS though.

[Amey Kulkarni]

[quote=//M;4155357]This quoted figure for service charges is too steep, even the CBR650F servicing is cheaper. No way the CBR250 servicing would cost so much on a regular basis. Maybe owners can comment exact figures.QUOTE]

//M,

I agree! It wont be steep as Rs 3-4K (Excluding labor) but will be a little premium compared to other 200s - 250s as the Oil capacity is more incase of CBR 250 (1.8 Liters) compared to others in the range like Duke 200 (1.4 Liters) etc.

Also, Engine oil used in CBR 250 and CBR 650F is the same is what the ASC guys of Honda had told me; which is the major cost driver in a Service bill. However, the quantity of oil used by both the bikes might vary.

Therefore, it seems expensive for CBR 250 but cheaper in case of CBR 650F.

Cheers,
Amey

[jetsetgo08]

Originally Posted by Vik0728

THE NEED FOR A BIKE IS NOW and the D250s waiting period compiled with the NOT A REVELATION over the D200 has left me thinking again.

Many of my daily chores warrant a 2 wheeler, and I don't think I am able to convince myself that I can be a 'Biker' on the weekends. So I may well just look for something that serves my purpose, rather than the fantasies.

Pardon me for adding further confusion & dampening the spirits, if your objective is to buy a 2-wheeler for daily chores, nothing beats a Hero Maestro Edge/TVS Jupiter. A street-styled naked two-wheeler is not really worth hauling eggs & milk packets.

However, if you are planning for daily commute as well, may I suggest test riding the following bikes in the same order-
1)RTR200
2)FZ250
3)NS200
4)Duke 200

Pick the one that fits the bill and satiates the adrenaline and comfortable to ride on that once in a blue moon longish ride. NOTE: none of them are currently equipped with ABS.