Everybody knew Bajaj Auto made a nice move when it bought a majority stake of the Austrian naked bike maker, KTM. After a long and desperate lull, Bajaj had finally launched the first KTM in the Indian market, the Duke 200. Wrapped in orange livery, this bike commands performance from all angles. Few select auto journos got to test drive the vehicle and the feedback, which I had already spoken about, was mighty impressive. But there was a small disappointment. Bajaj had introduced a rev limiter in the KTM Duke 200 which kicks in at 10,000 RPM. This restricts the speed at a mere 126 km/h which won’t be liked by the motorcycle enthusiasts.
Bajaj Auto seems to have addressed the problem somewhat and increased the limit from 10,000 to 10,500 RPM thus taking the top speed to about 138 km/h (on the speedometer). In case you won’t be satisfied with the speed, you have to wait for sometime as we have news of people working on removing the revv limit altogether. The deliveries of the KTM Duke 200 have already started and dealers are claiming a 90 day waiting period, but reassuring people that they will get the bike much before. For the first 1000 kms, Bajaj will be limiting your rev limit to 7500 RPM to ensure the smooth running of the engine (the same limit has been put on the test ride bikes as well). One of the other interesting things to note about is the key chain. Its not just a key chain anymore.
The key chain (known as the Key Code Card) is a smart plastic card which contains all your service information and you can get your bike serviced from any location in the world, yes, in the world. Bajaj is also offering 2 years/ 30,000 kms of warranty on the Duke 200 with free service at intervals of 1000, 5000 and 10,000 kms. The engine runs on 20W50 oil and has been made with inputs from Bosch. Bajaj has launched the Duke 200 in the Indian market at an introductory price of Rs. 1.17 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi), which results into an on-road price of Rs. 1.30 lakhs.
