[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNulCfvpujo 540 375]
Launch of the KTM Duke 390 is not far away with Bajaj Auto planning to officially put this naked street-fighter on sale in India by June 2013. The Duke 390 is already on sale abroad, where owners are having a gala time on this super fast performance motorcycle, which doesn’t cost an arm or leg to own. One such owner has put a video showing the KTM 390 Duke accelerating from 0 – 130 km/hr. The Duke 390 took around 5 seconds to do 0-100 km/hr, while 0-130 km/hr took 10 seconds.
While these figures are not very accurate, as the speed is measured using the speedometer, the fact is the Duke 390 is quick and brutally so. This means the Duke 390 will do the 0-100 km/hr sprint in less than 6 seconds, which is insanely quick for a bike which will cost no more than Rs. 2.5 lakhs in India. Top speed is not known but we expect the Duke 390 to have a top whack of at-least a 160 km/hr. With capability of such speeds, KTM will offer ABS on the Duke 390.
The 373cc, single-cylinder engine produces 44 galloping horses with 35 Nm of twisting force. A dry weight of just 139 kgs means the power to weight ratio is nothing short of staggering. Hardware comes from the Duke 125 and Duke 200 which helps to keep costs in check. Mild colour differences will help KTM keep the Duke 390 stand apart from the Duke 200 visually. But once you twist the throttle on the Duke 390, you and everybody around you very well knows what lies beneath.
Update – Some feel the motorcycle accelerating in the video above is not the KTM 390 Duke. The video below puts a rest to those questions. See the Duke 390 perform some stunts and hear the engine noise of the bike below.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWXRoludvVQ 540 375]
