Hello, and welcome. While it might be the season for Alphonso mangoes that we have a surprise!
An Orange
An orange, no one quite saw coming.
Definitely, not an orange than you'd wanna peel but something that would even make big boys like you and me, squeal.
One that has slotted perfectly between the two twins
Bit of both, its younger and the elder sibling
The all new, KTM Duke 250
Now I know a lot of you have already watched the performance review of the Duke 250
But for the ones who haven't the link is right here
Obviously, Sergeant Sheldekar, doing what he does best
But the question for today remains
how good is the Duke 250
as your everyday small little big bike?
my name is Atul Haldankar, and it's time to get going
But before I could get too far, I had to get through this
Traffic!
Although heavier than the 200, the 250 handles sharp even on the congested roads!
The suspension is firm and well damped,
The old Duke 390's front forks were too stiff, while the rear shock was too soft.
This though
is balanced with separate function forks that have been lowered
along with a separate chamber for oil and gas in the rear mono
Now the Duke twins were notorious for two problems
The first one being the heat that they'd throw out on your legs
and the second one being,
that once they would accidentally stall
they would refuse to start
the Duke 250 does get a little hot
but I think that is bearable
What is unbearable though
that it tends to stall quite a bit when hot
and the radiator fan might stay on, all the time
which I think is plain annoying
But find an empty stretch and the Duke 250 cools down really fast and will make you forget every problem
because the level of refinement on this bike is great so much that it feels like a complete new motorcycle
The Gearbox keep smooth and a slipper clutch means no blipping on downshifts and less clutch work when riding in traffic
The ergos are sportier than before but not too extreme
You don't have to fight the seat height as much
At 5 feet 7, I could comfortably keep one foot down with the other on the brake pedal.
The handle bars are spaced well
The wide seat and the revised seating position feels relaxed and takes the weight off your wrists and back
unlike the old 390 which the felt cramped for space
So when you're finally reaching work, you aren't reaching with an aching back
And if you manage to finish your work early, well, fret not. You can always head out riding
and will definitely not be punished for spending in time soaking in the beauty of this motorcycle
The Super Duke inspired styling
is indeed muscular.
The rear taillight is a thing of beauty,and similar to the new Duke 390.
The headlamp though, is not the same
You get a single halogen setup combined with these LED DRLs which honestly does not look out of place.
And if you ask me looks quite beautiful. The paint on the KTM Duke 250 is also a special fade resistant and UV
protected, is what KTM tells us. So if any of our PDArmy comrades watching this to the right now
already have the Duke 250, well type in those comments section below and let us know if it works for you.
Ok enough of their talking now time for me to head home
That's when you realize that the key lock's switch position has changed
And that reminds me that I should also highlight that we don't get the new TFT LCD
screen, as on the 390. This alongwith the LED headlights, right by wire and the abs
Unfortunately cannot be retrofitted in the 250
And this is because of the complex systems of wires and sensors linked to them and can only we put together at the factory floor
The power delivery is a little lacking low down upto the 4000 RPM
And you will see yourself doing some down shifts If you intend to coast in those speeds
But the larger rear sprocket ensures that the gearing feels more spread out to meet the rev range then on
Third gear is a breeze in the city and the fourth gear gives you all the way from 30 km/h to 70. Which is impressive.
What isn't impressive is the strange blank spot about 5,500 RPM and the bike coughs before it leaps ahead.
It makes you feel that power delivery is a little laggy
Well apart from that
the on-off fueling throttle transitions which were
snatchy on the 390 have been completely balancing the 250 and the addition of the BS 4 exhaust
not only makes for a very silent reading experience
it has also helped improve the ground clearance of the bike
Which means I no longer have to think twice before putting the 250 through a bumpy patch of road, but more on that, well, tomorrow.
Because commuting is hardly a reason why you'd own a motorcycle like this.
now the earlier Duke twins were popular bikes, but never really made the best touring motorcycles
And this was due to reasons such as their smaller tank which resulted in lower fuel range
poor comfort for the pillion and the rider
especially on long rides
And their inabilty to carry large luggage like this
Now for someone like me who takes a travel of wee bit on the heavier side and also like to do a bit the twisties
The question that now needs to be answered is can the 250 tour?
The rear tailpiece has been extended so even in the
max load, the tail will never foul with the back tyres, as was the case with the earlier Dukes.
The increased tail height also means that you can now add bigger saddle bags without without worrying
along with a magnetic tank bags as the 250 now gets a metal tank.
The Subframe is also removable
and should make it easy to replace in case of any damage and probably sets the base for the much-awaited 390 adventure variant.
This is also where the MRF tyres have an advantage of not just being cost efficient
but will also last a lot longer
without a huge compromise on grip and
glip does help while you comfortably cruise over 100 kilometres per hour in sixth gear
while you enjoy the plush ride quality and the world go by
What will make for even more carefree touring is this.
The 250 also has its components protected in places where it matters. You get a sturdier radiator with side cover
hard plastic flaps, or the forks and the rear mono without it all looking too busy
Even the underbelly section gets a brand-new design thanks to the rerouted exhaust
And you'd now enjoy increased ground clearance, but it will also make it easier to put aftermarket bash plates
While this does not get the hands guards by default you can retrofit the ones from the Duke 390
and damn right it can but this all new 13.5 litre tank and better bolstered seating I can go that much further without any aching backside
The bars are wide and the mirrors have good view
also the rear subframe has many more exposed bits which means you can now mount a lot more luggage and this does not hamper
pillion riding experience which means you can actually get someone along without them having to crib about the rear comfort
Now everything looks good except for one sore point
And that's braking
But for a motorcycle that moves quicker than a Duke 200 the absence of ABS even as an option, is sort of a deal breaker
and that's probably because the Duke 250 does not get the bigger 320mm rotor as its elder sibling and
the lack of stopping power combined with its increased weight over the 200 is a bit of a letdown
especially when you run additional load while touring
I'm almost convinced that the Duke 250 combined with the option of ABS would make a viable choice
for a whole bunch of new buyers. It also offers a lot more juice than the Duke 200 without the woes of its elder sibling
It is quite comfortable to ride on city roads as well as for the long haul
What the Duke 250 does need though along with the option of ABS, are sintered pads and for the flat spots to be removed to really
own the niche it has carved for itself.
License and registration?
Although why are you asking it?
Unregistered Vehicle
It's on test
On test?
Show the form
Is this a new model that's been launched?
Yes it's been given to me for media ride, so I've come for testing