KTM 390 Duke

Most of our praise for this motorcycle is down to the arsenal that it packs. It has a 373cc single cylinder engine pumping out 43bhp of power. And because there is barely any body work the 390 weighs about 138kg (dry). This lets you hit 100kmph as quick as an Audi A7 Sportback with a 3.0 litre TFSI engine! The engine feels and sounds brawny and sonorous. You experience a shove pushing you back in the seat past 6500rpm. And it continues through all the six gears. The 200 Duke had short gearing and started to pant after 120kmph, but this thing just keeps on going leaving everything behind. You may just catch a glimpse of that in the rear view mirrors. Bring the Ninja 300 to the party and the competition gets stiffer. Both these bikes cross 160kmph and stay composed at those speeds. However the 390 edges in front of the Ninja because of the additional ponies in the Duke.

Now it’s time to show the 390 some corners and what better can a place be than the curvy roads of Uttarakhand. The tight corners and elevation lets us experience the agility and torque spread of these machines. The biggest advantage with the 390 is that it comes equipped with super sticky Metzeler tyres from Germany, which needless to mention are the best there are. These tyres just would not let go off the tarmac and allow you to achieve ludicrous lean angles with ease. Even the wet weather performance is brilliant. In the wet the 200 Duke and the Ninja 300 generate wheel-spin, but the 390 Duke just grips and grips. And to add to this is the anti-lock braking system which keeps you out of trouble when you overstep the limits of adhesion.

The handling is absolutely flawless. You get acres of grip, mean lean angles and lots of pace if you know how to tame it. We say tame it because it might be very stable and has an ABS, but still is might powerful and often too much to handle for an average rider. The 200 Duke is still the recommended buy if you are still learning how to get the knee down. Trust us the 200 Duke is an extremely quick bike and enough for you to train on. The 390 Duke is for the ones who have graduated from Pulsar 220s and Duke 200s and are more serious in becoming motorcyclists. It is for the ones who have respect for horse power and the laws for physics. Approach towards a corner, brake progressively, lean in and exit out feeding back the power. The 390 rewards you if you do it right. On a circuit a rider will just shave seconds off every lap. Every corner on the 390 Duke will add to your learning and you get encouragement from the bike to go faster next time.

The performance of the bike is so breathtaking that you will not even consider how it looks. Yes it looks like the 200 Duke, and yes the basic structure is the same, but put it next to a 200 and you realise that how important body colour and graphics are to the appeal of a vehicle. Both the bikes are very distinct. The orange wheels and the frame add to the racy outlook. Then is the exhaust note, the 390 has a deeper and louder note which instantly sets it apart. The only issue that you have to deal with is the heating engine, which is expected from a 373cc single.

At the end of the day the victor is decided, the KTM 390 Duke takes away all the glory. It is extremely good fun to ride, very quick and now also has the strong top end which the little brother lacked. And as a bonus will go 33km to a litre on being light on the throttle. The KTM 390 Duke is one of the quickest and most agile motorcycles on our roads. It dominates the competition without even breaking sweat. Remember what the Sun Tzu teaches? “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting”.