Orange Fever

Let's be honest, in the last 10 years, any publication or media house worth its salt had at least one member of editorial staff who owned a KTM 390 Duke. Bike India had four. We take a quick look at the journey this manic machine has made from when it first arrived to its-not so different-present-day form

- Jim Gorde

Performance motorcycles in india were a rare breed 20 years ago, when most of the present “olding” lot wanted something fast and loud. yet, those with reserves of moolah had no trouble getting something like a yamaha yZf-r1 or its naked fZ-1 counterpart, after their legendary rd350 fell prey to emission norms, of course. i grew up wanting the royal enfield lightning 535, the largest displacement bike on sale that was made in india. that was 23 years ago. times began to change. thanks to our juicy mangoes and Harley-davidson’s big displacement motorcycles finding a common trading ground, things got better and juicier for everyone. With fully built-up bikes displacing above 800-cc coming in by the container-load and compliance with international emission norms being the only factor, the bike market was abuzz. the Bollywood movie Dhoom also added fuel to the burning desire of the thrill-seeking youth with the suzuki Bandit 1200s and the GsX-1300r Hayabusa becoming the stuff of legend. However, as discussed, the big-bike sphere was the playground of the wealthy only, from actors on their Harleys to slipper-wearing, tobaccospewing Hayabusa riders who happened to have land on sale at the time of the real-estate boom.