Orange Streak

Remember seeing something really fast and loud, leaving an orange streak as it zipped past ? Well,you’ll be seeing more of that now...

- Sarmad Kadiri

THE KTM 1290 Super Duke R is an irresistible design. I know many who would give an eye,an arm and a kidney to own the Super Duke but KTM are not interested in bringing it to our shores just yet. But there’s hope. Now you can have a scaled down version of the bike, at a fraction of its price, right here in India. Presenting the stunning new 2017 KTM 390 Duke.

From the tank design with razor sharp extensions to the sinister split headlight and the new KTM MotoGP racing orange — the new 390 Duke looks like a mirror image of its elder sibling. The headlight comes with 20 LED (light emitting diodes) and is brighter than ever. The fuel tank is all-steel now and larger with a capacity of 13.4 litres as compared to the older model’s 10.5-litre one. More range means longer rides with fewer fuel stops in between. The new shape of the tank along with a larger and softer saddle help carve out more room for the rider and, of course, is a lot more comfortable than the wooden seats of the outgoing Duke.

By the way, I’m right now on the above mentioned comfy seat of the new 390 Duke and waiting (read: itching) for my turn to twist the throttle across Bajaj Auto test-track near Pune. One can’t call the 2017 version a facelift because the new 390 is light years ahead of the older model. And we just don’t mean this in terms of features and gadgetry, but purely as a bike.