Some motorcycles are just meant to scare the living daylights out of you. Those litre class bikes are definitely capable of taking you right to the edge, from where you can see the pearly gates at a distance. But you can’t ride any of those in the city. You might put short spurts of speed at when the lights go green, but that’s it. And even when you’re out of the city limits, you need to choose your highways very wisely. And, you’d probably have to sell a kidney to buy one of these CBUs.

But for those who love a bit of fun riding, Bajaj brought in the KTM Duke 200, which, thanks to its not-so-big wheelbase and riding ergonomics, is a playful little thing that you can fling into corners, and comes with a motor that delivers enough power zip you through city traffic and also feel at home on longer runs. But, in every sense, it’s still a baby. The seriousness has just begun in the form of its bigger cousin, the Duke 390.

Yes, stare at me!

Yes, that’s what I’d like to think, as to what the Duke 390 thinks while it’s on the road. Just the visual elements start screaming “Look at me, I’m fast!” While the overall styling cues are the same as the 200, the Duke 390 has been made to paint the town orange. The trellis frame and the wheels are the first visual elements that differentiate the 390 from the 200 – they don the trademark KTM orange shade.

You get those big, plastic hand-guards by default (in my opinion, some might need those if they’re not too careful). Then you notice the stickering on the bigger tank and the headlamp fairing. It’s a take-it-or-leave-it styling. Some may like it. Some may not. According to me, it looks totally fabulous. And, it’s a head-turner. For reasons more than one.

Look, Ma, I’m flying!

As I lowered myself on to the Duke 390, I felt at home with the wide handlebars and the straight-backed but aggressive streetfighter stance. But any familiarity that I had felt so far disappeared almost at once, when I shifted from neutral to the first gear and released the rather hard clutch.

The single-cylinder, 373.2cc, liquid-cooled mill, mated to a claw-shifted six-speed gearbox, manages to spew out a maximum power of 43bhp at a good 9500rpm mark on the tachometer, and 35Nm @7500rpm. The power-to-weight ratio of 296bhp per tonne is certainly impressive.

Feed the Duke 390 some gas, and it speeds up to sixty in three seconds. If you shift right, you’ll get to the 100 kmph mark in just about six seconds. Speaking strictly for the numbers, this is exactly the performance what you’d expect for an entry-to-mid level sports oriented bike. I could open up the bike to up to 160kmph with ease. And while I’m sure the 390 could do a bit more, I couldn’t test it as I kept running out of road. And once past the 7,500 rpm mark, the Duke 390’s underbelly silencer starts producing the right kind of music too.

Lean deep, very deep

The reason why I, and probably many more riders too, love the Duke 200 so much is because of the playful character. You can cruise along at slow speeds in the city, and also do some serious biking. The Duke 390 possesses the same character, although with a bit more brute force. Corners are faster and deeper, but the bike demands every bit of attention that you can ever give it.

KTM has decided to do away with MRFs and give the Duke 390 a pair of Metzeler Sportec M5s, and I, for one, loved the way the rubber interacts with the tarmac. It’s almost like the tires swore that that they’d never let the road go (unless you’re popping a wheelie). Further, the disc brakes come equipped with ABS as standard fitment. And they do justice to the Bybre name as well, by being crisp and sharp to respond.

To Duke or not?

But all that fun, the quick acceleration, the fast corners, the jaw dropping braking, the wheelies and the burnouts, all happened at 5 in the morning, on wide and empty streets of New Delhi. Ride it in traffic, and you’ll notice that the Duke 390 lacks the low-end power and though you don’t need to shift that much, you’ll still need to be precise about the right gear to ride in. The engine heats up rather quickly, and unless it’s a cold winter night, riding the bike under the Indian Sun for more than an hour can be extremely uncomfortable.

It’s not an ideal city bike, because of the sluggish low-end performance and the heat issues. The suspensions are too stiff for the highway. The Duke 390, then, is the motorcycle you keep in your garage to ride on Saturday nights and early Sunday mornings. You take it to the countryside and zoom past picturesque farmhouses. And on a track day, you take this bike to where it feels at home the most. At an ex-showroom (Delhi) price of Rs 1.8 lakh, you’d want to own this kind of performance.

>sabyasachi.b@thehindu.co.in

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