While KTM remains tight-lipped about the Indian launch details of the 790 Duke, a report from Thrustzone claims that the motorcycle will arrive in the country in September 2019. The bike was previously rumoured to come to India in April 2019.
Also read: Off-road-focused Bajaj motorcycle to follow KTM 390 Adventure – Report
A report from March stated that KTM would set up an all-new advanced assembly line at Bajaj Auto’s Akurdi plant that would be supervised and operated by a team of officials from Austria. The report claimed that the 790 Duke would arrive in India via the CKD route and that the first 100 units of the motorcycle bike have already come for service training purposes. IAB understands that the bike will be launched at an ex-showroom tag of INR 8.5 lakh while the on-road prices could go up to INR 10 lakh.
The middleweight naked roadster will use KTM’s newly developed LC8c 799 cc, liquid-cooled, parallel-twin engine that churns out 105 PS of power at 9,000 rpm and a peak torque of 86 Nm at 8,000 rpm. The engine has two counter-balancer shafts that are aimed to filter out the vibrations and a 270-degree firing order for a V-Twin like character.
The engine is paired with a 6-speed transmission that has PASC slip-assist clutch and quickshift (both up and down) assist. The motorcycle features ride-by-wire and comes with four-rider modes – sport, street, rain and track. Other electronic aids include traction control, Motor Slip Regulation (MSR), cornering ABS, wheelie control and switchable ABS (Supermoto mode to switch-off ABS at the back wheel).
The KTM 790 Duke will lock horns with the Triumph Street Triple series, the Suzuki GSX-S750 and the Ducati Monster range among others.
Hardware specifications match its rivals, and the shock absorption duties are performed by WP-sourced 43 mm upside-down front forks (non-adjustable) and preload adjustable monoshock at the rear. Twin discs at the front wheel and a single unit at the back handle anchoring tasks. The feature list includes full LED lighting (tail light, headlamp and blinkers) and a Bluetooth enabled TFT display. Smartphone integration gives control to incoming calls, messages and music using the switchgear on the left side of the handlebar.
Also read: KTM RC125 to be launched in June, to rival Yamaha YZF R15 V3.0
Other KTM motorcycles that are expected to arrive in India in the coming months are the RC125, 390 Adventure and the 790 Adventure.
[Source: Thrustzone.com]
