The KTM Duke 390 made a storming entry into the Indian compact sportsbike segment with a mouth watering introductory price tag of Rs. 1.8 lakhs (ex-showroom Delhi). Like it or not, it redefined the term value for money!
The surprisingly low pricing resulted in long queues at dealerships but then Bajaj's Chakan plant where KTM bikes are built suffered a workers' strike. The strike reduced the output of the plant, threatening to increase the waiting period of the Duke 390.
With only a limited workforce at disposal, Bajaj has shifted a portion of the production of Pulsars to its Waluj plant so as to enable continued production of the Duke 390. The output has reduced but the production thankfully has not seized.
Autocar India reports that despite the worker strike, Bajaj is confident of delivering the Duke 390 to its customers well within the announced waiting period of 90 days. Once the strike is withdrawn, the waiting period will be reduced further.
The Chakan plant builds the Duke 200 and 390 for domestic consumption and for the international markets. Given that the Duke 390 has interested international bikers, it's imperative for Bajaj to resolve the issue at the earliest and resume normal production.
[Source: AutoCarIndia.com]
