2019 KTM 790 Duke officially teased, to be launched in India soon

Aditya Chatterjee Updated: December 31, 2019, 12:18 PM IST

If we ask, what is that one upcoming KTM motorcycle that you are excited about to launch in India? The unanimous reply to that will be the KTM 390 Adventure. It has already been confirmed that KTM is working on it and will be launched in India by the end of this year. However, there is one more KTM motorcycle that the enthusiasts are waiting for, including us. And that is the 2019 KTM 790 Duke. Bajaj Auto has officially shared a teaser of the KTM 1290 Super Duke R, which we believe is to create hype around its upcoming launch of the 790 Duke that is slated to break cover in the coming weeks and could be priced between Rs 7.5 lakh and Rs 8 lakh ex-showroom.

The upcoming KTM 790 Duke will be a CKD motorcycle and 100 units of the bike have already landed at the company's Akurdi plant for research and development and service training purposes. The engine components and cycle parts of the bike will be imported while the other parts such as the headlamp, levers etc will be sourced from local manufacturers. The chassis uses the engine as a stressed member and the bike gets 43mm WP upside-down fork in the front and a WP mono-shock absorber at the rear. The bike gets twin disc setup in the front with 300mm disc with radially mounted four-piston callipers. For the rear wheel, the bike gets a 240mm disc with a single-piston floating calliper. The bike is equipped with ABS which has a supermoto mode and can be switched off completely.

Powering the middleweight 790 Duke is the newly developed 799cc LC8 liquid-cooled parallel-twin engine 104PS and 87Nm of torque. The engine will come mated to a six-speed gearbox with a two-way quick shifter. The KTM 790 Duke takes on the likes of Kawasaki Z900, Triumph Street Triple S and the Ducati Monster 797.

On the other hand, the KTM 390 Adventure will join the 390 Duke and supersport RC 390 series of motorcycles in India. While the Adventure will most likely be powered by the same 373cc, single-cylinder, liquid cooled motor that puts outs 43.5PS and 37Nm. We expect the engine in the ADV to feature a different state of tune to make it better suited for off-road use. We also think that while the RC and the Duke are only separated by a change in steering geometry, the gap between the 390 Adventure and the 390 Duke will be significant. The chassis, at the very least, will have to be pinched aft of the engine compartment so that a reasonable seat height and the good ground clearance that marks a bike in this class can be created.