2019 KTM 790 Duke launched in India - Priced at Rs 8.63 lakh

Team OD Updated: December 31, 2019, 12:16 PM IST

KTM entered the middleweight naked segment in India today, by launching its 790 Duke, nicknamed the 'scalpel'. The KTM 790 Duke has been launched at Rs 8.63 lakh ex-showroom India. Interestingly, KTM is bringing only 200 units of the bike to the country currently but also mentioned getting more units will not be a problem at all, especially since it is assembling the bike at its Chakan facility near Pune. The 790 Duke is powered by a liquid-cooled, 798cc, parallel-twin engine that puts out 105PS and 87Nm.

What's more noteworthy is the fact that the 790 Duke is one of the lightest motorcycles in its segment, which means that despite its outputs are only being on par with its competitors, the 790 Duke should boast livelier performance in the real world. The 790 Duke is, in fact, the first-ever KTM to be powered by a parallel-twin engine, as previously the Austrian manufacturer has only dabbled with single-cylinder engines and V-twins.

The KTM 790 Duke comes equipped with electronic nannies like traction and wheelie control, launch control, a bi-directional quick-shifter, cornering ABS as also a dedicated 'supermoto mode' which give it further advantage over its competitors. That said, the fact that KTM is bringing only limited numbers of the motorcycle to India is a disappointment.

Of course, what's worth noting here though is the fact that the 790 Duke does not meet the more stringent BS-VI emission norms currently however, the bike launched in India today is Euro V compliant. KTM will soon homologate the motorcycle to make the motorcycle BS VI compliant as well.

As for the 790 Duke's competitors, the bike currently takes on machines like the Triumph Street Triple S, Kawasaki Z900, Yamaha MT-09, Ducati Monster 821 and Suzuki GSX-S750 in India.