Austrian heavyweight KTM has been a big player in the Indian bike market since it introduced its popular model Duke 200. The manufacturer, in which Bajaj Auto has 49 percent stake, has made it clear that it wants to further raise its presence in the country by planning to launch nearly half a dozen models in the next few months.
The first step in this direction was taken by the European market leader with the launch of its superbike, 790 Duke, on Monday. The bike is priced at Rs 8.63 lakh (ex-showroom) and is expected to benefit from the fan base that the previous models, Duke and RC range, have garnered since 2012.
Bookings for the bike have been opened across nine cities — Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Surat, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Guwahati. With the company’s presence felt at over 350 cities, the availability is all set to grow.
The company is targeting the growing super-premium bike market in the country. "The super-premium motorcycle segment (800 CC and above) here has been picking up steam over the past few years, backed by a growing performance biking culture," Sumeet Narang, Bajaj Auto president for pro biking, said during the launch event.
Features and specifications of the model:
Powered by a four-stroke 799-cc engine with 105 BHP of power, the model comes with unique features such as motorcycle stability control with cornering anti-lock braking system, motorcycle traction control, motor slip regulation and four-ride mode. Equipped with an LC8c (liquid cooled 8 valve compact) parallel-twin motor, it produces 87 Nm of peak torque at 8,000 rpm.
The bike, which comes with a six-speed gearbox, is further complemented by slipper clutch and a quick-shifter. The bike comes with four different driving modes — street, rain, track and sport. There are 17-inch cast aluminium wheels, with a 300 mm disc at the front and a 240 mm disc at the rear backed by ABS.
The naked superbike comes with an aluminium handlebar, which can be adjusted in four positions on the triple clamp and rotated in three more positions.
As per the initial reports on the website, the bike is expected to come in two different colours — orange and black.
