KTM DUKE 200 50,000 KMS Review

Just to give a brief background to this piece, I have been a two stroke fan ever since I learnt to ride motorcycles on my uncle's Yamaha RX100 back in 1995-96. 

Later was lucky and previleged to own a second hand 2001 model RX135 which was stolen :-(after living with me for 7 long years). Temporarily bought and used a legendary Suzuki Shogun (with lots of struggle due to spare unavailability) and I finally decided to get a new bike. 

Tried many bikes such as FZ-S, CB Trigger, RE classic, Thunderbird etc. Nothing pleased me or convinced me as the benchmark was set by the legendary bikes mentioned above.

One fine day was having a discussion with a close friend of mine (Mithun) and he suggested me to try out the KTM Duke. Reluctantly planned and went for a test ride. Wasn't very happy again but had to buy something. finally went for it and settled for 200 as it was the closest I could get for my expectations. (Though 390 was available regret this :-( ). 

Settling In period was almost a month or two and initially felt I did a mistake when it used to get heated up like hell in bumper to bumper congestion which is quite common in Bangalore and seating position was a bit odd (again going back to old school & old time). 

Finally after the first service and a settling in period slowly started liking the bike. 

Handling and braking was like I had never experienced before. Power was more than enough at the same time riding was swift and very controlled. Slowly started falling for it and liking it every time and rode it. 

Today I have completed 60 k kms in over 5 years and thought I should write about it. I have used it to the fullest in the heaviest of the traffic conditions and have done long tours of 3000+ kms across all weather conditions. Traveled on smooth slick highways and twisty mountain roads and few times even on trails with no asphalt. 

Well ! What can you expect out of it and pleases you all the way - 

1. Ample amount of power and quick power delivery making almost all kinds of overtakes possible. 

2. Absolutely brilliant handling - Corners and twistys 

3. Precise braking by BYBRE

4. Non tiring riding position (for a 5.7/5.8 tall person with old school bike experience) 

5. Absolute reliability across all weathers rain, cold, dust, dry, arid or whatever you can throw it on her. 

6. Ample service stations across the country 

7. Good consumable life (air filter, oil filter, sprockets etc.) 

8. Light weight and quick for all kinds of traffic laden roads

9. Very reliable and long standing electronics, switchgears, indicators, lights etc. (no sensors failed till now)

10. No usage vibrations (no parts/fasteners coming loose in the midst of service cycles) 

11. No battery issues or starting problems in any weather condition (haven't tested in Himalayas to be honest) 

12. Tireless mile crunching. No stops needed can go on with same performance for 100s of kms at stretch.

13. Absolutely sturdy and extremely rugged and stable forks (of course by WP) 

14. No drop in performance even 1% from the day I got it delivered from the showroom. 

15. Works absolutely like a charm even if you skip few 100 kms of regular service cycle. 

16. On a good day can kick asses of most slightly higher powered bikes on the road if pushed a bit hard :-P 

Ok now that I fell I have covered most of the good points, time to highlight the places of discomfort. 

1. Bad stock seat. Very hard. Had to get it modified with a foam from Honda City to suit my Butt (may be for most it might be needed)

2. Same thing with pillon seat. Very very uncomfortable.

3. Huge amount of air resistance/Wind blast on windy wide open highways. This also tends to tire the rider out some times 

4. Heats up quite a bit in heavy traffic on a warmer day (I guess new versions are updated on this issue) 

5. Stock tyre is pretty good (MRF) but I changed it to Michelin pilot street raidal and feel it's much grippier and better than stock MRF. Yes. it's heavier than stock tyre too.

6. Instrument panel is not visible sometime on a hot bright sunny day due to glare

7. Mirrors offer a limited view. Might not be very reliable if you are trying to cut through narrow gaps.

8. Stock headlights are just OK and does the job (new versions I believe have an update). There are much better options available

9. Stock crash guard is very feeble and can't rely on it for safe guarding the bike or your legs

10. Rear brakes are just Ok. Progressive disc but lack bite (ABS wasn't available but I think new versions have it).

Changes I have done on the bike 

> Michelin pilot street radial in place of stock MRF

> Yamaha Fazer windshield - didn't like it and didn't help on wind blast so removed it off

> Honda City foam for the seats with a cover - A must

> Mobile holder and a charger 

> Frame sliders/crash protection for swing arm

Rest all STOCK. Well that's the best way to run it ...

That seems like I have tried and covered most aspects in totally unbiased manner. 

Concluding the write up with a genuine happy smile on my face (also with a weeping heart thinking of my lost RX135). 

I must say this baby Duke (almost made in India with a technology from Austria) has met almost all my expectations and lived with me with the best of her performance in all the tests I have put her through. Very proud and happy to own this brilliant piece of man made machine. 

#ktmindia #ktmduke #dukereview #ownershipreviews #50kkms #duke200

Wish you all a very happy and safe riding. 

Miles to go...

Cheers..

THE MUSICAL

Phase I - Early days:

The musical journey of my life started on one day of my childhood when the brown colored Philips Grundig Radio with a brown leather/foam cover (with holes near the speaker :-P) and a belt to hang it over the shoulders was playing a song from "The Legend" Rafi sahab which started off as "Abhi Na Jao Chod kar-----" I was hardly 7/8 years older then (if i remember correctly).
No matter how much i understood of the lyrics of this classic but i enjoyed it. Even after 2 days of hearing it i was humming the the same tune and after 25 years still the classic remains "A Classic" and one of my all time favourites.
I grew up listening to AIR, Vividh Bharati and Akashavani (Dharwad) from an Old BPL Sanyo single cassette player presented to me by one of my elder cousin brothers.

The voice of programmes like bhoole bisre geeth, Jaimala etc. were so deeply embedded into my mind and heart that even today they are unforgettable. " Is Gaane ko sun na chahte hai hamare fauji bhai XYZ aur unke sathi ........" Then one beautiful classic would come to life (with a mild churning noise of transmission signal). Kishore, Rafi, Mukesh, Lata, Asha, Manna Dey, Sehgal, Laxmikant Pyarelal, Shankar Jaikishan, O.P. Nayyar, Panchamda, SDB, Anand Bakshi, Gulzar Majrooh Sultanpuri and many more were the names associated with almost any song which was being played..
On the other hand there use to be classics from Akashavani as well. Prominent names used to be P.B.Srinivas, S.Janaki, Dr.Raj, S.P.B, Yesudas, Rajan Nagendra, G.K Venkatesh, Upendra Kumar, Vijaya Bhaskar, R.N. Jayagopal, Chi.Udayshankar and many more.
Classics remained Classics forever.
Simple 4-5 instrument music 3-4 paraghraphs/stanzas with most meaningful lyrics and soothing melodiuos compositions above all the "the voices". Voices which cannot be forgotten, voices which ingress into your mind so deep that even in deepest of your sleeps u can connect to them, voices which will celebrate your happiness and console your sadness.
 "The Memory Remains"

Phase - II - Development:

I definitely owe every bit of this phase to my beloved elder sister. Starting from the classics and transforming the interest to contemporary music..

We used to get 60 minutes and 90 minutes recordable cassets which we used to use to the maximum. My elder sister used to write down the new songs on a paper and we used to get it recorded (although illegal this was the economically viable option) in a cassette shop near our school.

And those songs used to play at home in the same old BPL Sanyo player for hundreds of times. 

Then I got introduced to Kumar Sanu, Udit, Abhijeet, Kavitha Krishna Murthy, Alka yagnik and others..(a special mention Sonu Nigam.)

Then during my high school days my elder sister and I persuaded my dad to upgrade our music system and finally we succeeded in getting another newer version of BPL (again a single cassette one) with a bass, surround, and equaliser..

This system went through an endurance test as this was being used more than some of the vital organs of the body.. (and it passed with distinction).. 

Slowly the musical phase of Bollywood transformed to a new era with A.R.Rahman's Roja.. then came lucky ali, Sonu Nigam Shaan and all new generation talents by along with the clan of ARR.. back back musical blockbusters,. Bombay, Dil see, rangeela and many more.. by this time around 1999/2000 the CDs had started catching up.. which was a revolution in itself.. 

After the year 2000 I moved to Bangalore to persue my studies and was admitted in a hostel which didn't allow any modes of entertainment..

More or less I missed music the most in those two years apart from my friends and family. 

Phase - III - The transformation.

Then I joined engineering and I met this guy called Chethan G.T. A Bangalore boy..who used to scribble names like Metallica, AcDc etc.. (I didn't know any of those names at that time)..

Out of my curiosity I get to know from him that those were music bands of a totally different genre which I never knew of. 

And one day we went to a college fest at PESIT which was yet another turning point in musical part of my life..

Their college band played Neele Neelde ambar par (which was in news as Nitin Bali had remixed it recently) and this friend of my got into an argument that the song was original as against me who was defending my knowledge about Kishore Da's original version. 

At the same time the band played smoke on the water and I was instantly in love with the song.. and this guy knew every song which was played.. 

At the end here was the deal.. I was supposed to get him original Kishore Da's song and other songs of him and he would get me a cd with metal/rock music..since then the interest got hooked onto rock, metal, heavy metal and related genre.. 

Phase - IV - The obsession

During the above phases I got obsessed with certain genres and musicians so much that i would definitely want to mention them here...

1. Kishore Kumar - With all the classics and evergreen melodies and those dard bhare geeth.

2. A.R.Rahman - For all the innovations and some of the best music of the millennium

3. Lucky Ali - For a stand out genre and class with some of th most beautiful songs way different than the mainstream

4. Jagjit Singh - For those classic ghazals and the and regret that I couldn't see him performing LIVE in spite of so many opportunities..

5. Sonu Nigam - For that one Album Deewana and those 100s of melodious songs..

6. Metallica - For exposing me to a all new genre of music and those unforgettable songs and live performances.

7. Last but not the least RAMMSTEIN - The band and genre of music I am so hooked onto that I can't stop liking and loving it every time and again...

To this day I feel all genres of music be it in any language are soulful, soothing extremely powerful. It can influencers your mood, behavior and emotions..

Thanks to all the musicians of the world.. and all the people who introduced the same to my life in different forms and situations...

 

FOR ALL FOODIES....

My recent experience in one of the most famous/unknown (unkown as i was not knowing until recently) restaurent in Bangalore has compelled me to write this one up. The place will be revealed at the end of this piece.

Landed in Bangalore in the year 2000 to persue my education. Got admitted in Ramakrishna Ashram fortunately located in the heart of south bangalore. South bangalore is most famous place for authentic food and places.
The first one was SLV corner in Ashrama circle. The mouth watering crispy crunchy masala dosa, hot idli and the heavenly sambar. Of course there are many SLVs around but all doesnt offer the gum biting excitement. Most special dish in here is the CURD VADA (Thair Vada). I never knew this dish ever existed as i was from north karnataka region. After everything a hot superb, wonderful, fantabulous Coffee with a dose of nicotine will be just an out of the world experience.

Let me finish with the SLV series. Another wonderful SLV is near BDA complex banashankari. Most famous for its Idli and Chatni. What an Idli hmmmmmmmm.... Hot Soft, Mouth melting with green chilly chatni.
Another greatest idli experience is from subsidiary of SLV or same group known as Brahmin's Coffee Bar. Simply irresistable.

A joint quite far off from bangalore would be Shivalli Tiffin Room on Mysore road. Kotte Idli, Kesari baat (Shira), Maddur Vade and almost everything here is famous. My personal favourite Idli and Coffee. For Maddur vade Maddur tiffanys (again on mysore road) would be a preferred one.

Dosa Specialities:

If your in Bangalore and if you do not know about Vidyarthi Bhavan then you dont belong here. Dosa at this place is heaven. The way its served (100 dosas stacked together on a tray) is again a speciality and a spectacle. All other dishes such as poori, uppit, idli and vada are equally good but its mandatory to have the dosa at any cost.

Hotel Dwaraka:
Located on bull temple road almost near the temple. Set dosa here is somthing which we will have to repent about if you pass by this place dont stop over for. All the above food joints are about 2-3 decades old or may be older than that. Some of them are famous from our grand parents time as well.
There are many other outstanding hotels in south bangalore some of them will be Upahara Darshini (UD), Upahara Kendra (UK), Halli Tindi, SLV Bugal Rock, Guru Darshini, Anna Kutira, Udupi upahar and many more.
Near Sjjan rao circle there is a street known as food street where you can hang out for experimenting all types of dishes starting from south indian authentic Idli to west indian Bhaji Pav to chinese gobi manchurian and noodles.

When it comes to chats how can i forget mentioning Shivas chats (Hanumanth Nagar) and Karnataka Bhel House (Chamrajpet)? This write up was jotted/formulated purposefully after having a heavy breakfast at home (Mom Made) to avoid excess mouth watering.

When we are talking about dosa if we dont mention CTR it wont justify the dosa itself. Crispy light and like something which is fried in ghee. This joint for a change is located in Malleshwaram. Near the ground. Place for a wonderful dosa experience.

If we consider Malleshwaram and Rajajinagar as north bangalore we have some good joins in this region too...

Nalapaka (Rajajinagar) is one of the joints which offers authentic tasty north karnataka style food. Mirchi, Girmit, Talipattu, Paddu, Avlakki and uppit are some of the dishes in the breakfast and snacks category.
When it comes to meals lunch or dinner, Jolad rotti(Jawar rotti), Yengayi palya, Kaal palya (Brinjal and Grams) with shenga hindi (red colored groundnut chutni powder), gurellu (Brown colored powder), Kobri chunti (Coconut chutni powder) provides the greatest combination ever.

Apart from this hotel there are many hotels and mess and canteens which provides ultimate north karnataka style food in and around this area. Specially in Vijaynagar, maruthi mandir, rajajinagar and navrang areas.

Micellaneous:

Roti Ghar - Gandhi Bazar
KC Das Sweets - all over bangalore
Gajanand sweets - Vijaynagar
Bansuri - Vijaynagar
Kanthi Sweets - all over bangalore
Panchami Chats - Hanumanth nagar (Parota
Anna Kutira - Katriguppe
Adigas - Avenue road and Gandhi Bazar (Rava Idli, bisi bele bath & Set dosa)
Anand Bhavan - all over bangalore

Now i will reveal about something which i explored very recently and which left me completely stunned.
The place is in Peenya (Surprised ?????) I was. Its a pretty old one may be it started when Peenya Indl. Area was started. It is in 2nd stage just on the road side. One side its open to roads and on the other side u have the kitchen.
Its called " Bhatra Hotel" (Bhat's Hotel).
They serve almost every south indian dish but in a completely different and unbelievable style.
The taste is like all the dishes are at their best possible taste ever. They serve Pulav + Curd rice (in same plate both 2 big spoons each), Chitranna + Curd rice, Pulav + white rice, Chapati + Pulav, Poori + Chitranna and 100 different combinations like this. You can select any combination among all the dishes available. The place is like "We offer you what you and how much you want" I came to know that the joint is almost as famous as any Other joint. This also serves all types of fresh fruit juice, butter milk, sweets, sweets with ice creams and many more.
Excellent taste with ultimate quality of food.
Most important thing is the service. They manage to make you extremely happy about food and service inspite of the heavy crowd.

Try out the above places and please suggest if you have explored any new/old place.

" THE TROPICAL DAYS"

This piece of write up excites me everytime i open it. I have been trying to finish this and publish from quite a long time..
Finally this comes out..

March 17, 2009. I got an onsight opportunity. Unlike most of my frnds from IT and stuff, the destination was a "Third World Country" (I concluded this tagline after my experiences of the country)

Destination : Mumias Sugar Company, Kenya.
Route : Mumbai --> Nairobi (by air)--> Kisumu (by air) --> Mumias (By Road 90 kms)
I would like to mention that the destination was 40 kms from the EQUATOR.

THE JOURNEY:

When i arrived in Nairobi i had to buy my visa on arrival and had a transit of 9 hours for the next domestic flight. After getting my visa stamped i was strolling in the Jomo Kenyata Intl. Airport Nairobi in search of a local sim card, some currency exchange and more precisely a beer and a smoke as i was nauseated due to flight.
I had heard the most scariest of the stories about the continent and the people. After the long transit i finally reached Kisumu. It is a small town with an airport big enough to hold not more than 2 flights at a time. I went out and started looking out for my pick up vehicle among 200 people. Finally a guy approached me and said "Mumias?" i was happy and felt safe to find the name of the company i was going to on the cab. It was a green Pevegeot. The driver's name was Bruno. The journey was about 2 hours and already it was dark outside. I started imagining all the worst possible things that could happen to me and there it was the first one. THE RAIN. It started pouring down and i had never seen such a heavy rain all my life. It was as if someone emptying a tanker of water from top. It was pitch black outside, heavy rain, some kenyan music on the stereo, a silent driver and absolutely no street lights and no population for kilometers together.
I broke the silence and asked Bruno if i could smoke. He did not mind and he was not a smokder.
Then we took a turn and there it was the african WRC. After about 3 minutes in the muddy, pitty, wetty road our car got stuck badly, drifting all the way around 360 degrees. Bruno tried his best but it was useless. Finally there was a bunch of ppl there about 30 of them nearby. He called them for help and i was scared as hell. Finally they helped us pull out of the ditch and started banging the door and window for their reward money. He handed the a 50 shilling and rode away. They chased us for about 15 meters as they were not happy with the amount.
I started feeling very scared of my stay in such circumstances for almost 6 long months. Finally around 9 i started seeing lights and houses and hoardings of Mumias Sugar which made me take a sigh of relief. Finally i was at my destination.

THE WORK AND PEOPLE:

I was shown my place to stay, eat and drink by my colleagues who had gone before me. I ate some rice and dal, had two more Tuskers and hit the bed. Next day was my first day at work and i was excited. When i stpped in the work site i understood that my stay is going to be extended much beyond six months as the site was still under construction. First day the work extended upto midnight and it continued for rest of four months. We had hired some local people for manpower from a company called SOI Engg company. The guys were good but too lazy and i feel most of the Africans are. They just wanted Ugali (Maize ball which is the most staple food there),rest, sleep, and women. It was no surprise for me that 60% of Kenyan population was HIV positive. Most common thing which i observed was they stink like anything and everyone sleeps with everyone. They just talk in and around JIG JIG (Sex). I overworked myself and enjoyed it too for the next 4 months among these african people and i liked these guys very much.
They used to call me "Omondi" meaning dusky. Buddies are called "Baana" in their Swahili language. I learnt some more like ;
Hello how are you - Habari Yaku?
I am fine thank you - Mzuri Saana..
Welcome - Karibu
Overall it was a great experience with them. I feel there is no need to be scared of and all the stories whati had heard might be partially true because outside the work place it was a different scene.
None among the Inidans used to go out of the campus after 6. If you go out there used to be people always staring at you, asking you for money (but politely). Even the workers used to harass everyday asking for drinks, money, luch and all but if you say no they would never mind. Half of them were converted into Islam and remaining into christianity. But they never mind they just worry about their tribe
Too much poverty, too much laziness, unemployment, starvation, floods, extreme climatic conditions, epidemics, un educated people, corruption everything is almost 2.5 times that of India if i am not wrong. This is what makes the African countries an underdeveloped, unorganised and backward. This is what made me mention the term "THE THIRD WORLD COUNTRY" in the beginning.

THE CLIMATE:



As i mentioned that the place was 40 kms from the Equator it had the tropical climate. 10 months in a year on an average it used to rain and when it does it happens with full force. There is no word called drizzle in the African or rather Kenyan dictionary. Morning used to be sunny, hot noons, rainy late afternoons and chilled evenings and nights. All the seasons in a day almost through out the year. This motivated and challeged the liver to go for alcohol almost on a regular basis. Red labels, Gentleman Jacks, Amrulas, Tuskers, Peronis, Castle Lagers, JDs, Vats, Captain Morgans and my favourite "Guinniess".
Nature is wonderful. Climate is extreme but superb. Mosquittos are extra large and can eat flies, and most importantly i want to mention that African sky is the most beautiful sky i have ever seen. Every evening you can see a bright colorful sky.
Infact there were too many places to visit african safaris, water falls, jungle resorts etc. Unfortunately due to heavy work load i could not even visit a single place.

THE DISEASE< MEDIACTION AND RETURN

After exactly almost 3.5 months of my stay i had gone week due to over work load (physical) insufficient food, as we used to get only limited rice and dal as food all day, no hotels or eateries nearby, importantly vegetarian food habit which did not allow me to eat Ox, Bull and other mammels and birds. I caught fever one day and i was forced to see a Kenyan medical practitioner as Indian paracetamols did not work for the virus inside me.This was a nightmare. The system there was u will be asked for symptoms it will be fed in a computer and it blinks Maleria/Typhoid and you will be given the respective medication. My illness was diagnosed as maleria and i was injected an antibiotic with an air bubble in the syringe and prescribed for 500 mg antibiotics for 3 days on daily thrice basis. By the end of 4th day i started vomiting blood, getting black outs, as there was nothing in the body. I almost thought i am going to die. I had lost 17 kgs. Finally on my 2nd visit to the so called DOC. I was injected again. After 7 days i started feeling better and my colleague started to get into trouble. Fortunately the factory had its annual maintenance shut down the next day. We thought of coming back as we could not continue with this condition of health. So we changed our tickets to the first flight of the next day. I returned back on 18th July 2009.

GIST:

Overall a wonderful experience. Beautiful country. Beautiful nature. Sad part is i missed Masai Mara - The world's best safari. Memories of the trpoical for the rest of my life. Hoping to visit again some time...

CONTEMPORARY INDIA - A THOUGHT!! A TRY!!

Hello folks;

This piece is about something which everyone is well aware of, experienced, read, discussed, and argued about. Honest views, suggestions and criticism humbly accepted.

What is going in on our beloved country???

Every day lock outs, Bunds, Strikes, Rallies, Agitations, Riots and lot more. Among all these not even a single one is for the right cause? Where are we headed? The number of communal riots alone across country since independence till now is almost 142 (major ones). Apart from these we have had disturbances, nuisance such as:

People partying and having a good time in a pub in Mangalore; they get beaten up.

People go to watch a movie and they are threatened, attacked, theatres are damaged because a person related to movie is accused of something by groups which are famous for their regional & religious fanaticism, criminal cases, communal riots and violence.

A leader of such group/party is disrespected by a miscreant and a public transport government buses are burnt, buildings & vehicles are stone pelted, two days entire city gets locked out screwing up the economy and affecting life of common people.

Pilgrims, elders, travelers & common people from a neighboring state get beaten up, threatened in Mumbai as they do not belong to Maharashtra;

Filmmakers apologize onscreen, off-screen and in press for using name Bombay instead of Mumbai in their movie.

A well known politician crowns his son as his successor in politics in a public place, provides free food, alcohol and transportation to thousands of people, Hundreds of buses are parked illegally in no parking areas which leads to chaos in the entire city, traffic situation goes for a toss common people commuting back home after work spend hours together in stranded vehicular ocean, frustrated, hungry, tensed and delayed.

A famous film star dies of a natural death at the age of 76 and his so called fanatic fans go ransacking, damaging everything in the road, pelting stones to buildings, burning vehicles.

People agitate for weeks, damaging public property, beating innocent people, burning themselves demanding for a different state.

A minister of state or union visits a place and traffic condition of the entire city is gone to dogs.

Innocent church goers are attacked and hurt, idols and buildings damaged

Being Indians don not we possess any of the civil rights? Is there no way we can pursue our interests? Can’t we follow the culture we want? Can’t we live where we want? What is our fault if a politician is disrespected or a film star is dead or some politician’s son is crowned? Why the law enforcement agencies keep quite and let these fanatics to create nuisance every single day?

How come parties like RAM SENA, BAJRANG DAL, SHIV SENA, MNS, VHP, RSS etc possess the right to create such a nuisance? Who are these people to decide what we need to do? What we need to follow? Where we should live? How better/different are these groups than ULFA, BODO/LTTE/LET/IM/JEM???

If we see the pictures of bomb blasts, communal riots, protests and agitations, we find no difference between them. Just a matter of fact that few are executed by Jihadists from neighboring countries and groups which are declared as terrorist outfits and few from our our national/state level groups which are not declared as terrorists but practically they are.

Are we moving into a situation like Uganda or Somalia or Germany? Are we living in the rein of some Indian Jihadists or dictators as Bal Thakrey, Raj Thakrey, Pramod Mutalik??? just like the world famous Idi Amin or Adolf Hitler or Benito Mussolini or Ku Klux Klan?

We all know the answer/reason for this. But what we need to do seriously is find a way out.

We have started blogging, messaging and advertizing to save tigers, save trees, save fuel, stop bribing, & to participate in voting but what difference does it make if we have to live amongst these kind of situations???