The 125 cc motorcycle segment in India has just got its most technologically-advanced motorcycle. The KTM 125 Duke has been launched at a price tag of Rs 1.18 lakh, making it the least expensive KTM in the range, but at the same time being the most tech-laden bike in the 125 cc segment.
The KTM 125 Duke is the only one in its segment to get dual-channel ABS as standard and features front and rear disc brakes. Also it shares most of its body parts with its 200 cc sibling, which means you get a trellis frame chassis, rear mono-shock and alloy wheels.
The engine is a 124.7 cc liquid-cooled, single-cylinder DOHC engine with a six-speed transmission. The bike puts out 14.5 bhp of power at 9,250 rpm and 12 Nm of torque.
The bike gets 43 mm upside-down forks in front and has a seat height of 818 mm. It weighs just 148 Kg, making it a pretty light motorcycle.
While the KTM 125 Duke isn’t that powerful, it still is the sportiest bike available so far in the 125 cc segment. Its closest rival is the Suzuki Gixxer 150 SF. There is no direct rival in the 125 cc segment, which so far has commuter bikes like Hero Glamour, Honda CB Shine and Bajaj V12. The thing is all these bikes cost under Rs 70,000, but they are air-cooled single-cylinder bikes without ABS. And they are not sport bikes.
So will the KTM 125 Duke cut it? It is carving out a segment for itself, and there could be a percentage of buyers who want the sportiness of the KTM, but don’t want to shell out more for a Bajaj Dominar or a KTM 200 Duke. It does compete with the 150 cc range of bikes on price though - like the Yamaha R15 and Suzuki Gixxer 150 SF.
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