The KTM Duke 790 will be sold in India via the CKD route and will undercut the prices of its rivals by a fair margin
There is some good news for the KTM fanboys of India. According to the recent reports, the Austrian two-wheeler manufacturer will finally be introducing their middleweight naked streetfighter the Duke 790 in April 2019. The report also suggests that KTM will also set up a new advanced assembly line at Bajaj Auto’s Akurdi plant. This assembly line would be supervised and run by a team of officials from Austria to maintain highest quality standards.
The reports also reveal that the Due 790 will be sold in India via the CKD route. Some parts like the lights, indicators, and wiring will be sourced from local vendors while the rest of the major component like the engine, chassis, and suspensions will be imported. The good news is that the first 100 units of the motorcycle have already arrived in the country. They will be used for R&D, and service training purposes.
The upcoming Duke 790 will be launched in India at an aggressive introductory price of Rs 6.5 Lakh (ex-showroom) approximately. At that, the price point the flagship offering from KTM will undercut the prices of its closest rival the Kawasaki Z900, Triumph Street Triple and the Ducati Monster by a fair margin.
The KTM Duke 790 is powered by 799cc, liquid-cooled LC8c parallel-twin motor. This engine gets not one but two counter-balancer shafts to reduce vibration at middle and higher revs. The engine delivers around 105 PS of peak power at 9,000 rpm and 86 Nm of peak torque at 8,000 rpm.
The engine is paired to a 6-speed gearbox which sends power to the rear wheel. It even gets PASC slip-assist clutch as standard and also features a quick shifter as well. The Duke 790 even gets four different riding modes – sport, street, rain, and track. To keep the beast in control KTM also offers a number of rider aid like ABS, traction control, cornering ABS, and wheelie control etc as standard.
The motorcycles rely on a WP sourced 43 mm upside-down front forks and preload adjustable monoshock at the rear. The Duke 790 uses a twin disc brake at the front and a single disc brake at the rear to bring it to a halt. We will definitely update you with more information as soon as the motorcycle is launched in India next month.