It’s been around two decades since we considered a motorcycle in the 125cc space to be genuinely sporty. These bikes in our market start at around 150cc, but KTM has chosen to take a different approach. Its recently launched 125 Duke is essentially a 200 Duke with a 125cc heart, and is the very same one that KTM developed for the light motorcycle license category (A1) in the United Kingdom. We head out to the streets to see how well the new KTM does its job.
The 125 Duke has identical ergonomics to the current 200 Duke and the previous-generation 390 Duke, both of which have a great reputation of carving corners and acing racetracks. What it means is that you are sat in a sporty riding stance with your feet quite far backwards. However, with the positives of the old design come the negatives, and the 125 Duke does feel cramped for taller riders whose knees come in constant contact with the muscular tank extensions.
Rs 1.18 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) now gets you entry into the KTM brand. And you get quite an authentic experience, too, because the 125 Duke feels exactly like its big siblings, except for the fact that it’s pleasantly efficient and the riding experience, in comparison, feels like it’s in slow motion.
As a first sports bike, the 125 Duke is a great option, especially for someone relatively new to motorcycling. It has the feel-good factor of a sporty motorcycle and offers all the kit you could dream of having on an entry-level machine. But this is not the bike you want if speed is what you are after, and it won’t be a satisfying upgrade for those looking to scale up from their Pulsars, Gixxers and RTRs. If that is where you are coming from, you would be better off buying a more powerful motorcycle for similar money, the choices for which are plenty.
from Autocar India - Bikes https://ift.tt/2Td3Avb
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