I am a proud owner of the
KTM 390 Duke. It is quite an eyecatcher especially if you happen to
be from Durgapur where any 2 wheeler above 100cc is a sports bike and
any above 150cc is a rarity. Different people, at different places,
ask me the same questions. I can be at a crossing, in the service
centre, at some shop, anywhere- the only constant is that the bike
has to be at a halt, obviously. I felt like a star at first, with so
many fans. I felt great at first. Gradually I got used to people's
attention. Yes, exactly like a star.
Once I was inside Dominos
and a man just came in and asked whose bike is that. I knew of all
the possible wonders which one he had seen. I said “mine” without
even looking to where he was pointing. He politely asked me to come
out (again, I got that he wants to quench his curiosity).
Questions are asked in
roughly the following order:
Q: What is price?
A: 2 lakh 14 thousand.
This when the jaw drops
the most. People are like I could've bought a car for this amount;
someone corrected him "two cars". All I can do is smile
trying not to be smug. I wish I could tell them, 'because even a 50
lakh car would be outpaced by my bike on a race-track'. Invariably
it leads to the next question:
Q: What is the mileage?
A: 17 kmpl.
Another jaw dropper of
an answer. Some ask "70?" Again, "cars give better mileage than that...". This is the most facepalm moment for me.
'Why would I spend 2 lakhs to buy a bike that saves me on mileage?' I
scream inside. All people think about when buying bikes: price and mileage. After this second answer some people's expression changes from that of astonishment to a satisfying smile. They probably think
this guy (me) is totally crazy, spending so much on a bike only to
spend so much more in petrol. Many remark, "yes this is why I
would never buy this bike". I have to force myself to not say
"yes that is the
reason" but then I smile inside 'good for you to believe that the grapes are sour'.
Q: Then why did you buy this
bike?
A: Because of its pick-up.
Ah! My favorite question. I like it better when people skip the second question and
directly ask "Why is it so costly/What is so special?". I
can go on and on about why I bought this bike. This blog is a small
part of the answer. But mere mortals who buy bikes for mileage will
not be able to appreciate it. 0-100kmph in 5.5sec! Its a great
injustice actually to try to put into words, how this bike makes me
feel when I open the throttle. 1St gear- 50, 2nd
gear- 80, 3rd gear-110 kmph! By any barometer it is
freakishly fast. Also, it is very deceptive. I had to get used to
what speeds this bike gets to with such ease. I have to look down at
the speedo to actually find out. That is why I bought this bike
Q: How would a second person
sit behind you? Let alone a third.
A: (smile)
If you know what I
mean.
Q: What are the maintenance costs?
A: For now the servicing is
free I only have to pay 1,500 for the engine oil.
"Whaaaat! One
thousand Five hundred?". "Yes". Good I didn't tell
them the price of a new set of tires (18000). 'It is a duke after
all, needs to be treated like one'. All aspects of this bike are very
royal actually. This engine oil is from France, most fiber parts are
from its origin country, Austria, tires are from Germany, while the
engine and assembly is done in India. Now, its no surprise that the
riders of this monster are straight from hell. And, trust me, if you
are not careful you might soon end up back there if you not careful
with this bike.
Q: How fast does it go?
A: I've gone till 170 kmph,
it would go faster if the road allowed.
"you are crazy,
even in a car I would never imagine to go close to it". Another
one of my favorites. 170 is not a small number, for a single cylinder
bike, it is evern bigger (not that I go on explaining this to the
stranger). I was going down the NH2 "briskly" between 120
and 140 depending on the occasional traffic, and I saw this open
strech of highway all the way to the horizon, and I opened the
throttle, wondering if I could break my previous record of 160. The
monster roared to life and I soon hit 160. 165 'I guess I should stop, any one/ a animal can come out of the blue', I look ahead
(without releasing the throttle) and then I look down- 169. 170. 'ok
that's it'. So easily, so scary.
I have had some requests
as well. Most unusual request: A total stranger out of the blue asks
me “Can I sit on your bike?”. I said yes but probably he was embarrassed after sitting cos the bike was locked and he couldn't even
turn the handle. 'Dont touch what you cant grab, boy'. But he asked
me the best question "How does it feel to ride it?". After
some silence all I could mutter was "really great".
Probably I was surprised that a stranger was capable enough to ask
such a question. Or that I had so much to say, I could say nothing at
all.
I generally don't get to
appreciate the handling of the bike; which is spot on by the way.
I've done some hard hard cornering and this baby never disappointed.
The humongous Metzeler tires (from Germany) are super grippy and, along with the Bosch ABS, give me great confidence during hard
breaking, in heavy rain, on sand, anything. The trellis frame chassis is stable as a rock even at 170 kmph. The only thing shaking at those
speeds was my head as I looked down on the speedo. The duke could go
even further without even hitting the red line. It has just so much
power and is so lightweight at the same time. A power-to-weight ratio
of almost 300 bhp per tonne. For non-petrol heads, it is as good as
that of the Aston Martin Vantage V12!
I know good vehicles will
take me from A to B, and great ones take will take to trouble. That
is where I want to go. I take longer routes or sometimes just go
nowhere and come back. Sometimes a full tank of gas is needed to get
me to relax. Riding is like sex, sure it has its useful reasons, but
that's not why I do it.
Yes I am crazy to buy the
390 duke; a bike that takes my breath away, gives me goosebumps,
makes me feel like a God and at the same time reminds me of my
mortality. Yes it is an impractical bike; so is love.
