Hello all,
I'm fairly new to xbhp.com & this is my first post here.
If I've posted in the wrong section, I'm sorry.
I love the fact that people share their pictures,experiences and thoughts here, not to mention the off debate.
I presently own a KTM Duke 390(since October 2013) and previously owned a Honda CBR250R(2011 model).
I had the Honda for about 1.5 years, the KTM 390's been with me for almost 4 months now.
I must say that overall, the KTM experience has been better, racier and juicer, if those words can be used to describe bike ownership.
I'll start with the Honda.
Pros:
-- Looks
-- Stability
-- Comfort, including that of the pillion
Cons:
-- Bulky(I'll get into this a little late)
-- Heavy ( ditto )
-- Width
As for the KTM,
Pros:
-- Pure pulling power
-- manoeuvrability
-- Light
Cons
-- Riding discomfort
-- Heat generated
-- Non feasibility of City riding
Now, to elaborate:
The CBR 250R is a BEAUTIFUL bike, I say it beats the KTM by quite a margin in the looks department. It is also a pleasure to ride, in the city,
and even more so on the Highway. It's sound is pretty pleasing to the ear, and the suspension just eats up bumps. It is "docile", but can
be, well, just AWESOME, when you want it to be.
The silencer on the CBR juts out too much; I've had to get it painted once, and replaced another time. It's also a headache to get into gaps
in traffic(you'll agree with me, that turning your head about 120 degrees with a helmet on to check on the silencer every now and then can be a pain
when riding in heavy traffic).
One of the 2 things that made me sell the CBR is it's size. It's pretty wide, and 170 kg + with petrol. Now, I'm 5'6'' and 65 kilos, your average Indian.
I feel that the CBR is more suited for someone with a bigger frame, and at least 5'10''.
To add to this, I had a back injury in the gym, after which I had 2 falls on the CBR. The bent-over stance on the CBR just adds salt to the wound.
Service is pretty good(at the Pilot Honda's Chembur centre at least), and parts are not that costly.
The KTM.
The KTM I love even more. It just feels "right" to ride.
It's light, manoeuvrable, peppy and smart-looking. The pulling power you experience past 6000 rpm is exhilarating.
The KTM, I feel, has been wrongly described as a Hooligan. That's just a very generalized( and wrong) air that it's being described with.
Let me tell you, the KTM is not a hooligan, it's You. You want it to coast along nicely in light traffic, it does, you want it to swerve between cars and
take that sharp turn like a madman, it does, you want it to scream, race insanely and cover 10 kilometers in 5 minutes, it does(that's 120 kmph, and yes
I've done it). POINT AND SHOOT.
The KTM's handle is a bit too wide for city riding, and quite bothersome when you can't get into that gap between cars when you're late for work.
Once you squeeze the handlebars through, though, you needn't look back, just shoot through, the silencer won't haunt you, unlike on the CBR.
The heat generated in traffic is quite a bit, and only again worries you because you love your bike; I've yet to have a problem because of over-heating.
Suspension's pretty jarring, whereas the CBR, in comparison, is heaven here. The electric start does fail sometimes, and the clutch isn't well designed.
In bumper-to-bumper traffic, the KTM's a nightmare, and hard on your finger webs, thanks to the high RPM and tight clutch.(I solve this problem by wearing
gloves, which themselves keep my fingers in a clawed position).
The bike's quite noisy too, and I've been pulled over by a cop, only to show him the side side sticker saying "390". Not that I'm least bothered by this feature,
I'm proud to announce my presence.
Riding with a pillion is uncomfortable, unless of course, you two are NOT of the same gender. I stop here.
Overall the bike is of lesser quality than the CBR (there I said it), quite a few niggles. But I LOVE IT. Twist the throttle and you'll agree with me, while leaving
those stupid enough to attempt a race far behind, be it a Pulsar 220, a CBR250 or R15(I've yet to compete with a Ninja 250 or 300). Then again, you would argue
my bike's more powerful than those, I, in turn, would say that I was only showing them the same... don't even think of competing with that loud, white-orange KTM you rarely see, unless your bikes 400cc+
If I were in a situation where I could own only 1 bike, that too below 20 lakhs:
Would I buy the VFR 1200f ? NO
Would I buy the KTM 1290 ? HELL YES.
I LOVE cruisers too(but that's a whole different story).
It's street bikes for me, any day over a sports/race bike.
You ?
I'm fairly new to xbhp.com & this is my first post here.
If I've posted in the wrong section, I'm sorry.
I love the fact that people share their pictures,experiences and thoughts here, not to mention the off debate.
I presently own a KTM Duke 390(since October 2013) and previously owned a Honda CBR250R(2011 model).
I had the Honda for about 1.5 years, the KTM 390's been with me for almost 4 months now.
I must say that overall, the KTM experience has been better, racier and juicer, if those words can be used to describe bike ownership.
I'll start with the Honda.
Pros:
-- Looks
-- Stability
-- Comfort, including that of the pillion
Cons:
-- Bulky(I'll get into this a little late)
-- Heavy ( ditto )
-- Width
As for the KTM,
Pros:
-- Pure pulling power
-- manoeuvrability
-- Light
Cons
-- Riding discomfort
-- Heat generated
-- Non feasibility of City riding
Now, to elaborate:
The CBR 250R is a BEAUTIFUL bike, I say it beats the KTM by quite a margin in the looks department. It is also a pleasure to ride, in the city,
and even more so on the Highway. It's sound is pretty pleasing to the ear, and the suspension just eats up bumps. It is "docile", but can
be, well, just AWESOME, when you want it to be.
The silencer on the CBR juts out too much; I've had to get it painted once, and replaced another time. It's also a headache to get into gaps
in traffic(you'll agree with me, that turning your head about 120 degrees with a helmet on to check on the silencer every now and then can be a pain
when riding in heavy traffic).
One of the 2 things that made me sell the CBR is it's size. It's pretty wide, and 170 kg + with petrol. Now, I'm 5'6'' and 65 kilos, your average Indian.
I feel that the CBR is more suited for someone with a bigger frame, and at least 5'10''.
To add to this, I had a back injury in the gym, after which I had 2 falls on the CBR. The bent-over stance on the CBR just adds salt to the wound.
Service is pretty good(at the Pilot Honda's Chembur centre at least), and parts are not that costly.
The KTM.
The KTM I love even more. It just feels "right" to ride.
It's light, manoeuvrable, peppy and smart-looking. The pulling power you experience past 6000 rpm is exhilarating.
The KTM, I feel, has been wrongly described as a Hooligan. That's just a very generalized( and wrong) air that it's being described with.
Let me tell you, the KTM is not a hooligan, it's You. You want it to coast along nicely in light traffic, it does, you want it to swerve between cars and
take that sharp turn like a madman, it does, you want it to scream, race insanely and cover 10 kilometers in 5 minutes, it does(that's 120 kmph, and yes
I've done it). POINT AND SHOOT.
The KTM's handle is a bit too wide for city riding, and quite bothersome when you can't get into that gap between cars when you're late for work.
Once you squeeze the handlebars through, though, you needn't look back, just shoot through, the silencer won't haunt you, unlike on the CBR.
The heat generated in traffic is quite a bit, and only again worries you because you love your bike; I've yet to have a problem because of over-heating.
Suspension's pretty jarring, whereas the CBR, in comparison, is heaven here. The electric start does fail sometimes, and the clutch isn't well designed.
In bumper-to-bumper traffic, the KTM's a nightmare, and hard on your finger webs, thanks to the high RPM and tight clutch.(I solve this problem by wearing
gloves, which themselves keep my fingers in a clawed position).
The bike's quite noisy too, and I've been pulled over by a cop, only to show him the side side sticker saying "390". Not that I'm least bothered by this feature,
I'm proud to announce my presence.
Riding with a pillion is uncomfortable, unless of course, you two are NOT of the same gender. I stop here.
Overall the bike is of lesser quality than the CBR (there I said it), quite a few niggles. But I LOVE IT. Twist the throttle and you'll agree with me, while leaving
those stupid enough to attempt a race far behind, be it a Pulsar 220, a CBR250 or R15(I've yet to compete with a Ninja 250 or 300). Then again, you would argue
my bike's more powerful than those, I, in turn, would say that I was only showing them the same... don't even think of competing with that loud, white-orange KTM you rarely see, unless your bikes 400cc+
If I were in a situation where I could own only 1 bike, that too below 20 lakhs:
Would I buy the VFR 1200f ? NO
Would I buy the KTM 1290 ? HELL YES.
I LOVE cruisers too(but that's a whole different story).
It's street bikes for me, any day over a sports/race bike.
You ?