KTM India has just launched the Duke 790 naked sportsbike, priced at Rs. 8.64 lakhs, ex-showroom India. KTM says that the Duke 790’s pricing is introductory, which means that prices could be hiked in the coming months. Official bookings for the high performance naked sportsbike have commenced across 9 Indian cities: Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Surat, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Guwahati. KTM has also tied up with Bajaj Finance for attractive EMI offers on the Duke 790. In fact, you can buy one by making a down-payment of Rs. 1.7 lakhs, and the rest of the purchase can be funded by a 5-year loan with an EMI of Rs. 19,000. This will make the Duke 790 quite attractive for most.
Sumeet Narang, President (Probiking) at Bajaj Auto Ltd. had this to say about the KTM Duke 790’s introduction in the Indian market
The super-premium motorcycle segment in India has been picking steam over the last few years, backed by a growing performance biking culture. KTM has nurtured a base of over 2 lac biking enthusiasts in the last 7 years through its Duke and RC range, with never seen before technology and performance. With 790 Duke, we present our best and most unique offering loaded with a host of first-in-class features like Motorcycle Stability Control (MSC) with Cornering ABS, Motorcycle Traction Control (MTC), Motor Slip regulation (MSR), 4 ride modes and Quickshifter+ that marks KTM’s emphatic entry into the rapidly growing superbike segment.
Like every motorcycle in the KTM Duke line-up, the 790 naked sportsbike is sharply styled and looks like a bigger version of the Duke 390. Many buyers won’t mind this as the Duke 790 will simply blend into the traffic at parking lots, avoiding unwanted attention. On the road though, it’ll be a different matter as the sheer performance on tap and the sound of the parallel twin with an offset firing order will make its presence felt. The KTM Duke 790 is powered by a 799cc, parallel twin engine that puts out 105 Bhp of peak power at 9,000 rpm and 87 Nm of peak torque at 8,000 rpm.
A 6-speed manual gearbox with slipper clutch is standard. The liquid cooled engine with four valve heads and twin overhead camshafts gets a ride by wire throttle, fuel injection, four riding modes: Sport, Street, Rain and Track. At 174 kilograms, the Duke 790 is one of the lightest motorcycles in its class, and a perfect upgrade to those already used to the Duke 390. Scarily fast for the street, the Duke 790 does have a slew of safety aids. ABS, cornering ABS, traction control and launch control are the various safety features on offer. The bike also gets a quick shifter as a standard feature. Rivals of the KTM Duke 790 include the Honda CBR 650R, the Ducati Monster and the Triumph Street Triple.