KTM 390 Duke launch confirmed for June 25

Two-wheeler enthusiasts, who've been craving for a proper performance motorcycle that doesn’t cost a bomb, the time has come to get your cheque books ready and mark the calendar. We were the first to break news about the KTM 390's arrival way back in October 2012. In April this year, we had again reported that the 390 Duke will hit showrooms in June (Related: KTM to launch 390 Duke in June) and weren't we right on the money?! KTM has now posted a teaser on its Facebook page with the date June 25th highlighted implying the bike's launch date. 

It is no secret that the 390 Duke is the most anticipated performance bike for 2013 and it isn’t difficult to understand the euphoria surrounding it (Also Read: KTM 390 Duke: First Ride). The KTM 200 Duke was a revelation in terms of its performance and the fun factor and with the 390 Duke, KTM, it seems, wants to take the performance segment a notch above. The 390 will be powered by a newly developed 375cc, single-cylinder, liquid-cooled mill capable of pumping close to 45PS of power and 35Nm of torque. These are numbers which an average two-wheeler enthusiast in our country has never experienced in a budget which makes the 390 Duke all the more desirable.

The only question that hangs over the 390 Duke is the pricing, which we had speculated to be around Rs 2 lakh. If Bajaj are able to price it similarly then they have a winner in their hands since its core rival, the Honda CBR 250 ABS, is significantly under powered besides carrying a Rs 1.76 lakh price tag. The 390’s other closest competitor in terms of performance is the recently launched Kawasaki Ninja 300 but it sports a steep price tag of Rs 3.5 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).