KTM 200 – First Bike?

Buying a KTM motorcycle as a first bike is always a dream for the KTM enthusiasts. Therefore KTM has offered a wide range of KTM lineup from 125 cc to 790 cc. The KTM 200 lineup is the most popular and most sold lineup from the KTM in India. So is it that good to be the first KTM motorcycle in your parking?

Well, let’s find it out.

KTM 200 lineup includes two motorcycles one is KTM 200 Duke which a streetfighter and another one is the RC 200 which is a faired sports motorcycle. Before having a comparison between the two, we’ll first see what’s common between two. The common things these two motorcycle share includes engine, brakes, tyres, wheels, suspensions and some smaller hardware elements. The major difference between these motorcycles is about riding dynamics.

Power

The engine produces around 25.1 bhp max power and 19.5 Nm of peak torque. So basically its quite a powerful motorcycle. If you are a new rider, then it will be quicker than you would expect. But if you have a nice experience of powerful bikes at least above 150 cc motorcycles then it won’t be any problem. By the way, the power of any bike is not a problem but being able to control it is the real task. As I have split the word control lets move to our next point which is the brake.

Brakes

As earlier said, power is not a problem but to make the bike slow down and stop without having much drama, you need to have good brakes. The KTM 200’s comes with 300 mm disc at front and 230 mm disc at the rear. These brakes are then assisted with dual-channel ABS which guarantees to lower down the skidding of the motorcycle. So, the brakes of KTM are quite sharp and ABS to works nicely so the bike is pretty safe and controllable.

Suspension

In India, you won’t be always riding on the track, most of your travel will be in the city. The KTM 200 Duke comes with a quite soft suspension setup so city rideability is great on 200 Duke. However, RC 200 has stiffer suspension compared to 200 Duke so that limits some city rideability of the RC 200. Other than that, it is just fine on highways and especially on tracks.

KTM 200 comes with USD forks at the front, which is not a problem in city or highways but during bad patches, these suspensions do not provide enough travel and provide jerk to the rider so you need to take care about that.

Also read: Types of KTM – Which one’s for you?

Conclusion

The KTM 200 is the real deal and provide good value for money. If you are used to of 150-200 cc motorcycles, then KTM 200 will be a treat for sure.

For the new riders, I would suggest waiting till you gain a good experience of motorcycles. If you are low on budget and are thinking to but the KTM 125 then you should take a look at this – KTM RC 200 vs Yamaha R15 – Pocket Rockets?