KTM Track Day Chennai - 30/11/14

Ever since the launch of KTM back in 2012 the company has seen exponential growth and has set benchmarks in performance category of bikes. KTM is also known for aggressive marketing in form of orange days, orange rides and track days. Out of these events the track days are the most sought after.

In India track riding still has a long way to go and many bikers dont get the opportunity to ride on the track. To give this experience KTM has started a track day exclusively for its Duke 390 & RC 390 customers. KTM aims to educate bikers about riding skills and techniques while offering them a fun filled opportunity to ride on the track. The main reason for limiting this opportunity to only 390 customers is because it would be possible to accommodate the 200 customers as well.

The second edition of KTM Track Day, Chennai was recently held on 30th November. Having waited a long time we were looking forward to a fun filled day. The track day was held at Madras Motor Sports Club which is now a "Grade - 2" certified track and one of the oldest racing tracks of India.

The day started with early registrations at 7:00 a.m. where over 100+ riders had registered themselves for the event. They were promptly split into four batches Batch 1&4 were for first timers with Duke 390, Batch 2 was for RC 390 owners and Batch 3 was for Duke 390 owners with experience. There was a steady drizzle and the track was wet not the ideal conditions for new comers to ride on the track.

The team from Apex Racing had come to give us professional crash course on track riding. After the registration we moved on to bike scrutiny area where the rear suspension was made stiffer, rear foot pegs tied, indicators taped and our bike numbers stuck. After a quick dash to the breakfast the session started around 10:30 a.m.

A practice run was allowed for the new comers to get accustomed to the track. Just before the entry onto track the riding gear of each rider were scrutinized. After which a classroom session was hosted to teach the basics of track riding which included smooth throttle operation, using of minimal braking, single gear riding. After which was another track session where the instructors observed the riders. A review was hosted after which the entry and exit into corners was thought. A 3rd session of racing followed where we practiced all the techniques thought. A final review was hosted over snacks and tea before allowing the last track session where we were allowed to use brakes and ride hard. This session resulted in best timings as the track was also drying by this time.

We were called in for a group shot and the vote of thanks ended the day at 5:30 p.m. It was overall a great experience for the riders to experience the track and everyone was a better rider by end of the day. Although there were a few slips and falls there were no serious injuries as there was every safety precaution taken to ensure a safe and enjoyable racing weekend.

What does biking mean?

Pic- Himalayan Odyssey by Royal Enfield.

Everyday we see,read and hear about biking, the question arises what does it signify? The people's understanding may be varied but biking signifies freedom as far as i am concerned. Our lifestyle is monotonous and plagued with boredom and the way to release all the pressure is to hit the road and what better way to do it than in a 2 wheeler. The joy of riding a motorcycle cannot be found even in riding the most expensive cars it provides a meaning to life and defines your personality. While others indulge in momentary pleasures of alcohol and drugs bikers indulge in riding which simply puts everything behind them and there is nothing as welcoming as the sight of open road and sunset on the horizon.

You need not have an expensive ride to enjoy the joy of riding you can ride in almost any ride what is important is you understand the limitations of  yourself and bike. In context of India, biking has tremendous potential as we are one of the largest market for two wheeler's and yet biking has not caught up in India as much as it has in other countries. I believe we are in a brink of a biking break through. Most of the two wheeler brands do not encourage amateur riders but some brands like RE are seriously taking it upon them to ensure their customers explore to maximum extent. KTM has also joined in by sponsoring "orange day" in various cities to provide a platform for various ktm owners to mingle.

There is a lot of social stigma associated with biking and the type of riders but none of it is true because i have personally met many bikers most of whom are professionals with a white collar job during the weekdays and in the weekends avid riders who dont care as much about the destination as they do about the route which they take. There are a few decent biking clubs in cities but there are majorly closed circles of like minded people. It doesnt matter whether you are 18 or 80 all that matters is that you have a passion to ride. The people's mindset has to change greatly to form groups and ride with people you barely know and only have riding passion as a common. One can start by forming small groups among friends and with small rides of 100-150 kms and then increase the number of people and kms. Also one can explore the beauty of the country through biking and i feel that biking as a culture is fastly becoming a part of our life with more and more people joining in. 

KTM Duke 200 vs CBR 250r

This is the biggest dilemma for all the bike buyers who have 1.5 lakh burning a hole in their pocket to trade for some outright raw horsepower. To buy the aggressive duke or the faster and calmer CBR by pushing their budget a little. Although they both produce the same 25bhp they are two completely different bikes altogether one is a mental machine which seems to be happiest when revved hard and shows little strain at high revs and loves to scream the other is a calmer machine which build up power as the revs build up and feels anchored at speed.

Chennai-Mahabalipuram Trip

Just like everyone else 4 months ago even i was in the same dilemma but i had experience of the duke as one of my friend had bought it and on the first ride i had my doubts about using it regularly as a commuter with all its screaming plus wanted something for the long rides as well so i jumped in for the CBR. Another main reason being that since he already owned a ktm i didnt want one anymore as its exclusivity was already lost.

So as soon as i my bike delivered we wanted to make a ride and we didnt want to go far so we decided to hit off to mahabalipuram which is a ride of around 200kms in total and in the onward journey we wanted to stick to our bikes and push them a little we dared not to open them up into a head to head race as enroute we saw a lot of cops who were waiting on a lazy saturday afternoon to spoil the mood of the commuters who were on the lighter side of law.
The cbr was at home and felt comfortable cruising at wide range of speeds and with the help of synthetic oil and speed petrol it barely had any vibrations and it was a relaxing experience and it clearly showed its characteristics as a sports tourer. Also i found out that the duke is no match for the cbr in straight line performance after 100kmph the bike steadily loses ground and when the duke hits its rev limiter at 136-138 kmph the cbr just cruises by.
Once we had reached the destination we decided to do some burnouts on the beach to save some tread on tires as both bikes were still quite new and on the return i hopped on to the duke and although i was in no mood to ride fast the bike seduces you to speed and paying no heed to the low fuel warning i ripped the vehicle and pushed the vehicle to 10,500rpm and also weight of the rider does make a difference under same conditions my friend could not push it above 125kmph. Also duke is much more suited for short runs as there is no bound to your joy as you start off but as the ride progresses you feel irritated more and more in CBR its opposite as the ride goes on you feel like riding as much as possible.

Performance

The duke with its short gearing and blitzing acceleration with a loud engine feels most comfortable in city and although no doubt it is capable of doing long runs CBR would be a more preferred choice both produce 25 bhp but the CBR produces 22.9 NM of torque which is even more than the ninja while the duke because of its short stroke engine makes do with only 19 NM of torque. I feel it can do much more but because of its rev limiter its limited to 138 which it achieves in a reasonable time with the CBR too although it has torque advantage it heavier weight allows the bike to accelerate to 135 from where on it takes time to achieve its top speed of around 160kmph (indicated).

Handling

The duke handles much better thanks to its weight advantage and stickier nylogrips and in traffic its nimble on its feet and can squeeze through with ease and can achieve incredible angles of lean which i realised the hard way from the pillion seat and is as good as an R15 the bike which set the benchmark for handling in Indian bike market. The CBR on the other hand feels lazy and because of the fairing and at 169kgs its even heavier than a royal enfield classic!! it shows and is not easy in traffic combined with the lean forward position does make it uncomfortable while getting stuck in traffic but on the highway it feels much more weighed down and stable compared to the duke which starts to vibrate post 120kmph.

Both bikes return post 30kmpl and depend on the rider and if pitted against each other i feel the duke provides more fuel efficiency and also it has a console which provides with all the information you need and some you dont. As far as the looks are concerned its a personal choice while one looks like a full bred sports bike the duke is a naked bike. In terms of build quality and equipment i feel duke is better Ex. duke gets braided stainless steel brake lines as a standard, also the finishing is superb the honda which is also commendable could be better for the price.

Its my opinion that both the bikes are totally different and cater to people with different characters and this is the best duo which showcase with similar power output how different can two bikes get. If you are looking more for city commuting the duke is better and CBR is more comfortable for touring. Both the bikes have the pros an cons but they are insanely fun to ride and at the end of the day that is why you buy them so its better to choose the bike which puts the widest smile on your face and sincerely neither can be stated as a clear winner.

Credits- Jayadev Somasundaran for pictures and the bike :-)