Austrian motorcycle manufacturer KTM, co-owned by Bajaj Auto has reportedly stopped production of the current version of the 200 Duke in order to make way for the new version unveiled recently. The smaller capacity Duke models for India as well as for the rest of the world are manufactured at Bajaj Auto's Pune facility.
Sales of the KTM 200 Duke will not be affected with the production suspension as dealerships will still have existing stock. Halting production for future models will result in faster delivery of the second-gen KTM Dukes reports DriveSpark.
The 200 Duke is the most popular product of KTM in India and it is also the first model of the brand launched in the country way back in 2012. The 200 Duke enjoyed huge success in sales and the new generation is also expected continue the momentum.
Though the new 200 Duke wasn't part of new Duke unveiling at the EICMA show on November 8, the company released images and details of the new version in the website. In its latest avatar, KTM has increased the beastly design of the 200 Duke. One of the disappointing bits in the new 200 Duke is that it will not feature split headlamps similar to its elder sibling. Instead, it will get a restyled bottom-protruding headlight design with LED inserts. The rest of the motorcycle has been given an edgy design. Visually, the new 200 Duke is a step up from the dated design.
The fuel tank in the 200 Duke has been reworked and tank extensions are longer than before. The key slot has been moved from the instrument cluster to the front of fuel tank. The new 200 Duke also features a full-size exhaust, ditching the underbelly exhaust. New 200 Duke is powered by a 199.5cc, liquid-cooled, single-cylinder, DOHC engine that produces 26hp of power which is slightly better than the current 200 Duke. The mill is mated to a 6-speed transmission.
Launch of the new 200 Duke can be expected soon after the new 390 Duke's introduction in India in January 2017.