Lead Designer Craig Dent shares his philosophy of the KTM Duke 390

The KTM 390 Duke could very well be a motorcycle that has outclassed every other automobile- be it car or bike in India when it comes to being in the pre-launch spotlight.

From spy pictures, to speculations about its fuel efficiency, 0-100 sprint times to popping wheelies at ease– just about anything. The interest with which news about the KTM 390 Duke is looked upon easily makes it one of the most, if not the most awaited motorcycle in the history of Indian two wheeler launches and everything related to the Duke 390 is read with utmost curiosity.

KTM Duke 390 Design-2

So let us give you a bit more about the upcoming KTM 390 Duke. This time its Craig Dent- Lead Designer and Creative Director at Kiska Designs briefing about the Duke 390’s design philosophy. Even we’d agree if anyone states that if the 390 Duke is so similarly styled to the Duke 200, there’s hardly anything to talk on something that is already in existence. But then there is more to just a design when a manufacturer decides to bump up the lineup with a more powerful variant. In fact Craig talks about picking cues for the Duke 390 from the more powerful KTM 690 Duke and why was it important to consider the 690 when creating the KTM Duke 390.

KTM Duke 390 Design

KTM Duke 390 Design-3

Not talking any further, here’s the video from the KTM 390 Duke Media launch (Courtesy: MCNew Australia). Just ensure that the volume is set to maximum.

Going through the video, we wished the KTM 390 Duke could have had a conventional side exhaust as compared to the underbody. On one had where it could differentiate the 390 from the 200 on the design part, on the other we feel that a side exhaust looks much better on the Duke. There have been pictures on the web of owners fitting aftermarket Akrapovics on the 200’s and it does look classy.

KTM Duke 390 Design-4

On the concluding part as usual, we repeatedly keep looking at the calendar awaiting the launch of the fortified Orange treat from the Bajaj-KTM Alliance.

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