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KTM Duke 125 Review


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I only found out about the restriction by reading some reviews that mentioned it. Dealer got in touch with the rep and confirmed the situation. All quite official and the remap will not void the warranty or insurance.


Bad lick with the faults you are having. Hope I don't have similar!

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Well it arrived this morning! :D Got the L plates fitted and have been out around the local suburban roads. Still have problems stalling (my problem, not the bikes) the gears are a bit stiff but are losening up pretty quickly. The riding position takes a bit of getting used to (feet slightly behind you) but I love it! Had to go get some petrol and did not fancy the right turn onto the main road off the forcourt so went the long way home including dual carriageway. Got up tp about 55 in 6th (running in) and it felt great.


More later, and may post pics but it does look just like the Duke of Suffolk's one!

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nice one R35.


ive done 300 miles so far. my security arrived at the weekend so will start commuting to the station with it tomrrow.


even in 300 miles it has loosened up a lot, even riding gently. i know what you mean with the gear chang ethough, it was very harsh to start with. and at 125kgs, for a new rider it takes some getting used to but after a while it feels so light. as your riding improves and you learn to ride it gets sooooo much easier.


let me know how you get on with it, happy to share experiences, there are not many uk owners around. I gather the UK press bikes were taken abroad for another countries release??

even if they sell them all, there will only be 350 so i expect there are only 20-50 around if that?

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Went out for my first proper ride on Saturday. My tendency to stall is definitely lessening which is good and the gear change is loosening up. I too am commuting for the first time tomorrow. The dual carriageway could be interesting since I am getting about 60 mph indicated at max running in revs!


Oh and there may be only 350 out there but I followed another one through my home town of Worthing on Saturday. Now I know how people feel when they see someone wearing their outfit at a party!

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Well interesting couple of days! Survived 2 commutes (each about 30 miles round trip). My commute is between west Worthing and east Brighton along the a27. So about 4-5 miles of slow moving traffic and then 10 miles or so of fast dual carriageway.


Day 1: slightly apprehensive I set off. I did not feel confident enough to filter but did nip past a few cars on the wider stretches of single carriageway when the traffic was stationary and I could see a gap to move back into.


Once onto the dual carriageway the limitatons of a 125 running in became apparent but it did not feel dangerous or intimidating. Can cruise at an indicated 57 mph on the flat at 7.5k revs so not too bad, should be fine once I can use the full rev range.


Took about 30 minutes which is tha same as a good day in the car.


The return journey was worse on the dual carriageway as it has more uphill sections which dropped the speed quite a lot but I did quite a lot of filtering once the traffic ground to a halt and felt much more confident.


So all in all a good day. Did have occasional problems going into first but i think this may be down to coasting along with the clutch in and coming to a halt in second from what I read. However when I got home I put it in neutral with the stand down, got off the bike to take my rucksack off and get the garage door open and the bike popped into second all by itself :shock: fortunately the engine cuts out if it is on the stand and in gear so it did not fall over or run into the garage door but it was a bit odd!


Day 2 (today) went the coast road to get a bit more practice in traffic. Good ride no problems with the gears so was pretty happy. However the rain started about 4 pm and it was peeing down by six when I left work. That was scary! I had my visor down and it kept misting up when I stopped so had to take my gloves off once I stopped at some lights to open the visor. After that it was fine, just very wet. My waterproof jacket (a KTM one) leaked and I got soaked. Reading the instructions at home I realised that I had removed the waterproof lining along with the fleece inner layer :oops:


Anyway I am still alive and unscathed and feel I have learned a lot in 2 days, didn't stall once today.


Looking at the forecast I am going to be in the car for the rest of the week though.


Overall very happy with the bike so far, good size and road presence and nice to ride.

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Sounds like you're having a good time on the bike!


Top tip for riding in the wet: keep one side of your visor slightly open - stops it misting up.

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Thanks for the tip. Sorry to sound dense but what do you mean by "one side"? My visor is one piece, all I did in the end was have it open about an inch, seemed to help!

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350 miles on the duke now. really started to loosen up a bit; gear changes are easier, clutch is moother and of course im riding better than i was which helps!


another foible(?) is that it doesn't like hills when th efuel light it on!! must be the pickup position in th etank but its died on me going up a hill :(


I had to get off and push on the bike with the front brake on (to try and level the bike off a bit) just to get the thing started and revving. I will feed that back to the dealers/ktm.


However, even after just 300 odd miles, my bike riding friends are right.....I want a bigger engined bike! lol

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Good to see it is loosening up. About 150 miles on mine now and things are getting easier. Fuelt light cane on yesterday so went straigfht to the filling station after what you said. Can't believe this is a design fault, surely would have been spotted in testing. Also.... hills in suffolk! (I lived in Norfolk for a long time so know the myth is not totally true ;) )


Can't wait to get it run in so I can at least keep up with the HGVs on the A27 uphill!

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So have you run it in yet or just getting bored with 7.5k revs? :wink:


As for sprockets. You can have more acceleration but less top speed in any gear or the other way round is that the way it works?


My current problem, which may go away once run in, is bogging down up hills.

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the 63 was nudging 8k rpm...'Very' down hill with a tail wind lol. (Brantham Hill if anyone knows it) I certainly was holding back on the throttle.


I've done 495 miles.


yeah..your understanding of the gearing matches mine.

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Cool I have to admit I caved today and tried to see if there really was a limiter at 62. Got to 65 before I betided I ought to back off. Mind you at is indicated and may not match the ecu regulator.


320 miles on the clock now. Checked chain tension today and it ws way too loose. Tightened it up and the bike is much smoother off the throttle

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best check the tension then!


oh and I almost sh1t myself when i checked the oil earlier and it was showing empty!!!...but i realised i was checking it when the bike was on the sidestand. My neighbour held the bike up and the level was fine..



aaaaaaaaand relax :)

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  • 1 month later...

One interesting thing to be aware of... The bikes are ecu limited to 100kph from the factory to meet EU regs but there is a new map coming in the next few days

 

interesting...dealers didnt say anything about that. BUT you wont get near 100kph for the first 640 miles as the running in limits you to about 45/50mph anyway.


i've just got though my first tank at 160 miles which is about 75 mpg...low revs and engine not worn in so thats not too bad imho

 

im now getting in excess of 115 mpg after the first service and with sensible riding ( not liek a granny just sensible)


I have seen as high as 135 mpg but not sustained for a whole tank. 90 mpg if i ride it like an eager teenager :)

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  • 6 years later...
  • 1 year later...

Would love to hear about the Duke 390 if anyone has any review or info on them?

 

I've got one, they're fun to ride, lightweight, cheap, well built, fast (ish) and great looking. The only thing it doesn't excel at is motorways/top speed. The rev counter starts going pinky at 7000rpm.

Mind you, I've had ninjas in the past, they are far too fast for me, I would have ended up killing myself.

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