Hi guys,
After some really anxious moments, thousands of phone calls, lots of people pulled into the collective team effort (bankers, dealers, manufacturers, etc.), some sleepless nights and chewed to the bone finger nails, my Duke finally became an official motor citizen of the country and mine on the 21st of this month!
I had completed all formalities for her last Saturday itself and the wait as can be expected (last minute permissions etc.) was excruciating.
She is bike No. 222 to have rolled off the spanking new production line at Chakan and she is here with me!
Special thanks to Mr. Gaurav Rathore, Bajaj, for all his help and the patience exhibited to bear with my phone calls and emails these past two months.
To Mr. Tushar Vaidya, Mt. Yogesh (my guardian angel and go-to man), and Mr. Anwar of Sai Service for doing the same - only with greater intensity!
To Mr. Vikrant, Senior GM, Sai Service, for expediting paper work and smoothing things for me even in my absence from the city.
To Mr. Maharana Ray (an old friend from 10 years ago) and Mr. Amit Nandi at Bajaj for their help when and where it mattered.
To Junior, my dachshund, who is no longer with us, but whose birthday it is today.
And last but not the least, to my wife for living with me through all this ..... :D
Some very random quick impressions from the first 50 kms (like all my other bikes, I made sure that she's the first Duke I've ridden) -
1) Nice engine note
2) Lovely acceleration through the gears - somehow before I realize it I keep pressing the gear for more even in 6th
3) The riding position will take some getting used to before I gain confidence to start weaving through traffic
4) Monster brakes
6) Lovely lovely lovely gearbox - can't understand what all I have been reading all over about difficult shifts, clunky, finding neutral, etc etc.
7) No one believes its a Bajaj. Most ask if its an imported bike. Surprised to know it can be bought here and is made in our own town!
8) Not one question yet on mileage (most people are too embarrassed to ask is my feeling)
9) Except one guy suitably chastised, people have matured and do not start getting all touchy-feely with your bike wherever its parked. Don't know if my glowering presence has anything to contribute to it.
10) The rev limit one needs to maintain for first 1000 km run-in is 7500
11) The after run in rev limit in production bikes is 10,500 :(
12) The red warning shift light starts blinking at 5000 rpm, and gets constant at 7000 rpm
13) The brake lever is too small and does not come to foot automatically for my size 45 riding boots.
14) The gear lever is pretty petite as well - conscious effort to find it initially. Will become second nature soon I'm sure.
15) The front of the pillion seat keeps hitting the small of my back on rough roads.
16) The mirrors are nice and vibe free.
17) The computer like console is all nice and dandy, but is totally invisible on the move at speed under a strong sun reflection (I will not slow down and take my eyes off the road to peer any closer ....)
18) Its got some really nifty things going for it otherwise.
19) The fan comes on after about 25 kms of hard city traffic light to light drag type riding. Very few bikes keep up, within the 7500 limit.
20) On rough roads, the suspension does its work well, but the beefy feel and lack of extraneous sounds I was expecting from the fat USDs and rear mono-shock is not there. The stock factory setting is position 3 on the soft side.
21) The petrol is 91 octane only. The Bajaj engineer has recommended to err on the side of safety on the highway and fill only premium fuels (Speed, Extra Premium, etc)
22) Filling 5 liters into the tiny tank takes the display to FULL.
23) Once there are no bars left in the main fuel indicator segment, the bike in an emergency can go another 25 kms on the 2 bars of the "empty" indicator segment.
24) 2 bars left in the Main means about 6 liters remaining, one bar approximately 4 liters. That is when you start looking for a pump so as not to mess with you wet-type immersed fuel pump.
25) In the 2 bars of Empty, you have about 2 liters remaining - a significant portion of that (1+ liters) is unusable.
26) The feeble Tweety bird horn is an acute embarrassment. The boffins repeatedly warn you to not put on ANY extraneous electricals so as to protect your Warranty.
27) This bike is a mass of electronics. There are as many as 7 different sensors all over.
28) Engine Oil is 20W50, brake oil is Dot4, chain needs to be lubed with special chain spray (no oil or grease or petrol or diesel/kerosene please) every 500 kms
29) First free service is 1000 kms, next is at 5000 kms, next is 10,000 kms, and thereafter paid services every 5000 kms.
30) 2 year, 30,000 km warranty.
31) Spare key comes with a fancy bar coded smart card which has all information of your particular machine and key encoded, and can be brought to and used at any KTM dealer in the world (?!!)
32) Under the pillion seat, there is enough space to put your wallet and papers. Currently the mandatory first aid kit is nestled there.
33) Insurance is by Bajaj Allianz.
34) The hand grips are really nice and have a good non-poky grip. There are no vibes there or in the foot pegs. At speed as the revs rise, the bike hums, but not jarringly so (like the dentist's drill feel of some others).
35) The bike sounds really nice at a fast 1200 rpm idle. At speed its not very loud however (sad).
Some photos -
Note from Team-BHP Support : Please note that it is imperative for you to upload pictures directly to the Team-BHP Server. Please click here to view our simple help article on uploading pictures.Congratulations, mate on the Duke you've got for yourself.
Looks mighty impressive.
Congrats on your new bike Ebonho. Guess you will vouch to get a registration number of 222 as well. Your pointers provide a very good insight on the bike, Do keep up the thread with regular updates. Any plans of doing the Leh-Ladakh trip?
Always felt that the is cut for doing duty in that portion of the world
Congrats, second one on tbhp.
Nothing has been heard in bangalore about the deliveries i believe.
Congratulations. I would have liked the pictures to do more of the talking but i can understand your initial excitement. Also you can use regular fuel no problem. Just make sure the quality of fuel is good. Secondly , you can use kerosene to clean the chain. its probably an "O" ring or "X" ring type chain and kerosene will do just fine. Gear up always and Ride safe.
Wow. Second duke on tbhp. Congrats ebonho. Please upload some more pics and a detailed review. Enjoy an indian made imported bike :)
Adi - just wanted to say that through the nation 91 Octane is the standard after BS3 has come to enforcement. None of the PSU or private oil companies manufacture anything less than 91 RON. Adulteration...hmm, lets keep off that for the moment.
Congratulations ebonho
Congratulations, thats one good looking bike there. It looks good and meaty in that orange shade.
How much does this one cost on the road? The bikers on Team BHP are on a roll these days, wish i could buy one soon.
Congratulations bro! Very nice to see Dukes pouring out! I will come out with something similar soon! :thumbs up Will be glued to the thread!
