[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

Hmm... That's strange! My bike had only run around 2k at that time. And still it was replaced.

Strange - may be they did it just because it was mentioned in the service booklet.

--Anoop

[pisthpeeps]

Anoop, I am in the same dilemma now as you were sometime back - D200 or D390. Heart says D390 and mind D200. After owning D200, at any point did you feel that you should have gone for D390 instead?

I would be using it for office commute(off peak hours) and weekend chores within city. Currently office commute is done through city roads in car. In case i get D390 planning to do it through a 6 lane tolled highway(just adds 8kms to total).

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by pisthpeeps

Anoop, I am in the same dilemma now as you were sometime back - D200 or D390. Heart says D390 and mind D200. After owning D200, at any point did you feel that you should have gone for D390 instead?

I would be using it for office commute(off peak hours) and weekend chores within city. Currently office commute is done through city roads in car. In case i get D390 planning to do it through a 6 lane tolled highway(just adds 8kms to total).

The 200 is a lot more fun and a lot easier to live with in the city. Butter smooth gearbox being the main differentiator, with perfectly spaced cogs and shift mechanism-rpm matching for city hooliganism. The 390 is a lot more bike on the highway. No doubt about that. But that gearbox is really clunky (upshifts) at city traffic speeds. That really grates on my nerves personally.

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by pisthpeeps

Anoop, I am in the same dilemma now as you were sometime back - D200 or D390. Heart says D390 and mind D200. After owning D200, at any point did you feel that you should have gone for D390 instead?

I would be using it for office commute(off peak hours) and weekend chores within city. Currently office commute is done through city roads in car. In case i get D390 planning to do it through a 6 lane tolled highway(just adds 8kms to total).

NO!

I am happy that I decided to stick with D 200 and have been happy riding the bike around 60 km a day. My ride is either through ORR or through single lane village roads with lot of curves and some arrow straights and D 200 have been performing well in both conditions, irrespective of the traffic.

As doc already explained, D 390 will be much more fun in highway, but inside city and for regular commute, I will stick with my D 200. Even if you throw in 8 km of 6 lane toll roads, I think D 200 will be able to hold on its own happily and overall, will be easier to live with (especially on those days when you have to take regular city roads to office).

--Anoop

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

NO!

I am happy that I decided to stick with D 200 and have been happy riding the bike around 60 km a day. My ride is either through ORR or through single lane village roads with lot of curves and some arrow straights and D 200 have been performing well in both conditions, irrespective of the traffic.

As doc already explained, D 390 will be much more fun in highway, but inside city and for regular commute, I will stick with my D 200. Even if you throw in 8 km of 6 lane toll roads, I think D 200 will be able to hold on its own happily and overall, will be easier to live with (especially on those days when you have to take regular city roads to office).

--Anoop

Well put Anoop. Do you know an interesting thing about the used bike market? After the inital spurt of 200s being dumped in the market when the 390 came along, with the resultant crash in prices, the city junta is waking up to exactly these fine traits of the 200 over the 390 now. It also of course helps that its a cheaper bike to buy, to own and run, and it gives a lot better mileage than the 390. All of these make it the ideal city hooligan/commuter, and the resale of the 200s is looking up again and so is the demand. I have heard this from very reliable sources who are in the business and see multiple deals go down and closed daily.

[man_of_steel]

Not to mention that the heat generated by the 390 will be a pain in the bottom if you are not ready to bear it!

[pisthpeeps]

Thanks guys. Will take a test ride of D200 tomorrow and probably book it. Already have taken rest rides of D390, P200NS and Apache 180 ABS. Couldnt get hold of D200 test bike till now for one reason or the other. Lets see how it fares against my D390 test ride.

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by pisthpeeps

Thanks guys. Will take a test ride of D200 tomorrow and probably book it. Already have taken rest rides of D390, P200NS and Apache 180 ABS. Couldnt get hold of D200 test bike till now for one reason or the other. Lets see how it fares against my D390 test ride.

Ok - so you are in the 'exact' same position I was in.

If I may do so, quoting from my own experience:

Originally Posted by theexperthand

....

Took a TD of Duke 390 and I was blown out of this world by the power delivery, but I was not sure about the off road credibility - so kept the Duke twins as an option. This was followed by a TD of Pulsar NS 200. Though the bike was good when taken alone, it was no comparison to the Duke.

......... So, armed with lot of expectations, went to do another TD, but this time - Duke 200 - and came out disappointed. Yes, the bike is fun and nimble and all that - but it don't explode like its big brother - the Duke 390. Then started the real battle of choice - Duke 390 vs Duke 200.

After lot of reading, discussions with friends, fellow BHPians and other few helpful souls and few more TDs later, I realised that Duke 200 is what will suit my needs better. It was sealed by this passage from one of my favourite TV show hosts - Jeremy Clarkson

"But it is also bloody scary. You know the brightest and best have worked their magic on the wiring in the traction-control system, and on the shape of the body so that it generates the right amount of downforce. But you also know that the contact patch between the tyres and the road would fit on a piece of A4 paper. That's all there is gluing you to the road. That's all there is between ending up at home. And ending up in a bag.

And that is always at the forefront of your mind when you mash your foot hard onto the throttle. Which is why, very shortly afterwards, you will take it off again. On a very wet road in Hertfordshire, the longest time I ever engaged full throttle was less than two seconds."
Source

I know that D 390 is much more bike than Duke 200 but as Doc (Ebono) aptly summarizes, "390 is a lot more bike. But that for bikers has never automatically translated to a lot more fun."

--Anoop

I was so blindsided by the power out put of 390 that after the TD of 390, the TD of 200 was sort of an anti climax. It took me couple more TDs to really understand Duke 200 is more fun in city and more apt for my usage.

So, dont lose your heart if Duke 200 dont seems to be much fun in the first TD - do a couple of test rides before you finalize.

--Anoop

[man_of_steel]

Regarding the off road credibility of 390 - It is still fun. Even on the stock metz. Allows some great powerslides. But have to plan and carefully alter body positions and speed during landings to not put too much of load on alloys and crack it!

Chk out some videos I have from my side. Of course both are downhill sections and cant be termed 'complete' trail riding but these are the only clips I have!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfcXN-zHe3M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAk-OgyHtH8

[pisthpeeps]

Anoop,

Managed to test ride the D200 today. Felt at home interms of ergonomics, gear shifting, braking like the same way i felt test riding D390. Due to my height (5'6) felt a little uncomfortable placing my right leg down while taking a U turn. Felt the need to change gears more in D200, while in D390 i was able to rev a bit more freely before changing gears. Was able to use all the 6 gears in that short test ride - max speed reached was 60kmph only. Surprisingly the rear brakes bite felt better in D200 than D390 and for rear mirrors its the reverse . Will take one more test ride tomorrow morning and finalize. Anyways did not feel let down by D200 as you felt in your first meeting. It performed exactly as per my expectations.

1.51L on road in Chennai. A good 15K increase from the launch price - please correct me if i am wrong. Will check for some good deals in the used market for a week and if i dont find one will go ahead and book a new one(black) as the bike bug has bitten me real hard.

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by man_of_steel

Regarding the off road credibility of 390 - It is still fun. Even on the stock metz. Allows some great powerslides. But have to plan and carefully alter body positions and speed during landings to not put too much of load on alloys and crack it!

Nice videos. Where was the second one taken? Was this at Nandi hills? Power slides and rooster tails are fun when you take Duke to trail

Originally Posted by pisthpeeps

Anoop,

Managed to test ride the D200 today. Felt at home interms of ergonomics, gear shifting, braking like the same way i felt test riding D390. Due to my height (5'6) felt a little uncomfortable placing my right leg down while taking a U turn. Felt the need to change gears more in D200, while in D390 i was able to rev a bit more freely before changing gears. Was able to use all the 6 gears in that short test ride - max speed reached was 60kmph only. Surprisingly the rear brakes bite felt better in D200 than D390 and for rear mirrors its the reverse . Will take one more test ride tomorrow morning and finalize. Anyways did not feel let down by D200 as you felt in your first meeting. It performed exactly as per my expectations.

1.51L on road in Chennai. A good 15K increase from the launch price - please correct me if i am wrong. Will check for some good deals in the used market for a week and if i dont find one will go ahead and book a new one(black) as the bike bug has bitten me real hard.

Good that you did not felt disappointed. Take couple more test rides (if possible, a half an hour td in traffic) and decide.

Not sure about the launch price - I paid 1.57ish at bangalore, 5 months back.

I was also not satisfied with the mirrors, so I replaced them.

--Anoop

[pisthpeeps]

The traffic gets dense outside the showroom timings in that place and the guy doesnt allow me to take it far as well. I did try to ride it in crawl/b2b mode today and stalled it once. Shifted to neutral and started it. Started off charmly in first attempt, but the gear indicator said its in 2nd gear. Shifed to first and took off. You are right about multiple test rides. Will try few more times as the showroom is just a km away from home.

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by pisthpeeps

The traffic gets dense outside the showroom timings in that place and the guy doesnt allow me to take it far as well. I did try to ride it in crawl/b2b mode today and stalled it once. Shifted to neutral and started it. Started off charmly in first attempt, but the gear indicator said its in 2nd gear. Shifed to first and took off. You are right about multiple test rides. Will try few more times as the showroom is just a km away from home.

Yes - some times, the guys don't give longish test rides. Befriend one of them and they will eventually let you take it as far as you want

Same thing happened with me too. My first test ride was barely a ride in a service road - the standard response was they do not allow long td. But by my third visit, the guy was sure that I am a serious buyer and allowed me to take the bike as far as I want. So, keep visiting them and they may oblige you.

--Anoop

[pisthpeeps]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

Yes - some times,

Paid full amount for D200 Black and awaiting for new lot to come so that i can select one. They have one Black D200 readily available which is a Sep 2014 model based on the VIN. Since he mentioned new lot is coming i did not check that existing black D200. If everything goes well will get my bike on Wednesday evening.

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

Nice videos. Where was the second one taken? Was this at Nandi hills? Power slides and rooster tails are fun when you take Duke to trail

Both were shot at DD Hills.