250 Duke: A wild child, and yet a sane motorcycling partner

KTM’s Duke series has always been the benchmark for off-the-charts price-to-performance ratio.

A good way to try and figure out a motorcycle’s true nature is to look at its images on the manufacturer's website. This tells you a fair bit about what the bike's maker thinks of it and about what it wants you to think of it. In the case of 250 Duke (as indeed for every Duke), the press images are predominantly of the bike being an absolute hooligan – non-stop wheelies, stoppies, burnouts, knee-downs, and other assorted manoeuvres that most riders wouldn’t attempt or even be capable of doing. This gives you the impression that the 250 Duke is a wild child, champing at the bit to be allowed to indulge in some slightly anti-social behaviour – and it’s the correct impression, I can confirm. In marketing-speak, the 2024 KTM 250 Duke is a bomb – but it’s also happy to be a sane motorcycling partner.

KTM’s Duke series has always been the benchmark for off-the-charts price-to-performance ratio, proof of which is the huge number of them you see on Indian roads. The 390 Duke is the apex predator (there are even bigger and more insane models available abroad), and lower down you have the 250, 200, and 125 Dukes, all immensely capable in their own ways. The previous 250 Duke – a BS6-compliant model – was a good bike, but it felt rather anaemic if you had just stepped off a 390. This all-new 250, however, is a very different animal; it’s eager to misbehave from the get-go, whereas the previous model needed some encouragement.

This is in large part down to the new engine, code-named LC4C, which KTM says is all-new and has nothing in common with either the 390’s engine or the old 250’s engine. For context, the older bike had a de-tuned version of the 390 Duke’s double overhead camshaft 373cc powerplant, whereas this engine is a new single overhead camshaft unit, purpose-built for the bike (and for the 125 Duke and the new 200 Duke). The new engine’s casings are very similar to the new 390, however, and the bore/stroke figures are very close to the older 250. Power and torque are up by a minimal 1 bhp and 1 Nm each, to 31 and 25, respectively, but it’s the way those figures are delivered that is eye-opening. KTM has changed the bike’s sprockets, the gear ratios have become taller, and the torque kicks in earlier in the rev range, all leading to a much punchier mid-range (the older bike had a more linear power curve). Thus, the new 250 Duke feels livelier all-round and is much more fun even while riding through traffic; it’s very tractable below 3,000 rpm, and the on-off throttle moves are very smooth (unless you really let the revs drop to below 2,000 rpm, at which point it stutters a bit).

Let the bike rip, and you’ll see an entertaining 0-100 kph run of under eight seconds, which is quicker than some more powerful bikes like the BMW G 310 R. Keep the throttle pinned and there’s a proper kick in the pants around 6,000 rpm, and the range between here and around 9,500 rpm is where you should stay if you want to extract every ounce of performance out of the bike. The light clutch is a delight to use, as is the new bi-directional quick-shifter (from the 390), which is extremely smooth. With the new internal gearing and final drive ratio, the vibrations have come down as well over the older bike; I barely felt anything until around 115 kph, after which the vibes from the seat, handlebar, and foot pegs were still very acceptable. Holding a steady 120 kph cruising speed is dead simple on this bike, and I did see the indicated 148 kph top speed a few times, which is also impressive (and more than sufficient). With a larger 15-litre fuel tank and fuel efficiency in the region of 40 kph with mixed riding, you’ll be able to cover good distances tankful-to-tankful as well. The only downside I can think of is my usual pet peeve with Dukes – they don’t sound as good as they should.

The new chassis for the 250 Duke Sports is absolutely spot on, and when you come across some sharp corners, fun is guaranteed. The bike is a proper scalpel, and quick direction changes are effortless; you never feel like the bike is doing anything other than what it’s being told to. Even though it doesn’t have the 390 Duke’s adjustable suspension, it never feels soft or vague – it just goes where you point it. The wheels and brakes are lighter, and in combination with the immensely grippy MRF tyres, they make for a near-perfect (and very user-friendly) combination. The new 250 is a significant eight kg lighter than the older bike, but in real-world terms, it feels even lighter. The ride quality is what you would expect from a Duke – on the stiffer side of things but still absorbent enough to soak up most bumps; the 176mm of ground clearance also means that you don’t have to crawl gingerly over anything. The seat is firm, as always, but not bone-jarringly so. You can also choose a taller seat, which I would recommend if you’re anything above five feet nine inches; the stock seat’s seat-footpeg distance makes it a little hard on the knees after a while for taller riders.

In terms of features, the 250 Duke has you covered with all the mod-cons. The dash is an LCD unit with a wealth of information, and it’s placed well enough to quickly glance at it whenever you need it. There’s Bluetooth, music playback control, and soon-to-be-released turn-by-turn navigation via the KTM app; the switchgear is solidly built and looks premium. In terms of its design, it differs from the 390 by way of its shorter fuel tank extensions, and it doesn’t have the 390’s DRLs around its headlights. Two paint schemes are on offer – Ceramic White and Electronic Orange.

There’s no doubt that the 250 Duke has grown up and stands on its own now, rather than being a less powerful version of the 390. This is a seriously good bike – great looking, fast, agile – and to top it all, at Rs 2.39 lakh, it costs the same as the older 250 (OK, Rs 1,000 more, if you’re splitting hair), which makes it a near no-brainer for those who don’t want to spend 390 Duke levels of cash.