KTM has launched the Duke 790 in the country as a BS-IV compliant model but has said that the BS-VI version would arrive early next year with an increase in price.
KTM launched the Duke 790 in India yesterday. The Duke 790 however comes with a BS-IV compliant engine as of now. However, the company has said at the launch event that they would be bringing the BS-VI compliant version of the motorcycle by January or Feburary of next year. The BS-VI KTM Duke 790 will also be brought into the country via the CKD route and it will be homologated first and will then go on sale.
The BS-VI model of the KTM Duke 790 will of course be a tad bit more expensive than the current one. We expect the prices to go up by around Rs. 50,000. Currently, the motorcycle has been priced at Rs. 8.64 lakhs, ex-showroom. Post the BS-VI update, the price of the motorcycle will stand at something around Rs. 9-9.1 lakhs, ex-showroom. While the motorcycle is already quite expensive, it will get expensive still. However, once the BS-VI emission norms kick in, the base price of all motorcycles will have gone up anyway.
The BS-VI model of the KTM Duke 790 is expected to feature some design and aesthetic changes as well in the form of new graphics and colors to set it apart from the current model. There will however be no other mechanical upgrades to the motorcycle other than the engine being updated to BS-VI compliance. It is however unknown if there will be any updates to the performance figures. The 799cc engine in the Duke 790 currently produces 105 bhp and 87 Nm of peak torque.
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As the Duke 790 will be updated to comply with the BS-VI emission norms in India, it will also be simultaneously updated to be Euro 5 compliant internationally. There are rumors that KTM might altogether replace the 799cc engine in the Duke 790 with a larger 890 cc engine. If the engine is made emission compliant then this engine certainly has a longer lifespan and the Duke 890 is atleast a year or two away.
Also Read : Five Things to Know About the KTM Duke 790, the newest flagship from KTM in India!
That said, KTM is expected make an official announcement on the Duke 890 at next year’s EICMA show. At the launch event yesterday, KTM also made the announcement that they would be bringing the off-road variant of the Duke 790, the 790 Adventure to India in the next 9-12 months time. There’s certainly a lot to look forward to.
