KTM 250 Duke

The KTM Duke 250 has been designed on the lines of the second generation KTM Duke 390, which broke a lot of benchmarks in terms of design when it broke the covers for the very first time. The sharp and aggressive design of the motorcycle sources a lot of inspiration from the flagship KTM 1290 Superduke R.

At the front, the KTM Duke 250 has got a rakish headlamp design, which here is a triangular unit with halogen illumination and gets two boomerang-styled daytime running LEDs on both of its upper corners. A pair of LED turn indicators are mounted on the upper corners of the headlamp unit, and unlike the Duke 200, it doesn’t get a small visor atop the headlamp.

The aggression of the overall design of the KTM Duke 250 is at its best when the motorcycle is viewed from the sides. The fuel tank of the motorcycle is a small curved unit in actual, but the long and sharp fuel extensions which flow all the way to the front towards the front forks make the unit look much bigger and sharper than what it actually is.

The KTM Duke 250 gets charcoal grey themed engine and black colored main trellis frame like the Duke 200, and in addition, here it also gets a contrast orange-coloured sub frame below the pillion seat. A conventional side-mounted exhaust pipe finds its way in the KTM Duke 250, along with a slim engine cowl at the bottom.

The tailpiece of the KTM Duke 250 is broad in design and rises in an angular manner, which makes it look pointy when viewed from the rear. At the back, the KTM Duke 250 gets a clear lens LED tail lamp and pillion grab handles recessed under the tailpiece, with a long rear fender mounted at the rear bottom tip of the tailpiece.

The single-piece handlebar, backlit switchgear and the small full LCD instrument console with orange backlit have been lifted off from the KTM Duke 200. The meter panel shows a host of data on display, including the main ones like speedometer, tachometer, fuel gauge, temperature gauge, clock, gear indicator and a super informative MID unit, but the small fonts are a bit hard to read, especially while riding at higher speeds.

The KTM Duke 250 shares its suspension with the smaller Duke 200 in the same exact specification, which includes 43mm upside-down hydraulic telescopic forks at the front and fully adjustable mono-shock with aluminium swingarm at the back. Even the braking setup of 300mm front disc and 230mm rear disc has been retained from the Duke 200. However, the stronger and longer trellis frame makes a whole world of difference. 

The KTM Duke 250 has got a four-stroke, single-cylinder, liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, 248.8cc engine, which basically is a bored-out version of the 199.5cc engine of the Duke 200. Here coupled to the same 6-speed gearbox as that of the Duke 200, the KTM Duke 250’s engine makes 30.2 PS of maximum power and 24 Nm of torque.

Despite its premium positioning over the Duke 200, the KTM Duke 250 misses out on advanced safety features, which is a big miss. However, the motorcycle comes with an engine kill switch and backlit switchgear which are nifty inclusions but are very useful while riding under varying circumstances like riding in stop-go traffic and night conditions.

The KTM Duke 250 is a suitable and must-to-consider upgrade over the smaller KTM Duke 200, with an advanced and more agile design language as well as additional power on tap. However, it would have been good if KTM had equipped more additional features over the Duke 200 in the Duke 250 to make it a more value for money proposition.