KTM Duke 250 and RC250 unveiled at Tokyo Motor Show

KTM has unveiled two new quarter-litre motorcycles at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show in Japan. Called Duke 250 and RC250, these motorcycles are powered by a downsized version of the 373cc engine, which are used in the Duke 390 and the RC390 motorcycles. 

Aesthetically, both the models are identical to the Duke 390 and the RC390, though they get a different paint job to set them apart from the rest of the Duke and RC range.  Both the Duke 250 and the RC250 are based on the same lightweight trellis frame and are powered by a 250cc single-cylinder engine. The liquid-cooled unit produces 31bhp and 24Nm of torque and is mated to a six-speed transmission. 

Though the Duke 200 and RC200 have been on sale in India for quite some time now, KTM doesn’t sell these models in the European markets. Being smaller in capacity, the Duke 200 and the RC200 have a slight disadvantage as compared to its rivals – the Kawasaki Z250SL and the fully faired Ninja 250SL. Now though, with the new single-cylinder 250cc heart, these new Austrian quarter-litre motorcycles are evenly matched against their Japanese rivals.