Re: Compare Duke 200 Vs Cbr 250r Engine
Katja Gains
hey guys, i own a 2018 ktm duke 250 with about 40k km and so far its been great.
I was looking to upgrade to a 390 but im not a big fan of all the tech on the 390 and i was wondering if anyone knows if it would be possible to swap my engine with a gen 1 390 engine? i know to base motor is supposed to be the same but with a smaller top end.
I'm thinking about the gen 1 engines because it uses cable throttle like my 250 and uses the same dash so im guessing it would be easier to convert than to a gen2 engine w/ rbw throttle and tft.
would it be possible to only swap the whole top end? or the whole engine is the way to go? would i have to switch/flash the ecu?
I would love to do this to my bike as i love it and its in very good condition and i love everything about it( i love the old style dash, the simplicity, the headlight and my bike as a whole has been very good to me).
Thank you guys very much for your insight! It's very hard for me to find anything about the duke 250 since information is already hard to come by and what i do manage to find i can't understand because i'm not from india.
Started the bike, and it felt familiar. I have faint memories of the Gixxer SF 250, and I remember how smooth the engine was back then. The smoothness hasn't changed one bit. Slotted the gear into position, left the clutch and I immediately notice how much low-end grunt this bike has. Might be lower than the Himalayan, but my Duke feels dead compared to the Vstrom. The Clutch is very slightly heavy but not an issue at all. I hit the main road and then start to work with the gears. This 250 engine was a gem on the SF250 and that hasn't changed here. It is smooth throughout the powerband and delivers power in a very very linear fashion. This is the kind of engine which will impress you but will not excite you (remember the Toyota Yaris reference I used in the beginning?). You can do 100-110 all day long without breaking a sweat. However, I feel 120 will be a bit of a stretch with little reserve power left for overtakes. 100-110 should be the ideal comfortable speed on this motorcycle. The seating position is nice and upright. Should be supremely comfortable for long-distance mile-munching. The brakes were decent, but a little more stopping power would have been appreciated. I remember the bike had a little nose dive when I was braking. I guess this is normal for a bike with a little more suspension travel. The gearbox is smooth and slick-shifting, just like the one on the SF250. No complaints here. I will not comment on the grip provided by the tyres, as I hardly got any chance to cut through corners. The wind protection offered by the windscreen was adequate. I had touched 80 and there was little to no wind hitting my helmet.
As a result, we expect taller gearing, better or same efficiency and top-level performance. KTM is famous for making insane power to weight ratio machines and it has done so right this time too. The Duke weighs 139 kg and RC 250 weighs 147 kg, which is 3-4 kg heavier than their 200cc predecessors when you compare their dry weights. The engine weighs 37.2 kg and is the lightest in its class. The motor is a 4-valve, DOHC, liquid-cooled unit with Nikasil coating on the cylinders
The engine department is where the comparison feels unjust, with the Duke having a 248.8cc engine compared to the 373.3cc of the Dominar. The Duke 250 churns out 29.6 BHP at 9000 RPM and 24 Nm of torque at 7500 RPM. While it also offers a 6-speed gearbox but lacks a slipper clutch, but, the shifts are quick and precise. The Duke ultimately provides a better range than the Dominar, having a 13.4-litre fuel tank and a smaller engine. It returns 32 km/l, which translates to a range of 420 kms (depending on your riding style).