For over 13 years in India, KTM never chased anyone. They didn’t have to. The Dukes weren’t built to outperform the competition — they were the competition. They were the benchmark every rival wanted to beat. But now, for the first time, KTM has done something different: it has built a motorcycle with one objective — overthrowing the reigning king of the 160cc streetfighter segment, a Japanese machine that’s long had it easy. Of course, having the bigger Dukes — the 200, 250 and 390 — in the game for all these years made things easier.
The first time I laid eyes on the 160 Duke, it felt fresh yet familiar. The silhouette is pure KTM — sharp, crouched, with more attitude than the ‘160’ sticker plastered on the tank should legally allow. The bodywork echoes the current 200 Duke and second-gen 390 Duke, but the wheels, brakes and console are from KTM’s newest design language, giving it just enough sparkle to look like more than a budget parts-bin exercise. In fact, standing still, it looks every bit a Duke — just one that’s been told to behave in public.
Riding it confirmed that impression. This isn’t a manic hooligan like the 390, or even a bratty teenager like the 200. This is a ‘good boy Duke’ — the kind that minds its manners and won’t get you grounded. The single-cylinder 164cc SOHC motor is friendly and forgiving, happy to crawl along in first gear with no throttle input at all. That’s not something you could say about older KTMs, which treat low revs like a personal insult. In fact, I could ride a gear or two higher than usual without the bike protesting — a sign KTM has tuned it for real-world commuting rather than constant redline abuse.
But this is still in the 160cc class, and physics will not be cheated. To have fun, I had to keep it on the boil. Drop from 80 kph to the mid-50s and getting back to 80 felt like homework rather than playtime. It will rev happily, but you need to stay busy with the gearbox to wring out the performance. That said, the chassis is so capable it feels like it’s just waiting for more engine. It’s agile, quick to turn, and light enough to hoon around without breaking a sweat — or breaking into one. The 37-mm WP USD fork and gas-charged WP monoshock deserve a special mention: firm enough to keep things tidy in corners, yet surprisingly comfortable over bad roads. Even with a pillion, it shrugged off potholes without feeling overworked.
Brakes are progressive and confidence-inspiring, though they lack the sharp initial bite seasoned riders might crave. For new riders, that’s probably a good thing — it’s hard to lock anything up unless you’re being a complete idiot. The MRF Revz FX tyres are perfectly fine for everyday tarmac use, but push too hard or hit a bad patch and the front (bias-ply) tends to give way sooner than you’d like. The TFT dash looks great but isn’t in your natural line of sight, so I found myself glancing down more than I wanted to. And if you want smartphone connectivity, KTM will happily sell it to you for an additional ₹5140 — because apparently you didn’t spend enough already.
And that brings me to the real question mark hanging over this bike: its price. At ₹1.85 lakh (ex-showroom), the 160 Duke asks for serious money in a segment where value is everything. Yes, it feels like a proper Duke — but not in the way the 390 or even the 200 do. It’s more like the 250 Duke — friendly, approachable, and forgiving, but without the punch to keep you entertained for long. Which raises a problem: if this is meant to be a young rider’s first KTM, will they outgrow it in a year or two? And when they do, are they going to be thrilled about dropping another two-plus lakh on their next bike? Especially when the 200 Duke, for just ₹22,000 more, offers stronger performance, more features, and a much better learning curve.
Will the 160 Duke overthrow the reigning Japanese streetfighter? Well, it is too soon to say. But the Duke felt like a good motorcycle on its own terms — composed, usable, and still carrying enough KTM DNA to make you grin. But it also left me wondering if KTM’s decision to build a bike for this class came with one compromise too many. It’s still a Duke, no doubt about that — just one with its collar buttoned up and its hair combed neatly to the side.
