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2011 KTM 125 Duke

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Finally officially debuted at Intermot, KTM took the wraps off its 2011 KTM 125 Duke, a single-cylinder street bike geared towards young riders. While KTM has always included off-road machines in its line-up that are aimed at getting younger riders to ride orange, the company until now has left a gapping hole in its on-road offering for the same demographic. With Bajaj taking a 35% stake in KTM, the Indian company has not only given the Austrian company the capital it needed to expand its line, but is also rumored to be the major driving force behind the 2011 KTM 125 Duke.

After holding an online contest to name its 125cc four-stroke based learner street bike, KTM has shockingly come to the conclusion that it should stick to its Duke nomenclature. Schedule to be the 2011 KTM 125 Duke, KTM debuted the concepts at the 2009 EICMA show in Milan. KTM’s plan is to engage young riders with the “Ready to Race” mantra, making them lifetime Team Orange riders with this stepping-stone model.

With a sporty street bike and a stunter variant, KTM hopes the pair of bikes will resonate well with actual mischievous teenagers, just as its done successfully with adults who have a healthy go-fast inner-child residing inside them.

Look for the 2011 KTM 125 Duke to hit shops in Europe sometime in March, and hit shops in the United States in…well…never. Let KTM USA know how much fun a KTM 350/450 Duke would be in the comments section, and check out the photos and video of the KTM 125 Duke after the jump.

KTM is hard at work on its new 125cc streetbike (which still needs a name) geared to young riders. Debuted at the EICMA show in Milan last year, KTM hopes to bring young riders into the “Ready to Race” brand at an early age. Accordingly, KTM released two concepts last year which centered around a 125cc four-stroke motor.

With a concept for track riding and a concept for stunting, KTM hopes this new bike will strike a nerve with what young riders think is cool about motorcycling. The bikes looked pretty good to us when we saw them first-hand in Milan, and from the looks of this teaser video, the R&D behind the concepts is coming along quite nicely.

KTM is looking for some help in naming its 125 Race and 125 Stunt bikes that were debuted at the 2009 EICMA show. When we saw these bikes launched in Milan, we couldn’t help but want one…even if they’re targeted towards kids. Knowing that the Austrian company’s relatively bland naming nomenclature isn’t likely to resonate with the kids of today, KTM is looking for some insight on how to capture this younger audience, and if they pick your entry you can claim a 125 Race or Stunt bike for your very own.

Are you a European youth with a propensity to get your track day or wheelie on? If you said yes, then KTM might have a bike for you. Unveiled at EICMA yesterday, KTM has brought out two concepts that are designed to engage teens into motorcycling. Based around a KTM 125cc enduro platform, the KTM 125 Race Concept (above) and KTM 125 Stunt Concept (below the jump) have only 15hp, but pack plenty of style and attitude. More details on the concept and photos after the jump.