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Bajaj Boss Confident About Ducati Purchase

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Americans probably can’t place the name “Rajiv Bajaj” when they hear it, though his last name should give you a clue. As the Managing Director of Bajaj Auto, Rajiv Bajaj is in charge of one of the largest motorcycle brands in the world.

As we learned yesterday, Bajaj is one of the many firms vying for ownership of Ducati Motor Holding – that is of course assuming that the Volkswagen Group actually sells the iconic motorcycle brand, which is a big “if” to make.

For Bajaj though, they seem fairly confident that Ducati will sell, and even more confident that the Italian brand will be part of their motorcycle portfolio. Talking to the Economic Times, Bajaj has hinted that his company was in the final stages of sealing the deal with Ducati.

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News

Bids Come in for Ducati, Just Not from Harley-Davidson

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Reuters continues to dish on Ducati’s possible divestiture from the Volkswagen Group, with news that several bids have been placed on the Italian motorcycle brand. Reuters says that amongst the bidders are several key brands like, Polaris, Bajaj, and Royal Enfield’s owners Eicher Motors.

Noticeably absent from the list of potential buyers however was the much talked-about Harley-Davidson, a name that the same Reuters reporters first offered as Ducati’s potential future owner.

Now Reuters offers us another name as the likely front-runner, pointing to Italy’s Benetton family (as in, the United Colors of Benetton), which has reportedly submitted a bid of $1.2 billion, through its investment arm Edizione Holding.

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Lifestyle

Sumo Wrestlers Rippin’ Dank Whoolies on Motorcycles

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Get ready, because you are about to win the internet for today. You are about to be the hero of your office email chain. You are about to lose several minutes of your life (and maybe more) that you will never be able to get back again.

For your consideration, we bring you two sumo wrestlers rippin’ dank whoolies on motorcycles. Many thanks to our crazy friends at Bajaj, who think this is a great way of selling the Pulsar motorcycle to the traveling masses.

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Bikes

Report: KTM 390 Adventure Begins Testing in India

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It’s been a while since we heard about the KTM 390 Adventure, the Austrian company’s third installment to its built-in-India small-displacement motorcycle lineup.

Based off the KTM 390 Duke, the Adventure model has been a long-time coming, ever since KTM CEO Stefan Pierer lit it slip that the dual-sport would be coming, two and a half years ago.

It seems now that KTM is getting closer to production, as the folks at CarTrade are reporting that two test models of the KTM 390 Adventure (codenamed KT22) have been sent to India for R&D, presumably as a prelude to Bajaj beginning production on the budget-friednly machines.

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News

Report: KTM 390 Duke Coming to the USA in 2014

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Speaking to India’s Business Standard, KTM CEO Stefan Pierer has confirmed that the KTM 390 Duke will be coming to the US market in 2014 — a full year later than the company’s leaked road map slide projected.

A noticeable absence from this year’s USA model lineup, the KTM 390 Duke is the biggest sibling in KTM’s new entry-level street bike offerings, with the company already seeing the KTM 125 Duke and KTM 200 Duke as successes in the marketplace.

Helping push KTM beyond BMW Motorrad’s yearly sales totals for 2012, the Austrian company is reaping significant benefits from its partnership with Bajaj, which owns a minority stake in KTM. Producing the smaller Duke machines in Bajaj’s Chakan plant, KTM has been able to create a capable, affordable, and enticing motorcycle for new and current motorcyclists alike.

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News

Uh-Oh BMW, KTM Had Its Best Sales-Year Ever in 2012

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If we asked you which Germanic company was the largest motorcycle brand by volume, you would likely guess BMW Motorrad…and you would be wrong. Snap! Displacing the venerable brand from Bavaria, which set its own sales record, KTM’s 2012 sales year of 107,142 units has handed the Austrian brand the distinction of being the best-selling Germanic brand worldwide (by a margin of less than 1,000 machines).

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News

KTM Reconfirms “Faired” and “Travel” Duke 390 Models

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For some time now, we have known that KTM intended to bring a 300cc-class version of its KTM 125 Duke motorcycle to market, thanks primarily to a leaked product road map that covered the Austrian company’s product line-up clear through the 2014 model year.

Slotted to bring the KTM 390 Duke to the US market this coming spring, the leaked road map has so far proven to be accurate, and has two interesting machines listed for 2014: the KTM Moto3 350 & KTM Enduro 350.

Now confirmed by KTM’s CEO Stefan Pierer, KTM will debut a “faired” model (the KTM Moto3 350) and a “travel” model (KTM Enduro 350), which are based off the KTM 390 Duke platform, and will share the bike’s 375cc single-cylinder engine.

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Bikes

2013 KTM 390 Duke – AYBABTU

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Officially official now, there isn’t much about the 2013 KTM 390 Duke that we don’t already know ahead of the opening of the EICMA show. Built in India by KTM minority shareholder Bajaj, the KTM 390 Duke is a 373cc single-cylinder bike that shares the same chassis as the KTM 125 Duke & KTM 200 Duke.

Suitable for Europe’s A2 licensing system, the largest baby Duke competes well against bikes like the Honda CBR500R and Kawasaki Ninja 300, and thus finishes out the Austrian’s bid to control the small-displacement market.

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News

Report: More Details on the now KTM 390 Duke

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Courtesy of the folks at Zigwheels, details about the KTM 390 Duke (previously of KTM 350 Duke & KTM 375 Duke fame) continue to emerge ahead of the EICMA show in Milan, including what is expected to be the official designation of the small-displacement motorcycle. Coming in a 375cc single-cylinder format, KTM continues its misleading numbering scheme for motorcycles with a “390” designation, though we think you will forgive the Austrian brand, as its American-bound mini-Duke is said to come with 45hp and a 331 lbs curb-weight.

For those keeping score, that means that the KTM 390 Duke will have more power than the Kawasaki Ninja 300, and weigh less than the Honda CBR250R, making it a very formidable package in the small-displacement market. To be made in India by Bajaj (a major stakeholder in KTM’s public stock), the Indian company is expected to make its own version of the model, similar to what it has done with the Pulsar 200NS, which is based off the KTM 200 Duke.

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Rumors

Rumor: KTM 375 Duke – A V-Twin Learner Cometh?

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Diving through KTM’s 108 page annual report for 2011, the Austrian company lists a couple of interesting developments in its Research & Development section. Partnering with Bajaj on small-displacement street motorcycles, the first obvious fruit of that labor was the KTM 125 Duke, and the subsequent KTM 200 Duke that is available worldwide.

We already know that KTM plans on bringing a 300cc version of the baby Duke to North America, and the Austrian company lists displacements in this project up to 375cc, a strong signal to the final displacement of the much anticipated KTM 350 Duke.

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News

KTM Sells 50,000+ Motorcycles in the First-Half of 2012

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KTM has crunched the numbers on it sales for the first half of 2012, and the Austrian company has some very impressive news to share. Selling 50,233 units in the first six months of the year, KTM’s increase in sales is 36% over last year’s figures for the same time period, a gain due mainly to the company’s efforts in emerging markets like India.

Though this is the first time that Bajaj’s selling of the KTM Duke 200 has been included in KTM’s half-year report, the Austrian brand wasn’t fueled solely by its Indian sales, as KTM’s European sales were up 41% as well, giving KTM a total marketshare in the EU of 7%.

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