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The street devil is finally let loose. It loses no time in putting an ear-to-ear grin on our face as we hop onto it. The KTM Duke 200 was spotted innumerable times on the NH 4, being tested by Bajaj Auto's test riders. We saw its pictures too.

The specifications were out last month and they were enough to give us the goose bumps. A 200-cc liquid-cooled engine producing 25 PS of peak power and fitted on a machine that weighs just 136 kg (kerb weight, mind you, not dry) was enough to give one an idea of this machine's prowess. This month we finally swung a leg over the KTM to figure out what it is all about.

A single look at the motorcycle is enough to give you a highly favourable first impression. The styling is very KTM-ish and the orange-black paint scheme talks proudly of its Austrian genealogy. The edges on its tank, its muscular shoulders, sharp tail and in-the-face headlight show exactly what this KTM is all about – out and out aggressive styling.

Close attention has been paid to the smallest details in the making of this bike, including the belly fairing that gels well with the motorcycle and leaves no room for any design-related complaints. Everything seems to be in the right place and in the correct proportions, making the bike look exceptionally good. The Duke 200 brings with it a motorcycle lingo that is not heard by most Indians – the kind spoken by evil urban naked motorcycles.

Swing a leg over the 200 and you discover the compactness of this machine. The handlebar is fairly wide and the saddle is high. A small, squarish instrument console sits in the front and displays an incredible amount of information, ranging from basic stuff like speed and revs per minute to fuel-efficiency and the kilometre range possible with the remaining fuel. There is also a text display (instead of only LED) for warning messages such as when the side-stand is down. All in all, the multi-info instrument console is definitely something that we haven’t seen on an Indian bike thus far. The mandatory rear wheel hugger and sari-guard are in place and don’t look too odd on this bike. The carved swing-arm with the cross pattern on it has killer looks too.