KTM E-Duke Displayed at KTM Motohall - Will it Ever be Launched?
KTM has put the E-Duke prototype machine on display at its Motohall in Mattighofen. But will it ever see the light of day?
A new exhibit is on display at the KTM Motohall in Mattighofen, as the KTM E-Duke prototype joins the collection.
We first got wind of the E-Duke (and its sibling, the Husqvarna E-Pilen) in 2022, when KTM listed the two models on a slide titled ‘E-Motorcycles Under Development’. Alongside the E-Duke and E-Pilen were two other new battery models, an E10 child’s pit bike and a Freeride E LV.
Since then, though, the trail went cold, and while KTM was no doubt forging ahead with development behind the scenes, neither the E-Duke nor E-Pilen broke cover. Well, one of them now has. Well, kind of, as an example of the E-Duke, in what looks like fully finished form, is now on display in the Motohall.
The images come from KTM’s in-house stunt rider, Rok Bagoros, and while there isn’t much to go on from the pictures, the E-Duke looks visually similar to the existing petrol-powered 125 and 390 Dukes. The frame, for instance, seems to be a lightly adapted tubular version of the frame found on the 125 and 390, while the swingarm and sub-frame also seem to be similar, side-mounted rear shock and all.
What we don’t know about the model is what KTM is claiming the performance specs are. When news of the model broke in 2022, the leaked slide from KTM claimed 11kW peak power (around 13.4bhp) and that the bike was to be powered by a 5.5kWh fixed (non-removable) battery. Assuming those performance specs are still true, if it launched, the bike would be in direct competition with bikes like the Meaving RM1S, and the Kawasaki Z E-1.
But that’s the big question, if it’s put into production. Yes, KTM has been scooped out of the mire by its long-time manufacturing partner Bajaj, with the bailout reported to top €600 million. But is now the time to forge on with small-capacity electric bikes, especially given the current market climate that surrounds them?
KTM had already signed up to a deal with Bajaj in 2023 to build what it called ‘high-end’ electric motorcycles, with the E-Duke, E-Pilen and Vektorr e-scooter earmarked for production at Bajaj’s then-new production facility in Pune, India. Whether Bajaj and PMG still want to forge on with that project in the current climate, remains to be seen.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
