Scary KTM crashes – Human error or bike too powerful? We explain

The KTM Duke 390/RC 390 is a very powerful machine. While it is priced at a reasonable price, it offers performance that can take a lot of riders by surprise. One such incident occurred outside Hubli, when the rider (Roshan Goudar) lost his life when he collided head on with a bus.

Details:

The rider was on an ride with fellow KTM Duke owners, organized to celebrate Independence day. It seems that Roshan was speeding while he entered a corner and he then lost control of his bike, making him go to the other side of the road and colliding with an oncoming bus head on.

Fellow bikers there who rushed him to the hospital immediately, he succumbed to his injuries later. While the main cause of the accident is reported to be over speeding, there is one major factor that has not been talked about a lot. The rider was 17 years old, which means he didn’t have a license.

Under-aged rider on a powerful bike is a disastrous combination, as you can see here. His father is an avid biker as well and owns many powerful bikes. There have been many other Duke accidents that have taken place over the years. Here is footage of 3 such events:

The above incident is of the first reported crash of a 2017 Duke 390. This accident shows a rider, driving on the wrong side of the road, trying to overtake traffic when he is hit head on with an auto. The rider and the auto driver both succumbed to their injuries after being admitted to the hospital.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT_3xjaiOG4

Here too you see an incident of an overtaking gone wrong. The Duke rider was overtaking on a blind corner, that too in an area which had double white lines and he crashed into an oncoming vehicle.

Here you can see another case of rider error, where in the rider loses control of his Duke over a small hump where there was gravel.

Is the bike to blame for these crashes? Not at all. Bajaj introduced the KTM brand in India to give the people the thrill of riding at a low cost. The 390 Duke makes 43 Bhp and 37 Nm and is massively powerful. Such power is tough to control for an amateur. The onus is on the rider to ride safely and responsibly.

Image source: Link