Yamaha’s small-size streetfighter, the MT-15, recently received its long-overdue update in India. It gets a host of updates, presumably in a bid to be better than its closest rival, the KTM 125 Duke. Now, both these bikes can quench your thirst for a small, zippy and exciting street naked. But if you’re wondering which one’s better on paper, here’s the detailed specification comparison of the MT 15 Ver 2.0 and the 125 Duke.
Styling
Both the bikes look sporty, aggressive and radical. However, where the MT-15 has retained the same design, the 125 Duke went through a major design makeover last year. The latter looks identical to its bigger siblings including the 200 Duke and 250 Duke, except for the colour options which are different for the baby Duke. Speaking of colours, Yamaha has introduced new paint options for the MT-15 Ver 2.0 which look swanky and youthful.
Features
The MT-15 is a substantially better-equipped bike than the 125 Duke when it comes to features. The former gets a full-LED headlamp and tail lamp, a large digital instrument cluster, and a slipper clutch. The MT-15 also offers Bluetooth connectivity for smartphone pairing. The Duke, meanwhile, does get a digital dash but it looks dated now and also misses out on Bluetooth connectivity. Even the headlamp is a conventional bulb-type unit, while turn indicators and the tail lamp house LEDs.
Engine
The MT-15 Ver 2.0 leads the battle here as well, at least on paper. It’s powered by a higher-revving 155cc, single-cylinder, liquid-cooled engine that churns out 18.14bhp and 14.1Nm. Whereas, its Austrian rival runs on a 124.71cc, liquid-cooled mill capable of producing 14.3bhp and 12Nm. Both bikes incorporate a six-speed gearbox.
Cycle parts
The 125 Duke is a little more premium in terms of hardware. The suspension set-up includes upside-down forks and a monoshock, both sourced from WP. The disc brakes at both ends are larger with a diameter of 300mm and 230mm at the front and rear, respectively. Even the tyres are wider, with 150mm upfront and 110mm at the rear.
As for the MT, it has done away with telescopic forks and sports upside-down forks now. However, the rear monoshock has remained unchanged. The diameter of disc brakes stands at 282-220mm while tyres are slimmer with a width of 140mm and 100mm at the front and rear, respectively. Where the MT-15 has an upper edge in the weight department; tipping the scales at 139kg, it is 20kg lighter than the Duke.
Pricing
Despite being better in terms of features and engine specifications, the more expensive colour variants of the Yamaha MT 15 Ver 2.0 are pegged at Rs 1.61 lakh while the Metallic Black trim costs Rs 1.60 lakh. On the other hand, the KTM 125 Duke demands a premium of around Rs 10,000 over the MT 15.
