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The Duke of the DUKES

Stunt Rider Rok Bagaros on His Journey from a KTM 200 to the 990 DUKE

Find someone with a better understanding of numerous KTM DUKE limits than stunt rider Rok Bagaros. The 35-year-old tells us about his favourite KTM, graduating from a KTM 200 DUKE to a KTM 990 DUKE for his tricks and becoming a content ‘star’.

By Adam Wheeler

Rok Bagaros performing his magic in front of the KTM Motohall. PC: Sebas Romero

Understanding the KTM DUKE Lineup Through Stunt Rider Rok Bagaros

“Every KTM DUKE has its own character, not a single one is the same.” Rok Bagaros could easily be talking about stunt riders as well. The Slovenian knows a thing or two about his industry and a thrilling form of entertainment in which he has been one of the forefront names for nearly two decades. Since 2011 Bagaros has been living largely on one KTM DUKE wheel. Forcefully testing chassis physics, hardware durability, suspension springs, throttle cable tension, rubber resistance and bone density. Whether via his explosive live shows or through the videos on his YouTube channel (with more than 1.6m subscribers and one ‘drift mania’ clip generating 45m views to-date) Bagaros has taken KTM machinery to a place where very few have been prepared to go.

Rok making stunt riding look easy at the 30 YEARS OF DUKE event in Almería, Spain. PC: Sebas Romero

This experience and insight provide a unique perspective on the merits of the KTM DUKE family and a series of bikes that celebrated 30 years of existence in 2024. We called Rok while he was on the road. He’s been in Spain riding and testing and generating new ideas for his video productions. Crucially he’s been clocking time and knowledge with the KTM 990 DUKE that is still a fresh addition to his arsenal. “It’s been four months…actually a bit longer, almost half a year,” he explains on the way to the KTM Spain HQ just outside Barcelona for a service.

KTM DUKE Evolution: From 200 to 990 cc

Bagaros is clearly a ballsy talent on a motorcycle. He is also a savvy businessman with a sideline on fabricated parts as well as a marketing agency to handle his content creation (tests, bike builds, wacky ideas and more) and consultation services but the burning question concerns his intimacy with KTM DUKEs for nearly 15 years.

“I must have been through all the DUKEs over the past 15 years!” he says. “The model I’ve had for the longest is probably the KTM 200 DUKE, which is now in the 30-year DUKE exhibition in the KTM Motohall. I loved that bike because the power was so smooth and dependable. I had a KTM 250 DUKE for a while and then the KTM 390 DUKE but I kept going back to the 200. The 390 gave me extra power but the 200 was excellent at low RPM and when it was almost idling, which is very important for more slow speed and technical tricks. For me it was the reference.”

The journey from a KTM 200 DUKE through a 790 and now to a 990 is quite a climb. That’s a large differential in terms of handling and power. “The bigger bikes were better for drifting and fast drifts and the kind of stunts you cannot do with a small displacement like the 200,” he explains. “Then again, with the KTM 790 DUKE you cannot do the technical and slow speed moves like the smaller DUKE.”

Is the KTM 990 DUKE a game-changer for stunt riding?

“It might sound hard to believe but the KTM 990 DUKE is like a mix of the small and the bigger DUKEs,” he comments on his new foil. “It has agility but also that smooth, strong delivery. Of course, if you are a Pro or an expert stunt rider. For beginners I would still tell them to start with the KTM 200 DUKE because that will allow you to polish skills and is easier to manage if you make a mistake.”

Rolling burnouts, Stoppies and a land far from the boundaries of ABS; Bagaros is getting to know his most recent KTM DUKE. “I’m still working out the full possibilities with the 990,” he admits. “We are testing and trying new ideas and just figured out a special drift two days ago actually that will go into our next video. I think it will open the door for some different stuff.”

For the 30 YEARS OF DUKE exhibition at the KTM Motohall, Rok provided his stunt bike. PC: Sebas Romero

Online Content vs. Life Shows: What is the Future of Stunt Riding?

Bagaros, as a Ken Block of two wheels, invents concepts for his antics and some of the video clips and social media highlights are breathtaking. His live shows, on the other hand, are based around hi-jinks with the KTM 990 DUKE but he also varies the repertoire. “So, in a show I will have two bikes: one small, one big. I’ll start with the smaller model and then in the last minutes switch to the big where I can show more speed and people love to hear the noise and see a larger motorcycle at some sort of limit.” 

Rok's Current Mission: Transforming the 2025 KTM 990 DUKE into a stunt bike. PC: Rudi Schedl

“I would say I evolve every three years or so, like some sort of chameleon!” he laughs on the development of stunt riding, similar to how Freestyle Motocross also morphs in the nature of the tricks. The global pandemic altered the nature of Bagaros’ job and also wound stunts back to a more earthy and organic state. “It’s my bread-and-butter and the world is changing: so much of our lives are taking up with social media now. Around eight years ago I started my Vlog and the YouTube channel and that changed everything for us.”

“I am one of the only Pro stunt riders around that is factory-backed and in the past there were many more because there were more live shows. This stopped in the pandemic,” he recounts. “I would say 90% of the guys stopped and only ride occasionally now. I would say I perform around five shows per year. In the past KTM wanted me to take the bikes and show what they could do to many corners of the world. My life changed when I started working with KTM and I travelled everywhere. It’s a different story now.”

“Stunt riding has changed also,” he continues. “It’s gone back to how it was thirty years ago when kids were filming themselves on streets in Sao Paolo or in the USA. Clicks are all that matter. Now it is 50% on stunts and 50% on content. Post-Covid there were less shows and content became king, and I had more and more requests for videos.”

Stunt Icon Bagaros’ conclusion of Riding with KTM Motorcycles

Bagaros heads ‘Bagaros Performance’, a company that “builds our own stunt parts and also crash test them!” (check back soon for another special story about this!) but 14 years with KTM means he has seen much progress and many processes at the factory. While the bikes and the contacts might have transformed, he feels the general mentality is steadfast. “When I started in 2011 there was not the same number of bikes in the portfolio that they have now,” he reflects. “KTM have always been one of the best with their image and their marketing. Whether it is digital or with projects of their PowerWear and PowerParts they were different on the market, and there wasn’t really any brand like that. They realized how important content is to connect with people.”

“I would say I evolve every three years or so, like some sort of chameleon!” – Rok Bagaros, Pro Stunt Rider

“I’ve seen the bikes evolve,” he adds on the hardware. “They made huge steps at the beginning and as the quality went higher and higher that meant there was a bit less progression in the latest generations. The improvement from the first to the second generation of smaller DUKEs was huge and then from the second to the third was less but then KTM also had to make that balance between lighter and better with things like emissions rules. They never stopped trying to make the difference though.”