KTM Super Duke
 

OK for anyone asking themselves "is it worth the trouble to go up to Laconia. The test ride on the KTM 990 Super Duke made every second of the trip up and back worth it. This thing is hot. While none of us got to wring it out on the highway we did get to tear up some side roads around the area. One of the first things that has to be acknowledged is that I am not as good as the bike is. That said the perfect combination of drive train chassis and brakes let me do things with a bike that I haven't done on anything bigger than a 125 and that was in the dirt. In one instance through a missed signal during a driving rain, I found myself over braking the rear wheel and just rolling the throttle on to "power slide" it back into position. This is not the fastest twin I have ridden but it is god awful quick, The chassis is great, it handled every surface extremely well and the riding position seems slightly higher than the Monster. Brakes are great with out over complication and the set is actually quite comfortable (hey anyone at Ducati listening?) The only downside is NO wind deflection. (I know it is a Naked after all) Oh and the price $14500 which puts it right in there with the S4RS (that is also the only real comparison point in performance as well) and it would be a tough call for me if I were ready to drop that kind of change. But make no mistake this KTM is clearly near the top of the heap with the Nakeds and with out that pricey vavl adjustment that some of its Italian competitors have.

Awesome... and only about $10,000 out of my price range...

I demoed one last year. It was a fun ride but it revs out way too quickly. I hit the rev limiter several time in a 10 minute ride. Also the seating is very high, almost dirt bike style. If I was going to spend $15K on a bike it sure wouldn't be that one.

The price tag is high but then look at all the components: Brembo radial calipers and master cylinder, Brembo radial master clutch cylinder, Brembo wheels, WP twin-speed suspensions, Renthal bars, etc. Nothing is cheap on that bike. The engine doesn't give out the highest outputs among the liter twins but the power curve is superbly tailored to the bike. It's not about sheer power, but it's about useable power. Performance Bike did a shootout between the liter naked at the Nurburing last year and the only naked bike that outran the Super Duke was the Aprilia Tuono Factory.

I haven't got any real saddle time on the Tuono (Oh and would I like to!) and as much as I love my friends S4RS I have to say the KTM felt far more planted It had the power where it was usable not in some stratospheric boil, and was amazingly well suited for the kinds of twisted multi surface environment (everything from glass smooth to gaping pot holes) we find here. It was almost as forgiving as my old V-Strom 1000 with far more performance.

Fun bike... for sure. A very good friend of mine has one, and I just refer to it as *angry*. It's my favorite ugly bike... because ugly it is...

KTM prides itself on the angular, industrial look. Can't mistaken it for anything else.

cept maybe some oragami. or a geomotry book.

I haven't ridden the SuperDuke yet, but my buddy Mattias who is the Ops Manager for Fastrack Riders out here loves it! Of course, he's Austrian too so his impartiality is officially in question.

I did demo a Hypermotard S yesterday...:rockwoot:

They are not ugly....they are beautiful....but I'm a bit biased.

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d.../SuperDuke.jpg