KTM Superduke
Aren't
I the lucky one! Delivering my trusty VFR for some service
work, the dealership was nice enough to give me a loan bike...
a KTM 990 Super Duke... Those who know, know that I am not
a big fan of traillies or supermoto's (mainly coz I'm a short
arse!), but the chance to take one of these out for play was
too much for me to turn down.
Now,
remember the bit about being a short arse? Well, I can just
get me feet down and the whole bike  feels
a wee bit alien to me. High(ish) wide bars, and a feeling of
being perched on top of the bike are kinda off putting, but
nothing can prepare you for the grunt of the motor.
The
KTM will wheelie off the throttle in first and second, and
given the slightest rise in the road, she'll do it in third
as well. On open "A" roads with sweeping bends, the
bike feels well planted, no movement whatsoever, but it does
take a minute or two to tune into how to ride the KTM. It's
all at the front! You have to get your weight over the front
end of the bike to make it do anything (at least that's the
best way I found of getting it to do anything!). On tighter
scratchin' roads, again it is all front end, but if you simply
ignore the bike and keep looking well ahead, the KTM carves
a tight line with the minimum of fuss. I would have to say
that I never came anything  close
to finding the limits of this bike, and suspect that most street
bikers would struggle to find the limits.
All
is not rosey however! The fuelling is kinda on / off in town,
and you have to keep in a low gear (2nd) to stay within the
30mph limits. I could just about hang 3rd, but the bike did
not seem to like this too much. This may be me not being used
to the bike (or riding twins), but the bike definately felt
better in 2nd rather than 3rd in town.
The
bike is also thirsy, with about 100 miles to the tank, which
is pathetic really (especialy if you are a rally hound like
all of us at psychobiker). Other than the tank range and fuelling,
the bike really is a hoot. I would not recommend this bike
to novices, as the throttle is abrupt to the point of being
viscious, however in experienced (old) hands, the KTM  Super
Duke is an absolute scream, the closest sensation to riding
the KTM that I have experienced is like riding a tricked up
Bandit 12, with NOS and a turbo... it really feels that quick.
How
would I score this bike?
A
Roads: 9/10
B
Roads: 9/10
Town:
3/10
Fun:
13/10!
Words
and Pics by: Bob
The views expressed in this article are those of Bob only!
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