Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127996
(Left and
below)
Something
new: The
stacked
ellipsoidal
headlight unit
is actually a
Gerald Kiske
original design
for the KTM
Unit concept
bike; the same
styling found
its way onto
the Tamburinistyled MV
Agusta.And
something
borrowed: T~e
new twin
exhaust unit
tucks up under
the seat on the
Duke II, a la
Ducati 916.
(Above) The electric-start, SOHC 640series engine displaces 624cc and is
largely unchanged from the firstgeneration Duke, save for an' improved
dual exhaust system.
dess" will be built this year year alongside WOO versions of the more sober titanium-silver color scl1eme. (Only the silver version is slated to be sold in the
United States.) The price is the same
either way, though: a pretty steep $7898.
Hey, if you can sell everyone you make
just by opening an order book, it makes
sense to price the product profitably.
To restyle his Duke 1 concept by
working on the basis of his Unit project
bike displayed at the 1996 Cologne
Show, designer Gerald Kiske has
retained the innovative double-stack
ellipsoidal headlight introduced on the
The Duke D nas
he Duke debuted in April 1994, a product of a year of
intensive development by a company that had gone bust
when KTM filed for bankruptcy in December 1991. But a
rescue plan mounted by Swiss venture capitalists Exantra,
together with a group of the fum's leading importers, saw the
company soon back on its feet again. Since then it has rapidly
grown to its present position as the world's leading off-road
manufacturer, capable of defeating its Japanese and European
rivals in motocross, enduro and desert-rally competition, and
producing over 26,000 powered two-wheelers in 1998. KTM's
commercial revival on the back of its sporting succe s is
ensured, allowing the Austrian company to take over Sweden's
Husaberg four-stroke off-road motorcycle works and Holland's
WP suspension supplier, and to work on expanding its range
by. developing its own 800cc 75-degree V-twin engine, which is
scheduled to make its debut in the 2001 Dakar Rally and to
reach production the following model year.
The Duke's development therefore parallels KTM's revival,
and the fact that a company previously known exclusively for
its off-road expertise should produce such a single-minded
street rod that sells out each season is a reflection of its growing
self-confidence. In fact, the bike is the prodUct of the enthusiasm of two men, both 3O-something specialists in their respective fields, who dreamed up the Duke back in 1993 and sold the
idea to KTM's dynamic new owners: Wolfgang Felber, now
chief engineer and boss of the company's R&D, and Gerald
Kiske, boss of KTM design and an Austrian version of Massimo
Tamburini, who focus on off-road design creativity.
Felber, a former 2S0cc GP road racer and two-time German
Supermono champion on his self-built KTM Single Racer, saw a
means of combining his day job of producing off-road excellence with his love of light, nimble street singles, while Kiske
relished an opportunity to deliver some original thought to the
world of Supermotard design. For that's what the Duke was
T
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CD
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CD
c:
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18
intended to be: a series-production version of the French MXderived hooligan-bike street rods - but by an established manufacturer - delivering fun, fun, fun from I