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/128350
meet Euro 3 em issi ns, so we can develo p that based on our o experience in the meantime with the Duke ." As fitted to the 950 Supe rMoto, therefore, the liquidcoo led, DOHC, eight-valve , 75 -degree V-twin LC8 e ngine measures 100 x 60 mm , fo r a capacity of 94 2cc , and delivers 98 bhp at the rear wheel at 8500 rpm (th o ugh it safely runs w ell over 10,000 rpm), which , in a complete bike scaling just 5 kg ( I I pounds) more than the 990 5uperDuke - so , 299 kilos (657.8 pou nds) with a full 17-lite r (4.4 2-gallo n) load of fue l, or 184 kilos (404 .8 po unds) half-dry - delivers zestful real-world pe rformance by any standards, and es peci ally for the Na ked 8 ike class . Hm m... sounds like a reci pe for some seri o us street-squi rreling, short-shifting th ro ugh the close-ratio cluster to keep th e sho rt -stroke motor revving hard and the fro nt wheel no t q uite hovering above th e de ck as yo u do so , thanks to th e lo ng wh eelbase and kicked -o ut geo me try by street stan dards - all of wh ich helps to keep the 950 SuperMoto in shape so successfully . And th at' s the best way to ride th is reward ing, easyhand ling fun bike , w hose torq uey but eager-revving eng ine seems happy to take any gear yo u care to th row at it . It'll pull away from rest in third gear with o nly moderate clutch slip, o r roll on wide open in top gear fro m 25 m ph withou t a hint of transmissio n snatch. It's the ultimate user-friend ly spo rt bike , wh ich yo u can ride on auto pilot o r hang right ou t aboard, any way the fancy takes you . In spite of the q uite high handleb ars, there 's no trace of a weave or wobb le at speeds up to 100 mp h tho ugh if I'd fo und any space to go fast er th an that , I suspect I'd have had to ho ld on uncomforta bly hard to avoid be ing blown off t he back. T he bo tt o m four ratios of the Adve nture gearbox are quite close tog et her, w ith the to p-two farthe r spaced out, but using the same 17:42 ove rall ratio as the enduro model makes the SM950 seem overgeared - unne cessarily lo ng-legged for a po int-'n'-slide supermoto model. Riding the 950 SuperMoto off-road revealed its lightwei ght and easy handling to be even mo re of an asset along dirt lanes and unmade roads. The 2 1Omm (12.6 inches) of wheel travel fro nt and rear de livers enough suspension to cope with average bump s and jump s, and the seemingly tarmac-focused tires are in fact improbably grippy in slippery going, though they do n't have the OUtright block tread needed fo r anyth ing too demanding. It's a true dualpurpose bike, though - albeit natu rally focused toward paved roads rather than sand or mud. Back on the hard stuff, the so ft, co m pliant suspensio n settings deliver unexpected ride quality over broken su rfaces, eating up bumps and road rash with gusto , while delivering good tractio n when gassed up out of turns cran ked over, with just an occasional dab of your foot to encourage the rear Pirelli to grip prope rly. We ll, you sort of owe it to yourself to at least pretend you're Bo ris Cham bon , do n't you?! Doing it differen tly, in sporting style, is the trademark of th e Austrian kings of the off-roa d world, and the 950 Supe rMot o is a real-w o rld sport motorcycle unlike the ot hers, co mbining off-road green lane capa bilitiesand corner-carving tarmac skills in equa l measure to produce that rare package: a sport bike tha t's im press ively fast in pointto -point terms (provided the re are lo ts of be nds along the way) but that isn't dynam ically demanding to ride , merely civilized in behavio r w hen you want it to be and eve n just a little comfortable to be o n, by reason of the fact you always fee l in charge of such a responsive, user-friendly package . W ith the increasing em phasis on fun-bike sport moto rcycles and th e growing threa t to conventio nal sport bikes of th e R/RRIRS variety pos ed by speed cameras and roc keting insurance costs, I fo resee the 950 Supe rMot o becoming KTM's best-selling street bike mo de l right from the da y it en ters produ ctio n, as well as the paradigm fo r a new gen eration of spo rt ing mo torcycles, whic h it's inevitable that other manu factu re rs will try to copy. And they'll need to , if th ey want to keep pace w ith KTM - on the st re et, as well as in t he dirt . eN ~ Sandhill Motorsports Park . - Presents . . THE CfH~OL1N-R LJJ1N T E Chesterfield, SC R SER1ES Southeast A rea Qual/fier March 19 & 20 Sand Track Will Not Cancel Due To Rain or Cold Weather! Open Practice Saturday Before Each Race Info: 843·623·2036 www.sandh illmotors p orts .com www.cy clenews .com CYCLE NEWS • NOVEMBER 17, 2004 15