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as being, unsurprisingly, enduro specialists and not off-road beginners. Offering what is essentially an off-road superbike with modern, cutting-edge styling, owners of existing LC8 products may well see the 950 Super Enduro R as the ultimate upgrade. Although an extravagant product and one that will likely sell as much due to the way it looks as well as because of its abilities, it is, in the right hands, an extremely competent machine. Don't believe us? Well just ask David Knight. When taken off-road, it is clear to see that the bike is more than at home in the rough. Although the motor is at times a lit- tle too aggressive in the way it delivers its power, which results in acceleration on loose surfaces not always being as smooth and as productive as it could be, the racy 950cc motor, matched to a well-mannered chassis, ensures that riding the bike is effortless on flowing tracks and trails. When ridden in anger, the bike's power is arguably a little too explosive, and wheel spin, rather than forward drive, is often the result. Revving to the moon the bike pro- duces a huge amount of power, which enables it to be steered as easily with the rear wheel as it does with the front. With six well-spaced gears the bike can be a little difficult to change up when ridden extremely hard. At slower speeds the bike can feel a little top heavy due in part to the bike carrying its fuel up high, while the front wheel isn't as well planted as it should be when the suspension is left set up as it comes from the factory. With the front end feeling occasionally a little vague on loose gravel tracks, jacking up the rear and lowering the front of the bike makes it feel much more positive when turning and does nothing to affect the straight-line stability. With the bike's Brembo brakes offering ample off-road stopping capabilities the USD WP forks and WP shock offer more adjustment than most riders will want, but more importantly, allow very accurate set up of the bike. Soaking up smaller bumps effortlessly, larger hits are dealt with equal- ly well but the size and weight of the bike affects the way in which it handles off-road when pushed toward its limits. Trying to get the bike to hop, skip and jump across obstacles isn't easy, as the bike has a ten- dency to crash through bumps due largely to its weight. Despite having a lively power supply and well-spaced gears getting the front wheel off the ground is surprisingly tricky and requires more than just a dip of the clutch and a crack of the throttle. On all but the roughest, ruttiest tracks the bike can be made to change direction with ease but does feel big between the legs, which can make body-weight transfer a little tricky at times. With BMW's HP2 the only other bike in the "super enduro" class, KTM has one clear advantage over its German rivals - the price of the bike. Built in limited num- bers like the HP2, only 1000 will be built C Y C L E N E W S • JULY 12, 2006 43 (Below clockwise from top left) The V-twin DOHC, 942cc, dry sump, water-cooled motor, with 43mm Keihin con- stant-pressure carburetors, weighs in at 127.6 pounds and is said to produce 98 bhp. A six-speed gearbox delivers power to the 18-inch rear wheel; in the back, the non-linkage WP monoshock system offers 10.2 inches of rear- wheel travel; front and rear brakes are Brembo with the front being a twin-piston caliper with a single 300mm floating disc. The rear brake also features a twin-piston caliper with a 240mm floating disc; front forks are fully adjustable WP 48mm USD units; framework consists of a chromoly powder-coated trellis casing with a removable aluminum subframe; The engine is well protected by a sturdy skid plate, located 11.9 inches above the ground. The 950 Super Enduro R is KTM's answer to BMW's HP2 but with a $7000 smaller price tag.