PROTOTYPE KTM 1290 SUPER DUKE GT
FIRST RIDE
P78
gained the best of both
worlds in delivering a
noticeable hit of extra
midrange performance
which is maintained all
the way to the 10,200
rpm limiter, at which point
the RBW/ride by wire
digital throttle simply stops
building revs as you notice
how little vibration there is
at any engine speed, even
higher ones. Switching on
the stock cruise control
to run at 80 mph along a
four-lane highway deliv-
ers effortless mile eating
that's free of any tingles.
Yet at the other end of
the rev scale the GT has
a really meaty power
delivery, pulling strongly
from as low as 4,000
rpm in Sport riding mode
out of the three available
(Rain and Street are the
others), which means you
don't have to work the six-
speed gearbox's sweet-
action stock powershifter
very hard to get muscular
drive through the V-twin
motor's mighty midrange.
I could hold fourth gear
for mile after mile carving
corners through the Aus-
trian countryside followed
by straight-line squirts to
the next bend, making
the GT live up to its name
as a grand tourer with
sporting pretensions that
are constantly available at
the twist of a wrist. Sure,
you can knock it down
one gear or even two to
get added zest—but the
1301cc motor has such
huge reserves of torque
that even if Sekira de-
clined to reveal exact stats
at this stage of the bike's
development, it's evident
that what KTM has done
here is to extract extra
performance from the
V-twin engine over and
above the Super Duke R's
already impressive num-
bers, while at the same
time making the bike eas-
ier to ride, with reduced
vibration, and meeting the
tougher Euro 4 emission
and noise targets. How's
that for a win-win-win-win
accomplishment?
"Three years ago we
did not believe that we
could ever gain even the
same engine performance
while meeting Euro 4
targets," says Sekira. "But
eventually we realized
that not only is this indeed
possible, but that we can
have extra peak power
and extra midrange power
with the LC8 engine in
Euro 4 compliant mode—
and thanks also to the
better combustion of the
engine, you can also feel
it has extra smoothness!"
The Super Duke GT's
V-twin motor eats up
tarmac with a ferocity that
continues unabated until
The GT is
designed to eat
up the miles,
more crooked
the better.
