VOL. 54 ISSUE 18 MAY 9, 2017 P51
KTM'S "E-DUKE" BREAKS COVER
W
e could be at the very start
of the mainstream electric
motorcycle revolution, if these
spy photos of KTM's new "E-
Duke" are any indication.
The E-Duke (our name, not
KTM's) looks to be the first tenta-
tive steps into the road electric
market for the Austrians, who
have already gained considerable
experience in electric motorcy-
cles thanks to their off-road vari-
ants in the Freeride E-SX, E-SM
and E-XC on sale in Europe.
The spy shots here look as
though KTM is pretty advanced in
their electric prototype. At time of
publication, no details on the ma-
chine had yet been released by
KTM, and KTM USA had no com-
ment on the machine's existence
when quizzed by Cycle News.
The base is clearly the previ-
ous generation 390 Duke. A
new 390 was released a couple
of months ago; however, this
electric model uses last year's
frame and bodywork with the
electric motor wedged between
the frame rails.
Interestingly, KTM's also fitted
a clutch and gear lever arrange-
ment on the E-Duke. This is a
move that was implemented by
Victory and their electric part-
ners Brammo when the Empluse
TT was released in 2016 and is
aimed at replicating the riding
experience of a gas bike.
Aside from the now defunct
Victory, KTM's E-Duke is the
first running prototype of a full
size street bike we have seen
from a major manufacturer, and
not a bespoke one like Zero of
Energica. Yamaha has released
various concepts over the past
few years, including the PES1
and PED1 dirt machine, and
Honda (under the Mugen ban-
ner) has developed the extremely
successful Shinden Roku Isle of
Man TT Zero racer, although no
production variant has yet been
released.
Although seemingly advanced
in that the machine runs, KTM's
E-Duke is most likely still several
years away from being produc-
tion ready. But the fact the
company that builds some of the
most badass motorcycles on the
planet is forging into this side of
the motorcycle industry is good
news for not just E-bike riders,
but all of us. CN
X-FACTOR GNCC POSTPONED
T
he X-Factor round of the 2017 GNCC Series that was scheduled on May 6-7 at Peru, Indiana, has
been postponed to May 20-21. The forecast for wet weather forced the organizers to reschedule
the race to the new date.
The X-Factor race is being held at the Whitetails Farm, a new venue on the GNCC circuit.
Click here for more information. CN
KTM's E-Duke is a
rough prototype at this
stage, but shows the
company is serious
about alternative
power units in its
future.
