KTM 990 Superduke....
The Austrian wild child that just loves to get down and party...
KTM’s first big headbanging road bike is going cheaper than ever these days now the new 1290 is in town. But this SuperDuke is arguably far more fun, and crazier, than the ‘Beast’. Here you’ll find all the costs, prices, foibles, pitfalls and pleasures of buying a used one all in one hit. On the pounds-to-crazy-o-meter, this Duke rules!
KTM 990 Super Duke 2005-2013
KTM is a company that enjoys making an impression. Its corporate colours are a bold orange and the underlying styling ethos is ‘if you don’t like the look, buy something else.’ It’s this wild and edgy side that attracts riders to the brand – and no bike sums up KTM’s spirit like the 990 Super Duke. Not only is it controversial in its styling, it is built with KTM’s ‘ready to race’ philosophy and, above all, it delivers a thoroughly thrilling ride.
Although not KTM’s first road bike, the original Super Duke followed hot on the heels of the 950 Adventure in 2005. Having stuck to what it knew best, KTM took a different path with the Super Duke. As well as fuel-injecting and increasing the capacity of the 950’s carbed LC8 motor, KTM attempted to blend all the hooliganism of a supermoto into a practical naked. The Super Duke was never destined to be a run of the mill machine, such as the disappointing Honda Hornet 900 or Yamaha Fazer 1000, this beast from Austria was always going to reflect the passion and excitement KTM puts into every one of its vehicles. A fact that was demonstrated the very moment it released the bike’s promo video…
Shot in Japan as a direct ‘up yours’ to the big four, the promotional video for the 990 Super Duke was not only an internet sensation when it was released in 2005, it also has the honour of being the only motorcycle manufacturer’s promo video to be banned! Images of cage
fighters kicking the shit out of each other to a heavy metal soundtrack was only the warm up, what follows is a display of hooliganism on the road that makes the old Fast Bikes vids look restrained. Wheelies through rush hour traffic, skids, stoppies, kneedown with sparky sliders all finally culminating in a huge jump over a brow in the road where the rider actually clears a pedestrian crossing the road. The Super Duke had arrived and it was brimming with attitude.
In 2005 the super naked market was still in its fledgling stages, but the Duke was bang on the money from the word go. Where the Japanese, with the likes of the Kawasaki Z1000, had decided outlandish style was more important than outright performance, the Europeans went for handling and power. Aprilia’s Tuono was little more than a naked RSV-R