KTM SUPERDUKE GT
THIS MONTH I HAVE MOSTLY BEEN… “Feeling depressed.”
Well the day had to come, the curtain had to fall and KTM had to piss on my parade. The dreaded year end and a call from KTM’s PR honcho wanting their bike back. Mind you, the pleasure has genuinely been all mine; I’ll be forever wiping my eyes and then boring all my mates to tears with fantastic stories of my time spent with the big Katoom.
Riding such a great bike through a mild spring and scorching hot summer isn’t much of a hardship, so throwing a salty British winter at the nuts, bolts and crannies would have been an ideal concluding test of the Austrian’s metal – but alas it’s not to be. I’ll bet my bottom dollar with a regular weekend wash and fettle the GT’s quality finish has what it takes to shrug off the winter drudgery and salty splatterings. Being honest though, this year I’ve convinced myself of a friend’s mantra that “bikes are for riding not washing”, so it hasn’t been the tidiest looker. After another busy month on the bike, clocking up close to 1000 miles, I’d lost sight of the orange frame and bling carbon bits, all morphing into a shade of grime.
It was time to get my back into returning the KTM to its former glory, rolling my sleeves up and after engaging in a few rounds with a foaming jet wash the bike forgave me of my recent lack of effort and gleamed as good as new. The only visible signs of partial neglect were a discoloured nut on the gear shift rod and minor scratches on the tank. For eight months of all-weather use, applying minimal cleaning effort, that’ll go down as a resounding result in my book. Obviously I couldn’t hand the keys back without swinging my leg over the seat one last time and sampling the bike’s piece de la resistance... fast touring!
Let’s call it its final hoorah, and what better long weekend trip than blasting down to Belgium to commemorate the fallen soldiers and armistice of the First World War? Leaving later than planned on Friday, nudging for space on the M25 down to Folkstone, certainly wasn’t my finest idea yet this is where the brilliance of the KTM stepped in. It was looking after me with comfort, sweet handling, 173bhp of usable power and electronic safety nets when I was being a tit. Scratching my head to think of any criticisms, I would point towards the screen; at 6ft 2in I struggle to find the optimum point on its adjustability range to deflect wind noise. Instead of the trial, error and expense of countless screens piling up in the garage I fitted the MRA X-Creen supplied by HPS and it works an absolute treat.
Comfortably knocking out a four-hour ride to the commemorations in Ypres, I felt fresh enough to jump straight off the bike and explore what this historic city had to offer. With so many memorials and cemeteries scattering the surrounding areas respects were paid many times over the weekend. Riding the twisting undulating back roads from one battle site to another paves the way for thoughts towards the lives lost and the freedom we gained.
As bikers we all connect to the feeling of freedom and riding the KTM this year has endorsed that feeling for me. It’s become my partner in crime, doing everything I ask of it without fuss or complaint. Riding it has never been a chore and saying ‘nah, I can’t be bothered today’ has simply not crossed my mind. Now, where did I put that copy of