THE MCN250 TEST ROUTE
It’s Britain’s best road test route. A tough 250-mile mix of A and B- roads, a stretch of motorway, plus plenty of towns, villages, blind corners, ballistic straights, and a huge range of grippy to slippy tarmac. There are two cafés, an off-road section for adventure and trail bikes, track time at Silverstone for sportsbikes, and Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground and the dyno for hard and fast data when needed. You want answers? We’ve got ’em.
Into the Cotswolds
Back in Street mode for engine and damping, Stratford is despatched effortlessly before I turn towards the Cotswolds, prod back into Sport mode and literally have a blast. A loony-driven Merc wants to play before I effortlessly turn it into a dot in the decent mirrors and overall the way the GT cuts past cars on these ever-curvier roads due its combination of performance, vision and precise handling is simply astounding.
Fishing for fun
I look forward to Fish Hill’s alpine-esque hairpins more than I can remember. And on drying roads the GT’s brilliance shines through again. I struggle to think of anything that’d keep up on these roads yet I’m also relaxed and comfortable. Then it’s the fast blast to Stow and Cirencester before chocolate box Bibury and Burford. Through it all the GT is just getting better and better.
Motorway impressions
I wonder if the droning M40 will reveal any chinks in the GT’s armour; it’s a converted supernaked, after all, but no. The new, slightly larger screen and revised adjusting mechanism are spot on. No RT cocoon, maybe, but still enough for my 6ft 3in. The now left-mounted cruise control is a big improvement (not that I use it much). Comfort and ergonomics are fine (I jab the damping down to Comfort) and the TFT dash displays everything I need.
Pause for reflection
The 23-litre tank means I haven’t needed to stop since the Super Sausage and despite two hours in the saddle haven’t wanted to. But after the A40 I finally pause just outside Long Hanborough. I’m still impressed but all that orange would be better suited on a Porsche GT3 or a six-year-old’s bicycle while that new LED headlight and nose is in no way a looker.
Scratching the itch
A bap at the Super Sausage gives a chance to scribble down growing admiration before I cut off the A5, switch the GT’s engine map from Street to Sport and open the taps down the B4525. Wow! Yes, the GT’s as explosive and sharp as ever, fast enough to beat virtually anything on the street, but even more impressively it is unruffled, precise, efficient and, dare I say it , almost easy, too.
Fuel for thought
After 162.5 miles the fuel light finally comes on at Enslow (although the dash still reveals the range has 60 miles left) so I Ieave it until Buckingham, and 186 miles, to refuel. That’s decent in anyone’s book. The readout says I’m averaging 44mpg which is accurate although when brimmed and back on the road I certainly notice the extra weight, although it’s no real problem.
Steady progress
The repeated new roadworks on the A45 make initial going slow and there’s a sense that the KTM is impatient, tugging at its leash. The GT is not a machine that likes to be ridden slowly, although the added refinement, extra creature comforts (heated grips, new screen etc) and slick, crisp controls mean pedestrian pottering is actually not too much of a burden either for a big V-twin.
City slicker
The GT’s already proved itself on A-roads, M-ways, and country B-roads and now makes similar short shrift of congested Milton Keynes and Bedford. That’s due to its blend of super-naked performance and upright, narrow and faired semi-adventure riding position, height and ergonomics. The new (and excellent) quickshifter/auto-blipper more than proves its worth through the slice and dice of the roundabouts and ring roads here, too.
Getting comfortable
On the move the GT’s Super Duke roots are clear. The riding position is tall (though less than a true adventure), mildly aggressive and ‘cute’. It’s roomy and OK but not as long-legged and laid-back as, say, a GS while the big V-twin, especially at first, seems dry, gruff and feisty. That said it’s also far more refined than before, too.
First impressions
Initial ambivalence due to the GT’s new duckbill front end and my usual KTM scepticism quickly makes way for mild admiration. A spec which includes big TFT dash, 175bhp, electronic WP suspension, big Brembos, heated grips and when even I can suss the modes and electronics within a few minutes things bode well. I brim the big tank at Oundle and am impressed even more by the keyless filler cap. The GT looks to have it all.
B660 Brilliance
The last hurrah is the neardeserted B660 and the GT again shows its brilliance. Easy, quickshifter-assisted performance combines with classy, unintimidating chassis, great ergonomics and slick extras (semi-active suspension, great brakes, class-leading electronics etc) that both despatch the miles effortlessly yet thrill and entertain characterfully, too. The GT is the best bike I’ve ever ridden around the MCN250. By far.
‘All that orange would be better on a Porsche GT3’