KTM SUPERDUKE GT
here is no denying the thumping 1290 V-twin is the star of the show on the GT, but I’ve found it comes at a price. Big displacement means generation of heat, not normally a problem with an average British summer. Problem is, we haven’t had an average summer; the temp’s sat quite happily in the 30s these last few weeks which has meant I’ve had some seriously betty swollax at the best of times. The Katoom bellows hot air directly under the seat, roasting your inner thighs and cooking your kahooners. Obviously slow speed city work renders the most heat, dissipating as the speed picks up which turned me into a traffic carving demon with my legs spread open wide enough to clip every wing mirror in sight. Give it a couple of months and I’ll be praising the engine for giving me warmth in the colder autumn mornings.
I don’t normally look for an excuse to ride the GT but the cards have fallen in place this month; a busy bank holiday weekend consisting of a trip to Clacton-on-Sea Air show on Friday, a wedding on Saturday and a christening on Sunday with the choice of trekking across the county in the car or hooning around on the KTM being a no brainer. As ever the KTM performed faultlessly over the 500 mile weekender. Come rain or shine the bike had me covered, from the cornering ABS to the traction control; it all works seamlessly giving me the confidence to make decent progress even in the worst of conditions. As always the surprise is in the detail though and this was in the form of the cornering lights. The GT has a series of LED cornering lights in the fuel-tank leading edge that light up with increased lean angle and help illuminate the inside of the corner. Something I initially thought of as a gimmick had me wondering how I’d ever ridden in the dark without them. Clacton over to Oxford on the Friday night gave the GT the ability to literally shine; projecting extra light on a dark wet road could never be a bad thing. The spread of light isn’t off-putting either; it never wanders your attention but subtlety lets you know it’s doing the job intended.
Spending all weekend on the bike has also allowed me to shrug off a small niggle I have with the side stand. It’s hidden away between the gear lever and foot peg quite neatly which is all very tidy but often leaves me fighting it with the heel of my boot. Alas the penny dropped and my woes were ended by just moving my foot behind the foot peg. Using my toes I can now drop the side stand down painlessly. The aim for this month was to ditch the exhaust can and I’ve been stalking the postman every morning in the hope he had a lovely KTM Powerparts Akrapovic winging its way towards me. Unfortunately it’s turned up too late this time for me to do anything meaningful with it but it looks gorgeous and I can’t wait to twirl the spanners next month and get it fitted.