JOHNNY KTM SUPER DUKE 1290 GT
After three months in my garage without turning a wheel due to recovering from surgery, the day came to ride again – and, of course, it was the KTM I took out for a ride to test my now feeble and wasted away leg... my logic being that if I could manage the sheer size and weight of the Super Duke GT, I’d be good to get back to regular duties for Fast Bikes.
An hour later, and with a big smile on my face, I sent the message to Bruce declaring myself available for work again. I couldn’t have been happier, especially as the next thing Bruce said was that there were some bikes in the lock-up that needed testing – and the sun was going to be out the next day.
So, it was with very conflicting feelings that I took the KTM up to Fast Bikes HQ – happy I was back to work, but sad that this would be my last ride on the KTM. It is time for my Super Duke GT to be placed into a dealer’s showroom somewhere, for it to then soon be bought by some lucky-so-and-so.
Thanks to my own personal circumstances, I didn’t get to ride the KTM much while I had it, but when I did, the trips were more often than not quite long, which gave me a good insight into the GT’s main party piece.
These are the five main things I have learned about the Super Duke GT, in no particular order…
1) It’s f’in fast: It goes without saying that 175bhp is never going to be boring; even in a car, that sort of power can get your attention. The 1301cc 75-degree V-twin engine also punches out a massive 104lb/ft of torque, which means if you use more than 50% of the throttle in pretty much any gear, you are in for a treat. But the GT’s masterstroke is how deceptive it is at going really fast.
The combination of tall screen, high handlebars, and wide fuel tank make it a very civilised place to be, which masks the ferocity of what the engine is doing. The big mph digits on the massive full-colour screen take no time at all to get up to what’s best described as ‘jail speeds’, with such little fuss that you must pay as much attention to
the dashboard as you do your senses. The Super Duke GT is the first bike I’ve ever been caught speeding on (40 in a 30 zone) in more than 30 years of riding – say no more.
2) It’s clever: As well as the fact that the Super Duke GT has all available rider aid functions that, as far as I know, have ever been invented, there are some very nice touches that even after six months of ownership make themselves known. The cornering lights light up the road just where you want to look when leaning over in the dark are genius, as is the backlit switchgear.
I paired my phone to try the sat nav and that was okay – not really my thing, but I appreciate its usefulness. Once paired to the bike, the dashboard would say that someone was trying to call, which, in the absence of an earpiece or any desire to talk while riding, I was able to reject with a push of a button on the left handlebar.
Toys aside, the KTM’s real genius is much more subtle. None of the rider modes or electronic suspension maps are adjustable, apart from traction control, which can be adjusted in performance mode. Because they have been developed and set up so well, not once did I wish I could access any of their parameters to make my own adjustments.
There’s so much going on electronically in the background that it’s at risk of being defined by obscene levels of tech... but it isn’t. It’s a superb example of how sophisticated electronics can be applied to a bike in a way that you never notice ANY of them until you have that ‘wow’ moment. 3) It’s not a supernaked with a fairing: It’s just too heavy, which blunts a lot of the naughtiness of the Super Duke R, and which is pretty much the sole purpose of a supernaked.
At first, I was a little bit disappointed when I had to admit that I hadn’t bagged ‘the best of both worlds’ bike for the season, but I soon got over it when I took it for what it is – part sportsbike, part naked bike, and part touring bike.
It doesn’t have the absolute cornering abilities of a sportsbike or outright top-end power rush, it’s not as easy to chuck about and be naughty on as a supernaked, and it’s not as absolutely comfortable as a full-on touring bike.
This sounds like it’s a bit of a Jack of all trades and master of none, which I suppose it is, except that it’s better than that because the margins by which it doesn’t quite measure up to the other bikes is so nominal that it barely deserves a mention... which means I am really just splitting hairs. 4) It smashes out big distances, fast: This is the GT’s party piece. Liverpool to McAvoy towers in an unspeakably short amount of time is the thing the GT does best – and at an absolute canter. As well as having the power, comfort, and toys to smash long distances out with ease, the other factor that helps is its fuel tank. At 23 litres when fully fuelled, it means the GT’s range is well over 200 miles before you need to stop again.
I reckon I could ride the 900 miles or so (depending on which route I took) from John O’Groats to Land’s End and only need to stop three times on the GT, possibly even only twice if I took the motorway and behaved myself.
5) It’s a whole lot of bike: The GT isn’t small or subtle. It’s a physically huge bike compared to the Super Duke R and has a massive presence. That said, as well as being dead easy to ride, even pushing it about in the garage or loading it into a van is a doddle.
While it is heavier than the Super Duke R, it’s not actually as heavy as it looks – or you might think. With that 23-litre tank brimmed, the GT cashes in at 225kg; granted, this isn’t exactly light, but for context, a Suzuki Hayabusa is 264kg and a Ducati Multistrada V4 is 240kg fully fuelled. KTM charges £17,949 for the GT – a whole lot of money – but there’s no avoiding that whichever way you look at it, this is a whole lot of bike. It’s got the power, it handles, it has every toy and rider aid known to man, its build quality is top-drawer... it’s possibly the most versatile on the market.