Fast_Bikes__Issue_328__July_2017_

TEST
KTM1290Super Duke GT
portsbikes come inall sportsbike with virtually none of
shapes, sizes and guises. the uncompromising drawbacks
SWhatever your opinion of amore track-focused weapon.
of this one, you shouldn’t ever Youonly have to check out
underestimate its pace and stuff like its 173bhp motor, top
brilliant entertainment value. spec WP suzzies, and M50
The Super Duke GTisjust so Brembos to know it’s obviously
easy to have an absolute ball on, been built for abit of speed. I
so thrilling, so utterly capable, rode one for the first time just a
yet sodamned useful and few months back and reckon I
practical if you want those boxes fell for it within yards, not miles.
of maturity ticking too. I’m not There might be afew things to
sure there’s abike out there to quibble over, but believe me
touch its massive versatility. you’ll be distracted so much by
It’s still abit of aleft field the riotous time you’re having,
superbike inthe minds of many, you’ll either not notice them,
though as soon as you’ve ridden or not giveatossanyway.
one you’ll realise it fits right into My first stint on the GT this
the sector. This is a real world
time round came at Oulton,
something I was keen on as I’d
not ridden one on track before.
It made achange to be able to
give it large far away from the
NEIL’S
NEEDLE
Sitting aboard the big KTM is a
surprisingly nice place tobe
with its commanding seating
position and 175bhp engine to
turn yo
Queen’s Highway, simply
because you’re liable to get
locked up whenever you do that.
The KTM does awhole load of
things well, but one thing it
does in an instant isturn you
into amassive twat!
There might beafair few bikes
out there capable ofturning a
faster lap, but few can match
the 1290’s hooligan tendencies.
Ican’t exactly put my finger
on why it’s got the yobbish
personality it does. All Iknowis
assoonasyousetoffyouwant
toeither start stunting like a
demon, or carving through traffic
like a demented despatcher.
Resisting going bonkers needs
the discipline of a monk.
Gary hadn’t taken to the
Austrian bike quite as much
as I expected to begin with,
mumbling a bit about a slightly
nervous front end. He reckoned
it knocked his confidence a little.
Within around half a lap I knew
what he was referring to, though
Neil and I knew it was just a
case of the lack of weight over
the bars that was leading to the
light shimmying. It’s anormal
symptom of super-nakeds, and
going over Oulton’s crests at
speed only highlighted the
characteristic more. But with a
steering-damper to take care of
it, along with the distraction of
the almost never-ending giggling
the KTM so readily promotes, I
wasn’t bothered bythe trait in
the slightest.
The Super Duke is abike you
always feel in charge of. Ilove
the way the riding position lets
you boss the bike about, with
those bars and pegs serving a
levers for arms and legs to adjust
exactly where you want it to
head. Its brakes are so strong
you’d think they’ll bend the
forks, and have such a
progressive feel they never
trigger the ABS. The motor’s an
absolute belter too. So keen to
rev, it eats its way through gears
so readily you think it must have
a close-ratio box. But as well as
The GT can boogie alright!
Neil enjoyed the
GT rather a lot it
seems!
38 JULY 2017 WWW.FASTBIKESMAG.COM