All Tests – 1290 Superduke R: the king of motorcycle rallies facing the beast of KTM! – Pure emotion …

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1290 Superduke R: the king of motorcycle rallies facing the beast of KTM !

All Tests - 1290 Superduke R: the king of motorcycle rallies facing the beast of KTM! - Pure emotion ...

According to KTM, the 1290 Super Duke R is a ferocious beast whose 180 hp require courage and control to be tamed … Carefully, MNC left to Julien Toniutti, official KTM driver in our rally team, the task of titillating him. ride-by-wire !

Pure emotion…

Sunday October 20, 2013 … The day I have been waiting for has finally arrived! After a very emotional season with one and one, KTM France offered me the privilege of participating in the press presentation of the new 1290 Superduke, the expected replacement of the 990 released in 2005, then redesigned in 2007.

So I found myself under the sun of southern Spain in one of the most beautiful hotels on the Costa del Sol, with my feet in the water, just an hour from Malaga. In front of the hotel, around thirty motorcycles await us in the two available colors: orange / white or black.

I will finally be able to realize if I was wrong to stop my subscription to the weight room, because according to the propaganda videos which made the buzz on the web while waiting for its arrival, "The Beast" ( as she likes to be called) does not seem to be doing it in half measures…

It even rather seems to be pulling out its arms with its 180 hp advertised in full version and 144 Nm at 6500 rpm – including 100 Nm available from 2500 rpm! And that’s good, since we are in Spain with motorcycles registered in Austria in addition. The constraints of compulsory bridle at 106 hp for France will therefore not spoil this first test run: a whole program !

What seems the most surprising for this big muscular roadster with the ultra aggressive line, is that taking place on its handlebars the motorcycle seems very thin and the width of the tank is more reminiscent of a supermotard than a motorcycle of this displacement..

The saddle height is 15mm lower than the old one and remains within the brand’s standards: neither too soft nor too firm. Everything falls well to hand and the equipment is in the image of the brand: resolutely sporty !

The 1290 Superduke R gets new Brembo M50 radial calipers, a clutch and radial brake master cylinder of the same name, a stock steering damper, a standard slip clutch and the usual – and effective – suspensions. WP.

The dashboard – taken from the new 1190 Adventure – is very complete with gear indicator engaged, the fuel gauge, the engine temperature, the needle rev counter and the various driving modes (Rain, Road or Sport) involved. especially on engine power and the way it is distributed to the 190mm wide rear tire. We can take care to program these modes even while driving, using buttons located on the left stalk.

Traction Control (MCT) and ABS – which offers a new supermotard mode where the anti-lock and coupling functions are deactivated to allow the rear to slide under braking! – also appear on this model, but it is impossible to disconnect them while driving.

For the more daring who will want to try to tame the beast without electronics, it will therefore take the time to stop to remove all these precious driving aids..

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