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Driving report KTM Duke II
Road mower
Even if it’s green, with the new Duke, off-road manufacturer KTM is venturing out of the field like never before.
Hey boy, this can’t go well. Straighten the thing. Straight! Klaus whistles for the tips and lets the Duke slide into the curve – as he always does. Grip the front brake very, very hard, downshift two gears, and bang – the load drifts across into the 180-degree bend. Gigantic. Only the rear tire whimpers pitifully for mercy. Klaus Kinigadner can do it. For years the Austrian has been one of the very first guard of Super Moto pilots in Europe. In family and national tradition, of course, on KTM.
And it was KTM who saw an opportunity in this young sport a few years ago. The chance to place the support leg, which was previously only stretched out in the open, on asphalt. Back then – in 1994 – a little courage was required. Because just with a 17-inch wheel set and a larger brake disc on the ordinary Off Road LC4, the fans should not be fed. An independent design with new instruments, lamp cladding and a specially styled exhaust system separated the very first Duke from its coarse siblings.
And while Klaus is still looking forward to a little gravel road every lap of the Super Moto races five years later, the new Duke, precisely the Duke II, no longer wants to have anything to do with Mother Earth. Quite consciously and definitely. The road tires and filigree light alloy rims alone break the bridge once and for all on the way back to hybrid nature. In general, the optics. The lamp cover with the two ellipsoid headlights arranged one above the other. Somehow reminiscent of the Hayabusa, Suzuki’s brand new 300-kilometer top speeder. Or the rear with the two silencers in the rump. Ducati 916? BMW R 1100 S? Perhaps. Zeitgeist? Might be. But successful. And not cheap. Almost 16,000 marks degrade a 600 Ducati Monster for three and a half thousand less to a special offer.
But the first ascent makes it immediately clear: I’m no longer an Enduro. Climbing on the almost one meter high seat benches of the Stollenrober are just as a thing of the past as the balancing lace dance at the red traffic light. This is made possible by the spring travel reduced to 140 millimeters at the front and 170 millimeters at the rear. With a seat height of 86 centimeters, the Duke also makes friends among people of normal stature. Not only they have been happy about the electric starter for a long time anyway. Pull the choke on the handlebars, press the button, and the 625 cubic single cylinder shoots off. There we have it again, the pulse of the good old Off Road heart. It is only allowed to hit a little more freely than in a tunnel-covered environment. Because the hindquarters no longer have to swing so vehemently on asphalt, the battery could move out of the air filter box to the rear over the rear wheel. More space in the airbox together with the less restrictive double exhaust system should elicit six more horsepower from the single.
In fact, the single cylinder pushes forward noticeably more forcefully than its dusty brothers. But before the powerful suit, the unit, which is known to be rough at low engine speeds, first surprises with noticeably better manners. Since then, the Mono has resisted below 3500 revs despite the balance shaft with annoying jerking and wild chain whipping, it now appears to be amazingly tamed. KTM traces the soothing back to the Mikuni constant pressure carburetor instead of the round slide carburetor from Dellorto that was previously used. Above said speed mark, the KTM propellant lives as ever. Sure, there is still a tingling sensation in the handlebars. Always noticeable, but never annoying. After a moderate start he changes from trot to sprint at 5000 revolutions. Just over 8,000, however, are running out of breath. The Mikuni should also be responsible for this. The exchange is still perfectly fine.
Because where the Duke is supposed to shine, instead of rev orgies, you need power and maneuverability. There, on winding country roads, there she wants to go and there she belongs, the Duke. The brake alone. Thundered towards the hairpin bends with a lot of speed. Brake late, even later, very late. No problem. One finger on the lever of the Brembo four-piston brake is enough to easily brake the duke, who weighs barely 160 kilograms with a full tank. And no matter how bumpy the provincial pumpkin is, the newly tuned 43 mm upside-down fork from White Power gets the most out of its truncated spring travel. Great response, no bottoming out. That’s how it should be. Incidentally, this also applies to the White Power shock absorber.
The only problem is the front tire. Although known as a good sports tire, the Bridgestone BT 92 probably doesn’t like the new Duke at all. Its uncomfortably wobbly steering behavior in the corners is just as annoying as the doughy restlessness that it introduces into the chassis on bumpy roads. Its predecessors on the Duke, the Pirelli MT 60, could do it much better. For the standard equipment, the KTM engineers want to reconsider the matter.
D.Anyway, the brisk Eckenwetz with the Duke turns on. And huge. Slow down, roll over, straighten up, slow down, roll over … over and over again. Effortless, disrespectful, rampant. Sure, pure reason does not speak for the Austrian. It’s too expensive for that, too untamed, and doesn’t like passengers. But honestly, motorcycling has ever been a matter of common sense?
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