Environment – Strong increase in motorized two-wheelers in Ile-de-France –

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Ducati 1199 Panigale and KTM 1290 Super Duke R in the test

Impressively strong twins in comparison

The Ducati 1199 Panigale always has the race track in view, the KTM 1290 Super Duke R the everyday sporting focus. Two different concepts, one result: impressively strong twins. A V2 comparison test.

D.he racing is the mother of all things. Is it [called. What has proven itself on the racetracks usually has what it takes to survive in series. The most stable chassis, the most powerful, most modern engines, the best performance and the latest developments: it can be found on the racetracks.

Ducati 1199 Panigale and KTM 1290 Super Duke R in the test

Impressively strong twins in comparison

Ducati 916 held a special position. After all, Twins have cleared almost two-thirds of all Superbike World Championship titles to date. Above all, however, the two-cylinder engines enjoyed the reputation of being the ideal companion for country road hunting due to their rich torque curve, which earned them a large fan base. Not to mention the special charm of its full stroke and its powerful acceleration. In travel enduros, they are the first choice anyway due to their small width and weight. However, despite their growing popularity, they are on the decline as a drive for naked bikes. Because especially two-cylinder engines demand clear concessions when it comes to tuning and running smoothness.

Panigale with cutbacks in performance

Ducatis 1199 Panigale pumps a huge 186 hp out of its two cylinders. However, with compromises in terms of performance. While four-cylinder, which are now scratching the 200 hp / liter limit, seem more accessible at low speeds. Even though they also generate their immense power at screamingly high speeds. Which highway robbers in particular are likely to struggle with, as they prefer to cavort in the medium speed range. A change has been taking place for several years. The new registrations of sports machines are on the decline. Large enduro bikes and naked bikes, on the other hand, keep their following constant or even increase. Because crisp, stable chassis are no longer a privilege of racers. And those who like to complete their home route quickly without staggering through the winding curves on a jellyfish chassis will find more and more alternatives to do it upright.

KTM draws its strength from 100 cc more displacement

The latest and greatest example: the KTM 1290 Super Duke R. If the Ducati rider breathes the smell of a pit on the Panigale, the KTM dresses its sportiness in the garb of a street fighter. And the engine is particularly helpful to her. Sure, the Panigale Twin is the unrestricted ruler in the two-cylinder realm when it comes to top performance and revving. From 7000 rpm he drops the hammer with a barbaric roar that keeps your mouth open. Nowhere can you experience the feeling of driving a real superbike more pure and unfiltered. But you also have to be prepared to compromise. Especially at low speeds, where the concentricity is jittery, and when it comes to pulling power. Compromises that the KTM does not demand from its rider. And yet hardly makes any concessions at high speeds. It’s breathtaking how the 1290 Super Duke R tenses the muscles when it is turned out. Even if it does not go to work with such unleashed force and releases 14 hp less than the Ducati 1199 Panigale.

Which means that it is on par with the RC8 R Superbike from the same stable on whose engine the V2 of the KTM 1290 Super Duke R is based. And that with a much higher torque and therefore much better torque. How does the KTM do it?

First of all, it draws its strength from the Ducati 1199 Panigale from 100 cm³ more displacement. Which nominally reduces the liter output to a relatively tame 138 hp. And keeps the speed level lower, which at least theoretically allows steeper valve lift curves and thus good filling at low speeds. Despite the increased displacement compared to the RC8 R, the valve sizes remained the same (inlet 42 mm, outlet 34 mm), and the valve lift on the inlet side was still moderate at 11.5 mm. The throttle valves increased in diameter by 4 to 56 mm.

In order to create such a voluminous torque curve in spite of considerable peak performance, however, more is needed: optimal channel shapes, for example. The inlet channel is not mercilessly widened for maximum throughput, but starts narrow and only opens significantly towards the valve. Despite the rather high compression ratio of 13.2: 1 (Ducati 12.5: 1), the V2 of the KTM 1290 Super Duke R manages without knock sensors. For this purpose, the Mattighofen-based company relies on two candles per combustion chamber, each of which has its own map, for the clean and precise ignition of the mixture. But only ride-by-wire and its ingenious tuning make it possible to elicit such good manners from an engine with such huge combustion chambers by calculating the optimal throttle valve opening from the throttle command and other parameters such as gear, speed, and speed. At low engine speeds and in high gear, the full throttle command will, at best, open the throttle valves as far as is necessary for optimum propulsion. Only then, in combination with ingenious combustion chamber shapes, injection maps and of course the right amount of centrifugal mass, this twin, which runs so inimitably smoothly at low speeds, picks up the gas and so irresistibly works its way up from the speed cellar, without on the Way to the limit to lapse into lethargy for even a moment.

Duc turns 1000 rpm further than the KTM 1290 Super Duke R.

But the Ducati 1199 Panigale rages even more furiously and energetically in high altitudes. Tends to be milder in lower engine speeds. Not really surprising, because compared to the KTM 1290 Super Duke R, its engine characteristics read like the book of twin superlatives: a nominal 163 hp liter output it squeezes out of its cylinders, an increase of almost 20 percent compared to the KTM. Even more: the Panigale is designed to generate even higher performance in the racing trim. After all, it has to survive in the Superbike World Championship. And more power can be achieved above all through more speed. The Duc rotates up to 11,300 / min and thus a good 1000 / min further than the KTM, which is already designed with a 108 mm bore and 71 mm stroke.

The Ducati 1199 Panigale even goes one better: the 112 piston and 60.8 mm stroke result in a stroke-to-bore ratio of 0.54 (KTM: 0.65). The intake and outlet tracts are designed accordingly with a high throughput. Huge oval 67.5 intake throats, two injection nozzles per cylinder prepare the fresh gas. Titanium inlet valves with a huge 46.8 mm plate diameter are pushed open by the camshafts an incredible 16 mm so that this fresh gas can flow into the combustion chambers as unhindered as possible. And if necessary, even at 11,000 rpm. On the other hand, this causes considerable valve overlap. In view of this extreme design, it is much more surprising how well the high-performance twin still behaves at moderate speeds. And is not only viable from 3000 rpm.

But athletes are conditioned to rev up in a flash, so the flywheel mass of the Ducati 1199 Panigale is limited to the bare minimum. All in all, at low speeds, this is at the expense of concentricity. In hairpin bends and slow corners she needs the help of the clutch more often than her Austrian opponent. The fact that the driver’s weight rests on his wrists in tight bends doesn’t make things any easier. The KTM rider, on the other hand, can easily handle even narrow passages, a relaxed seating position and the engine, which is soft and powerful just above idle, make serpentines an almost weightless pleasure. While the Ducati throttle movements translate almost one-to-one into opening the throttle valve, the so-called throttle response, the implementation of throttle commands, is a little less direct on the KTM 1290 Super Duke R, which benefits the soft use of power.

Sporty challenge versus uncomplicated driving fun

But no reason to break the bar on the Ducati 1199 Panigale. Because athletes are particularly dependent on a direct response from the engine, which is part of their appeal that they directly implement commands from the pilot with every fiber. Devices for specialists. In addition: the smoother and wider the curves, the more often the Duc can be moved at higher speeds, the more it sets itself in scene. Then you can really experience and enjoy the Duc’s dynamics, for which the racer posture also makes sense.

Not that the KTM 1290 Super Duke R falls hopelessly behind at high speeds. On the contrary, the chassis is great for committed speed, and if you need more pressure on the front wheel, you can mount the handlebars further forward on the triple tree. Many an athlete driver might be surprised if the upright person in the rear-view mirrors cannot be shaken off or even catapults past the exit of a curve. But with all that: the contact with the bike is not as intimate as on the Ducati. There the pilot literally merges with the machine. Only athletes can offer this experience. Hunched over the tank, the front wheel literally in your hands, a perfect feeling for the motorcycle and what happens between the tires and the road, that’s only available here in such pure and unfiltered form. This tingling in the stomach included. Reasons enough that make an athlete so attractive, such as the certainty that you have the right equipment to hand for those striving for racetrack rides.

If, on the other hand, you are looking for less challenge and uncomplicated fun, but if you want to fall back on abundant sporting potential, the KTM 1290 Super Duke R may be the right hint. And for the competition anyway. Because twins in this form could be very popular. Whether in athletes or naked bikes. A little game of thought is allowed: Such a charismatic drive in a smaller, lighter and cheaper variant could certainly inspire the middle class. Because what is feasible at the upper end of the performance scale, Ducati and KTM have impressively demonstrated. Nice prospects.

Ducati 1199 Panigale

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Under-engine exhaust with favorable center of gravity, suspension strut with variable deflection and racing-style dashboard: typical equipment features of modern athletes.

Until 1198, the engines of the superbikes were basically still based on the Pantah engine from the eighties. The Panigale-V2, on the other hand, is a real new design, which only has the cylinder angle of 90 degrees and the desmodromic in common with its predecessors. As a supporting element, it replaces the previous frame. It is constructed accordingly stiff, but at 60.2 kg it is still amazingly light. For the first time, the crankshaft has plain bearings, which enables thicker bearing journals and reinforced housing walls around the crankshaft bearings.

Striking: the deeply drawn oil pan. The desmodromic forced control of the valves allows very steep and aggressive cam profiles when closing, which would hardly be possible with conventional valve springs. The large, straight intake ducts are clearly visible. The huge pistons have box-shaped stiffeners on the underside and short shirts to minimize friction.

Data

Bore x stroke: 108 x 71 mm
Displacement: 1,301 cm³
Power: 127 kW / 172 hp at 8865 rpm
Output per liter: 101 kW / 138 PS
Motor weight: approx. 62 kg

KTM 1290 Super Duke R.

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Easily readable, analog tachometer and on-board computer with information relevant to everyday life, plus a cost- and weight-saving, directly hinged strut.

Like all KTM-V2, the engine of the KTM 1290 Super Duke R spreads its cylinders at an angle of 75 degrees, which requires a balancer shaft. It is based on the 1190 unit of the RC8 R and has dry sump lubrication. Thanks to shorter connecting rods, it does not build higher despite its longer stroke. The oil tank is located in front of the engine. As with the Panigale engine, the water pump is located in the V of the cylinder, with a heat exchanger next to it.

The pistons of the Super Duke R are a special treat. Little more than a piston ring carrier with an ultra-short shirt and a stiffening box structure on the underside. While the pistons of the RC8 R still weighed almost 500 grams, the Super Duke pistons shed another 30 grams despite their larger diameter. Due to the still moderate speed level, the Super Duke R uses steel instead of titanium inlet valves in contrast to the RC8 R or the Ducati Panigale; The water pump is relatively small compared to the Ducati.

Data:

Bore x stroke: 108 x 71 mm
Displacement: 1,301 cm³
Power: 127 kW / 172 hp at 8865 rpm
Output per liter: 101 kW / 138 PS
Motor weight: approx. 62 kg

Throttle and throttle position

41 Pictures

Pictures: Ducati 1199 Panigale and KTM 1290 Super Duke R in the test

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MOTORCYCLE measurements

                                                                         Ducati 1199 Panigale                  KTM 1290 Super Duke R.
Top speed (Factory information)  296 km / h 290 km / h
acceleration
0-100 km / h 3.2 s 3.3 s
 0-140 km / h 4.6 s 4.9 s
0-200 km / h 7.6 s 8.8 s
6th gear passage
60-100 km / h 3.9 s 3.4 s
100-140 km / h 3.6 s 3.4 s
140-180 km / h 4.7 s 3.8 s
Pulling 50–100 km / h
2nd gear 2.7 s 1.9 s
3rd gear 3.3 s 2.3 s
4th gear 4.2 s 3.1 s

Although the KTM has a gear ratio of up to 290 km / h and is therefore very long for a naked bike and is 18 kg heavier than the Ducati, it delivers better torque values. This is shown above all by the measured values ​​in the lower gears at typical country road speed, i.e. driving situations that often occur in practice.

Valve lift curves

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Valve lift curves.

What a difference. The Ducati is not only ahead in valve sizes with 46.8 mm (inlet) and 38.2 mm (outlet) (KTM: 42/34 mm). It opens its intake valves a gigantic 16 mm wide (KTM: 11.5 mm). This gives the Ducati almost 70 percent more free valve cross-section to suck in fresh gas. The price that you pay for such sharp valve timing consists, among other things, of a lot of valve overlap, more restless idling and performance disadvantages at low engine speeds.

Performance measurement

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MOTORCYCLE performance measurement.

The Ducati achieves more top performance from a smaller displacement. This is primarily about more speed and a sharp engine tuning, which brings with it losses at low speeds. The post goes from 7000 rpm. For their intended purpose, the race track, that’s fine. The KTM 1290 Super Duke R, on the other hand, already shovels massive amounts of torque to the rear wheel from idle. Even the torque curve of the rain mode is still impressive.

New registration

Whether it is due to the sparsely available technical innovations of the super athletes, their enormous, but less and less usable peak performance in everyday life or simply because of a generally increasing need for comfort on the part of buyers: the fact is that the number of registrations for super athletes has been falling for years and these have apparently lost their radiance. Naked bikes and travel enduros, on the other hand, are showing a trend. One of the reasons for this is certainly that many of the athletes’ features – such as stable chassis with high-quality suspension elements, top brakes and electronic assistance systems such as ride-by-wire, traction control or even electrically adjustable chassis – are no longer just the privilege of the supersport caste. Turning the performance spiral alone does not seem to be a guarantee of stable sales figures.

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