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This bike feels naughty, like I shouldn’t be doing what I’m doing. Hang on a minute, I shouldn’t! But surely that's half the appeal? I’m trying to get to know a bike that’s about as different to my usual ride as anything else I can think of. I'm riding the 2007 KTM Superduke.
I guess I’d better start at the beginning of my experience to make sense. I’m interested in seeing if there’s another bike out there that can offer me a new buzz, something different to my current bike, a Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K5. It’s been modified for (more) performance, so anything else has got a high pedestal to step up onto.
Initial Impressions
Bracken in Euston were the people to see about getting the Superduke. Roger there is a truly funny guy and his tales of riding inspire you to have fun on the KTM's. Once the bike was in my possession it was time to hit the road. I'm 5'10", so a pretty average height, and the first thing I noticed about sitting on the bike was that I couldn't have both feet flat on the ground, it's one tall bike! So one foot on the deck would have to suffice unless I wanted to be on my toes and look silly. This means that people of a shorter height will have difficulty using this bike without modifying the ride-height (which in turn will affect the handling).
Pulling away, the engine feels a bit looser, perhaps a tad agricultural compared to the finesse of a Japanese inline-four engine, but then the over-riding feel of immense torque hits you as you wonder what the power’s like, and you soon forget this as you hurriedly test the powerful Brembo radial brakes, which work very, very well.
Being high up off the ground and having flat-bars, you get a sense of being in a dominant position on the road. You can see over most cars, something you can’t easily do with the low-slung position on a sports-bike. This means you can plan for cutting through traffic easier, and I dare say, make you safer overall.
Talking of cutting through traffic, I hit the A40 in an attempt to get through London and head west, but the traffic is mental, solid all the way with frustrated car drivers swapping lanes for no good reason. Getting through traffic like this on the KTM isn’t as easy as it is on a sports bike, mainly because of the wider bars and mirrors that don’t fold away. Being on an unfamiliar bike, it took me some time to get up to filtering speed and find an exit from the A40. Scooter riders do tend to get the message though and move out of your way, mainly due to your size and sound.
Once out of central London, I start to hit some twisty roads, heading west to my old stomping grounds of Richmond where I can have a bit of a play. To be honest, by this point I’m not too sure the twin is for me. Sure, it has phenomenal drive off the line and brakes that mean you have to properly brace yourself against the tank before using them in anger, oh and the most beautiful over-run sound of fuel popping in the exhaust as you slow down, but I couldn’t my head round riding it quickly through corners, it felt so alien.
Handling
After a stop for lunch and some thought on how different this bike was I was back out on the roads and before I knew it I was riding it like a twin and less like a four. That meant getting into turns quickly, turning sharply and then just gassing it hard out of the turn, letting the mega torque drive you forward. Riding like this though, it becomes clear that the standard model could perhaps do with a steering damper as the front twitches a lot as the torque kicks the wheel in the air, normally whilst leant over if you’re riding it hard. It’s nothing to be concerned about from my experience, and probably adds to the character of the bike, but it can hamper you if you’re trying for outright smoothness.
Once upright, the bike will easily wheelie in stock trim just from the power, this is where the naughty part comes in. It makes so much torque driving out of slow corners, so I'm starting to wonder how long a rear tyre is going to last? The stock Dunlop 208RR tyres aren’t anything to write home about. I found them slow to warm up, resulting in a few slides from the rear and feedback from the front left a little to be desired. I suspect fitting a sportier pair of tyres like the Pirelli Diablo would do wonders for the overall feel and performance.
To re-cap slightly, because the bike is an up-right, your head is higher off the ground than on other bikes, so leaning into turns seems odd at first as you feel like you’re leaning over far at first but when the corner speed's not there you realise you’re not where you should be. It took me a little while to get used to this, but once I worried less about how far I was leaning and just did as normal and look through the turns, then I was starting to really get a feel for the bike and started to laugh in my helmet as I took a series of s-bends a few times in a row, going back around side-streets to do it again, worrying if I was looking suspicious to the large number of Police patrols in the area.
The bike isn't as light as the regular Japanese missles, but it does carry it's weight very well, there was never a hint that you were carrying the weight when transitioning from side to side. Having such flat and wide bars helps a lot as you've got more torque than usual to turn them. With everything considered, you're free to focus on putting the engine to use and show sports-bike riders the way around town.
Engine
Ignore the technical specifications, they're for bean-pushers and geeks. Another reason to ignore the specs is that it's a fairly well known secret that KTM understate their power/torque output figures due to the very restrictive legislation present in many other countries, and rather than producing handicapped models for these markets, they just tell a little white lie. Very KTM.
This engine may be a big 990cc 75° v-twin, but it's not cumbersome, it revs quickly, feels light and is very smooth with no lumps anywhere in the rev-range. The main characteristic of the engine has to be the immense torque, it will easily beat nearly all bikes off the line in stock trim, I'm sure. It certainly kicks out more torque in slow corners than my GSXR, and I thought that was bonkers. When you start using this bike in anger, you'll be amazed how quickly you can get out of corners, though be sure not to over-do it on the standard Dunlop tyres as I don't think they're up to it and you wouldn't want to take a trip to high-side city.
The engine has a good fast-idle, so I can't envisage a scenario where it'll be anything less than perfect when it comes to starting first time. It warms up quickly and doesn't overheat, but then with the amount of air being hitting the front of the bike I don't see how it could! The clocks have a bar-graph to indicate engine temp in case you're interested.
Riding Position
Being high off the ground has a lot of advantages for riding in London; firstly you’re able to see over most cars a hell of a lot easier, which makes planning easier, and secondly your bars and mirrors aren’t at the awkward height where you’re likely to clip car mirrors when filtering. So all of a sudden this bike is making a hell of a lot of sense for a town-bike.
Comfort wise, the seat was very accommodating, giving a good balance between feedback from the chassis for fast riding and comfort for longer rides. For longer rides, the bike felt stable at higher cruising speeds, with none of the wind buffeting I was expecting from a naked bike. I would be happy to attend any ride-out to the continent on the Superduke. The upright position means carrying a rucksack with any weight in it is a breeze and won't bother you over distance, which is in stark contrast to most sportsbikes.
There's a good amount of space at the back for a pillion with the seat at roughly the same level as yours, which will do wonders for their confidence and make them feel more at ease. Their pegs are well positioned with a reassuring 'click' when you fold them away. The only trouble I can see here is the possibility that they could burn their hands on the exhausts if they go to grab by their sides quickly if you pull away hard. Be sure to fore-warn your passenger.
Improvements
The 2007 model has been revised over the original model, with changes such as smarter clockers and sharper looks. It comes with a larger fuel tank, now at 18.5 liters, which is more than enough to get out of the city and cover large distances. In a whole days riding around London, giving the bike a hard time, I didn’t see the fuel light come on. The fueling has also been improved, and whilst I haven’t ridden the outgoing '06 model, I had no problems with the fueling on the ’07 model. It was faultless, even when holding a steady throttle in long turns around the dreaded range of the rev-counter where many manufacturers often retard the ignition to lower emissions to get pass homologation tests.
Appearance
The styling of the Superduke does it for me; it’s aggressive, but comfortable for the rider to use. The finish is top quality, unlike any Japanese offering, which has a plethora of cheap plastic bits in view, or hidden under fairings. When you take a minute to crouch down and inspect the bike you’ll find no cheap bits on the bike, everything there is just what’s required to the job, and is of a high quality. For instance, it comes with braided brake lines front and back; it has Brembo calipers and master cylinders. It has mirrors that work and only enough fairings to make the bike stable at high speed, so there’s less to damage in a spill. Premium-quality fully adjustable WP suspension is also fitted front and back.
Negatives?
With so many positives, there must be something to balance this out? As with any bike, of course there is. Luckily they’re minor points, depending on your point of view. For me there was one annoyance which I found to be unacceptable; there’s no way to lower the side-stand when you’re sitting on the bike, meaning you have to get off, holding the bike upright and then push the stand down with your toes. The reason for this is that there’s nothing sticking out of the stand to make it purchasable when hidden under the foot peg. There may well be a technique to do this when you’re on the bike, but it wasn’t obvious to me. Secondly, one of the mirrors loosened whilst riding and lost its position and I was unable to fix it without the use of a tool-kit, of which there wasn’t one on the bike. Do they come with one or was my demo machine just lacking?
I found the clutch lever quite heavy and after some spirited ride with heavy clutch use, I found my left hand more tired than usual. For normal road riding this isn't an issue, and I suspect that after enough use, your muscles will simply adjust. This will be down no doubt to the hydraulic actuation mechanism and presumably stiff clutch springs to cope with the huge torque the engine throws at it.
Now, this downside depends on your view, it might even be a positive. I suspect it will be for a while until your partner starts complaining there’s not enough money for food. KTM don’t just make bikes, they sell a life-style. They have a huge catalogue of performance and cosmetic parts that you can buy from to add to your bike in an easy fashion. They also produce a huge range of casual and riding attire, which is really rather nifty. If you’re not careful, you will be a rolling advert for all that is KTM and orange.
Accessories
I think one accessory that could be mandatory by your peers would be the pair of Akrapovic slip-on silencers from said catalogue. This bike needs to breath easier; you can feel its restricted by the standard exhaust and catalytic converter. The noise needs to be released; this is a big v-twin after all, there’s a lovely boom waiting to tickle your bones as you ride hard out of one corner and into another.
It'd be impossible to comment on all that's available from KTM to add to this bike, but you can take it in a few directions, i.e. make it a more road-focused bike with good luggage options (plastic and narrow tank means normal tank-bags won't fit, so you need a KTM one), fit a tiny screen to the front to make it more comfortable for high speed cruising, heated grips and a plethora of crash-bungs, or you could make it more race-focused; KTM attest that all their bikes are ready to race and the Superduke is no different, you can sharpen the handling no end with an array of race suspension units, power-boosting systems such as a Power Commander, a free flowing air-filter, lighter wheels for that all-important less unsprung weight, a full Akrapovic titanium race exhausts, and the like.
Details
- Price: ~£8600
- Availability: Limited
- Engine: Twin cylinder, 4-stroke, V 75°
- Chassis: WP USD 48 mm forks, WP monoshock rear, Chromium-molybdenum, powder-coated frame.
- Brakes: Front, 2 x Brembo 4-piston fixed caliper, 2 x 320 mm, Rear, Brembo single-piston floating caliper, brake disc 240 mm.
- Performance: Power (homologated) 88 kW @ 9000 rpm, max torque 100 Nm @ 7000 rpm (both claimed).
- Misc: Fuel capacity approx. 18.5 liters, weight (no fuel) approx. 186 kg.
Summary
This is a bike to please the soul; it can be both your wife and your mistress, good and bad, depending on your mood, perhaps more so than most other bikes have the ability. It's different from many other bikes, so I dare say it has a certain exotic essense to it, so if you dare to be different then this bike could be great for you. If I was to buy this bike, I'd have to restrain myself to stop the loss of my license, this much I am sure of. After a day of riding, I was left not wanting to give the bike back, though the thought of Roger from Bracken selling my GSXR for a pound and invoicing me for the Superduke gave me motivation I needed for a spirited ride back to the shop.
If you’re already a v-twin rider, then this bike is going to be an easy ride for you, perhaps you won’t be the neatest rider on it straight away as it begs for a different riding style to more refined bikes, but it’s a hell of a lot more fun! If you’re coming from an inline-four background then you’re either going to love it or hate it, but either way, an hours test-ride is certainly nowhere near enough to get to know this bike and see what it’s capable of. Why not try something different?
This bike is superbly well designed, has amazing performance from both the engine and chassis, comes fitted as standard with parts most people bolt-on to Japanese bikes at great expense and draws you in more every time you ride it.
More experienced riders will probably wonder if it’s as good a bike on the track as it is on the road. Well if you had any concerns just remember that these bikes race at every round of the British Superbikes Championship (BSB) in a series of their own which Bracken themselves run. Just take a look through our galleries to see how well they do. These bikes certainly aren’t lack in track finesse and capability. Could this be the best all-round bike for urban riders like us? I think I’m sold.
- A special thanks goes to Roger at Bracken for supplying the Superduke. Visit their website via the link below to be seduced by a world of exotic european motorcycling.
Related Galleries
» British Superbikes, Silverstone R3 #1
» British Superbikes, Snetterton R5 #1
Related Links
» www.bracken.co.uk
» www.brackenracing.com
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