Motorcycle Mojo – September 2019

36 MOTORCYCLE MOJO SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

available: comfort, street and sport.

These are obtained via a Suspension

&RQWURO8QLWZKLFKDFFRUGLQJWR

feedback from accelerometers and

stroke sensors front and rear, adapts the

GDPSLQJUDWHVRI:3·VPPLQYHUWHG

fork and rear monoshock to best suit

the road’s surface as well as the rider’s

style. However, impressive as that was

ZKHQ,WULHGLWÀUVWWLPHDURXQGWKUHH

years ago on the GT, the improvement

on the newer model is immediately

QRWLFHDEOH²DQLPSUHVVLRQFRQÀUPHG

by swapping to the older model for a

ride over similar broken road surfaces.

Okay, so it’s a cliché to say that the

2019 model delivers a “magic carpet

ULGHμ%XWKRQHVWO\,SUDFWLFDOO\ÁRDWHG

over bumps and broken tarmac in

a way I wasn’t expecting. I saw the

imperfections in the road surface,

but I hardly felt them when riding

RYHUWKHP ́:H·UHSUHWW\SURXGWKDW

we could achieve this improvement

using the same hardware as before

TEST RIDE 2019 KTM 1290 SUPER DUKE GT

just by developing new software with

different algorithms,” says Greiner. “So,

the accuracy is more than three times

greater in monitoring the street surface

and analyzing the result than before.”

Suspension travel is unchanged, at

125 mm up front and a massive 156 mm

at the rear; it’s the damping that

is vastly improved.

0RUHRYHUZLWKWKHVHPLDFWLYH

suspension, you can choose via the

dash the appropriate rear pre-load

adjustment according to the load

the shocks have, whether for rider

only with or without luggage or for

two people with or without bags.

&RQYHUVHO\WKH%UHPEREUDNHSDFNDJH

and cast aluminum wheels are

unchanged, as on the Super Duke R,

with twin radially-mounted four-piston

0RQREORFNFDOLSHUVJULSSLQJPP

front discs and a large 240 mm rear. The

V\VWHPLQFRUSRUDWHVVZLWFKDEOH%RVFK

0(FRPELQHG$%6LQFOXGLQJFRUQHU-

LQJ$%6ZKLFKLVSUHWW\PXFKVWDQGDUG

DFURVVDOO.70RQURDGPRGHOVQRZ 

ZLWKIRXUPRGHVVWUHHWIXOOSRZHU 

VSRUWYHU\WRUTXH\ UDLQKS ²DQG

supermoto. This is a tourer done the

.70ZD\

A Few Engine Upgrades

The GT boasts the same latest-

JHQHUDWLRQGHJUHH9WZLQHLJKWYDOYH

LC8 engine with a capacity of 1,301 cc

as its R-model sibling does, but with

different tuning and uprated hardware.

The engine has same size of inlet valves

but now in titanium, the lighter weight

of which are largely responsible for

that 500 rpm higher rev limiter, and

with revised resonator chambers on

WKHVWDLQOHVVVWHHOH[KDXVW$VLGHIURP

SUHVXPDEO\SHUIRUPDQFHEHQHÀWVWKLV

means that the previously best-selling

(XURFRPSOLDQW$NUDSRYLFVOLSRQ

silencer in the GT aftermarket catalogue

will now be a hard sell; the 2019

model’s stocker sounds great, muscular

and sporty, if inevitably slightly muted.

However, while all these features have

resulted in a 2 hp decrease in power, to

173 hp at 9,750 rpm, the biggest differ-

ence is in the way that it’s delivered –

DJDLQFRQÀUPHGE\VZDSSLQJEDFNDQG

forth between the outgoing version and

the new GT. The new GT has a greater

spread of grunt through the entire rev

range, with torque peaking at 7,000 rpm

with 104 lb-ft on tap.

́%DVLFDOO\ZHWRRNWKHHQJLQH

IURPWKH6XSHU'XNH5DQGUHÀQHG

it a little bit for the GT,” says Tobias

(LVHOH.70·VSURMHFWPDQDJHUIRUWKH

QHZHUPRGHO ́:HFKDQJHGWKHLQWDNH

snorkel where it enters the airbox, all

WKHGXFWLQJDQGWKHLJQLWLRQPDS$QG

in respecting the needs of a touring

bike, we slightly reduced the maximum

horsepower, but worked on the way

the power is delivered. So, the torque

FXUYHHVSHFLDOO\LVÁDWWHUDQGEURDGHU

and that’s what you actually feel on the

road.”

This is a sports tourer with serious

attitude and a much fatter hit of

midrange torque than on the GT’s

predecessor from 4,000 rpm upward.

$QRWKHUNH\HOHPHQWLVWKDWWKHFUDQN-

shaft is now 0.5 kg heavier, so there’s a

bigger rotating mass, which helps retain

momentum and adds to the sense of