Story by: Alan Cathcart
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hile KTM is already Europe’s largest
motorcycle manufacturer, it continues to
ramp up its sales. One of its palpable hits
that helps to drive that increase is the most
expensive model in its entire range: the 1290 Super Duke
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company, offers a unique take on sport touring – with
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concerns before it appeared. “I don’t think a sport tourer in
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he told me. “Our customers expect something sporty made
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that certainly describes the GT, which since its 2015 launch
has provided its owners with the dazzling performance and
benchmark handling of the “take no prisoners” Super Duke R
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practicality and user-friendly convenience. The combination
is a successful marriage of opposites.
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with touring pretensions, the GT has been such a hit that
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seriously improved 2019 version of the model and, just a
short time later, the company asked me to come ride it for
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superb riding roads running up and down the hills and
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The 2019 Super Duke GT is even more fun to ride than
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of its predecessor in every way – a fact underlined by the
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to compare with the new bike. Swapping back and forth
between the two was an education: I never would have
thought that the outgoing model would seem quite so dated,
as it had set new sector standards during its 2015 release.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 MOTORCYCLE MOJO 33