Motorcycle Mojo – September 2019

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 MOTORCYCLE MOJO 37

LIST PRICE

$22,499

WARRANTY

2 years, 40,000 km

CONTACT

ktm.com/en

ENGINE TYPE

DOHC, 75-degree V-twin,

four valves per cylinder

DISPLACEMENT

1,301 cc

POWER

173 hp (129 kW) at 9,750 rpm

TORQUE

104 ft-lb (141 Nm) at 7,000 rpm

BORE AND STROKE

108 mm x 71 mm

COMPRESSION RATIO

13.6:1

FUEL DELIVERY

Keihin EFI with twin 56 mm injectors

TRANSMISSION

6-speed

FINAL DRIVE TYPE

Chain

FRONT SUSPENSION

Fully adjustable, semi-active,

48 mm WP inverted fork

REAR SUSPENSION

Fully adjustable, semi-active WP monoshock

WHEEL TRAVEL

Front: 125 mm (4.9 in.)

Rear: 156 mm (6 in.)

BRAKES

Front: Dual 320 mm discs with Brembo radially

mounted four-piston calipers

Rear: 240 mm disc with single-piston Brembo

caliper and Bosch 9ME Combined-ABS

WHEELBASE

1,482 mm (58.4 in.)

RAKE AND TRAIL

24.9 degrees/107 mm

TIRES

Front: 120/70R17

Rear: 190/55ZR17

WEIGHT (DRY)

209 kg (461 lb.)

SEAT HEIGHT

835 mm (32.9 in.)

FUEL CAPACITY

23 L

FUEL ECONOMY (CLAIMED)

5.7 L/100 km

FUEL RANGE (ESTIMATED)

400 km

2019 KTM 1290

SUPER DUKE GT

i

For additional photos of the

2019 KTM 1290 Super Duke GT

visit: motorcyclemojo.com

torquiness as well as helps the engine

run smoother. The gear-driven counter-

balancer is unchanged and does a good

job of eliminating the vibes inherent in

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Effortless Power

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ferocity that continues unabated until

just before the rev limiter kicks in.

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torque are always at hand – but this

is truly effortless in its application,

so there’s even less need to use the

six-speed gearbox hard than was the

case before. That’s a pity in a way,

because along with smoother perfor-

mance and greater torque at lower

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clutchless downshifter to its positive

and precise Quickshifter+ power shifter

package that forms part of the optional

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trolling engine braking electronically,

as well as a standard ramp-type slipper

clutch. The GT’s gearshift is addictively

easy to use without ever touching the

clutch lever after you depart from rest,

except for having to feather it slightly

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revs drop below 2,000 rpm. The gearbox

ratios are unchanged, but Hill Hold

Control is available as an option, and

sampling it on the test bike proved it

worked okay on very steep inclines.

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further development of the ignition

timing to deliver a smoother, stronger

pickup from low revs. This produces

even more top-end performance while

delivering a noticeable hit of extra

midrange muscle that is maintained

all the way to the 10,500 rpm limiter,

at which point the ride-by-wire digital

throttle simply stops building revs

rather than delivering a hard cutout.

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GT pulls strongly off its 1,500 rpm idle

speed before coming on strong from as

low as 4,000 rpm in sport riding mode.

I could hold fourth gear for kilometre

after kilometre, carving corners through

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straight-line squirts to the next bend.

Thus, the GT lives up to its name as a

grand tourer with sporting pretensions.

Sure, you can knock it down one gear

or even two to get added zest – but the

1,301 cc engine has such huge reserves

of torque that in real-world riding you

don’t need to do this.

Engine-Management Modes

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acceleration on tap, don’t think the new

GT, complete with its greater power and

more torque – and a wider spread of

each– is in any way an abrupt handful

when exiting a turn with a closed

throttle because Eisele’s engineers have

done a great job of taking the edge off

the GT’s voracious jump to terminal

velocity without neutering the initial

launch. Even the sport mode’s throttle

response is smooth and offers more

power at smaller openings than when in

street mode, the latter of which requires

just a little bit more throttle for the same

yield of power until around one-third

opening, where both modes offer similar

performance. Rain mode smooths out

throttle response even more while cap-

ping peak power to 100 hp – although I

only tried this once, thanks to the sunny

weather during my ride.

Of course, if your ride takes you to a

racetrack for a track day, the GT will be

perfectly adept. I didn’t get the chance

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option allows further adjustability of

the electronic settings, as well as extra

settings covering launch control, spin

adjuster, three throttle response settings

and an anti-wheelie on/off function.

Comfort without compromising

cornering ability. Distance without

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lines for the new GT are well chosen.

The most radical long-distance sports

tourer in the marketplace combines

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performance and handling capabilities

in a torqued-up package that’s as happy

munching kilometres at speed as it is in

carving corners.

Still a bike that’s literally unique.

Only better than before.