Performance Bikes — March 2018

92 PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK|MARCH2018

2014KTM1290SUPERDUKERJOHN BENNETT

S i. but better

JohnquestionswhetherKTMPowerparts yokes areactually

a performance enhancement. They’re definitely more orange...

John now has a yoke

assembly that’s more

than hand-tight...

Machined billet yokes

certainly look the part

What harm will a

bit more orange do?

THEYEARHASSTARTEDwell: my
YouTub e c h a n ne l i s r ea l ly t a k i ng of f, I ’m
working on the best motorcycle
magazinethathaseverbeenproduced
(if you think this sort of blatant toadying
willgetyouapayrise...you’reright–CN)AndmySuper
Dukeprojectisforgingaheadatpace.
Ipromisedyoulastmonththisexcitinginstalment
wouldinvolvethequestforpower–butwhatispower
withoutcontrol?IhadplannedtovisitDynojetUKtofit
theRottweilerairboxandgetitsetup.I’veheardnothing
butpositivefeedbackfrompeoplewhohaveinstalled
thesetotheirKTMs.WhichmeansI’mverykeentogetit
fitted,alongwithaPowerCommander,butwork
commitments and a bank balance hammered by
Christmashavedelayedthoseplans.Soitremainsonthe
workbench, licked occasionally but not fitted.
ButtheguysatKTMmusthavemadegooduseofthe
Powerparts bottle openers and felt full of Christmas
spirit(s),asaparcelturneduplastmonthwithasetof
theirofficialaccessoryyokestofitandtestonmyproject.
These are simply gorgeous (if you like anodised orange,
which,tobefair,youprobablydoifyouboughtaKTM)
andsomethingIreallywantedtoaddtothebikeanyway.
Butaround£450isnosmallamountofcashtosplash

STORY SO FAR

PB adopts a man from

the internet, and he

brought his KTM

project, too.

withoutabig,obviousperformancebenefit,sothey

weren’t an immediate priority. But they’ve given me

somethingtoplaywithinthemeantime.

ThestandardyokesontheSuperDukeareyour

normal cast aluminium affair finished in uninspiring

satin black. The machined billet yokes look a zillion times

better and will impress your friends. PB columnist and

KTM development rider Jezza McWilliams reckons there

arebenefits,thoughit’sdebatableiftheyapplytome...

“Theyarealittlestifferanddohelpontrackwithaset

of super-sticky slicks, but if you can feel the difference,

youcouldmakeitasafull-timetestrider”,hesaid.

UntilIfindoutwhetherIhaveGP-specballs(andajob

in Mattighofen), I decided I would weigh the billet items

and compare them with the standard ones while they

were both off the bike, to see if they help with weight

loss,aswellasmakeitmoreshiny...

OneofthemainthingsInoticedbetweenmybikeand

the2017model1290whenIborrowedonewashow

much more skittish mine felt. I put some of this down to

geometrychangesbetweentheoldandnewmodeland

thefactmytyreswereveryworn.WhenIstartedtaking

theyokesout,Ifoundthetopnutholdingeverything

togetherwasonlyhand-tight!Ithastobeacontributing

factortomyhandlingwoes.MyMoThasnowexpiredso

Ihaven’triddenthebikesinceswappingeverythingover

to find out, but having correctly adjusted head bearings

MIDDLE-AGED

MAN WITH

HIS TOOL OUT

See John’s fitting video:

https://www.youtube.

com/watch?v=

BxdS-b_Xcbw