KTM’s Duke series of naked motorcycles span from 125cc motorcycles to the absolutely bonkers 1290 Super Duke and now, the Austrian bikemaker has taken the wraps off the 1290 Super Duke R Evo that now serves as the flagship variant in its road-legal super naked lineup.
What is it?
Super nakeds is a different breed of animal as they are basically just race bikes with no fairing which you can ride every day. As in the case of KTM SuperDuke R Evo, the super naked is fun, fast, lighter, and all about wheelies and hooliganism. KTM says that the SuperDuke R Gen 3 version is a purpose-built Naked bike, not any stripped-down version of any race bike.
Specs and features
KTM SuperDuke is powered by a 1301 cc Liquid-cooled 2-cylinder engine producing 180 hp and 140 Nm 0f torque. KTM has also given the thumping 1301cc V-twin some tweaks, with a new ram-air system running through the split LED headlight feeding a redesigned airbox.
Thinner engine cases have also saved 800g and the new exhaust holds two catalytic converters for Euro5 compliance. Much like the smaller-capacity parallel-twin 790 Duke, the new bike uses a cast-aluminum subframe, and the single-sided swingarm is now longer and pivots 5mm higher for better traction.
Suspension is provided by WP’s latest ‘Apex’ kit. The second-gen WP Apex system gets three standard damping modes – Comfort, Street and Sport. Moreover, there is also an option to tweak the rear spring preload by 20mm. Bringing you to a stop are Brembo’s powerful Stylema front calipers.
This is aided further by Bridgestone’s latest S22 tires, which now also feature a fatter 200-section rear. KTM’s claimed 189kg dry weight is 6kg lighter than last year, however, the fuel tank has been sacrificed, down from 18 to 16 liters. The SuperDuke is packed with electronics such as ABS, Cornering ABS, Traction Control, Wheelie Control, 6D lean angle. Slide Control and much more.
The bike has been made available in two variants – Evo and standard R. Both use the same 178bhp V-twin motor and also share the same Rain, Street and Sport riding modes. In addition, there are also optional Track and Performance maps available for sports-orientated customers.