If you saw my
text review of KTM’s new SD GT, you witnessed an old grown man gush about a new Austrian motorcycle. If I had to choose a bike to ride across this vast country to a trackday, it’d probably be this one.
An evolution of the Super Duke R,
our 2014 Motorcycle of the Year, the GT ticks all the boxes on my list of ideal sport-touring qualities: reasonable comfort; high-grade handling; an inexhaustible well of power; automatically adaptable active suspension; world-class brakes; adjustable windshield; top-shelf electronics; 6.0-plus-gallon tank; and standard hard-shell saddlebags. In fact, the 94.5% I scored it is the highest number I’ve ever awarded on our single-bike scorecard.
Downsides are few and minor, assuming a price tag around $20k doesn’t frighten you away from this orange and black gem. I might like it better with flashier color instrumentation, and I’d prefer the electronic rider aids were independently adjustable rather than tied to the bike’s ride modes. And perhaps while traversing Nebraska on the way to Virginia International Raceway I’d wish for a bit more wind protection.
Otherwise, the Super Duke GT is pretty much my conception of the ideal sport-touring rig. I’d happily suffer through lubing the chain every couple of days on my transcontinental slog to VIR. And here’s what I thought about it after a day ripping around Mallorca…
Get the Flash Player to see this player.
2017 KTM 1290 Super Duke GT Video Review appeared first on
Motorcycle.com.
Click here for full story...