Super Duke

[boomer]

Took my bike into AMPS today for its 24k service and managed to score a run out on the KTM 990 Super Duke, black with standard pipes.

Obviously a different riding position to what i'm use to but the tank is so slim, your knees are nice and close and the first thing i could think of was .. this girl will wheelie, if i could my legs are nice and comfy too.. very comfy riding position. I also noticed that i'd need to have her for a while as my arms seemed locked and when i relaxed my elbows were sticking out.. something you'd get use to; almost aggressive like

so, i had her for 2 hours and here's what i thought. Nice and noisy , compact and easy to ride. The Torque is plain to see/feel/hear in all gears but if your in the right gear she motors. It was a little sluggish in 1st under 3,000 revs and i wondered if thats cos Big Dave had ran it in..I got a false nuetral on it twice too.

I could easily swap my bike in on the Duke, but i'd wonder what it would be like doing stints up and over 100k+ being naked.. but thats half the fun right!

The front gets light as soon as you twist, she growls and the power seems to pour on even with limited revs to red line, the vibrations of the twin aren't overwhelming either...light & nimble she certainly put a smile on the clock. i loved the styling of bike as a whole, very stealth like.

Back later to pick my bike up and loose some extra pounds on a major service.. i'm glad they didn't have time to fit the power commander and put her on the dyno.. my mrs will kill me for spending more moolah i haven't got.

[Fatjim]

Yep, there quite a sweet ride. Although I don't know if I'd have it as an only bike.

One thing that really struck me was how planted the front felt.

[skelstar]

If its any indication I rode a GSXR1000 around some back roads in the Wairarapa (not Taranaki boomer!) and thought I was doing 130km/h whereas I was actually doing 200km/h. While my (nekid) bike is quite capable of 200+, the lack of fairing makes it very clear what speed you're doing. 200+ isnt that much fun on a nekid.

[Trudes]

200+ isnt that much fun on a nekid.

Thank god!!

[boomer]

South mate.. tis all south

i could have it as my one and only bike, but i guess its horses for courses and after a while another ride would be just as 'interesting'.

I woke myself up when i gave the throttle a good handful and she took off, i nearly fell of it as i wasn't expecting that much push

[Finn]

but i'd wonder what it would be like doing stints up and over 100k+ being naked..

Well Dover was possibly doing double that when I might of overtaken him on the ride you could have been on. My memory is vague but I may have been on a naked bike but I can't recall.

[skelstar]

On my trips up North I'll do certain long parts of the journey at 140km/h...its not that much of an issue unless you have a decent head-wind.

[boomer]

Well Dover was possibly doing double that when I might of overtaken him on the ride you could have been on. My memory is vague but I may have been on a naked bike but I can't recall.

Welcome to my world.. short term mammory loss is a bugger huh!

I think i seem to recall such an event although you might have been on the mobity scooter

[beyond]

I could easily swap my bike in on the Duke, but i'd wonder what it would be like doing stints up and over 100k+ being naked.. but thats half the fun right!

No worries mate Many people go on about riding a nekid fast, but once upon a time that's all we had. Of course the bikes are heaps quicker now but the instruments do take some of the brunt.

I've had my 14 up to 255 and all you do is bury your helmet behind the dials so your peepers can see where you're going. No problems if you tuck in.
Sustained riding at speed is another problem but I've done high speed Coro loops all day and my 49 year old neck was still ok the day after.

However, the KTM tank range is the only limiting factor but I think the latest one has a bigger tank than the earlier 17litre one.