KTM Superduke GT

Best bike I've ever had and has the right feeling, the sort or urgency a KTM gives you compared to the more laid back feeling you can often get from larger bikes. But it's the performance you buy it for - it's incredibly quick for a large, upright bike and there's so much torque everywhere.

The heated power parts seat is really comfortable for long days, it does 200 miles or slightly over to a gently ridden tank or 140-150 at enjoyment level 11. Brakes, steering and suspension all feel very plush and capable, I don't ever feel I need to change anything, which is unusual for me. Heated grips are hot but I don't get on with most screens on bikes including this one, so I bought an aftermarket screen and still had to cut 20mm off it, so a bit of head blast on motorways, but I prefer that to being in a buffeting bubble.

It's one of the few bikes which does really deliver what it promises. The electronics keep everything manageable without feeling they are even intervening. You can be a bit ham-fisted with the throttle for example, and the only indication that something has happened is that a very small slide is stopped within a yellow flash of an LED on the dash and the bike rockets forward again.

The Mk 2 does have a better TFT dash which is readable with a tinted visor whereas the LCD dash on the earlier model is hard to read in sunlight or with tinted visor or sun glasses, and the headlight is LED which beats the candle in mine, but apart from that and maybe better fuel economy, the mark 1 offers pretty much everything you need. The new model available next year will be better but I'm not sure it offers anything that will make the bike more enjoyable.

I had a great trip in August last year to France and Italy, Calais to Gap in one day, about 5 or 6 days messing about in the Alps then home and then did it all again and a bit more with David in September.

I don't think you can buy a bad bike these days, anything from BMW, Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki etc is going to be pretty fast, fun and reliable I'm sure, but the KTM 1290 GT is the one to give you a kick in back and serenade you with the lovely v-twin sound whilst teleporting you into the future !

I’ve had a Superadventure S and now have a GT , both great bikes, Gt is the sportier beast, but the Superadventure is a brilliant bike and effortlessly quick on the road.

Perfect! Can you make me one please? (or send me the plans)

All pretty glowing recommendations so far..

Any thoughts on mark 1 Vs mark 2?

On the previous page where David posted two pictures of me and James on a bend going past one of those annoying photographers in France, I'm on the Mk 1 with a black helmet with gold visor and James has a Mk 2 with a black and white helmet. The bikes look very similar except for the headlight.

Performance wise, they should be identical, James seems to get an extra 40 or so Km from a tank but I still get 150 miles when pressing on and it might be just how the fuel gauge is calibrated as neither of us has taken it to the edge and run out. I forgot that mine has been modified to adjust the fuelling so it's not quite so lean which might account for some of the difference. The Mk 2 headlight is LED and much brighter and probably a really useful upgrade. The TFT dash on the Mk 2 is also much brighter and more useful than the Mk 1 dash, but you get pretty much the same info, unless you apply the track or tech pack James is going to get which isn't available for the Mk 1 as far as I know.

There are lots of minor changes, like the Mk 2 gets titanium exhaust valves, but the engine is fundamentally identical, so is suspension, so is frame, luggage etc - all the same and the electronics is the same lean sensitive traction control and ABS from Bosch, you (dealer) can even apply the later suspension calibration to the earlier bike as the system is identical.

I looked at the latest edition to come out in Jan/Feb 2022 and I'll probably not upgrade yet, the Mk 1 does everything the later bikes do and still feels really good to me. Mine has done just over 15000 miles and needs the valve service at 18k miles with valve clearance checks but the cost to change is way more than that will cost, even if I only went for the Mk 2, so I'll be keeping it. I'll try to get the service done in France next year as the service is so much better than the UK and cheaper too.

How much more you pay for the Mk 2 over the Mk 1 depends really on your guess of future depreciation and how much you want the TFT dash and LED headlight.

Whichever one you get put better tyres on it, I use M9RRs and although they don't last very long, they really do make the bike feel plusher and offer so much grip, especially cornering, seems to suit the bike really well.

Ah yes, it does look like Stelvio, there are so many photographers now.

Me too. The GT does nothing for me, looks wise… but I think it’s a great bike.

It's a simple off the shelf clamp so I'll post a few pics tomorrow.

Gen 1 superduke GT has to be the bargain of the century. 7k will get you a minter from a dealer and they’re utterly bonkers bits of kit.
It’s just not worth getting the later ones, they’ve not changed it enough to warrant the price diff.
And the 2022 version is similarly near identical.

Get a 2017 with as much of the touring kit as possible, they are they bike that will genuinely do it all.

There's a private 30k one on ebay IIRC £6750 but yes the low mileage ones are £8500+