Driving new and unfamiliar bikes is among the finest facets of working for a motorbike journal. However what I take pleasure in much more is using up to date variations of bikes I’ve examined earlier than, notably these on my brief checklist of favorites. What I like about them remains to be there, however efficiency has been elevated, refinements have been made, and options have been added. That’s very a lot the case with the 2023 KTM 1290 Tremendous Duke GT.

Derived from the 1290 Tremendous Duke R – a 180-hp bare sportbike often called “The Beast” – the sport-touring GT was launched in early 2016. Rider’s former EIC Mark Tuttle bought a primary experience on the 1290 Tremendous Duke GT on the international press launch in Mallorca, Spain, and he gushed about it in his assessment, calling it “almost flawless, the right sport-touring bike for a rider who doesn’t wish to surrender sportbike ranges of engine efficiency and dealing with.”

I’m not above petty jealousy, and Tuttle’s hi-pro glow after that launch made me envious. Good man that he’s, Mark twisted the arm of Tom Moen, KTM North America’s head of promoting, to get us a pre-production 1290 Tremendous Duke GT as quickly as one arrived on our shores. I flogged and hogged it for almost 2,000 miles, obsessively guarding its keyless fob like Sméagol with the One Ring, after which I logged one other 1,500 miles on a manufacturing model, disappearing from the workplace for days at a time.

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Two years later, we examined a 2019 mannequin, which featured updates to the GT’s engine, suspension, consolation, and instrumentation. We had combined emotions concerning the refresh of the angular styling, however you possibly can’t see what a motorbike appears to be like like whenever you’re using it, and that’s the place the magic occurs. Each staffer, to an individual, was strung out like an addict on the 1290 Tremendous Duke GT’s torquey Twin and heroic dealing with.

Associated: 2019 KTM 1290 Super Duke GT | First Ride Review

So you possibly can think about our heartbreak when the GT disappeared from KTM’s lineup for a number of years, forcing us to get our repair elsewhere.

KTM 1290 Tremendous Duke GT: Again With a Vengeance

KTM has been on a roll. Its Austrian mother or father firm, Pierer Mobility AG, has seen 12 successive years of report gross sales, and on the finish of 2022, its three core manufacturers – KTM, Husqvarna, and GasGas – posted a mixed 13% improve over the earlier 12 months. Annual U.S. gross sales have topped 100,000 items and $1 billion in income, and final 12 months, it surpassed Yamaha by way of gross sales quantity.

In 2022, KTM constructed and offered 268,575 bikes. That’s a far cry from the 6,300 bikes KTM produced in 1992, the 12 months Pierer Mobility bought the corporate out of chapter.

On March 28, I attended the grand opening for Pierer Mobility’s new North American headquarters in Murrieta, California. CEO Stefan Pierer spent $53 million on the event, his single largest funding ever.

Associated: KTM and Pierer Mobility Open New North American Headquarters

After having fun with the festivities and touring the power, I loaded a KTM SX-E 3 electrical dirtbike (search for a check in a future concern) into the again of my 4Runner and a 1290 Tremendous Duke GT onto a trailer.

“The place are the GT’s saddlebags?” I requested Andy Jefferson, KTM North America’s media relations supervisor.

“They’re not commonplace within the U.S.,” he stated. “They’re out there as equipment, however they’re on backorder.”

Checklist value for the 2017 mannequin was $19,999, and facet instances have been commonplace. They have been additionally commonplace gear on the 2019 mannequin, however the MSRP had elevated to $20,499. The bottom value for the 2023 mannequin is $19,799 – again under the essential $20K mark – however the facet instances at the moment are elective. Though they weren’t out there for this check, the 30-liter baggage are priced at $824.99. Our check bike was outfitted with the elective Tech Pack ($999.99), which provides the Monitor Pack, Motor Slip Regulation, Hill Maintain Management, and Quickshifter+. 

GEAR UP

What makes the Tremendous Duke GT so tremendous is its 1,301cc LC8 V-Twin, a potent, versatile engine that’s a real workhorse in KTM’s secure; it’s additionally discovered, in varied states of tune, within the 1290 Tremendous Duke R Evo, 1290 Tremendous Journey R, and 1290 Tremendous Journey S. This V-Twin isn’t any appliance-like powerplant that hums quietly, as boring as listening to a basic rock station with the amount turned down. No, the massive LC8 turns it as much as 11, making its presence identified with visceral energy pulses and an authoritative bark from its single exhaust pipe. Sucking gasoline and air by a pair of 58mm throttle our bodies and compressing it to a ratio of 13.2:1, in Sport mode the 1.3-liter mill laid down 158 hp at 10,000 rpm and 92 lb-ft of torque at 9,400 rpm on the rear wheel on Jett Tuning’s trusty dyno.

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Whereas the 1290 Tremendous Duke GT is fairly unimaginable, it’s no Hulk able to explode in a rage with one mistimed enter. Moderately, the GT is a well-behaved beast, one with finely tuned throttle response and simply controllable energy. A full complement of electronics permits the experience expertise to be tailor-made to situations and gives a wider security margin. Three commonplace experience modes (Sport, Avenue, and Rain) alter throttle response and engine output, and the elective Tech Pack provides two additional modes – Monitor and Efficiency – with distinctive throttle-response settings, launch management, a nine-level rear wheelspin adjuster, and the flexibility to show off wheelie management.

A 6-axis IMU gives inputs for KTM’s Motorbike Stability Management, which incorporates cornering ABS with two modes (Street and Supermoto) and lean-angle-adaptive traction management. WP semi-active suspension has three damping modes (Sport, Avenue, and Consolation) and 4 presets for rear spring preload.

Experience high quality and responsiveness are good in all three suspension modes, however variations between them got here into sharp reduction whereas making passes on a decent, tough part of street throughout our photoshoot. In Consolation mode, the chassis felt too unfastened, and I struggled to search out confidence whereas cornering at pace. Switching to Avenue elevated the sense of tautness, and my confidence ratcheted up accordingly. However it was in Sport mode the place the GT’s damping felt essentially the most disciplined and well-controlled, permitting me to dive deeper and push my limits. 

For many of this check, I toggled backwards and forwards between the Sport and Avenue experience modes, and I left ABS in Street mode. I didn’t take the GT to a observe day, however with its new, grippy Continental ContiSportAttack 4 tires, I’m assured it will maintain its personal. Having stated that, hypersport tires just like the SportAttack 4s might not be your best option for longevity. Efficiency mode is the street-oriented model of Monitor mode for individuals who need to have the ability to alter traction management on the fly and loft the entrance wheel. (Sure, that is nonetheless a assessment of a sport-tourer.)

Assured dealing with has at all times been probably the greatest traits of the Tremendous Duke GT. Its chromoly-steel trellis body is robust and light-weight, its chassis geometry balances responsiveness and stability, and its curb weight is a good 517 lb. New lighter wheels cut back unsprung weight by 2.2 lb, giving the GT even lighter steering response with out ever feeling twitchy, thanks partly to the usual steering damper. The bike rolls out and in of corners with ease, and it stays planted when firing out of corners like a cannon. Brembo Stylema entrance calipers pinching massive 320mm rotors and a Brembo radial entrance grasp cylinder enable pace to be scrubbed off with finely tuned authority.

Associated: 2023 KTM Ride Orange Street Demo Tour

Fellow Traveler

Moderately than simply tacking a windscreen and saddlebags on a 1290 Tremendous Duke R, KTM invested vital growth assets to make the GT appropriate for touring. It has a frame-mounted fairing with built-in LED cornering lights, a hand-adjustable windscreen, a bigger 6.1-gal. gasoline tank (in comparison with 4.2 on the SDR), and an extended rear subframe that higher accommodates a passenger and loaded saddlebags.

Customary consolation and comfort options embrace cruise management, handguards, heated grips, tire-pressure monitoring, self-canceling turnsignals, and the KTM Race On keyless system, which makes use of an digital fob to energy on the bike and to lock and unlock the steering and gasoline filler cap.

In comparison with the Tremendous Duke R, the GT has extra relaxed ergonomics, with decrease footpegs, a taller and wider handlebar, and seats which are bigger and extra supportive. Rider ergonomics will be dialed in with an adjustable handlebar, adjustable levers, and three completely different positions for the shift and rear brake levers. 

Updates for 2023 embrace a bigger 7-inch shade TFT show with new graphics, Flip by Flip+ navigation that integrates with the TFT by way of the KTMconnect app, and redesigned switches with adjustable backlighting. Like a number of different KTM fashions we’ve examined, the GT has two customizable quick-access buttons that enable the rider to vary experience mode, damping mode, and so forth. with out going by the menu, and data proven on the underside of the principle TFT display will be personalized with 4 favorites.

Additionally new are two storage compartments that fold away inside all sides of the fairing. Because of the proximity of the fork tubes, neither will be opened except the handlebar is turned somehow to maneuver the closest fork tube away from the inside fairing. The left storage compartment has a USB charging port, however the compartment itself is simply too small for my iPhone, and I doubt many different smartphones would match both.

Fountain of Youth

My invitation to hitch AARP ought to arrive in a number of months, and the older I get, the more durable it’s to remain in form. Lately, mysterious aches and pains come and go, accidents take longer to heal, and what hair I haven’t misplaced has turned grey. However as quickly as I swing a leg over a motorbike and hearth it up, I really feel like Benjamin Button. My organic clock switches into reverse, and I really feel youthful, friskier, extra alive. 

Each motorbike has this impact to some extent, however a number of, just like the KTM 1290 Tremendous Duke GT, have additional mojo. Driving them is like taking a tablet filled with particular nutritional vitamins A, C, and E (adrenaline, confidence, and pleasure).

This bike is the sharp finish of the sport-touring spear, and it’s sharper than ever.

See all of Rider‘s KTM coverage here.

2023 KTM 1290 Tremendous Duke GT Specs

• Base Worth: $19,799
• Worth as Examined: $20,799 (Tech Pack)
• Guarantee: 2 yrs., 24,000 miles
• Web site: KTM.com

ENGINE

• Kind: Liquid-cooled, transverse 75-degree V-Twin, DOHC, w/ 4 valves per cyl.
• Displacement: 1,301cc
• Bore x Stroke: 108.0 x 71.0mm
• Compression Ratio: 13.2:1
• Valve Insp. Interval: 18,000 miles
• Gas Supply: Keihin EFI w/ 56mm throttle our bodies x 2
• Lubrication System: Dry sump, 3.8-qt. cap.
• Transmission: 6-speed, hydraulically actuated slip/help moist clutch
• Remaining Drive: Chain

CHASSIS

• Body: Chromoly-steel trellis & solid aluminum single-sided swingarm
• Wheelbase: 58.3 in.
• Rake/Path: 24.9 levels/4.2 in.
• Seat Peak: 32.9 in.
• Suspension, Entrance: 48mm inverted fork, semi-active damping w/ 4.9-in. journey
• Rear: Single shock, semi-active damping w/ 6.1-in. journey
• Brakes, Entrance: Twin 320mm discs w/ opposed 4-piston radial calipers & cornering ABS
• Rear: Single 240mm disc w/ 2-piston mounted caliper & cornering ABS
• Wheels, Entrance: Forged, 3.50 x 17 in.
• Rear: Forged, 6.00 x 17 in.
• Tires, Entrance: 120/70-ZR17
• Rear: 190/55-ZR17
• Moist Weight: 517 lb

PERFORMANCE

• Horsepower: 158.0 hp @ 10,000 rpm (rear-wheel dyno)
• Torque: 91.9 lb-ft @ 9,400 rpm (rear-wheel dyno)
• Gas Capability: 6.1 gal.
• Gas Consumption: 35 mpg
• Estimated Vary: 213 miles