2018 Bikesales Bike of the Year: KTM 1290 Super Duke GT

We can understand KTM puffing its chest out a little when the conversation turns to its 1301cc V-twin engine. In naked (Super Duke R), adventure (1290 Super Adventure R and 1290 Super Adventure S) and ‘Travel’ (1290 Super Duke GT) guises, the powerplant presents such a free-wheeling and strapping experience that it’s hard not to be in awe. It really is an astonishing piece of kit.

Of course, the 1290 Super Duke GT offers a smorgasbord of great features apart from that booming donk – which is why it’s come out on top as our best sports tourer for the second year in a row – but there’s certainly something special about that piece of V-twin architecture.

Over nearly 1000km of riding in Tasmania in our 2018 BOTY mega test, the 1290 Super Duke GT again showcased itself as the most muscular form of the sports-touring genre as we 'pointed and shooted' across the seemingly inexorable array of made-for-motorcycling bends in the Apple Isle. However, such is the bike's versatility, it was still more than up to tootling down a busy highway or city street.

With that all-rounder narrative, the KTM was welcomed back into the BOTY fold with open arms. In addition, there was an element of completing the job after the 1290 Super Duke GT failed to see the finish line in 2017 when a disqualified truck driver collided with our innocent rider, Robbo – on a road where his tipper and dog should not have been in the first place. Arrogance, incompetence and stupidity in equally large doses, and the wheels of justice are finally turning in that case (while Robbo's rehab continues...).

As far as the GT was concerned, normal service was resumed in Tasmania, on a model that has remained unchanged in 2018. Normally that can make it hard for a model to go back to back in our BOTY category calculations, but nothing new has come along that we feel has the ability to knock the GT off its perch.

There’s no doubt the GT is a performance sports tourer, and that’s borne out by the robust 173hp/144Nm engine (with massive 56mm throttle bodies), superb lean angle-sensitive electronics under the Motorcycle Stability Control umbrella (with almost everything switchable), uni-directional quickshifter (up only), semi-active WP electronic suspension, single-sided swingarm, steering damper, Brembo monobloc brakes and a trellis frame.

The GT has three riding modes, with Sport and Street producing the full power whack, while rain trims the peak to 100hp with a much less aggressive throttle. Damping is selected independently of the riding modes – this time in Sport, Street and Comfort configurations. Preload also offers four settings based on the number of bums on seats and luggage.

Touring features abound, and include a seven-position adjustable screen, LED cornering lights, cruise control, tyre pressure monitoring, panniers and a 23-litre tank.

The $26,995 ride away 1290 Super Duke GT has Pirelli Angel GT 17-inch rubber.

Pop the bike in Sports everything and bliss awaits. The kick from the engine is immense, and the front-end feedback and sharp steering were again mightily impressive, topping bikes like the BMW S 1000 XR, Yamaha MT-09SP and Kawasaki Z900RS Café. However, the Panigale V4 S was in a league of its own on that front, as you’d expect…

But back to the GT. That solid front-end not only offers a dry weather bonanza, but on wet roads where balance, poise and feel mean so much, it really is a windfall. This is really a bike at the peak of its handling powers, and those Brembo brakes offer excellent feel and bite.

It’s really just a matter of tweaking the riding modes and damping on the GT to suit your ability and confidence levels, but time and time again I’ve seen riders on multi-day jaunts eventually lose the will to tweak and just settle into a few default settings. On the GT that predominantly meant Sport, which is a vindication of just how refined the KTM master blaster is.

That said, a few riders felt a little daunted by the 1290 GT’s quite aggressive persona; there’s no doubt it enjoys stitching together turns more than anything else.

The gearing is quite tall, so slow city work does require some clutch feathering to iron out the lumpiness, but once you’re through that it’s all systems go. The clutch is soft and tactile, though, so that’s a bonus.

The bike is only in purr mode at 100km/h in top gear – 3500rpm – and fifth gear feels way more comfortable in that zone – as well as providing more grist for the overtaking mill. The rev limiter kicks in about 10,500rpm.

Like the S 1000 XR, the KTM delivers a satisfying crackle through the tough-looking pipe under hard acceleration.

The GT chewed on average of 7.1lt/100km on the three-day ride, so you’re looking at around 300km between fuel stops at a brisk pace.

The bike’s seat is firm, and so is the WP suspension for that matter, but it’s actually quite a comfy bike on the long haul. The pillion seat, while no foam monster, is nearly as wide as the rider’s, which is a good thing. Overall, the ride quality is excellent.

There are a few parts of the cockpit equation that don’t match the lofty standards of the engine and chassis, however.

The hand-adjustable screen provides a decent level of protection, but is a little clunky to use for such a functional machine, and it could maybe do with a few extra inches of height as well. That’s where KTM’s PowerParts catalogue comes into the picture.

The mirrors are very vibey when speeds hot up, while the dash is functional without providing an aesthetic punch – that will come in the next update when the GT gets a Super Duke R-like TFT screen.

You also have to access a few buttons to turn on the heated grips – most bikes have a button on the switchblock or something close at hand.

The GT also came up with a few error messages on the dash, which eventually righted themselves, and when we refuelled the bike it sometimes took about 30km for the sensors to recognise the tank was chockas – and to show up on the fuel gauge. Certainly not deal breakers, but slightly annoying features you can do without.

The 1290 Super Duke GT is a beautifully balanced machine that needs very little encouragement to get up and boogie – but at the same time is perfectly content to churn away on a boring road until its time to light the flame again. That’s versatility, and the machine is a giant of the sports touring caper.

RELATED LINKS
• 2018 Bike of the Year: Intro
• BMW S 1000 XR HP
• BMW K 1600 Grand America
• Ducati Panigale V4 S
• Harley-Davidson Fat Bob 114
• Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports
• Kawasaki Z900RS Cafe
• KTM 1290 Super Duke GT
• Kymco AK 550
• Yamaha MT-09SP
• Getting there: Spirit of Tasmania
• The Motley Crew
• Fiat Ducato
• The top three
• BOTY in summary
• BOTY overall winner

ENGINE
Type: Liquid-cooled, DOHC, eight-valve V-twin
Capacity: 1301cc
Bore x stroke: 108mm x 71mm
Compression ratio: 13.2:1
Fuel system: Electronic fuel injection

PERFORMANCE
Claimed maximum power: 173hp at 9500rpm
Claimed maximum torque: 144Nm at 6750rpm

TRANSMISSION
Type: Six-speed
Clutch: Wet, multi-plate, slipper style
Final drive: Chain

CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR
Frame: Chromoly steel trellis
Front suspension: WP inverted 48mm semi-active fork
Rear suspension: WP semi-active monoshock shock
Front brakes: Twin 320mm discs with four-piston, radial-mount, monobloc calipers
Rear brake: Single 240mm disc with twin-piston caliper
Tyres: Pirelli Angel GT – 120/70ZR17 front; 190/55ZR17 rear

DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITIES
Claimed dry weight: 205kg
Seat height: 835mm
Wheelbase: 1482mm
Fuel capacity: 23 litres

OTHER STUFF
Price: $26,995 plus on-road costs
Colours: Grey or orange
Bike supplied by: KTM Australia
Warranty: Two years/unlimited kilometres