Updated 2020 KTM 1290 Super Duke R imminent
An even lighter and more refined 'Beast' is poised to prowl our streets…KTM is set to pull the covers off the latest major update of its brutal high-performance naked bike, the 2020 KTM 1290 Super Duke R, with the model's international media launch set to take place in Portugal at the end of January.
A Beast of a bike…
First released to widespread acclaim in late 2013, the KTM 1290 Super Duke R was joined by a sportstouring sibling, the KTM 1290 Super Duke GT, in 2016 – a model that went on to be crowned Sportstourer of the Year in our 2017 and 2018 Bikesales Bike of the Year Awards.
The KTM 1290 Super Duke R then received a major update in 2017, receiving revised cylinder heads, refreshed styling and an LED headlight, among others, but now the next chapter for the 'The Beast' is here.
Related reading:
2019 EICMA: KTM 1290 Super Duke R
2017 KTM 1290 Super Duke R launch review
2014 KTM 1290 Super Duke R launch review
2018 Bikesales Bike of the Year: KTM 1290 Super Duke GT
2017 Bikesales Bike of the Year: KTM 1290 Super Duke GT
Lighter, sharper, smarter
Unveiled at Italy's EICMA motorcycle show in Milan last November, the latest iteration of the model is said to be 6kg lighter, with the savings gained through the use of lighter wheels, brakes and swingarm, plus the adoption of an aluminium-carbon composite sub-frame.
The chassis has been massaged too, the chrome-molybdenum steel trellis now said to offer three times the rigidity of its predecessor for even sharper, more responsive handling, while the bike now rides on WP APEX suspension front and rear.
KTM's heavily revised LC8 engine, a 1301cc, eight-valve, 75-degree V-twin, now meets Euro5 emissions compliance and breathes through a new exhaust system with two catalytic converters.
Increased compression (now 13.5:1) and a new intake system, among other changes, contribute to a power lift of 3hp to 180hp at 9500rpm. Torque is down by 1Nm to 140Nm at 8000rpm, 1000rpm higher than before, while the gearbox is said to offer improved shifting.
The front brakes have been upgraded to Brembo's radial-mount four-piston Stylema calipers while the bike's electronics have also received a significant boost, courtesy of new mapping for the bike's various ride modes, and the latest traction control and cornering ABS with six-axis IMU. The 5.0-inch TFT instrumentation is also new.
More to come…
Bikesales will be there at the model's international press launch in Portugal, which will showcase the 2020 KTM 1290 Super Duke R's talents to full effect through the mountains of the nation's southern Algarve region and on the epic Portimao F1 circuit. Check back in early February for a full report and video.
Pricing will be announced a little closer to the KTM 1290 Super Duke R's local arrival, which is slated for April 2020.
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