One of my favorite bikes in the motorcycle industry just got better for the upcoming model year, as the Austrians have just taken the wraps off the updated 2022 KTM 1290 Super Duke GT.
Making 175hp in its Euro5-spec, the KTM 1290 Super Duke GT is a serious sport bike, but KTM has worked hard to give the bike the chops to go long distances as well.
If you liked what you saw with the 2021 KTM 1290 Super Adventure S, and you live in the United States, well…we have some bad news for you. The new 1290 ADV bike will not be coming to the USA this year, and instead will be a 2022 model.
This news comes to us from our Bothan spies, and the indication is that none of KTM’s upcoming 1290 bikes will see US soil until next year, including the KTM 1290 Adventure R and KTM 1290 Super Duke GT – two models we are expecting to see updated soon.
Episode 50 of the Brap Talk motorcycle podcast is back with another weekly episode, for your two-wheeled listening pleasure.
In this one, we look at a bevy of announcements for new and updated motorcycle models, as several manufacturers have held onto some new bike releases for the new year.
When we didn’t hear anything from KTM during the typical new model year blitz at the end of the last year, we worried that the Austrian brand had decided to pack it in, after the tumultuous ride of 2020.
Don’t worry though, KTM hasn’t forgotten about its 2021 obligations, and zie Austrians have more than a few plucky machines to debut for the current model year.
Two of the biggies are a new KTM 1290 Super Duke GT and an updated KTM 1290 Super Adventure lineup, as both bikes are being teased on its social media channels right now with a January 26th release date.
One of the motorcycles we expected to be updated for the 2021 model year, the KTM 1290 Super Duke GT was just spotted in the wild by the folks at Germany’s Motorrad magazine.
With the KTM 1290 Super Duke R naked bike getting updated for this year, it almost went without saying that its full-fairing sport-touring sibling would get a similar treatment for next year.
As such, the changes are pretty easy to spot.
The most aggressive street-tourer on the market just got more potent for the 2019 model year, as at INTERMOT today, the Austrians have updated the KTM 1290 Super Duke GT for next year.
As such, a host of updates come to the 2019 KTM 1290 Super Duke GT, the most notable of which is a styling change. Gone is the “Spy vs. Spy” front end, in favor of a fairing design that is closer in style to the current KTM 1290 Super Duke R.
Apologies if things have been a bit sparse here the last few days, as I’ve been making yet another trans-Atlantic crossing…my third in just seven days.
The trip has been worth it though, as I have been fortunate enough to ride in Morocco with Bridgestone the last few days, testing out the new Battlax A41 adventure-touring tire, and the Battlax T31 sport-touring tire.
Because of the schedule, we are going to have to Tarantino this “Gone Riding” post a little, and do thing in reverse, but there is plenty to talk about.
Our routes have been based out of Ouarzazate (productions like Gladiator and Game of Thrones have been filmed here), and it is a high-desert terrain with red rocks and plenty of sand and wind.
With two different tires, I have been on a host of bikes as well. On the Battlax A41, it was the BMW 1200GS Rallye, KTM 1290 Adventure S, and the Honda Africa Twin; while for the Battlax T31, it was the Suzuki GSX-S1000F, BMW R1200R, and KTM 1290 Super Duke GT.
Feel free to pick my brain about the new Bridgestone tires, the bikes I have been on, and what it is like to visit Morocco and the Ouarzazate region.
As always, you can follow our thoughts on the tires via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and you can see what our colleagues are posting on social media by looking for the hashtags #BattlaxA41 & #BattlaxT31
Now the fourth motorcycle manufacturer (1, 2, & 3) to issue a recall because of issues with its fitted Brembo brake master cylinder, KTM has the dubious task of informing 2,361 KTM 1290 Super Duke R (2015-2018) and KTM 1290 Super Duke GT (2016-2018) owners.
Like the other recalls before it, this one stems from certain 15mm and 16mm radial-pump brake master cylinders that have been fitted as an OEM part to a slew of high-performance motorcycles.
Because of a manufacturing defect, the plastic piston on these master cylinders – made from a polyphenylene sulphide polymer – may crack and brake under heavy load, severe ABS engagement, and/or during a tip-over.
Confirming our earlier report, KTM North America has issued a recall of the KTM 1290 Super Duke GT street bike, a recall that affects 487 units which were sold for the 2016 and 2017 model years.
As we reported earlier, the recall centers around a pre-formed fuel hose that can develop small holes or cracks, which could potentially lead to a fuel leak.
KTM 1290 Super Duke GT owners should expect a recall notification in the coming weeks, as the Austrian brand has determined that there is an issue with the sport-tourer’s fuel hose.
The recall affects both 2016 and 2017 models, and centers around the possibility that the installed fuel hose may develop small holes or cracks, which could lead to fuel leaking from the fuel hose. As such, it needs to be replaced by a certified KTM dealer.
The KTM 1290 Super Duke GT was the big unveil at EICMA, for the Austrian company. The model builds off the well-recieved KTM 1290 Super Duke R streetfighter, and adds some more fairing, a windshield, as well as a set of panniers.
Despite its beastly title and aggressive looks, the KTM 1290 Super Duke R is a surprisingly comfortable motorcycle to ride, thanks mostly to an upright riding triangle. The Super Duke R also has a large 4.7 gallon tank, which gives good range, but KTM boosted the Super Duke GT’s fuel tank to 6 gallons regardless of that fact.
If experience tell us anything, this should make for nice long excursions on the “Grand Tourer” model, which thankful doesn’t get a neutering to its 170hp 75° v-twin engine, which is the true highlight of the model.
The Super Duke R can get some vibrations from that beast of a motor though, so it will be interesting to see how the GT model handles that, otherwise we consider the KTM 1290 Super Duke GT to be a very sporty sport-tourer – one we’re eager to ride.
As of right now, it doesn’t look like the KTM 1290 Super Duke GT will come to the USA for 2016 though, which is a shame. Hopefully KTM North America can figure that nonsense out tout suite. In the meantime, we have 50+ high-resolution photos of “The Touring Beast” for your viewing pleasure.