KTM SuperDuke 1290R | First Ride & Review 

As a 1290 owner - - Fuel gauge is accurate. It does fluctuate quickly (uphill/hard braking etc) so you might see your fuel range jump 20km up and down here and there. That being said, you see the pattern and it is very good, I've ran this down to 0km (Fucking fuel shortage in my town) and had 288.5km on the clock. I put 18.3 litres in the bike, it has an 18l tank. I was riding "normally" (Brap, brap, brap, +20 over speed limit) - No quickshifter is annoying, it can be added though however I haven't seen such a thing in the Hard Parts catalog for this particular bike. The 2017 one will likely have it stock. - I have heard there will be a Hard Parts Cruise Control addition involving a little ECU remap and a module. - It is fucking stuffed with emissions bullshit - remove it. The Cat weighs so much, and the bike is so throaty without it. I have the Competition Werkes exhaust and midpipe, I am absolutely stoked with it. I get on average 260km per tank, I commute daily, and it simply does not get old - It is pretty comfortable, there are a few options for baggage - See Snowcats bike - and there are windshield options too although most look awful. - On the stock Dunlop tires, the bike is incredibly tippy and encourages you to get into the turn. I felt more confident leaning this bike in than my old Speed Triple, and that was within the first 1000km. I have had the bike 3 months and I have done 6800km in that time. - It will power wheelie on command, I am simply not nearly as good as the bike requires, but it will come up on a whim. - ABS works, tried it on my dirt/gravel driveway - slam on front brake and no problems. - TCS can be intrusive after a while, and KTM could have let the front come up more, or allowed us to customise the settings, rather than having to turn it off entirely to go into full hooligan mode. It is confidence inspiring in the wet, though, and the bike will not let you down. - The brakes are astronomical, but you won't need them. That massive twin has a huge amount of engine braking, and it will slow you down to a crawl if you're off the power. This is no inline 4! - Beware of the odd false neutral if you bollocks up your shift on acceleration. This could be easily solved by being less of a pussy and kicking it harder to begin with, or by having a nice quickshifter and a motoGP setup. Tempting to try it. - The rear fender is absolutely shockingly pointless, it has a HUGE hole in the middle, so it allows almost all the water onto your back and then down into your arse. That being said, integrated tail light (customled) and a fender eliminator gives it a really clean look, I love it. You will get wet on it, though, as the rear tire comes out way beyond the back of the bike (relatively speaking) so any water definitely gets on your back. - It turns heads like nothing else I have ever had, it is a phenomenal performer and I am certain I could ride it all day with no problems. - The gears are pretty long - 6th gear is only truly usable upwards of 120kph. Maybe even 140kph stock. - If you have one of these, get yourself the Rottweiler Performance O2 Sensor removal and block off kit. The bike is designed to have a 14.7 Air/Fuel ratio. With the dongles from Rottweiler Performance, this reduces down to 13.8 or so, causing it to be slightly more rich. I haven't noticed a huge fuel consumption change at all (260km per tank) however the bike runs WAY WAY WAY smoother below 5000rpm and 20% throttle, which is most city or town riding. - Also if you have one and like the TCS turned off - Set it as your top Favorite on the Favorite list. When you have the bike fired up, hold down the OK button until it scrolls through and turns itself off. If you have it set as the top Favorite, you needn't even release the button till it is done. Unfortunately, by default the 1290 resets it's TCS/ABS settings to ON when you stop the ignition or turn the bike off completely. This is annoying. I hope some of this information helps as it took some time to write it out. I love my bike, it makes me smile every time I see it, ride it or talk about it to others. It is endlessly powerful, comfortable enough and it is a looker - if you like that kind of look, ofc. It isn't for everyone. It is a pussycat around town, and a complete demon as soon as you ask it to be. I couldn't recommend it more highly.

Yo Duke, I just picked up my 2016 -KTM 1290 Super Duke!! I brought it home from the KTM dealer in my Tacoma!! Just completed its first 50 miles. I had it in Rain Mode the whole time. I'am a very experienced rider. I was laughing like a school girl from the insane power!!! I felt like the bike was wired to my brain some how. I didnt want to come home!! Key West here i come on a Super Duke!!!

That "duke on duke" action though..... Nice vid, man!

I've had my Duke now from new, 2015..rite at 15k miles , ive had the service done correctly and on time every time, I've seen a lot of complaints about the elecktronicks and a few other complaints but over all I love my bike and she still running just like brand new.

That's my Superduke I traded it in for the tuono which you test rode. 👍👍 hope u liked the ride

same verdict as me..its in a class of it own..and it is so comfortable it amazes you because of what the bike looks like on first impression. I love it!

Very sweet ! I would love to ride one of these. The heated grips on any motorcycle are awesome. Thanks for the ride along Duke.

1290R is a BEAST!

Awesome to finally see you united with your namesake! Only 2k miles, previous owner decided rather quickly where his preferences were.

I had one and 90% loved it. (2014 SDR). My only gripe was it would shake its head terribly when riding hard to the point it wouldn't let you ride it at full throttle to the red line in anything but perfectly smooth conditions. The upgraded power parts steering damper didn't fit as it fouled the steering. Hopefully they've fixed that for the 2017 model. One more thing, I had a few reliability issues but nothing too awful. Don't hate me.... I actually bought a KTM Duke 390 for my daily commute and found that on a weekend I'd much prefer to hustle the little Duke around my local twisties and didn't loose any 'fun factor'. Sure the power is addictive but the 390 felt so much lighter and flickable, and for the road seemed plenty capable. Each to their own I suppose. I ultimately realised I didn't need so much power but preferred fun and flickable machines. So I sold my SDR and Duke 390 and bought a Husqvarna 701 Supermoto. After 20 years of riding I've never had so much fun. So for anyone out there who's riding a mid level bike and can't stretch to massive hooligan machine like the SDR, don't worry. You're probably not 'missing out' as much as you might think. See Royal Jordanian 900 Nuda ;)

That Graves exhaust sounds so good.

I really really want to test ride a Super Duke again. I went to a KTM demo ride last year and had a HORRIBLE experience but I think this beast deserves a second chance.

I have the Graves exhaust on my RSV4 and I love it, sounds amazing on the Super Duke. The only thing that bike is missing is the quick shifter, its a must for todays modern high performance machines! love the vid!

"I'm not waiting behind other cars. What am I, a bitch?! I'm on a Super Duke." #QOTD

Good review, I really like that bike. KTM has come a long way; same with your reviews. What I like, the country side of your videos. it makes a nice impression of DC. Keep up the fun posts.

SuperDuke of DC! haha. I liked ur review on the Duc939 but still had doubts of the 939 after bad reviews of the 821. But watching this and been considering for awhile, Imma get the superduke early 2017. Thx for the awesome review of the Superduke, Duke!

It seemed like u couldn't find the words to describe what you were feeling, haha))) So happy for you! Keep up the good work!)

Dam that is that video what i have been waiting... Shiiiiiiiiiiit that sound so epic, my dream bike..Cool Thanks for sharing this video whit us.

Maybe the duke of dc will be the new owner?

This bike will pull the front wheel in 4th gear but you can cruise all day in comfort too, it's a great all around bike

Going today to test ride it at la moto baby!

"Yo, the graves exhaust sounds incredible. It's a 10 out of 10. We'll bang again." - #QOTD

KTM do have a quickshifter available, in the hardparts catalogue.

You need one!!

Went to go test ride it at La Moto and it is an absolute beastly fun ride. Unfortunately they let me ride a Tuono right afterwards, and I see why people love the V4.... Now I want an RSV4

Not sure if the mic picks it up but the sound is really deep in real life. Also the rims are nice, probably some light weight alloy with magnesium mixed in.

That's SuperRad! On a side note: you need to get yourself on a bike in NorCal and head down highway 1. One of the most scenic rides in the country.

great point about the ducati monsters however there are some big differences between the three. The R puts close to 175 bhp at the crank where as the monster s is about 165 and the standard is around 150. however the duke is the best bang for buck and definitely is going coast you a lot less with servicing and any other little grimlins you might run into. and i am a ducati owner haha but that duke sounds sick! great video man

I rode mine from Florida up to New York and back .No problems at all. Some criminal speeding though.

That is just so sweet bike.

Sweet sounding bike!! Thanks for the vids.....I'm gonna have to swing by and check it out.

My dream bike!

Just wondering, isn't you a bit too short for this bike?

My next bike for 2017 for sure, nice vid. bro!

Haha. Nicely done and that Scottish accent was spot in! ;) . Just thought I'd save some gas $$$ by watching you ride my bike for me, lol

Nice review. What's going on with the hazard indicators flashing when you come to a stop? and the warning triangle?

Why do all bikes in the US leave less hp on the wheel? How restrictive are you emission laws? A magazine here in sweden dyno'd a stock SD1290 to 161WHP and I think it was 135NM of torque (99,6ftlb) How would you rate this against the Tuono 1100 and S1000R? Which one is king of the streets? :)

Nice bike for sure. And might I add: Good intro theme music. ;)

This sound or the V4 sound... So different but I don't know which I like better.

690 ftw but the 1290 is goals

Great review man. It's on the short list…only turned off by the relatively small number of dealers.

Which would you rather have for that 18k price range the r1200r fully loaded pretty nicely optioned is the same price and bmw is offering .9% financing and in my area they have 1500 off if not more through end of month

You've just confused me more on what to buy now. Guess im gonna just have to ride em all and see.

Awesome bike!!!!

Duke bro , love your videos . Your love for the bikes you ride comes through really nicely! I sold my heavily modified mt09 for this beast and there some things to get used , you don't have to ride so high in the revs most of the time compared to a 4 or even 3 cylinder bike. I'm barely above 3900 rpm when I'm on my superduke .. hardly use 2nd gear unless Im going below 50 kph /33 mph cause the bike pulls like madness from low rpm . the fuel consumption is also amazing for a 1.3liter naked sports bike. when i go touring (this bike is such an all rounder) I get as far as 320kms(200 miles) before needing to fill her up oh and btw heres a video review of the healtech fuel cut quick shifter for the superduke 1290 (it seems to do downshifts aswell !!) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Al4Xz6BuRRA.html the 2017 model superduke r should have a quick shifter , full led headlight and a full tft screen if you can wait for it. But this 13k deal is steal to. get an air box mod and tune it up and she will drive 170 hp to the rear wheel ^_^

Super Duke of DC? Sounds good to me. greetings from austria

Nice!!

hey bro yours sounding good hope things are awesome was a chat about depression a while back i said i was going threw the same well i have good news i got my settlement threw the military an was able to buy my 4th dream bike i have ever wanted in my life i went from ontario to newfoundland with my dad to get a Ural Gear up desert cam i just got back to day get it safty tomoro all threw my trip i thought of yu an the nice roads an stuff to look at not much traffic out that way we ran 130 kmh to 140 kmh no cops no traffic thanks for man

You seemed out of breath there at the end doing the walk around. Was the bike that heavy?

Jelly.

Is it good for a wise (like a grandpa) beginner?

Be honest. Did you know that you would buy this bike when you did this video? or did you get another duke?

Somebody please make a slipper clutch to drag race this bike.

So would you do an even trade of your Tuono for it?

I would love to own that bike one day, too bad it's 26 000 dollars in Norway...

😍

enjoy San Francisco😊😊

So I guess you like it huh?

DCduke Superduke

Yeah so you said that you needed them to bring out the bells and whistles for you with that $17k msrp, but that moan you made when the bike backfired said that you didn’t need to see nothin’. 😂😂

that smile was f ucking wicked!

akrapovic titanium evo full system sounds better on 1290R , quite similar sound tho ;p

Uno, doe tray...Wolly Bully

1st

I'd love to get one but the dealers are shit here.

2nd

tuono rf lol

3rd

You putting around like a grandma on this bike is a disappointment

MTC off or go home xD

You are doing to much coke , not healthy for you !!!

Don't know what it is, but there is something about KTMs that I don't like. I get the same feelings about BMWs, I just don't like them.