KTM 990 Superduke

Lighter, more agile and aggressive than everything else being on two wheels ever before. The KTM 990 Superduke is not less than a radical advance in building motorcycles and a redefinition of the category "naked bike". The 990 Superduke is a motorcycle without compromise, defined through extremely agile handling, innovative technology and an independent, brand-characteristic design.

Primarily she is the absolute and offensively demonstrated commitment to the passion motorcycle.

You can barely find words to express the riding fun and the feeling that the KTM 990 Superduke gives you when it's in motion. Just as KTM re-invented the Streetfighter, you try to invent new words for what happens beneath you curve after curve. The KTM 990 Superduke sweeps through curves - ultra-precise, radical and agile. The landscape flies past fast, faster, much too fast. You feel the road, the centrifugal force and want more.

The heart of the KTM 990 Superduke... instantly thunders its zest for life straight at your five senses every time you start it up. As the lightest and most innovative two-cylinder around, the LC8 powerplant wins you over with its peerless performance components in the KTM 990 Superduke, offering plenty of displacement and a state of the art, computer-driven injection. So every little twist of the throttle is immediately turned into forward thrust. And into a perpetual grin behind your helmet's visor.

EVEN IN SITUATIONS WHEN YOU'RE AT THE LIMIT... you've still got the green light with the KTM 990 Superduke. Its quick-reacting chassis ensures plenty of safety reserves in combination with the massive BREMBO 4-piston fixed-caliper braking system, which includes a radial brake cylinder that sinks its teeth into 320-mm, floating steel discs. So when you're in a tight spot, you can tilt way into the apex of the curve with no problem.

With a claimed dry weight of 405 pounds, the Superduke is light by twin-cylinder standards. Few bikes can carve up a set of esses as quickly; in fact, in one European magazine's handling test, the Superduke had the highest cornering speed. You get so much feedback from the tires, and you have so much leverage with the tubular handlebar, you feel like you can ride right off the edges of the tires and still save it.

The only real issue with the Superduke is its timing. Four years ago, this bike would have owned the naked-bike class. Now, it's got stiff competition across the board. And at a couple bucks shy of 14 grand, it ain't cheap.

As for my test ride, I ended up running a full tank of gas through the Superduke and brought it back on fumes, grinning. It might have taken a long time to get here, but it was assuredly worth the wait.

2007 KTM SuperdukePRICE
MSRP    $13,998
ENGINE
Type     l-c V-twin
Valves    DOHC, 8v
Displacement    999cc
Transmission    6-speed
CHASSIS
Weight     405 lb., claimed dry (184 kg)
Fuel capacity    3.9 gal. (15L)
Wheelbase    56.6 in. (1438mm)
Seat height    33.7 in. (855mm)