Expressed by the badge on the tank, it’s been 30 years of duke and the 1390 is the wildest SuperDuke yet, with more power, and a better spec than ever before.

This might be a new generation, but make no mistake… this is a SuperDuke R.

First, let’s tackle thing that dominates the experience, the engine.

Excessive is the first word that comes to mind. More than is necessary, normal, desirable, immoderate.

The level of power on tap belies the modest 10hp gain over the previous model. Maybe it’s the capacity increase, or the cam shift technology, or a combination of the 2, but there seems to be step change in power. The 1390 has wild and obnoxious grunt everywhere, its so savage, you’d swear you were aboard something jet-propelled!

The drive in the higher gears has me convinced that KTM have dialled things down in the lower gears, just to make it rideable.

On the road, the massive excess of power means that no matter what gear you are in or what speed you are going, there is always a massive excess of power and grunt. It’s an amazing and quite unique feeling.

It’s also impressively efficient returning an incredible 150 miles to its 17.5 ltr tank after a hard ride. Do the same on the Streetfighter V4 and I’d be struggling for 80 miles. It’s a big difference.

It is also very smooth, fuelled beautifully, very nice to ride at normal speeds, although it definitely lacks a bit of sound. Its bark is way tamer than its bite.

But what is the benefit of all that power?

“power is nothing without control”

Ironically, Pirelli’s strapline seems to sum it up perfectly.

Go full throttle on the new SuperDuke R and the new level of power starts to ask questions that the stock set up can’t answer. For me, the bike is lacking the stability required to ride with confidence at full gas.

I had multiple occasions that the bars gave me a really good slap at high speed and under hard acceleration. It sent me a warning signal to back off, and back off I did.

This was felt on the road and on the airfield, hitting cat eyes or bumps at speed and under an open throttle. Earned wisdom from a few crashes over the last year or so means I’m not prepared to ignore these signals anymore. When a bike is talking to me now… I’m going to listen.

Maybe it would be different on a perfectly flat piece of tarmac or a European race track and I wouldn’t go as far to say its unstable, but it definitely stopped me exploring the full capability of the bike, which was a real shame.

When you’ve ridden a well set up and stable bike, going full gas isn’t a problem. KTM have injected a serious upgrade of power, but, for me, there is not enough control.

The stock steering damper has almost no resistance in it. I’d wager a WP Pro shock and a proper steering damper would fix the issue.

Comparatively, I didn’t have any such problems on the Streetfighter V4s which is a much more stable and confidence inspiring bike to go full chat on.

Another interesting experience was when we opted to use the factory start and launch control on our acceleration tests. With factory start opted, I struggled to see or feel any difference in ride height, and the launch control didn’t feel quite right, awkwardly wheelieing and cutting power with so much torque on offer. In future, I’d probably opt to go manual and short shift through the first ratios.

Maybe a couple of criticisms here, but I’m just trying to be honest.

Electronically, the 1390 SuperDuke R makes a huge step and puts it very much at the sharp end.

The 2 biggest steps are in the wheelie control and engine brake adjustment.

Now there’s a very sophisticated wheelie control, meaning you can leave it turned on, unlike the previous model. Simply select levels of intervention depending on how much wheelie you want, from very low to very high.

The very high setting won’t allow a full balance point wheelie, but gets you as high as most people will want to go. In fact, I didn’t turn it off for this whole test. Like all wheelie control systems, there is an artificial feel where it sometimes interferes, but it is among the best out there now, including Yamaha’s market leading LIF control. In fact, the feeling is very similar to an MT10 in LIF 1.

Then the engine brake control, a massive step forward. For me, bikes coming out of KTM have been a bit free on engine brake, feeling more akin to 2 strokes. I personally don’t like it. The good news is that now you can adjust it to your liking. I felt like the bike handled better with more engine brake and is easier to get out of trouble if a corner tightens up on you or there is an unseen hazard that comes up mid corner.

Which leads us onto handling. There hasn’t been much update in the handling of the Superduke. This is a good thing as it is fantastic, it goes where you want it to, agile, predictable and you have a good feel of what’s going on. Being the EVO version, this SuperDuke is fitted with WP’s electronic suspension, with an array of settings between comfort, street and track. It even has fork anti dive.

I found all settings were fairly sporty and just so. It’s not the kind of bike you want wallowing around. I understand electronic suspension and the £1.6k premium on an adventure bike with long travel suspension where the parameters permit off road capability in one setting and then track like ability in another, all on the fly and with a flick of a button. But a SuperNaked is always a super naked and they do what they do.

And while I get fork anti dive on a softer sprung Super Adventure with 200mm of fork travel to reduce weight transfer, I don’t get it on a much stiffer sprung SuperDuke with almost half the fork travel… in this case, surely, you just want a well set up fork where in the braking phase, the fork is designed to progressively drive the tyre into the tarmac for maximum traction.

So, for me, I’d rather save the extra being charged for the Evo, and use the difference towards the proper WP pro shock and a proper WP steering damper. By doing so, the set up would be better in every way than the EVO and would surely solve the stability issues I mentioned earlier.

Despite its raucous speed capability, perhaps the SuperDukes finest attribute is the way it stops. With its upgraded and adjustable Brembo master cylinder, KTM have put the cherry on the top of what was already a brilliant set up. Feel, power, modulation, it’s sensational. While I didn’t take it on track, it feels just like my race bike set up, which is incredible considering it is a stock set up that incorporates ABS.

While the bike is claimed to be over 60% new, what hasn’t changed is the fantastic ergonomics. For me, the bike just feels right. Yes it’s a big bike, but the riding position is brilliant and strikes a perfect balance between all day comfort and sporty. It’s Supernaked perfection. Weight wise, the SuperDuke weighs in at 210kg with a tank of fuel which seems about right.

Price wise, the Evo weighs in at £19,599, so consider it closer to £21,000 by the time you have added the all important tech pack on. It’s a lot of money, but, it’s a lot of bike.

It’s fair to say the looks polarazied the motorcycle fraternity on its launch and they did me too. But its growing on me and I’d go as far to say, I do like it now. Being the flagship model, the finishing is far more premium than the lower end Duke models and it gives you the impression you’re riding a high quality motorcycle.

In the end, the SuperDuke R is aptly named the beast; wild, snarling, untamed, a dangerous animal. The 1390 undeniably fits that bill… I just wish it came with a better set of reigns so I could ride it confidently to its full potential.

Specifikation

Engine

• Torque 145 Nm
• Transmission 6-speed
• Battery capacity 11.2 Ah
• Cooling Liquid cooled with water/oil heat exchanger
• Power in KW 140 kW
• Starter Electric starter
• Stroke 71 mm
• Bore 110 mm
• Clutch PASC (TM) slipper clutch, hydraulically actuated
• CO₂ emissions 139 g/km
• Compression ratio 13.2
• Displacement 1350 cm³
• EMS Keihin EMS with RBW and cruise control, double ignition
• Design 2-cylinder, 4-stroke, V 75°
• Fuel consumption 5.9 l/100 km
• Fuel-mixture generation Keihin EFI (60 mm throttle valve)
• Lubrication Forced oil lubrication with 3 oil pumps

Chassi

• Weight (without fuel) 200 kg
• Tank capacity (approx.) 17.5 l
• Wheelbase 1491 mm
• Front brake disc diameter 320 mm
• Rear brake disc diameter 240 mm
• Front brake 2 x Brembo Stylema Monobloc four piston, radially mounted caliper
• Rear brake Brembo twin-piston fixed calliper, brake disc
• Chain 525 X-Ring
• Frame design Chrome-moly tubular space frame, powder-coated
• Front suspension WP APEX-USD Ø 48 mm, semi-active (Gen 3)
• Ground clearance 149 mm
• Handlebar Aluminium, tapered Ø 28/22 mm
• Seat height 834 mm
• Silencer Stainless steel primary and secondary silencer with two catalytic converters
• Steering head angle 65.3 °
• Rear subframe design Cast aluminium / Composite
• Suspension travel (front) 125 mm
• Suspension travel (rear) 140 mm
• Wheels Cast aluminium wheels