Got a new bike today
Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2020 3:02 pm
I took my SuperDuke GT in for a service today. While waiting, I took a new SuperDuke R out for an hour too. It was very nice.
For those that don't know, the GT is basically an R but with a lot of weight added for comfort/touring purposes (big tank, screen, strengthened subframe etc etc) and I think the wheelbase is lengthened too. The R I rode felt like what it is compared to mine - significantly lighter, firmer and pointier. Which equals fun.
The GT has semi-active suspension and, of course, modes. My problem has always been these don't go far enough. For pillions and luggage I imagine the presets are useful, but it has 3 suspension modes and 3 throttle maps. But even the sportiest of both is still not very sporty. It wallows and shimmies too much and the throttle sensitivity is not very. It took me weeks to realise that if you rip your hand right round it actually uncovers loads of power that's missing from the usual range of throttle action. Quite what the softer two settings are for, fuck knows.
On the suspension front, the softest setting is basically damping-free. ie, some sort of horrible wallow mode. Useful occasionally for a long stretch of speed bumps or even a straight motorway section over broken tarmac, but you wouldn't want to hit a corner in that mode by accident. The middle mode is, of course, pointless.
Anyway, I was moaning about all this to the guy as I was waiting for the R to be readied and he told me that while the second gen GT solved many of these issues, they were all software based and available for my bike. As were a whole raft of other software updates that I didn't know about that have come out since my last service.
So, I take out the R and love it. I then get back on mine for the hour's ride home expecting to be disappointed after hopping off the R and find that my old bike had essentially been replaced. Software's clever these days, isn't it?
The sportiest suspension setting is now far firmer and more controlled. And the throttle mapping is more aggressive. And it sounded different. And it was smoother. And it had some little pops and crackles on the overrun. And, despite riding it home way, way harder than I did on the way there as I was enjoying the change, I got 4mpg extra.
Now, I'm quite prepared to believe that some of the changes I just listed were in my head - maybe it sounded different because I was riding it harder for example. Maybe it wasn't much smoother after all but I was just in a lower gear. Dunno. But it was honestly transformed as a bike. I started thinking about booking a trackday on it whereas before it would've been more for comedy value.
I didn't try the other settings but apparently they're all improved and now useful. Comfort is comfortable rather than wallowy and the middle setting probably has a purpose now that the sporty setting is so much firmer.
Shame the software update didn't add the LED headlights and new dash etc from the newer bike, but even so, I was seriously impressed. None of this is news btw - having got home and googled it it turns out it was released to older owners about May last year and the KTM forums are full of it, but nobody told me.
So, £320 later I have new oil and filters etc. And a new bike.
For those that don't know, the GT is basically an R but with a lot of weight added for comfort/touring purposes (big tank, screen, strengthened subframe etc etc) and I think the wheelbase is lengthened too. The R I rode felt like what it is compared to mine - significantly lighter, firmer and pointier. Which equals fun.
The GT has semi-active suspension and, of course, modes. My problem has always been these don't go far enough. For pillions and luggage I imagine the presets are useful, but it has 3 suspension modes and 3 throttle maps. But even the sportiest of both is still not very sporty. It wallows and shimmies too much and the throttle sensitivity is not very. It took me weeks to realise that if you rip your hand right round it actually uncovers loads of power that's missing from the usual range of throttle action. Quite what the softer two settings are for, fuck knows.
On the suspension front, the softest setting is basically damping-free. ie, some sort of horrible wallow mode. Useful occasionally for a long stretch of speed bumps or even a straight motorway section over broken tarmac, but you wouldn't want to hit a corner in that mode by accident. The middle mode is, of course, pointless.
Anyway, I was moaning about all this to the guy as I was waiting for the R to be readied and he told me that while the second gen GT solved many of these issues, they were all software based and available for my bike. As were a whole raft of other software updates that I didn't know about that have come out since my last service.
So, I take out the R and love it. I then get back on mine for the hour's ride home expecting to be disappointed after hopping off the R and find that my old bike had essentially been replaced. Software's clever these days, isn't it?
The sportiest suspension setting is now far firmer and more controlled. And the throttle mapping is more aggressive. And it sounded different. And it was smoother. And it had some little pops and crackles on the overrun. And, despite riding it home way, way harder than I did on the way there as I was enjoying the change, I got 4mpg extra.
Now, I'm quite prepared to believe that some of the changes I just listed were in my head - maybe it sounded different because I was riding it harder for example. Maybe it wasn't much smoother after all but I was just in a lower gear. Dunno. But it was honestly transformed as a bike. I started thinking about booking a trackday on it whereas before it would've been more for comedy value.
I didn't try the other settings but apparently they're all improved and now useful. Comfort is comfortable rather than wallowy and the middle setting probably has a purpose now that the sporty setting is so much firmer.
Shame the software update didn't add the LED headlights and new dash etc from the newer bike, but even so, I was seriously impressed. None of this is news btw - having got home and googled it it turns out it was released to older owners about May last year and the KTM forums are full of it, but nobody told me.
So, £320 later I have new oil and filters etc. And a new bike.
The opposite for me though!
