Scratching the Itch

Since the completion of my street-to-track bike project has been decidedly delayed (we finally closed on our new house on Wednesday!), and the weather has become decidedly summer-like, the itch to hit the track has become nearly unbearable. I could only read so many more track day stories and race reports from my friends without going insane! So it was that on a whim, I had a look at the Sportbike Track Time forums to see if anyone was selling their spot to the already-sold-out KTM Ride_Orange day at Mid-Ohio. For this event, KTM would be supplying the bikes (brand new 990 Super Dukes), the tires, the fuel, and all that, and all I had to do was show up with my gear and ride! Sounded like a perfect way to scratch the itch to me, so when I found someone who was selling their slot, I snapped it up without hesitation.

The Bike

The Austrian company having been famous for it's off-road bikes for years, KTM has more recently forayed into the world of road-going bikes with a modest line up of adventure tourers, supermotards, streetfighters, and even one open-class racebike. The SuperDuke would fall under the streetfighter category. With minimal fairings, a riding position almost like that of a dirt bike, and aggressive styling, the SuperDuke is a certain kind of beautiful, in the eyes of some beholders.

Powered by a 75° v-twin motor displacing 999cc, this KTM produces a modest 119 HP but a beefy 74 ft lbs of torque. For reference, that horsepower number is easily attainable on most modern 600cc inline fours, but the torque number is nearly twice that produced by the fours. In fact, beefy is a word that could be used frequently when describing the SuperDuke. Power is transferred to the rear wheel via a six-speed gearbox and a stout-looking 525 chain (I would have guessed it was much heavier). 48mm (beefy!) WP Suspension front forks lead down to muscular Brembo 4-pot radially mounted brakes, which clamp down on 320mm rotors. The gas tank boasts an impressive five and a half gallon capacity (including reserve). The forty bikes provided by KTM for the event were fitted with a variety of tires, including Dunlop Sportmax GP-As, D209s and D208s, Pirelli Diablo Corsa IIIs, and Michelin Pilot Powers.

The Ride

The day dawned warm and humid, mist and fog rolling over the gentle hills of north-central Ohio, as it usually does in the warmer months. The weather forecast promised a heavy chance of rain, but there was no sign of it as the day began, with partly cloudy skies and a gentle breeze blowing through the paddock. After registration, I finagled my way into sharing a garage with four other guys (which would later prove fortuitous), unloaded my gear, and began suiting up. The riders' meeting advised us of the basic setups of the bikes (for a 175 lb rider, standard-shift only, no adjustments to be made through the day as we'd be sharing bikes between sessions), and KTM's damage liability policy (not quite you-break-it-you-buy-it, but...), as well as the usual routine of flags, pit procedures, and passing rules.

My group was the first to take to the track, and I mounted a brand-new (0.0 miles on the clock!) black SuperDuke fitted with Pirellis. Sitting on the bike, I noticed that it was long, tall and comfortable, the cushy suspension and wide, high handle bar leaving you sitting nearly upright. After adjusting the brake lever to the furthest position out, I cranked the motor over and we proceeded out onto the track.

And now for something completely different.

Veterans of Mid-Ohio will tell you that the first session of the morning is frequently treacherous, as the morning dew on the track surface, particularly on the technical back section, can make things quite slick. The amount of sealer used on the pavement at this track, while necessary to prevent the harsh winters from degrading the track surface, make it almost unrideable in anything but dry conditions. This, coupled with scrubbing in brand new tires, made the opening session particularly tricky for all of us. I was tucking the front and sliding the rear in nearly every corner, the mushy suspension not providing enough feedback to know when a slide was coming. Fortunately, the combination of compliant suspension and steering geometry also made it fairly easy to correct the slides, so nobody crashed.

My initial impression of the 990 SuperDuke was somewhat mixed. The strong points were certainly smile-inspiring, as the torquey v-twin motor provided power just about everywhere in the rev range, and the phenomenal front brakes slowed you from speed with excellent initial bite, feel and power. The wide, high bars made steering inputs easy and direction changes fairly effortless, despite the 410 lb dry weight of the bike. The bars also had drawbacks, however, as it was somewhat awkward to hang off the bike in the corners and still modulate the throttle. With more seat time, I might have been able to adjust my riding style a bit to help alleviate this problem.

Limiting all the bikes to the standard shift pattern (down for down, up for up) also presented a challenge for many riders in my group, who normally run GP or reverse shift pattern on our personal bikes. Several times in the first session I found myself shifting the wrong direction coming out of a corner, the bike protesting loudly as it was revved far past its intended range. The rev limiter, set at around ten thousand RPM, came on well before the bike stopped making power, and engaged with all the subtlety of a brick wall.

Coming from the perspective of a 600cc supersport rider, getting around the track on the KTM was an entirely different experience. I'm used to machines that carve corners like a scalpel, handle effortlessly, and let you know at all times what is going on between the tires and the pavement. Transitioning from a middleweight sportbike to the SuperDuke was akin to driving a go kart vs. driving a golf cart. Both can be made to go fairly quick, with the right coaxing, but the feel is so diametrically opposed as to deprive the operator of confidence when transitioning to the latter. After the first 20 minute session, I was left wondering what I had gotten myself into, and wishing hard to have my R6 back!

Ride it for what it is.

I went out for my second session determined to find out more about the bike, and let it show me how to ride it. I mounted another black SuperDuke, this one with nearly 2400 miles on the clock, and fitted with Sportmax GP-As that had been scrubbed in a bit and were at least lukewarm. Between the better rubber, warmer track, and my new mindset, I began to have a bit of fun on the big KTM. I discovered that the motor started putting power down as low as 2500 rpm, alleviating the need to shift so furiously as I do on my R6. As I shifted less, I gained more speed, allowing the bike to lug itself out of the corners, and enjoying the distinctive sound of a big v-twin growling beneath me.

A small group of loudly protesting riders had convinced the KTM techs on hand to tweak the suspension on all the bikes a bit, adding a bit of compression damping and increasing preload slightly. These changes made the bike much more responsive to control inputs, as if someone had given the bike its morning coffee and it was now fully awake. The bike was now able to more or less hold a line, and turning in while on the brakes was no longer a dicey proposition. Five laps into the session, I found myself having quite a bit of fun with the bike, particularly on corner exit, where you could wick up the throttle and get the rear to slide just slightly. And the sound of the motor was proving to be intoxicating, even with stock exhaust silencers fitted.

The clouds had started to gather somewhat during our second session, and just as I slipped on my helmet for our third, the skies opened up. The track marshals threw the red flag to bring in the riders from the session that was still running, but not before two people crashed on the suddenly slick track. So lunch started early for us, as the officials decided to cancel the third session entirely. I was completely disappointed, as I was just coming to terms with the SuperDuke, and wanted to see what I could do with my riding style to get even more out of it.

Fun in the... Damp.

Following our extended lunch, a riding instructor was sent out on track to see how much of it had dried since the rain let up. He came back in and gave his blessing, so after a brief riders' meeting, my group was sent back out on track. We spent several laps following the riding instructor, getting heat in the tires and scoping out the damp areas, trying to create a dry line through the corners. Riding at this reduced pace allowed me to appreciate the easy handling and overall good nature of the KTM at less than full pace. I came to the conclusion that the SuperDuke would be a fantastic street bike, with its easy handling and fat torque curve. The gobs of suspension travel would certainly be a plus in urban environments, and the bike was definitely surefooted when there was any traction available at all.

On about the fifth lap, myself and a friend got the go-ahead and charged past the instructor, eager to get a few decent laps in before the session was over. Once back up to pace, I still was left wishing for more suspension feedback, as the bike would frequently slide a bit before I knew it was happening. On the straights, the extra-long throttle throw made getting it wide-open a bit of a pain. Shifting while on the straights was somewhat comical to observe, as the throttle required such an exaggerated movement to go from on to off and on again (and the bike wouldn't shift any other way, at least without the clutch, and who wants to use that, anyway?). Several riders, myself included, reported having problems shifting into 5th and 6th at times, and I caught a few false neutrals. These problems might subside slightly once the bikes are fully broken in, but it was a frustrating problem to have nonetheless. All teething problems aside, I was really starting to come into my own on the SuperDuke, and very much wanted to get another full, clean session on the bike to really put it through its paces.

Vroom! Rain! Whoop! Bam!

The clouds had darkened again when we took to the track for our fifth session. Track officials had assured us that at the first hint of rain, they would throw the flags and bring us off the track, so I was paying special attention to the corner workers as I warmed up my tires and started putting in laps. There were a few drops of rain on my visor, but nothing to be really concerned about, so I started putting in laps and working with the bike.

I passed the instructor and chased down a (usually) faster friend of mine, passing him on the brakes going into turn 1. As I ran up to the chicane, more rain drops suddenly appeared on my visor, and I slowed to a moderate pace for turn 4. Exiting the turn, the instructor came back by me and the rain stopped, so we both charged hard down the straight. But just as we went through the kink by the flag stand, the orange and red debris flag came out, and the rain started in earnest. The instructor and I both checked up, had a look at each other and slowed dramatically for turn 6. In proper wet weather form, I slowed way down, let off the brakes completely, and tipped into the corner just behind the instructor. Just after I tipped in - whoop, BAM! I was on the ground. No warning, no slide, just me, the bike, and the pavement, getting friendly in ways I don't enjoy. My right leg was trapped under the bike as we slid off the track, coming to a stop in the grass, about six feet from the pavement. I wrenched my leg free and trotted away from the track into the sand trap, just in time to have another rider crash in exactly the same spot and come to rest just a few feet from where my bike lay! Then I looked to my left and saw another rider was down in turn 8, and unbeknown to us, a fourth had crashed in 10! So much for throwing the flags at the first sign of rain; 4 riders had crashed in 30 seconds!

My gear did it's job well, and I was unscathed from my lowside. My brand-new suit is now properly broken in, and I'll have to get a small hole on the right forearm patched. My right boot kept my foot and ankle intact, grinding down on the plastic protecting my ankle and lower leg. The bike was similarly lightly damaged, with only a couple scratches and a broken front brake lever to show for our off-track excursion. Once the rest of the bikes were safely by, I picked it up, pulled the grass clumps out of the bike, and rode it back to the pits. The rain became more intense as I pulled into the pits from my ride of shame, and event officials made the decision to call the day.

Right tool for the job?

In today's sport bike market, there are race bikes that are produced for the street, and street bikes you can take to the track. While the SuperDuke falls solidly into the latter category, the average track day rider would still certainly have a blast on it. And the practicality, comfort, and... er... crashworthiness of the bike certainly add to its usefulness during the rest of the week. Hardcore track riders, used to their razor sharp superbikes, may be unimpressed, but the KTM certainly does fine on the track, ridden like the bike that it is, rather than the bike you wish it was.

~Cephas
THE FREE RADICAL