Short test ride on a KTM Super Duke GT 1st. off and Most importantly Too Tall for me, (no low seat either) feet back to top of my Tip Toes but felt very light compared to my DVT, even with a near full tank of petrol. Steering very very light as well on the move even at the slowest speeds, bike is extremely flickable, this is where it would excel over the DVT in my view. Hard Seat, ride not long enough to tell me if that would be an issue, and hard suspension even on the softest setting. There is another seat that is better, at a cost, but raises the seat height more You certainly feel more naked riding it, more open to the elements, the screen in the highest position made it ok for wind at high speeds fine for long distant touring, not so sure about the rain though. Being quite short, especially in the legs I found the riding position comfortable, and there are quite a few ways to adjust your riding position also. you are not quite as upright as on a multi, but I think you could set it all out as close to, especially if you are short, you do not seat down in the bike as much either. Engine was smooth, Good Fuelling, felt reminisce of my old 2013 Multi which was a good thing, but smoother at the lower end, but not as smooth as DVT, Linear Torque pulls hard all the time if you want it to, I also was surprised by the gearing ideal for touring. Great Brakes especially the Rear. Performance wise, it is a very quick bike, I would guess a little quicker than my DVT, but not as much as much I was expecting on the initial test. Exhaust was also too quiet, so more expense It looked well built for the most part, but something's were on the cheap side, like mirrors, Screen was very poor it felt like you were going to break it every time you tried to adjust it. Switch Gear well laid out, felt good quality. Looks? Well everyone to their own, looks not as important to me as some, it is not ugly, well screen might be, would grow on me more. I will not be buying one just yet, needs a few more companies to make the accessories required to suit my needs, Rear Rack with monoplate, Hand guards, Tank Bag, no power point for tank bag, no Centre Stand, Crash Bars to make it more of an all rounder, it is more street than touring, not quite got the right balance. I also think it is extremely over priced for what it is too, but tbh so is a Multistrada. (all bikes for that matter these days). Service Costs are pretty well Identical to a Multi DVT, if anything a little cheaper for the 9k service. It has great potential though, As I do not tour every weekend so as a weekend thrash around it is better than a DVT, it would be great fun, not as extreme as a Super Duke R but as a tourer which is more important to me it is not as good yet as a DVT. Maybe a year or so down the line, when Companies have made some accessories, different screens, maybe some discount, (I do not think they are going to sell this by the bucket load like the Multistrada) I would be very tempted to look again.
To be fair, KTM already make the more committed tourer you're describing in the shape of the 1290 Superadventure. It has all the extras you list but it is even taller than the GT. (The GT has a lower seat than the SDR and it is narrower at the front to make both feet down easier). The GT was a variation on a theme developed in response to comments from company development and customer test riders who said the Superduke was so comfortable you could tour on it with a few tweaks. So they gave a headbanging supernaked a nod to practicality so that hooligans can go on holiday as well. But its not really a full on tourer. GT is a good moniker because its a bit like a GT car, which is essentially a high powered coupe with all the performance left intact but with cruise control and a very slightly bigger boot so you can pack an extra pair of kacks. Having said that, interesting write-up in today's MCN when their long term test GT was ridden 933 mile non-stop over 18 hours and the rider said it was one of the most comfortable distance bikes he had ever ridden.
There's going to be plenty of bits available very shortly, i loaned my GT to Evotech for 3 weeks and they have gone to town manufacturing some nice bits, they are delivering my bike back tomorrow Fully loaded with everything FOC, however I agree about it feeling tall, I'm 5'7" 29 inside leg and I'm tip toes but I'm used to riding off rd bikes so it's easy to adapt to sliding arse cheek over to get one foot down, also one thing the ktm tech can do come service time when they plug the bike in is program the preload either 5mm -/+ also theres the ability to turn the tyre pressure sensors off (mine have been turned off) so I'm now going to run mine with some bst wheels I have. Apparently sales for the GT had been overwhelming and KTM never expected to sell all units like they have, the bike does certainly look better in the flesh and the build quality is lush compared to the multi, the Quickshifter alone is very high tech and built into the gearbox rather than linkage sensors.
I agree @Gimlet but the Adventurer is huge, and not as much fun as a mess about bike. Funny how some others have said not as comfortable, my Boney Ass, but it was a short ride and you do get used to things. The seat was too flat though and I felt I was going to end up moving around on it under hard acceleration. @D4VE good to hear, Looking forward to seeing whet they offer. I forgot to mention Q/S yes it worked well and an added bonus. I certainly will look again when a few more available, a bit further down the line, and there is some adjustment on the Preload, it was very hard for me so even some setting up to suit my weight I bet will also drop it a few more mm, take some off the seat on the edges as that holds my legs out a little. Still dammed expensive though
