Ah, the SuperDuke GT: that somewhat plain-looking, slightly-rounded girl next door you never gave the time of day to in your youth, who you happened to meet years later, and who rocked your world in the sac.
By 2016, when the GT came out, I was already clocking pan-European kilometres and trying to balance R&D experience and frustration with the pornstar SuperDukeR. KTM Spain urged me to switch platforms to the GT, yet I was in for a penny, in for a pound on the R, as well as unimpressed with the little they’d done to differentiate the GT from the R, so I refused. Almost every year since, I’d ridden the GT and never succumbed to its offerings. This time around, things were different.
I was captured in finding a beautiful harmony from the result of eight years of honing, refining, lightly improving, finding the perfect balance, and just ‘leaving good enough alone’. As though time allowed this girl to pick the right clothes, makeup, perfume, and learn to strut seductively.
It’s rare nowadays, when all the manufacturers are competing and innovating through the roof, to find a model which is allowed to sediment itself into a superb, well rounded, legend. We all know them, the Street Triples, various BMW R and K models, certain Guzzis, etc. (I mention the euro brands because Japanese brands are a different animal altogether.)
It so happens that some friends and I saw the 2024 SuperDuke GT prototype last autumn, so there’s no doubt next year’s big change to the model will wipe the slate clean, bringing both the growing pains of a new model, and leaving this 2023 GT a perfect spot on a pedestal.
In fairness, the ’23 GT is still lagging one generation behind (compared to the SuperDuke R and the SuperAdventure Series) with the electronic suspension and the quick-shifter and auto-blipper, but even riding it back to back with the latest ‘gen’, though noticeable, is barely a deterrent if thinking of owning the bike for a while. I promise the difference in tech didn’t slow me down one bit. In fact, the ‘23 also uses the ‘older’, less stiff trellis frame, which I find helps suspend the bike superbly, while offering enough feedback sans overwhelming with input. The newer 2024 use of the engine as a stressed-member of the chassis, triples the stiffness of the chassis, which I believe might be ‘too much of a good thing’ for the GT. Despite the parallel analogies, it’s one place I believe less stiffness produced more pleasure.
The ’23 GT dons the latest gorgeous TFT and the new button clusters, and saving the best for last, most importantly, yet quite subtly, comes with the newer, lighter rims. These are total game changers. One kilogram of unsprung weight on each wheel was enough to make this plus-sized GT handle like its 20 kilogram lighter photoshoot-ready sibling, the SuperDuke R. The benefits of lighter rims are too numerous, but responsive steering, increased acceleration, improved braking, less rider fatigue, better tire grip, better suspension reaction, are a few worth mentioning. The luck or genius is the symphony they create with the trellis chassis. To make my enjoyment tantric, KTM threw some Conti Sport Attack 4 on – which are just the about the most delicious shoes one could dream of riding.
I was parti pris against riding this bike, and moaned and hinted not wanting to take her on that date. I just wasn’t looking forward to the same bland and bovine ride of the GT, which always made me love the R that much more, but this was a revelation. I’m absolutely sure this last model year 2023 GT won’t sell as well as other years, but the few who do pull the trigger, will end up with a hot number they’ll be lucky to throw a leg over.
Writer:
Peter ‘Safety Bear’ Bokor