KTM 990 SM R Fooled by What You Get for the Opinion Hat a Big, Old Thing the Extra Cash Here
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group test WORDS: BENJAMIN KUBAS-CRONIN PICS: MARK MANNING hen a car driver sees a biker, Big 'motos are a breed apart too; far do all the thrilling you desire, and still get YOU DON’Tthat's all they generally are to more the 'toy' than constant companion. you home. Psycho Motosthem. It doesn't matter But in many ways they're as different from The two we have on test are the big W HAVEwhether it's a TOscooter, TAKEsupermoto or sports their smaller scale supermoto cousins, as dogs of a sub-class blurring the edges of hack; to the uninformed we're one and the they are the same. That's basically the big naked performance categories – MAD, BAD AND DANGEROUS TO KNOW, BIG Ysame.OUR Sadly, the CLOTHES general populous of the admitting that the overall appeal is like we needed more to choose from. Both UK are the great uninformed when it minimal; the likelihood of anybody selling are also the top-spec' versions, and BORE SUPERMOTOS ARE SO WRONG THEY'RE RIGHT OFFcomes to bikesTO and HAVE bikers. But by Jove big numbers in these categories is slim. bristling with glamour and shiny bits. So if we're a diverse bunch, led mostly by The larger versions broaden the your wallet stretches far enough and a Amachinery GOOD and purpose. TIME, spectrum of interest more, because on bike like this is your thing, why not go for Take supermotos. Barking fun, but some you can spend a little more 'me the best? So then, KTM's 990 SM R and BUTwould you IT really SURE want to go anywhere on time'. Add in some creature Ducati's new Hypermotard EVO SP it is. one? The hardcore might, but the comforts, relatively Welsh roads and a hard thrash around DOmajority HELP hold more common sense than speaking, and you Kinsham Raceway is the only way to to even try. have a bike that can separate these two. On your marks... • AND YOUR TESTERS ARE Benjamin 'BJ' Kubas-Cronin We had to prise Beej off the track on this pair, he absolutely loved 'em. It's not often he misses his obligatory fag breaks, so they must have been good. Simon 'Rootsy' Roots We had to prise Rootsy off the roads on them, too. Silly speeds in a motocross lid was the only way 68 august 2010 fast bikes mag.com we could get the bikes back to the manufacturers on time. group test psychomotos Kneedown on a go-kart track normally means you're on a mini-moto – or crashing simon’s Ducati opinion To crudely misquote Samuel Johnson, "When a man is bored EVO SP of wheeling the cock off aD ucati here's likely a few Ducatisti Hypermotard EVO SP, he is bored out there who have groaned of life." I love these bikes, and t after flipping the previous I love the Ducati. Beej is right, page and seeing the Ducati come up the first version was a hoot, but first. Well don't worry, coming cornering curbed the fun. Now, second in a test of two isn't a big deal the EVO SP rights all the wrongs, and, more importantly, the EVO SP is adds a bit of power to proceedings breathtaking. It's close to the bike we and turns even the most mild- always wanted the Hypermotard to mannered rider into a stunter be. Someone out there is listening! extraordinaire. It may not be the What the SP boasts for the extra real 'motard deal, but on the right two-grand over the standard model road I think the only bike that'll makes all the difference. Most beat it is its KTM arch enemy. The pleasing is the trick, fully adjustable Austrian machine is the better Marzocchi fork, a whopping 50mm bike, but can verge on being too longer allowing 30mm more travel. hardcore. For shits and giggles the It's nice departure from Öhlins, who supply the rear shock, itself boasting SP is hard to beat. No, I'll revise an extra 15mm travel. This is to that, it's impossible to beat. improve ground clearance, but we simon's Verdict 8/10 also like the resulting extra 10mm on the wheelbase. The bike itself weighs eight kilos under the original Dash panels have moved Hypermotard, and a single bag of on a bit since the DT125 sugar under the EVO variant. There are other nice touches, such as lashings of carbon, higher bars, Ducati's data-analyser and, of course, a natty paint scheme. The engine IT NOW MAKES OVER 80bhP – BUT produces five-horsepower more than the original Hypermotard, proved POWER WAS NEVER A PROBLEM when slung on the dyno. It now ” makes over 80bhp for the first time. But power was never an issue in the DUCATI HYPERMOTARD EVO SP £10,750 A Hypermotard first place. needs a bit of getting Our biggest problem with the old used to; the riding bike was with the front end. It was far position and how to too soft on the initial stroke, and the position your body to use it. At first it things beautifully. The rear Öhlins is wheel was raked too far away in the feels a bit ungainly, a bit wrong, likewise as impressive. It's all gravy. 'motard position to give much although time is your ally and you And the engine is a welcome front-end confidence. This was true soon acclimatise. The new front improvement, too. The extra power is for both the original and the 'S', makes things easier, mostly because quite noticeable, making wheelies which the EVO SP supersedes. But of the far more sophisticated stroke even easier – if that's at all possible. pulling out onto Kinsham's tight and ride quality. It doesn't bounce up From a standstill it'll lift, and then at curves for the first time, the initial and down when you don't want any point in the first two gears thing to really signify progress is that it to now. For such a naughty on demand. But the curve is Marzocchi front end. machine, this is one bike more wholesome than that behaves. Pirelli don’T BE before, allowing swifter Supercorsas provide all FOOLED BY and smoother progress They were fresh Age. Apparently it gets on first thing... The Desmodue L-twin motor is now 5.2kg Highlights the grip you need to push across the countryside to better after 40.N ope, lighter than before, with lighter internals. ˲ Best Hyper' yet the boundaries of the the air-cooled twin's beat. The engine is no wider than the cylinders and we don't believe engine ˲ More grunt new envelope and before It's still pretty dead in increased compression and larger air intake them either... ports fuel a bigger explosion, now with a ˲ Brembo Monoblocs long soon, we're kneedown the upper reaches, but super single spark. The engine also has new cylinder ˲ Carbon goodies on a go-kart track. quick thrashes and superbike heads, cams redesigned ports and reworked ˲ 171kg Despite similar geometry, the EVO baiting down open A-roads aren't it's oil baths for improved cooling. Further cooling ˲ 86bhp SP is far more composed on corner forte, so it's a moot point. now comes from an 85% larger oil cooler. entry, through mid-turn and on exits. Overall, the EVO SP took me by TRACK 7 surprise as I didn't expect that such a Make sure it's a short 'un Ride it traditionally or leg out, it still performs. And joy, this continues on big improvement was possible, let Minimal developments to the famous trellis FAST ROAD 6 frame helped the weight slashing. The giant Breathless up top the road, where the EVO SP feels far alone likely. But Ducati has listened, 50mm Marzocchi forks, fully adjustable, mounts more at home than any of its and reacted with big improvements. chassis through a huge triple-clamp. The EVO SP HOOLIGAN 10 This makes hooligan's quiver brethren. Again, it's all down to the What-a-bike-a-to-like-a! • gets 30mm more travel as well as Diamond- front; the confidence it gives and the like-coating (DLC) and a firmer setup.A fully NEW RIDER 4 adjustable Öhlins monoshock suspends the You can calm it, just supple ride. Even when hammering Verdict 8/10 This is the Hypermotard we’ve been waiting for, finally… rear with 15mm more travel over stock. Brembo DESIRABILITY 10 the stupidly powerful brakes (that are provide the stoppers, and fierce they are f'sure. Full of Italian loveliness utter overkill on a bike like this), the + StyLE, BLING, TORQUE, WHEELIES bottom part of the stroke controls - StiLL A TOY, SLIPPER CLUtch PLEASE fast bikes mag.com august 2010 71 group test psychomotos don’T BE simon’s KTM 990 SM R FOOLED BY What you get for the opinion hat a big, old thing the extra cash here. The stock KTM 990 SM R looks, 990 SM’s just as mad If the Ducati is the frivolous W parked next to the lithe and just as good option, then the KTM 990 SM R Ducati. It isn't really, being a trick of is the thinking nutter's machine. perception and a nod to just how The EVO SP can't quite live with skinny that Duke really is. KTM the hard edged KTM, meaning reckon the SM R is the fastest that the SM R will be first to supermotard in the world, and we're the pub every time.