Report: 1,200cc engines for 2013 KTM Adventure, Super Duke

Our friends at Dutch publication Nieuwsmotor just returned from a visit to KTM’s Austrian headquarters, where they discovered that new versions of the Adventure, Super Duke and Duke are in the works. At the heart of the new models is a new modular engine which they suggest will be available in 1,200, 1,000 and 700-800cc capacities. A 700cc version of the single-cylinder Duke is also planned for 2012.

Why the long wait for a new Adventure, which has been around since the halcyon days of 2006? KTM apparently had a new version ready for next year, but Stefan Pierer felt it too closely resembled the BMW R1200GS, so sent the designers back to the drawing board. :continue:

Wes Siler. January 19th, 2011 - Permalink - Comments (10)

Photos: Marc Coma + KTM 450 Rally

It’s amazing the unrealism that using a flash to shoot action at sunset can achieve. These photos of Marc Coma practicing for the Dakar in Spain aboard his KTM 450 Rally look like some sort of museum diorama, you know, the kind with a sabertooth tiger pouncing on a caveman in front of a painted backdrop full of wooly mammoths, just here with more bikes. Yes, yet another set of a Red Bull-sponsored rally bike (Is there anyone competing in the Dakar that’s not sponsored by Red Bull? Except of course Jonah Street.), but when the action is this epic, who cares? :continue:

Wes Siler. December 22nd, 2010 - Permalink - Comments (7)

Who is Cyril Despres?

Let’s do some word association. If we say “Cyril Despres,” what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? The Dakar, right? The 36-year-old Frenchman only started racing Enduro in 1998 and entered the rally for the first time, while it was still being held in Africa, in 2000. By 2002 he’d won his first stage and in 2005, riding for KTM, he won the rally outright. He won again in 2007 and in 2010, success he hopes to repeat when the 2011 Dakar begins in Buenos Aires on January 1. Here, Red Bull profiles its extraordinary athlete and we’ve thrown in 41 high-res images of Cyril in action, both in rallying and Enduro, for good measure.

Photos: Samo Vidic/Andre Chaco/Jorge Ferrari/Marcelo Maragni/Mihai Stetcu/Predrag Vuckovic/Alfredo Escobar/Gustavo Cherro/Red Bull Photofiles

:continue:

Wes Siler. December 20th, 2010 - Permalink - Comments (9)

KTM 450 Rally practices for Dakar

These photos and this video were taken as Marc Coma, Cyril Despres and Juan Pedrero put in a practice session on the KTM 450 Rally. The 2011 Dakar kicks off in Buenos Aires on 1 January, complete with an uncommonly diverse grid. Still, this €29,300 factory racer looks to be the bike to beat.

Photos: Edmunds J./KTM Images

:continue:

Wes Siler. December 14th, 2010 - Permalink - Comments (10)

Photos: KTM 450 Rally in action

The KTM 450 Rally might only have debuted to the world at the EICMA motorcycle show this morning, but it’s already got a race win under its belt. Riding KTM’s new Dakar racer, Cyril Despres (above) finished first in the seven-day Rallye du Maroc last month while Marc Coma, also riding a 450, finished third. The 2011 Dakar rally kicks off on January 1.

Photos: Rossignol, A.

:continue:

Wes Siler. November 3rd, 2010 - Permalink - Comments (2)

KTM 450 Rally: bespoke Dakar race bike

This is KTM’s response to The Dakar’s new 450cc capacity limit, a bespoke race bike that has little in common with any production model. At first we assumed this was based on the 450 EXC, then we saw the massive trellis frame and the larger bore and smaller stroke, likely indicating that this engine has been tuned to rev higher for more outright power and less low-down oomph. Of course, there’s also the fuel tank that saddles the frame, the giant rally fairing and the KTM 450 Rally‘s €29,300 price. :continue:

Wes Siler. November 3rd, 2010 - Permalink - Comments (5)

KTM 990 Dakar celebrates rally domination

The new 450cc capacity limit may finally end KTM’s domination of The Dakar rally, so there’s no time like the present for a special edition intended to capitalize on said domination. Of course, the KTM 990 Adventure isn’t the bike that gets raced in Argentina and Chile, but it is the bike getting the special edition treatment. This KTM 990 Dakar appears to gain blue and orange paint, some graphics, standard engine protection bars and not much else. This bike was due to be unveiled at EICMA next week alongside the company’s actual Dakar competitor, the KTM 450 Rally, but Bikes In The Fast Lane got the jump on them, leaking this embargoed image.

A larger image at Bikes In The Fast Lane.

Wes Siler. October 27th, 2010 - Permalink - Comments (6)

Video: Cyril Despres teases KTM 450 Rally

The speculation is, that with maximum motorcycle capacity reducing to 450cc, Aprilia, BMW and the Japanese makers may finally be more competitive in The Dakar. Well, KTM might have a thing or two to say about that. This video of last year’s winner Cyril Despres practicing at his own private test track in the Pyrenees teases his new race bike, the KTM 450 Rally. :continue:

Wes Siler. September 26th, 2010 - Permalink - Comments (0)

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