First Look: 2021 KTM 1290 Super Duke RR

Extra special lightweight edition of the wild super naked V-twin

If you’ve never had a spin on KTM’s 1290 Super Duke, you’re definitely missing out on one of the maddest bikes around. It’s light, mega-punchy, packed with technology and looks as crazy as it goes.

But if the stock version with its 180bhp engine and 189kg dry weight isn’t enough, KTM’s got the answer – a limited-edition RR version, with an amazing 9kg shaved off the weight, plus a heap of flashy top-end chassis kit.

The weight loss comes from a few areas – the wheels are now forged, saving 1.5kg on their own, there’s a lithium racing battery to cut another 2.5kg, and there’s carbon fibre everywhere – bodywork and an new single-seat rear subframe.

The suspension is from the top drawer too: KTM’s own WP suspension brand provides a set of APEX PRO forks and rear monoshock, plus steering damper. The forks are super beefy Closed Cartridge APEX PRO 7548 units, designed for race use, while the single-sided rear swingarm is controlled by an APEX PRO 7746 race monoshock. Both ends are fully adjustable.

Details are important on a bike like this, so there’s a different set of stiffer yokes clamped onto those forks, while the forged rims wear Michelin Power Cup2 road-legal track rubber. The end can is a titanium/carbon Akrapovic item, and the electronics package has two new modes as standard – Track and Performance. Even the twistgrip has been uprated, with a shorter 65-degree opening angle (standard is 72 degrees), and the footpegs are adjustable Gilles parts.

The new Super Duke RR is a limited edition model, and can only be ordered directly from KTM online from today, here.