Thirty years ago, KTM introduced the first Duke model. Supermotard, now known as Supermoto, was relatively big back then, and many riders were transforming dirt bikes into road bikes by installing 17-inch wheels, a bigger front brake, and performing some minor suspension work. These bikes proved to be exceptionally nimble on pavement, and lots of fun to ride. KTM made lots of dirt bikes — some of them street-legal — but it had no dedicated street bikes. Then, someone at KTM put 17-inch wheels on the 620 E/XC enduro, a bike powered by the 609 cc liquid-cooled LC4 single that made an impressive 50 horsepower. However, it wasn’t enough to just swap wheels; the bike had to look like a dedicated road bike, and not a converted dirt bike. That’s…
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Motorcycle Mojo (Digital) - 1 Issue, May 2024