The speed range in each of the six ratios is broad, so whether you just need to get past a car swiftly, or pull from a corner in a smooth and settled manner, more often than not, a quick yank on the light-action throttle is all you’ll need. Though watch it if you’re doing that sort of thing in the first two gears as the bike’s pretty keen to rear up and wheelie.
Like most big V-twins, it pays to choose a gear lower than top if you’re cruising the streets of towns at slower speeds thanks to some slight low rpm snatchiness. And there are some slight vibes through the bars at some points throughout the rev range, depending on the load being placed on the motor at the time. But overall, the beautifully carbureted (no fuel-injection for this motor) engine is very civilized and very useful.
Once or twice I did get a bit greedy, and would have fancied a few more horses to help the 950 Supermoto match the speed of the its marginally swifter and more powerful brother, the 990 Super Duke roadster. But any ‘deficiency’ could never really detract from the massively positive and enthusiastic feeling I have for this particular KTM. Many times during the course of the test if you’d offered me a GSX-R1000 (an utterly fantastic bike itself) I would have declined. Honestly! That bike can sometimes be just too damned fast and serious for the public roads. Not to mention your license.
The Supermoto is the sort of bike that gets hold of you so much, you never want to be parted from it. It’s a truly brilliant motorcycle and one of a rare breed that are so intoxicating to ride it doesn’t matter that it’s not the fastest, most powerful or sexiest looking bike ever made. Because when all the right boxes are ticked as far as stuff like roads, weather and traffic levels are concerned, there’s not much I’d rather be doing than thrashing a
KTM
950 Supermoto.
Life’s been a bit more ordinary since I put the KTM’s sidestand down for the last time and severed my emotional attachment with that extraordinary motorcycle. So there, now you don’t need to ask me what my favourite bike is.
STAT BOXKTM 950 Supermoto
Price: £8,045
Performance: 130mph
EngineType: liquid cooled, 8-valve, dohc, 75-degree V-twin
Displacement: 942cc
Bore x Stroke: 100 x 60mm
Compression: 11.5:1
Power (claimed): 98bhp @ 8,000rpm
Torque (claimed): 69lb/ft @ 6,500rpm
Carburation: 43mm Keihin carburettors
Gearbox: six-speed
SuspensionFront: 48mm inverted telescopic forks, fully adjustable
Rear: cantilever monoshock, fully adjustable (including high and low speed compression damping)
BrakesFront: twin 305mm discs with four-piston radial calipers
Rear: single 240mm disc with twin-piston caliper
Wheels/TyresFront: Pirelli Scorpion Sync, 120/70-17
Rear: Pirelli Scorpion Sync, 180/55-17
Chassis
Type: Steel-tubed trellis
Rake/trail: 25.4degrees / 110mm
Seat
height: 865mm
Wheelbase: 1510mm
Fuel capacity: 17.5litres
Dry weight: 187kg
Contact: 01280 709500, www.ktm.co.uk
